


PATCHWORK SOUL

by TakaiWolf



Series: PATCHWORK SOUL Series [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Bad Puns, Big Brother Papyrus (Undertale), Big Brother Sans (Undertale), Complete, Determination (Undertale), Dreams and Nightmares, Dreamsharing, Established Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Family, Female Chara (Undertale), Female Frisk (Undertale), Gen, Good W. D. Gaster, Goopy W. D. Gaster, Hugs, Magic, Mentioned Chara (Undertale), Monsters, Music-Based Magic, Mystery, Parent Toriel (Undertale), Pasta, Platonic Relationships, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route - "I want to stay with you.", Scientist W. D. Gaster, Skeletons, Slice of Life, Time Loop, Time Shenanigans, Time Travel, Tsundere Flowey (Undertale), Undertale Saves and Resets, naps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-07-29 10:08:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 85
Words: 733,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20080444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TakaiWolf/pseuds/TakaiWolf
Summary: When Frisk finished her story, barrier broken and monsters freed, she knew there was still a loose end, but she never expected everything to come unraveled before her eyes. Determined to save the only family she’s ever known, Frisk must stitch their lives back together after they are ripped apart at the seams and then attempt the impossible to stop it from ever happening again.[A story like this has been told before, in many different ways by many different people. Even so, I hope you enjoy it. Please know all major canon timelines and the music of Undertale before reading for the best experience.][An AU of what happens after a specific time kid's True Pacifist ending.]





	1. The Start

It was a beautiful day outside on the slopes of the towering Mount Ebott. The sun was shining down warmly, making Frisk’s skin tingle. It was warm enough, finally, to wear short sleeves, but, hardheaded in his absolute reluctance to change anything, the short skeleton with a fixed grin accompanying her on her climb was still in his blue winter jacket with the fuzzy hood. Wasn’t like temperature affected him much either way, though.

“Kiddo,” he said, “you know, uh, this is pretty unrealistic.”

“Duh,” she said.

He looked down at the dirt and stone under his slippered feet and then turned his eyes up to her as she did her best to stay upright, walking up the steep incline. He raised his brows.

“Aw, c’mon, Sans,” she said with a laugh. “I’m a little kid and I did it on my own before! And this isn’t even real.”

He looked up at the peak skeptically. It seemed to stretch forever up into the clouds. “Yeah, but in your dreams you, uh, make it even taller.”

“Sorry,” she said with a bashful smile. “I guess it was pretty scary at the time.”

She had to use her hands to grasp the rock and pull herself up, but a sudden flurry of bird sounds caught her attention. She turned and couldn’t help but gawk as Sans floated by her, hands in his pockets, looking almost as if he were asleep as songbirds carried him effortlessly up the slope.

“Oh my god, what?!” she yelped.

“Eh. It’s my dream, too,” he said.

Frisk pouted. “Bro, you’re cheating!”

“What else is new?” he replied.

She quickly found her soul snared in a blue glow and was whisked up to join him.

When they reached a small, solid outcrop, the birds vanished and the two of them plopped down to the stone. Frisk pulled out a blanket and flapped it out to straighten it before laying it down.

“Hey, Sans, what do you-?” Her thought cut short as she noticed the skeleton was standing at the end of the rocky precipice, staring out at the sky. “Sans?” She walked over to meet him and poked him in the arm.

“Heh. Sorry, kid,” he said. “Sometimes it just puts me right back.” He ruffled her hair. 

“Thanks for coming with me tonight,” she said.

“No problem, buddy,” he said. “Couldda done it in my sleep.”

She snorted. He grinned.

They spent some time hanging around, eating conjured ice cream, and enjoying the sunlight that permeated the dream. It was a nice contrast to what awaited them in the real world. After a little while, Frisk began to feel a little strange, though— started to feel a weird itch in the back of her head.

“Hey, kiddo,” Sans said. “So. What’s the deal? The regulars gettin’ to be a bit too much?”

Frisk grimaced. She nodded. Couldn’t hide a thing from him, could she? “I still feel tired after this, but at least I’m not scared outta my pants.” She shot him a sideways look. “You too?”

“Don’t worry about me,” he said.

She gently elbowed him in the ribs. He grinned and mussed up her hair again. She couldn’t help a laugh and nestled against his side.

“Too bad it ain’t a thing you can undo, huh?” he said. “Actually, bet even tryin’ would make it worse. Sorry.”

“No way,” she said. “Honestly, I like this better. We can totally be a dream team, it’s great.”

“If by great, you mean crap.” Sans shot her a grin. “…Thanks, kiddo.”

“You’re welcome,” she said brightly. “C’mon, dude, you’ve been at this too long.”

“Welp. Hear that,” he said with a laugh. He cut his eyes at her jokingly. “Guess it’s not too bad havin’ a time-kid.”

“Good!” she said, grabbing his arm snugly. “Beeeecause you’re stuck with me.”

“Good,” he said.

She snickered, but any levity she felt was cut short when she was certain she heard a scratchy whispering behind her.

She turned to look and her heart dropped. Behind her, drained of colour, drenched in rain, was the entrance to a cave. That hadn’t been there before. It wasn’t even raining. She stood up to look, fear turning her cold.

“Kid? What’s up?” Sans asked.

“Where… Where did this come from?” she asked quietly.

“Uh, where did what come from?” he asked.

Frisk couldn’t help herself. It was like a magnet. She took a few steps inward. She could hear that whispering, still, but couldn’t make out the words.

“Frisk?” Sans got to his feet. “Get away from it.”

She felt like ice. Her stomach knotted and, before she knew it, something seemed to grab her and pull her forward. Her vision went dark for just a few seconds until she was tossed out onto bright grass, sprinkled with blooming, golden flowers shining like lost coins under dappled sunlight.

Grunting, she pushed herself up onto her knees and looked around for Sans, but instead there was trail of the flowers leading up to a small figure standing in a field of them. Her heart sunk. She saw white fur and floppy ears, and a green and yellow striped sweater. She knew him. Frisk forced herself to her feet and stared at him for a long while, her heart thudding hard against her ribs. It sent a shock of nauseating nostalgia through her. 

Frisk’s world had once been split into humans and monsters— humans out in the air of the surface, monsters more of a myth down below the ground, until she herself had plummeted into the mountain. Stories of a war, of a place filled with magic, and of a barrier that could be broken by the souls of seven humans, had turned out to be starkly true. The tales of monsters being monstrous, though, hadn’t been. Alone in a strange place, the scrawny little kid, shivering from shock, had been taken in by almost everyone she’d met. In return, she loved them and was determined to help set them free.

The monster standing before her now was the only one she hadn’t been able to save. Her mind spun; suddenly felt heavy. She winced, rubbed her brow, and then jogged to meet him.

“H-Hey!” she called.

The small, goat-like boy turned to look at her. His eyes were glittering, but his irises seemed black as coal. “Oh. Howdy, Frisk,” he said, shooting her a smile.

“Asriel?” she asked. “You’re still here? Oh my god, are you okay? Can I do anything for you?”

“Wh… What do you mean?” he asked.

“The barrier is broken. Everyone’s free,” she said. “And I know that you… Well, I know all about what happened. Please, if there’s anything I can do—”

“Well gee. There is one thing, I guess. You can erase this world.”

Frisk’s heart sunk. She gulped. He stared back at her very seriously. She could see the seeds on his fur. 

“I… I can’t do that,” she said.

“Only you can. You have the power. You can go back as far as you like. You can even make it all stop. Would you do that for me?”

Frisk grimaced and shook her head. Asriel laughed, but the sound was low. Tired.

“Of course not,” he said. “I mean, it’s only my life.”

“There has to be some other way,” she insisted.

“Don’t you get it?” he asked. “After what I’ve been, I don’t _want_ to! I just want…” His voice choked for a second and he started to grin. 

Frisk felt a shock of fear in her. His body began to shift and melt, and he gurgled as his striped yellow and green shirt twisted with him, forming the vines and petals as his form reduced and became that of a flower. His white face peered out at her still.

“You idiot,” he said. “Asriel is dead. I’m all that’s left. Me. Flowey the flower.”

“You’re still Asriel,” Frisk said. “I just… I just need to find a way to—!”

“To what? Fix me? Fix _him_? You can’t. You’re useless. All you’ve done is prolong the inevitable. I’ll get a human soul.” He began to grow, to Frisk’s horror, rising up on vine-like limbs coated in thorns, his eyes flashing red. “Then, I’ll get another.” He stomped forward. “And another. And another. Until it doesn’t matter how much stupid determination you have. I’ll take yours, too. And I’ll undo this world myself.”

Asriel’s massive limbs tore up the ground as he grew closer. Frisk backed away, her heart just about ready to burst from her chest. 

“All because you couldn’t save weak little Asriel.”

“I’m so sorry!” She stumbled and fell into the shining golden flowers. “I wanted to! I tried!”

“You didn’t try hard enough!” His voice was distorted, deep, echoing— he didn’t sound anything like himself. “I’m still this _thing! _I still feel _nothing!_”

“I’m so sorry,” Frisk said. “What can I do? Just tell me and I’ll come back! I’ll do it!”

He bared his teeth. His face twisted and he rose up, bigger and bigger, eyes turning black and his jaws parting into a great, fangy maw. “I should have taken your soul while I had the chance!” He lunged straight at her and she jerked back, screaming.

Her cry carried on into reality as she sat straight up in bed, panting heavily, sweat beading at her brow. Her heartbeat thudded in her ears and she felt around her in the dark to be sure she was still on her bed. She took a deep breath, then another, trying hard to steady herself. Her bedroom door slammed open, hard, and she yelped again and fumbled over her blankets. 

A tall, lanky skeleton in red plaid pyjamas had burst into her room, eyes wide with worry. “FRISK!” he hollered. “Are you alright?! Never fear, little sister, the great Papyrus is here to help!”

“Oh… H-Hey, Paps,” she said shakily. “It’s… It’s okay. It was just a dream.”

“Just dreams shouldn’t make you scream, Frisk,” he said sternly, his brow furrowing. 

She supposed he’d know better than most. He jumped onto her bed and spread his arms wide.

“Now, I offer to you a much-needed hug!” he said. “As you know, I am by far the best hugger on the whole surface, so if you would like one, please feel free.”

“Y-Yeah, absolutely,” she said.

He scooped her up instantly, cackling to himself as he cozied her close. He was right, it really _was_ what she needed. He was so warm.

She tried to relax, but over his shoulder, in the dark, she saw a shock of blue. It took her a second to realize it was Sans’s left eye as he snuck in close with a worried frown on his face. She stuck her thumb up and gave him a tired smile. He looked relieved and returned the gesture before the glow faded down and he vanished before her eyes.

“Hey, Papyrus,” she said. “Dude. Thank you.”

“Of course!” he said. “It’s the least I can do!”

She smiled. If it meant never having to go back to bed, she would have sat in his hug forever.

“Papyrus? Is that you? Is Frisk alright?”

He whirled quickly, turning them towards the door. The large, goat-like monster woman, Toriel, stood at the threshold. She was in her simple purple nightgown, cautiously brushing sleep from her tired eyes, and even in the dark, her white fur seemed to shine quite brightly.

“Yes, it is I!” he said. “I have Frisk.”

“It’s true, he does,” Frisk said.

Toriel smiled with relief and put a comforting hand on Papyrus’s shoulder. “Thank you so much, sweetie. You’re always so good to Frisk. May I speak with her for just a little?”

“Of course, your majesty,” Papyrus said. He gently placed Frisk back down on the bed, and affectionately ruffled her hair. “Goodnight, little sister. Don’t forget, if you have any more troubles at all, just come to me, alright? After all, I am very much experienced in dealing with such things.”

“I know, bro, thanks,” Frisk said with a smile. “I’ll probably take you up on it later.” She beckoned him downwards and then gave him a quick kiss on his cheekbone. 

His face flushed faintly orange. “Wowie!” he squeaked. He grinned bright and cupped her cheeks in both hands. “Love you so much!”

“Love you so much, too,” she said.

He gently bumped his forehead against hers and then pranced off. 

Toriel smiled fondly for just a moment before her face fell to worry. She moved in to sit beside Frisk and rested a huge hand on the small girl’s head, gently brushing some of her hair from her face. “My child, you’re so clammy,” she said. “Are you having a bad night?”

“J-Just a little,” she said with a shrug.

“Really? _Just a little_ has the great Papyrus rushing to your rescue?” she said with a knowing smile.

“Mom, Papyrus’d run in like that even if I only stubbed my toe,” Frisk said. “That’s just how he is.”

Toriel chuckled. “I suppose you’re right. Such a sweet boy.” Her smile fell. “…This is what, the fourth time this week?”

“F… Fifth…” Frisk muttered.

Her mother sighed and stroked her head. “Oh, sweetheart… I know. It’s hard. But you should try getting back to sleep, don’t you think?”

“I dunno, no…?” she said quietly.

“Frisk,” she chided gently.

“I, um... I'm not tired,” Frisk fibbed.

Toriel frowned. The dark circles under the girl’s eyes told a different story. Her long ears pinned back. Suddenly, a sly grin spread on her lips.

“Oh my, Frisk, are you resisting a rest?” Toriel asked.

“Oh no, mom—”

“Because I happen to be the chief of the cuddle police,” she said, scooping her up and nuzzling her with her snout, “and I may have to read you your rights!” She kissed Frisk on the face and head as the girl squirmed and laughed.

“Mom!” she squeaked through a giggle.

“Or, maybe a bedtime story, if you would prefer.” She booped the tip of her warm, soft snout against the kid’s head.

“Aw, mom, you’re such a dork,” Frisk laughed. She hugged onto her tightly.

Toriel chuckled, cupping the back of her head and stroking her hair gently. “Little one, honestly, is there anything I can do?”

“I don’t know,” Frisk said.

“What about…? Oh! That old music box,” Toriel suggested. “Would that do?”

Frisk supposed it couldn’t hurt. She shrugged and nodded. Toriel smiled and sat her down, gently booping her snout against her forehead once more before she left the room quietly. 

Frisk sighed and readjusted her blankets and flipped her pillow over. Though she didn’t mind getting caught sleeping in class, she felt bad that Toriel was having to sacrifice sleep for her sake on a school night. She lay down and forced herself to close her eyes, trying to focus her mind to other things. At least it was Friday. Weekend was up next. She could rest for two whole days if she wanted to.

After a little while, she heard her mother return, but she didn’t move, hoping to feign sleep. Toriel sighed quietly and Frisk felt her big paws reach around her to pull the blankets up and tuck her in before she gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. After just a few seconds, the music box started up its gentle, familiar tune and Frisk heard Toriel slip out of the room and close the door slowly.

Frisk’s mind was busy but, nonetheless, she drifted off twice. The first dream sent her back underground. She watched through the eyes of a kid who looked a lot like her stealing money from the shop back in Snowdin, and for some reason, it made her feel sick. The second round showed her a monstrous flower creature kicking through human buildings. She awoke in a cold sweat, but at least she could be sure that that last one had never happened.

It was still dark when she gave up on trying to sleep despite barely being able to keep her eyes open. Slipping out of bed, she moved to the window and peeked outside. There was snow almost up to the sill, glistening under the light of street lamps lit through magic fire that she was fairly certain was Toriel’s.

\- - -

It had been almost a full year since Frisk had helped free the monsters from the underground and they had begun to make their new life on the surface. For the first time in a long while, Frisk was happy, and her friends and new family seemed to be as well.

With magic speeding things along, the monsters— all of the barely ten thousand of them— established a new, sovereign town in a valley at the base of Mount Ebott, only a few dozen miles away from the nearest human city. The monster King, Asgore, a huge, fluffy, goat-like man with the bearing of a cream puff, was quickly elected under the title of King Mayor. He named the town Starhome for the breathtaking views of the night sky, but not before Newest Home and Mt. Mountain were shot down.

Frisk’s mother, Toriel, set up a school, and the quaint, friendly atmosphere, as well as the growing fame of the local flamboyant, metallic entertainer, Mettaton, soon drew humans to move in. Integration was a little awkward at first, but with Frisk moderating, Asgore’s absolutely huggable demeanour, and the monsters’s natural inclination towards friendliness, sailings were soon all but smooth. For the first time in centuries, humans and monsters were living together again and neither were terrified of the other.

Frisk’s new home was just a few blocks away from the school. Essentially two houses combined, she lived with her skeleton brothers, Sans and Papyrus, and her mother, Toriel, the place split down the middle so that each could keep their own aesthetic and, perhaps most importantly, their own kitchens. She had never been happier and it really seemed to her like the same could be said of her new family. She and her new brothers, especially, had become inseparable.

Two houses across the street held more of her close friends. The scaly, blue, fish-like warrior monster named Undyne, and a spiky little yellow lizard and scientist, Alphys, lived in one that looked quite a bit like a fish monster (with a metallic TV host often bunking in their spare room), while Asgore and his flowerpots had taken the other, more cottage-like building, though it was just a little ways down the block, as if to give them a polite berth. 

\- - -

Frisk could barely see that the lights were on across the street through the falling snow. She did, however, see a tall blur rushing, knees high, down the street and was sure right away that it was Papyrus. She thought about opening the window to ask what he was doing, but it was frozen shut. After a second, a blue glow followed him as another tall somebody— clearly Undyne, after a second— ran after him with a spear of magic over her shoulder. Rubbing her eyes, she moved across the room closed the music box on her bedside table and checked the clock. She couldn’t believe it was barely past 4:00 am. She felt like she had been in that room for weeks. Her head was throbbing with a cold headache.

She put on a cushy sweatshirt over her pyjamas and headed out into the skeleton’s section of the house, eyes mostly lidded, looking for something to drink. 

“Hey, kid, good morning.”

She looked around and blinked groggily. Sans was peeking over the kitchen island’s counter at her as he dumped marshmallow cereal into a bowl. His face fell when he saw her expression. 

“Kiddo?” His brow furrowed a little. “You okay?”

She shook her head. He sighed and slipped down from his chair, tapping his toes back into his fuzzy pink slippers. He put a hand on her shoulder.

“Headache?”

She nodded. His fingers crackled with blue magic and he rested them against her temple for a moment. The pain faded within seconds.

“Good?” he asked.

“Mhm,” she mumbled.

“Wanna talk?”

She shrugged, but she leaned into him and clung to his t-shirt tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and she let out a quiet huff. 

“I had the one with Asriel, or… Flowey, whatever, a big monster wrecking a city again,” she said. “Sans…?”

“Hm?” he said.

“You had it, too?” she asked.

“What makes you say that?”

She smiled. “You’re awake before me.”

“Nah, I was just hungry,” he said. “Dreamt of marshmallows. Ate my pillow. The whole bit.”

She stared at him and he winked. He ruffled her hair as he moved back to the kitchen, then held up the box of cereal. 

“Interested?”

“Umm… yeah. Okay.” Kneading her eye with her knuckle, she wandered over to the counter and clambered onto the chair beside his. “But I want double marshmallows!”

“Only double? Nice,” he said. He pointed at his bowl. 

She leaned over to look. She had to squint to pick out even a single star-shaped cereal puff. “Pfff!” She laughed. “That can’t be good for you.”

“Kid, I’m already a skeleton,” Sans said with a wink. 

Sans pulled, seemingly from nowhere, a bag of extra marshmallows and dumped them liberally into a second bowl before adding the normal cereal and milk. He pushed it towards her.

“Thanks!” Frisk said. She found a spoon on the counter and dug in. 

Sans drank milk from the carton.

“Hey,” she said, “um… do they bother you?”

“Hm?”

“The dreams. I mean, you saw it too, right?”

“It’s pretty normal for me by now,” he admitted. “I mean… It was nice not havin’ them for a few months, but—”

“But does that mean something’s wrong?” Frisk asked. “I used to only have them in the underground, too.”

Sans shrugged. 

She frowned. “You don’t care.”

“Look, everything’s good, right?” he said. “You did a good job. Everyone’s happy, now.”

“Except Asriel,” she said quietly.

Sans’s face fell. He sighed and then put a hand on her shoulder. “Frisk, I get it. But you tried. You tried way harder than anyone could ask you to.”

She nodded, but she pouted. Her brother tilted his head slightly. 

“Is he what you saw? On the mountain?” he asked.

She nodded again. He rubbed his face with his palm.

“Sheesh, kiddo, no wonder you can’t sleep.”

She shrugged and stuck her spoon in her mouth. Sans sighed and frowned, suddenly seeming lost in thought. His left eye lit up faintly, a cool blue, but in the dark it looked much brighter. Frisk stared at it for a little bit and then went back to eating. She suddenly wished she had asked for more marshmallows. Without even saying a word, Sans passed her the bag and she dumped them into her bowl. 

\- - - 

There had been a couple months of relief from the strange dreams once the barrier had been broken and everyone had moved to the surface. Sans had once explained them to her as peeks into other timelines— stuff that happened somewhere, or that happened in the past, things undone long before Frisk ever got there— but he had always been speaking about his own experiences. It just came from the time travel, he had said. Whatever power he had that let him jump from place to place effortlessly and keep the memories of when others were time travelling around him was the same one that trapped his mind in loops while he slept. Also didn’t help that there was also the rare occasion where it’d trigger him to sleepwalk and he’d end up back under the mountain. He didn’t like talking about that very often, though.

Something in the underground home of the monsters, triggered by the determination branded into Frisk’s soul, had allowed her to manipulate time with varying results, and the dreams began to come to her, too. Sometimes they were benign, but other times they were violent and quite visceral. She often saw through the eyes of beasts that looked a lot like she did. Sometimes they died. Sometimes they killed. If she were lucky, she would wake up in a panic but lose track of the memories quickly. However, the more they happened, the more clear they became, and the more she dreaded ever having dreams at all. She had reached a point where she could recite them as if they were her own memories.

Above ground, the dreams had stopped for the first few months, and she was so sure they were gone forever. Sans, too, seemed to finally be sleeping soundly. However, just as fall started creeping in, she was jarred awake by the familiar, awful feeling of seeing through the eyes of someone else. Someone who looked just like her was striking out at Papyrus in the deep snow outside the town of Snowdin, where they used to live. She felt her hand as theirs— attacking as one no matter how hard she tried to stop it. That person succeeded. She felt her big brother turn to dust in her fingers.

Frisk was shaken, tearful, heart beating hard, and had gotten up, hoping to find someone awake to talk to. When she heard Sans’s voice through Papyrus’s door, she felt a ping of relief and hurried to check in on them, but the nature of their conversation seemed serious. She hesitated outside the door.

“I don’t get it,” Sans was saying. “They stopped. Totally.”

“Maybe you’ve eaten too many strange things today,” Papyrus suggested. “Humans sometimes say that can cause bad dreams. What you need is more home-cooked spaghetti!”

“That’s a nice thought, bro, but there’s no way,” he said. “I’d recognize them anywhere.”

“Oh no, I thought that was settled,” Papyrus said worriedly. “It really is from that time travel stuff, isn’t it?”

Frisk peeked in cautiously. Sans was holding his head as if he had a headache, and the blue magic that shone in his left eye was glowing brightly. She watched worriedly and Papyrus donned an expression very similar to her own. Sans nodded.

“Wh… What was it about?” Papyrus asked.

Sans grimaced. Papyrus sighed.

“Can you just tell me this time? I just want to help you,” Papyrus said. “I know, I know, you don’t want me to worry and all that stuff, but you’re my brother and, as you know, I am very great and am therefore very great at comforting you!” Papyrus lowered himself and cupped his brother’s face, magic in his hands glowing gently. He said something quietly that Frisk couldn’t hear, and Sans wilted.

“It… It was this thing. One of those other time kids,” he admitted. “They uh, kept attackin’ you. Over and over. Scared the hell outta me.”

Frisk’s heart sunk and she had to cover her mouth to keep from gasping.

“You know we have Frisk now. And she’d never, ever do a thing like that,” Papyrus assured him. “Like you always said. She’s the last one. She loves us. There’s nothing to be scared of.”

“No. Bro, I know.” He took a deep breath. “It was just… I’ll be fine. We’re fine. We’re safe now. No more going back.”

“Sans…” Papyrus huffed out a sigh and hugged his brother tightly. “I know that you know that I don’t always understand, but I still want to help!” 

“You’re totally helping,” Sans laughed. The blue light dimmed. “Paps, you always help.”

Frisk took a deep breath. She wiped her eyes, though she didn’t think it would help. She knocked cautiously on the door. Her brothers went quiet and she carefully pushed her way in.

“Frisk!” Papyrus said. “H-Hello! Gosh, it’s late, isn’t it?”

She nodded, but she turned her attention to Sans as he released him. “Sans? D-Do…? Do you have dreams like that a lot?”

Both skeletons froze, then looked at each other worriedly.

“H… How much did you hear?” Sans asked.

“I, um, had that dream, too,” she said. “The one you mentioned. Just now. But I wasn’t, um… I wasn’t me. And I saw something bad.”

Papyrus gawked. “Time travel?” he asked shrilly.

Sans’s eyes went wide and he looked aghast. She’d never seen him look like that before. 

“Kid, h-how long have you—?”

“Since the underground,” Frisk admitted. “I… I thought they stopped once we got out. I’m sorry, I should’ve told you. I just… I didn’t clue in.”

Sans stared back at her, quiet for far longer than she was comfortable with. His eyes went dark. Papyrus looked at him curiously.

“Sans?” he asked.

“Heh.” Sans began to grin. “Oh man, kiddo. No. I’m sorry.” They were both taken aback as his eyes started to water. He took her by the shoulders. “I thought it was just me.”

Frisk shook her head and she hugged him tightly. He froze, grimacing for moment before he squished her close and closed his eyes. He bent his head and gently touched his brow into her hair and his magic resonated through her: affectionate, warm, overwhelmingly relieved, but also deeply apologetic. 

Papyrus squealed and hugged them both. “See, Sans? It’s not so bad!” he said. “You and Frisk have each other, and you both have me, even if I don’t always know what you’re talking about! No need to worry.”

He looked up and his shoulders sagged with relief. “Yeah, bro, I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right!”

Sans began to smile and he took a moment to brush the tears away, and the brightness came back to the black of his eye sockets.

“Kiddo,” he said, “maybe it’s kinda messed up but, believe it or not, you just made my night.”

“Oh really?” She smiled sideways. “I was worried this might be going to a _dark_ place.”

Sans’s face lit up and he started to grin. Frisk’s smile grew.

“B-But it’s good to see you so _starry eyed,” _she said.

Papyrus threw his hands in the air and cawed loudly. Frisk snickered and Sans ruffled her hair affectionately.

“We’re gonna be okay,” he said. “Kiddo, maybe I don’t say it enough, but I’m glad you finally found us, y’know? Thanks for fallin’ down that stupid hole.”

\- - -

Frisk lazily made her way through the marshmallow mush that was very slowly overtaking any cereal puffs in her bowl. “Sans?” she asked. “Hey, Sans?”

“Yeah?”

“Feeling a bit _blue, _bro?”

“Oh.” He laughed tiredly and the glow of his magic dimmed down to nothing. “Sorry about my _iris_. I _azure_ you, I’m completely fine.”

Frisk giggled and he grinned wide.

“You wanna pass me that?” He pointed across the counter to a bottle of ketchup he had left out. 

Frisk did. He turned it upside down onto his bowl of marshmallows. 

“Eww, gross!” she said.

He shrugged and squeezed it until it made a flatulent sound, accidentally splattering the counter with ketchup as Frisk tried to hide her food with her body.

“Sans!” she yelped.

He simply continued smiling and ate it, even as Frisk made a face. “Hope you’re not seein’ _red_.”

“Oh my god,” she said.

“Hm. _Green_ with envy, maybe?” 

“Green because you’re gonna make me sick!”

He grinned wide and ruffled her hair. She giggled 

She tried hard to think of another pun but she was interrupted as the front door opened loudly, accompanied with a gust of frigid air. Toriel stepped inside, knocking snow off her feet, and closed the door quickly. She let out a loud sigh of relief.

“Hey, Tori,” Sans said as she hurried inside. “Come to _chill _with us?”

Toriel laughed. “Well, I certainly won’t give you the _cold shoulder_. Oof, my goodness, it’s freezing out there!” She slipped out of her huge boots and started to take off her scarf and coat. “Frisk, sweetie, it’s a little early, isn’t it?”

“I got hungry,” she said.

Toriel smiled. “Well, I think you’ll be happy to know classes are cancelled today.”

“Awesome!” Frisk cheered. “Snow day!”

“Yes, well,” Toriel said with a smile, “I suppose it’s not so bad to have a long weekend now and again.”

Sans held out his hand and Frisk gave him a high five.

“Welp. Back to bed,” Sans said.

“Sans, your brother is out trying to shovel driveways,” Toriel pointed out. “Aren’t you going to help him out?”

“Nope. You?”

Toriel’s cheeks flushed. “Ah… No. My magic just tends to cause flooding with all this snow, so…” She paused when she noticed Sans grinning at her. “Don’t give me that look, young man!”

Sans laughed. He gave Frisk an affectionate tingle of magic when he ruffled her hair, slipped from his seat, and jerked his thumb towards his room. “There if you need me, Frisk. I’ll probably be asleep, but whatever.”

“Hug first?” she asked hopefully. 

He chuckled and grabbed her soul gently, floating her over and letting her plop into his arms. She flopped and clung to him. Just what she needed.

“Get it together, sis,” he joked.

She snickered. “I’ll try. You sleep well too, okay?”

“You know it,” he said. He plunked her up onto her seat again, and she passed him down his bowl of cereal. He stuck his thumb up as he headed off and she did the same as a reply.

Toriel smiled fondly. Frisk put the last spoonful of cereal in her mouth and then slipped down from the chair with the bowl and headed for the sink. Toriel came closer and took it from her to wash it. 

“We should really get you a step-stool,” she said.

“I can almost reach! It’s not as bad as our old place,” Frisk said. “I had to sit on Papyrus’s shoulders.”

“Really? Why?” she wondered.

“He wanted to fit more bones under the sink.”

“Oh, for goodness’s…” Toriel couldn’t help but laugh. “Those boys, I swear. I forgot all about that. And I suppose that is why Sans never does the dishes.”

Frisk nodded. 

Toriel snickered quietly and patted Frisk’s head gently. “My child, you look like you didn’t get much sleep.”

Frisk shrugged. Toriel gave her a sympathetic smile and squatted down to look at her, stroking her head.

“You know you can always come to me,” she said. “I know I may not understand as well as the boys do, but I will always try my best to help.”

“I know. Thanks, mom,” she said.

Toriel smiled and then looked thoughtful for a moment. “Frisk,” she said, “how would you like to do a little experiment with me?”

“An experiment…?” Frisk’s mind wandered to science class and she wasn’t so sure. “What kind of experiment?”

“Well, I was just thinking, since you’re awake,” Toriel said, “you might be interested in learning to bake a butterscotch and cinnamon pie.”

Frisk’s eyes were instantly alight. “Yes please!”


	2. Everything Is Normal

“Okay, sweetie, now add the vanilla.”

“This? Okay!”

“Good, then whisk!”

Frisk, standing on top of a writing chair, grasped a whisk tightly and rolled up her sleeves, then stirred the pudding-like butterscotch filling for the pie vigorously, clanging against the sides of the the saucepan. Toriel laughed and put her paw on top of the girl’s hands.

“Gentle,” she said.

“Oh? Really?” Frisk asked.

Toriel smiled and nodded. Frisk tried again, careful this time.

“See how it thickens now? This is why we mustn’t forget the cornstarch,” her mother said. “Unless you would like butterscotch soup!”

“Hah! Got it,” Frisk said.

The custard was getting thick. Its warm, sweet scent, tinted with cinnamon, was already making Frisk hungry. Toriel nodded approvingly.

“Much better! Now, I’ll do this bit,” she said. She took the pot and carefully poured its contents into the magic-baked pie crust she had prepared.

Frisk watched, eyes alight.

“It looks good, doesn’t it?” Toriel said.

“Yeah!” Frisk said.

Toriel used a spatula to smooth the top and then took another bowl from the counter. Frisk watched with fascination as the woman spread fluffy, white meringue over the top. Then, very gently, she blew a pink flame over it until it was a toasty golden colour.

“Mom, that’s awesome!” she exclaimed. “Wow… No wonder your stuff tastes so good! It’s magic!”

Toriel’s cheeks flushed and she ruffled Frisk’s hair gently. She carried the pie to the fridge and carefully tucked it inside. “There. Now to let it sit, and we can eat it in a few hours! We must wait at least two, or it’ll be much too runny.”

“Right, right. A lot of baking stuff takes waiting, huh?” she said. “I can do bread. That can take a lot of waiting.”

“Bread, you say? Hm! Yes, it does. We could make that next time, what do you think?” Toriel asked.

“Yeah! I can doooo, um…” Frisk counted one and two on her fingers. “A normal one and a soda one. Fresh bread is just super good, right?”

“That’s absolutely true.” She smiled to herself. Her gaze seemed a little distant. “You know, it has been a very long time since I’ve made a pie with someone. This was nice.”

“Yeah!” Frisk said brightly. “Hey, we should cook more together! I’ve been learning from Undyne and Papyrus and I think I’m getting pretty good!”

Toriel smiled through a cringe. “Of course, my child, but we’ll probably be going at a slower pace than they do.”

Frisk giggled. “I know. We go really over the top and Undyne breaks a lot of stuff,” she said. “Don’t worry, I know it’s weird, but it’s really fun. As long as nothing’s on fire.”

“Oh thank goodness,” Toriel sighed. 

Frisk laughed harder and gave her a hug. Toriel rested a hand on her head gently. 

“I take it you are feeling a bit better now?” she asked.

“Uh-huh!”

“Frisk.” She knelt down and took her gently by the shoulders. “It’s still early. Why don’t you try to get a little rest, and then when you wake up, we will have some pie.”

“Oh. Okay. _Sweet_ idea, mom,” Frisk said, sticking her thumbs up.

Toriel’s eyes lit up. “Well, we cannot leave it to just be _eye_ _candy_, can we?” 

Frisk grinned. She bounced up on her toes and kissed Toriel on the cheek, then headed for the door back to the other end of the house.

“Sleep well,” Toriel said. “Or should I say, _sweet _dreams_, honey!”_

\- - -

Frisk made a valiant attempt to get back to bed, but she couldn’t manage it even though her eyelids were heavy and her body was starting to feel shaky. It was like her bed hated her. It was impossible to get comfortable. She went back into the dark kitchen, dragging her blanket with her and sat at the counter to contemplate bothering Sans. Sighing, she wandered to his door and knocked, but nobody came. She pouted, but decided against waking him up. She knew he wouldn’t mind, but she also knew if she had had bad dreams, he probably had, too. He needed the sleep even more than she did. She moved on and peeked into Papyrus’s room. He wasn’t even in there.

Frisk then recalled seeing him out in the snow. It had been quite a while ago, though. She returned to the kitchen and sat, slumping lazily. The silence was hurting her ears. She grabbed a chair and pushed it around to reach the kettle on the counter near the sink. She made herself a mug of hot chocolate, and after finishing it, readied a second for Papyrus and turned the kettle back on. With not much else to do, she sat down again and waited. 

She had just barely nodded off when she was startled almost off her seat by a door slamming. She leaned around the junk on the counter. Papyrus walked in, brushing snow off his shoulders and readjusting his scarf. He was wearing a dark red winter jacket with a fuzzy hood, a lot like what Sans usually wore, and Frisk really couldn’t blame him. Skeletons seemed to be mostly immune to weather, but, get too cold and their bones would still start to rattle. Papyrus kicked off his boots, beelined for the living room, and flopped down onto the sofa, letting out a deep, relieved sigh.

“Hey, bro,” she said.

Hurriedly, he jumped upright again and whirled around to face her. “Frisk! Hello! How are you doing?”

She stuck her thumb up and he did the same.

“Fantastic!” he said brightly.

“Staying in now?” she asked.

“Yes. Undyne sent me home for some reason,” he said. “Oh well! Whatever she wants is just fine with me.”

“You can sit down, you know,” she said.

“Ah. Yes, well… Yes. I will do that. Now.” He plopped down again and slumped slightly.

Frisk tried not to laugh. She slipped from her seat and walked over to him, carrying her blanket like a cloak around her shoulders. “Aren’t you going to take your coat off?” she asked.

“You are full of good ideas today, Frisk!” he said. “I almost forgot!”

He jumped up and whisked the jacket off, placing it very neatly on one of the hooks near the door, then put his gloves away, too. He paused for a second, as if he were forgetting something. It didn’t seem to come to him and he returned to sit down again, rubbing the thumb of his left hand absently over a scar’s groove on the back of his right. He sighed deeply. Frisk tilted her head.

“You look tired, bro,” she said.

“N-Nonsense! The great Papyrus never tires!” he announced.

Frisk smiled nonetheless and tossed her blanket over his head.

“Nyeh! Frisk! What is the meaning of this?” he cawed.

By the time he had straightened himself out, Frisk stood before him again, holding out a steaming mug of hot chocolate. His face flushed a little. “O-Oh.” He accepted it carefully. “Thanks. I suppose it’s not too bad to take a little break.”

“Even mom is relaxing today,” she said as she snuck onto the sofa beside him.

Papyrus sipped his drink. His eyes lit up. “Really? Even m— her majesty, is…?” he said quietly. “Hmm. Alright. Hang on.”

He got up and traipsed to his room, almost spilling his cocoa on the way. Frisk caught it and put it carefully on the coffee table. She blew on her fingers. 

When Papyrus returned, he was wearing his lazy slacks, red hoodie, and “Cool Dude” t-shirt, and had brought a second blanket with him. Frisk passed him his drink again as he sat down beside her. He seemed rather set on keeping his posture straight for almost a minute before he finally caved and curled up; sat cross-legged in the blankets, sipping his cocoa. Frisk could barely keep her eyes open.

“Winters up here are much more than I expected,” he said. “N-Not that I’ll let that beat me! I just need to train myself to be ready!”

“Yup,” Frisk said. She yawned and slumped sleepily. 

“It’s fine! I’ll just march with my knees very high!” he said.

Firsk’s lids were getting quite heavy. She leaned sideways into him. “Yup,” she repeated. 

“Little sister, you are falling asleep!” 

“Yup.”

He was quiet for a little bit, then shifted in place, rubbing his eye sockets and stretching out mostly lengthwise on the sofa, leaving a leg dangling off to let her have enough room and resting an arm behind his head. “You wouldn’t mind if I also fall asleep, would you?”

“Nope,” she said.

She yawned and scootched closer, and flopped on top of his chest. She hugged him around the neck, closing her eyes and settling in quite comfortably. His face flushed with pale orange and he smiled fondly and put an arm around her.

“Sleep well, Frisk,” he said.

“Mmhm, sleep well, bro,” she mumbled.

\- - -

Hours passed and the snow outside began to climb up just beyond the window sill. Even as day broke, the brightness in the sky came only from the layered blanket of thick, white clouds.Papyrus slept peacefully for a long while, _nyeh_ing gently in his snores. 

He woke up refreshed in the quiet house with another blanket over them that he couldn’t remember putting there. Frisk was still on top of him, and though she was asleep, she was shaking like a leaf. Papyrus’s brows bent in a sympathetic frown and he gently tried to wake her.

“Frisk? Friiisskkk?” 

She simply clung tighter, but she didn’t budge otherwise. She felt solid as stone. His frown deepened. He knew that she got like this when she had the dreams— the strange ones, from other places. He knew Sans had had them for a long time as well; had said that Frisk’s were once real, in some time and place, and that sometimes they were scary. Like their brother’s. He didn’t understand entirely, but he knew he wanted to help.

“Hey.”

Papyrus titled his head upwards to see Sans leaning over the couch, in a cozy black hoodie patterned with faded, stylized skeleton bones. His eye sockets looked a little ashy, but he had an amused grin on his face.

“Sans,” he said with relief. “Frisk is doing the dreaming thing!”

“I know, bro,” he said. “I just knocked myself out of the same thing.”

“I don’t understand,” Papyrus said. “She has napped like this for the last several days and every time, she does this. Is it the naps? Am I doing something wrong?”

“Nah.” Sans winked. “You’re a natural at naps, I’m sure you could do it with your eyes closed.”

“Thank you! I…” He quickly began to scowl. “Sans, let me tell you, I would be very loud with you right now if I did not have a Frisk sleeping on me!”

Sans shrugged, grinning. “I thought you wanted to wake her up, Paps, I was just tryin’ to help.”

“You know what I mean!”

Sans chuckled and he pointed at Frisk. “Try some magic.”

“I’m not sure what that would do, she’s already lying down.”

“Bro, you are out of it,” he said with a laugh. “Not that, dude, the normal stuff.”

“Oh. Oh!” Papyrus’s face lit up. “Brother, now and then you do have some good ideas.”

“Yeah, I know, right? Guess I’m not a total _bonehead_.”

“Sans, why.”

He shrugged again and winked. Papyrus was about to retort, but he quickly recalled Frisk’s plight as he felt her little fingers grip a bit tighter into his clavicle.

Carefully, he moved his hand onto her head and let magic well up orange-gold in the tips of his fingers, then rested them against her skin. Her panicked breathing began to slow, just a little.

“Nice,” Sans commented. “Even that much should help.”

“Good.” Papyrus smiled and the energy lit up his eyes faintly with an amber glow. “Don’t worry, I can keep it up for a while.”

It took some time, but Frisk began to settle. Just as Papyrus began to relax again, the front door smashed inwards.

“NYEH!” he yelped.

“HEY DORKS, GUESS WHO’S HERE!?” Undyne hollered. She strode in confidently. Her red hair was pulled fashionably over her missing eye and otherwise tied back, and she was wearing a light, black jacket that seemed not nearly heavy enough for the weather.

“Hello, Undyne!” Papyrus said, waving over the back of the sofa. “And I presume Alphys as well!”

“H-Hi!” she said. Unlike Undyne, she was bundled up in a pillowy white snow coat and pink earmuffs. “Oh, and hi, Sans. H-Hope we’re not intruding.”

“Nah.” Sans was in the kitchen doing something near the sink. “Lazy day.”

“Hah, when’s it not that for you?” Undyne chuckled. “But okay, listen guys, have you seen this frickin’ snow? It’s nuts, and guess what?!”

“What? What!?” Papyrus demanded.

“It’s packing snow! Guess what that means?”

“Uh… you’re going to… uh… I give up,” Sans said with a shrug; he passed out mugs of hot chocolate. “You’re going to help it move?”

“No, you dweeb! Snow fort time!” Undyne cheered, spilling some of her drink instantly in her jubilance. “You guys in?”

“Oh, yes, I, the great Papyrus, will absolutely do this!” he said. “Soon. Not yet. In a bit.”

“Uh, P-Papyrus, what’re you doing over there, exactly?” Alphys asked.

“Oh! I am simply resting with Frisk,” he said. “Unfortunately she has strange time dreams occasionally and doesn’t sleep well, so I have taken it upon myself to make her time in dreamland as pleasant as possible!”

Undyne squinted with confusion and looked at Alphys, who edged closer to the sofa and peeked over. Her cheeks flushed instantly.

“Oh my god. That is _so_ cute!” she said. “This is just how my OTP in _Kokkaku no Kissu Kissu STAR_ started oouuuttt and… uh…” She went quiet and hid under her hands as she realized everyone was staring at her.

“I have no idea what any of that means!” Papyrus said.

“You don’t wanna,” Undyne said with a grin. 

“You, uh… You realize Frisk is like, eleven,” Sans said. “And Paps is her br—”

“Aah, no, stop, I just m-meant it’s cute! They’re cute! I mean, it’s cute that he…! I’m… just g-gonna stop. They are not my OTP!” She seemed to melt into the floor.

Undyne had to try not to laugh too loudly as she knelt down and patted her on the back. Papyrus frowned in puzzlement. Sans sipped his cocoa. 

Across the room, the middle door opened and Toriel walked in to join them, smiling. “I thought I heard you all in here. Good morning!”

“Y-Your highness!” Alphys slumped even farther. “I’m dead. I’m just d-dead. Put me in the trash.”

“Hey, Toriel,” Undyne said brightly.

Sans held out a mug of cocoa to her and she accepted with a smile, but she paused, eyes widening as she saw over the back of the sofa.

“Oh! Papyrus, are you alright? Is that Frisk with you?” She looked embarrassed. “Oh… I’m sorry. She’s finally asleep, isn’t she?”

“Of course, your majesty!” he said. “I, the great Papyrus, am fantastic at helping my friends and-slash-or siblings with their problems.”

“That’s very sweet, my child, but that glow, are you—?”

“It’s just a sorta skeleton magic, Tori,” Sans said. “It’s normal. For us, anyway.”

Toriel looked a little embarrassed. “I apologize, even after all this, I still don’t know very much about skeletons. Does that help the nightmares?”

“It should! It’s sort of a variation, actually! Though… It’s much quicker on Sans,” Papyrus said apologetically. “Soon, though! She should be feeling a lot better. ”

“That’s good. Poor kid,” Undyne said sympathetically. 

“But, may I ask?” Toriel said gently. “It’s… an emotion-based magic? I’m sorry to push, it’s just—”

“Oh. No big deal,” Sans said. “Since we’re not really, uh, fluffy like a lot of monsters, and we don’t have typical faces with skin, we just kinda use magic to help sorta comfort each other or whatever.”

“Wait. Wait, w-wait, wait.” Alphys was up on her feet and in his face in an instant. “Do it to me.”

“What?” Sans asked blankly.

“For science!” Alphys announced. “I-Is that really what it's supposed t-to be? I thought… I thought it was just a coincidence that it f-felt so… Wow, I d-didn’t realize! C-Could I feel it? W-Would that be okay? I c-can’t believe I never noticed…”

“You should come over more, then, Papyrus goes nuts with that stuff sometimes,” Sans said.

“C-Come on, please?” she asked, scooting in close, her eyes wide and hopeful. 

Sans looked resigned. He beckoned her closer and put his hand on her face, his magic glowing blue across his fingers.

“Is it working? …Oh!” She pulled back and started to smile bashfully. “O-Oh, a-actually, that is kind of nice,” she said, and then started to grin in a wide, unnerving way. “I got skeleton kisses!”

“Uh…” Sans raised his brow skeptically. “That’s not quite—”

“Ooh, that’s so cute!” Papyrus squeaked. “We should call it that. Can we call it that?”

“Bro—”

“Me next! Do me next!” Undyne shouted. “I wanna try the weird magic!”

“Really? You too?” Sans asked. “Sounds kinda _fishy_, Undyne.”

“Haaa, Sans, I’m gonna throw you out the window,” she said with a grin.

“Oh, no, please,” Toriel said quickly. “I just had the new ones put in. It was quite a _pane_.”

Sans grinned wide and pointed both index fingers at her approvingly. She beamed. Undyne rolled her eye and squatted before Sans, pointing to herself.

“Come on, dude, lay it on me!”

He shrugged and held his hand out, and she grabbed it tightly as he repeated the process. She watched with interest and then grinned wide.

“Ooh! Okay, right, that’s totally nice!” she said. “Feels super friendly. Ha! My magic doesn’t do anything like that. Mostly just stabbing.”

“Well, I mean, if that’s the _point_ of it…” Sans grinned.

Undyne smacked her face with her palm as Alphys tried to stifle a laugh. “Whatever, dork. Hey, Paps, is Frisk awake yet?”

He was about to answer when Frisk laughed quietly.

“You guys, I’ve been awake for like five minutes,” she said.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Toriel said.

“Frisk! How are you feeling?” Papyrus demanded. He began to sit up cautiously and readjusted her to hold her in his lap.

“Better,” she said, and she turned to Papyrus with a big smile. “Thank you.”

“Great! All you guys, we gotta go outside!” Undyne said, beaming. “We’re gonna build a freakin’ fortress out of this snow! It’s gonna be awesome!”

“I-I might just build something small,” Alphys admitted.

“NO! BIG!” Undyne roared. “We’ll do it together!! AND THEN WE’LL KNOCK IT DOWN!”

“W-Well, okay…”

Frisk smiled. “I’d like to do that.”

“Well! Then, of course, I will come along, too! We’ll build the biggest snow fortress the surface has ever seen!”

The kid put her fists in the air. “Yes!”

As room erupted into chaos quickly with everyone scrambling for their winter gear, Sans watched with tired eyes and took a sip of his cocoa. Toriel shot him a curious look.

“Are you not going with them?” she asked.

He shrugged. “I’m sure Paps’ll convince me.”

She smiled, but she looked a little embarrassed. “Um… Sans, I was wondering, about that magic…” 

“Oh. Heh.” He held out his hand. “No big deal. You asked.”

She cautiously put her hand on his and, after just a few seconds, she pulled back, her cheeks flushed. “That’s lovely, sweetie. So… That’s what Papyrus is doing when he gives hugs, isn’t it?”

He shrugged and nodded. “That’s why he’s the best at ‘em.” He shot her a tired smile. “Unfortunately I, uh, got a little less to spare.”

“Don’t worry about that for even a second, hun,” she assured him. “You’re still gaining ground. I’m sure, one day, everything will be back to normal.”

“Hm. Who knows?”

Toriel smiled to herself and watched the others run about until, finally, they all rolled out the door in their winter coats, Papyrus charging out first and Undyne dragging Alphys with one hand and carrying Frisk under the other arm. They slammed the door and the silence was almost startling.

“You look pretty happy,” Sans said.

“I am.” Toriel sipped on her hot chocolate daintily and let out a contented sigh. “It’s been so long since… well…

“I get it,” he said. “Yeah. It’s good.”

“I’m glad you’re happy, too,” she said. “When we all first moved in together, you seemed so… I’m not sure if this is correct, but maybe, uncomfortable?”

“Heh. Well,” he said, “kinda lived on a knife’s edge for a long time. Couldn’t help being a bit jumpy when things finally started to go right.”

Toriel smiled. “But they did go right, didn’t they?”

Sans shrugged and nodded. He grinned. “Three. Two. One.”

Papyrus slammed the front door open, accompanied by a flurry of snowflakes. “Come on, Sans, what are you still doing in here?! Undyne and I are sure we can build something taller than the house. It’s going to be great! You need to come out here!”

“Alright, bro, on my way,” he said.

He finished his cocoa as Papyrus rushed back out; clunked the mug down on the counter behind him. He headed for the front closet. “You comin’?” he asked.

“You know, I think I will,” she said. 

“Don’t get _cold feet_,” he said with a wink.

Toriel snickered and moved to join him. She watched him quietly as he put on his blue jacket. When he turned back, she knelt and gave him a tight hug.

“Tori, uh… What’d I do?”

“My child, don’t pretend you don’t need it,” she said gently. “I have been around long enough to know something is troubling you. Call it a mother’s intuition.”

Sans gave up any semblance of protest, slumped, and clung to her tiredly. “Heh. Don’t worry about it. Thanks, though.”

She smiled and pulled back to hold him by the shoulders. “I know you’re grown,” she said bashfully, “but I hope that you don’t mind that I—”

“Nah. Paps and I, we didn’t really… you know. It was just us.”

Toriel nodded, then looked curious. “So, what are the chances Papyrus is going to drop the _your majesty_ nonsense and just call me _mom_? Any at all?”

“He slips up when you’re not around.” Sans winked. “He’ll do it eventually.”

Toriel beamed.

\- - -

The snow outside was glistening under the colourful, festive lights hanging from the houses up and down the street. The air was crisp and cold, but the winter silence was broken by Undyne’s excited yelling as she dove, spear-first, down through a massive mountain of snow she had stacked up past the rooftop. Alphys flailed through the oncoming avalanche and Undyne grabbed her up out of the snow and smooched her affectionately on the head. Her scales turned red and she flopped backwards into a snowbank.

A few meters away, Papyrus was lifting Frisk up onto the battlements of a castle— including small towers, a gate, and tiny catapults made of sticks— that they had meticulously put together. She had a branch in her hands, and she took off her blue-and-pink striped scarf to tie to it like a flag, then plunged it into the snow blocks proudly. 

“I claim this place in the name of the great Papyrus and all skeletons!” she said loudly. “And I’ll call it! …Castle Bonechiller!”

“That sounds a bit sinister, doesn’t it?” Papyrus asked with a laugh.

Frisk lay down of the battlements and peeked down at him with a grin on her face. “I dunno, I thought it was pretty _cool.”_

“Frisk no, Frisk why.”

She snickered and leaned down to smooch his head and he started to laugh and whisked her down. 

“I probably would have called it the Awesome Snow Great Papyrus and Friends Megafort, but I guess Castle Bonechiller is pretty nice, too!” he said. “Though why not for all skeletons and humans?”

“Aw, c’mon, I’m a skeleton on the inside,” she said with a grin. “Well, and I guess on the outside, too?” She pointed out her winter coat— black, but with white bones in a cartoonish skeleton pattern across the whole thing. 

Papyrus grinned and he snickered, touching his forehead affectionately to hers. “Sans, did you hear that?! Frisk is being adorable again.”

He turned around. Sans was sitting beside a rounded dome of snow. 

“Bro, what else is new?” Sans said.

“You guys are gonna make me blush,” Frisk said. 

Papyrus put her down on the ground and patted her head, and then leaned over to look at what Sans was doing. “Brother, what the heck is that?”

“It’s the guard dog,” Sans grinned when Papyrus gave him a skeptical glare. “He’s sleepin’.”

“Heeeyyy, that’s just like you back in the underground,” his brother teased.

“Exactly.”

Papyrus frowned for only a few seconds before he burst out laughing. Sans joined him.

Frisk wandered over and knelt down to draw a mouth and poke two eyes into one side of it. “There!”

“Dude, that was the butt,” Sans said.

“Welp. It’s the face now!” she announced.

“Oh no, my artistic vision,” he said dryly. “He’s facin’ the wrong way, kid, how will he ever catch the _cat_apults now?”

“Pfffft!” Frisk grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. “He’s just gonna have to be _dogged_ in his p… _purr_-suits!”

“Dunno, might be a bit _ruff _on him, you think I’ll have to throw him a _bone_?”

“Not one from your arm or anything, bro, you’re gonna need those later!”

Sans beamed. Frisk laughed and he grabbed her into a hug.

“Super proud, kiddo,” he said. “Ten outta ten.”

She grinned and gladly cuddled into him.

“Oh my god you two, I can’t even believe you sometimes,” Papyrus said.

“Oh yes, I totally agree.” Toriel walked over, putting her arms in her sleeves. “In fact, you might even drive us _barking_ mad, with that kind of talk.”

“Yes, thank you, m—” Papyrus made a face as he caught her pun, and Sans tried very hard not to laugh. “Unbelievable!”

Toriel grinned and Papyrus stomped off, throwing his hands in the air.

“Aw c’mon, bro, don’t be like that,” Sans called.

“I’M COMING BACK!”

“We love you, Papyrus!” Frisk yelled.

“I LOVE YOU, TOO! NYEH!” he shouted back in a huff.

Toriel’s cheeks flushed. “That wasn’t too much, was it?”

“No, no, it was good,” Sans said. “He loves it. Half the fun for him is yelling about it.”

She smiled brightly. Frisk snickered and leaned around them to see where the tall skeleton had ended up. Her eyes lit up when she saw he was talking to Asgore across the street. The large goat monster looked jolly in a big puffy coat and a Santa hat, and he had beside him a small pine tree with the roots carefully wrapped. 

“Mom,” she said, pointing, “do you mind if I…?”

Toriel turned to look, and though her ears pinned back just a little, she patted Frisk’s head. “No, no, not at all.”

Frisk grinned. She got up out of Sans’s hug, gave him a quick smooch on the cheekbone, and raced over just as Papyrus was heading away— he ruffled her hair as he went to join Undyne and Alphys.

“Asgore!” she shouted, waving. 

He began to beam. “Little Friskadoodle!” he said brightly, and he lifted her up when she got close. “Howdy! Look at you, cutie-patootie! New coat?”

“Yeah! Undyne found it! Cool, huh?”

“Very!” Asgore said, but then he put on a stern face. “Frisk, I’ve heard rumours that you haven’t written Santa a letter yet this year. It’s a very important thing to do, you know.”

Frisk grinned. “Don’t worry, I’ll write one. But between you and me, what I really want is a pasta maker!”

“A pasta maker?” he repeated. “Sounds like something your brother would like!”

“It is!” Frisk said. “I don’t really need anything. And I know he won’t think to ask for it, Papyrus is a huge goof and always wants action figures.”

Asgore laughed and bumped her forehead affectionately with his snout. “Such a considerate child!”

“She is, isn’t she?” Toriel joined them leisurely. “Hello, Asgore.”

“H-Howdy, Tori,” he said, his face flushing. “How are you?”

“Fine,” she said. “What are you up to, today?”

“Ah! I-I was just going to ask you, about some trees for the school,” he said. “And I thought a huge one for the town centre would be really nice this time of year. W-With, uh, Gyftmas coming up and all. What do you think?”

Toriel nodded and smiled slightly. Asgore looked relieved. Frisk held in a laugh and gave the huge monster a hug.

“I’mma go play, okay?”

“Oh! Yes, of course, little one.” Asgore put her back down gently. “Have fun!”

Frisk backed off to give them some room and joined Sans as he walked up, hands in his pockets.

“Look at that,” he said, “she’s not even scowling.”

“I know,” Frisk said. “Big improvement from slamming the door on him.”

Sans chuckled. “Adults sure are complicated, huh?” he said with a wink.

“I guess.” She shrugged. 

“Speaking of, I actually gotta go talk with ‘em,” he said. “Don’t bother listenin’ in, it’s boring grown-up crap.”

“You know that makes me want to listen even more, right?” she said.

“C’mon, kid, don’t ruin your own surprise,” he said with a laugh. “You’re frickin’ hard to shop for.”

“Okay, okay, fine,” she said.

He patted her shoulder approvingly and wandered over to join Toriel and Asgore. Frisk sighed, but watched just for a little. She couldn’t hear what they were saying and was about to leave when she thought she spotted the glimmer of Sans’s blue magic. She paused to stare, but it was gone in an instant. She rubbed her eyes. Must’ve been just a trick of the festive strings of lights.

She clambered through the snow to where Alphys was building a _something. _It most closely resembled a tall blob. 

“H-Hey, Frisk,” she said. “Wh-What do you think?”

“Uh… It’s great!” she said. “Hey, where’s Mettaton, is he working?”

“He is,” she said. “I really need to build him a new winter body, though. This is way t-too cold for him. And me! I should build _myself_ a coat filled with heaters or something.”

“OR YOU COULD JUST GET IN MY HUG, BABY!” Undyne yelled.

She jumped out from somewhere and grabbed Alphys tight. Alphys cooed and all but melted in her arms.

“So when do we get to wreck your fort?!” Undyne said with a grin.

“What’s this?!” Papyrus jumped up from under a nearby snow pile, surprising everyone. “Are you declaring war on CASTLE BONECHILLER?!”

“Whoa, cool name,” Undyne said. “BUT YOU BET I AM, DORKS!”

“Our guard dog may be a lump, and our catapults don’t work, but we will meet your challenge!” Frisk announced. “Just, like… give us five minutes?”

“YOU’RE ON!” Undyne said. “GAAAH, THIS IS SO HYPE! Alphys, c’mon, let’s get PUMPED!”

“Uh… O-Okay,” she said as Undyne dragged her away. “G-Good luck, guys.”

Frisk cast a glance at Papyrus. “Bro, she’s gonna totally wreck us.”

“Don’t say that, there’s always a chance!” He picked her up. “TO THE BATTLEMENTS, FRISK, WE’LL GIVE THEM A HECK OF A FIGHT!”

Five minutes was not nearly enough to prepare enough snowballs on the top of Castle Bonechiller, but Papyrus and Frisk tried their best. 

“Why didn’t we build working catapults again?” Papyrus asked.

“I dunno how and you dunno how,” Frisk said.

“Ack, we should have asked Sans!” he said.

They froze upon hearing footsteps approaching and, cautiously, Frisk peeked out over the battlements. Below, instead of Undyne, she was pleasantly surprised to see another friend, the yellow, lizard-like monster kid, Kid, peering up curiously. He was wearing a toque and scarf as well as a cozy winter poncho, but he still looked kind of cold and there was snow on his hat. 

“Frisk? Is that you up there?” he said. “What’s going on?”

“Hey, Kid!” she said brightly. 

“GREETINGS, KID!” Papyrus said, standing up proudly on the battlements, scarf billowing. “Come to join us in the defence of Castle Bonechiller?”

Kid’s eyes lit up. “Yeah!”

“Nyeh heh heh, fantastic! Get inside!”

Kid looked around, then scrambled through the small front opening. Papyrus helped him up to sit with them.

“So, wait, who’s coming to get us?” Kid asked.

“Undyne,” Frisk said.

“WHAT?!”He peeked over the snow wall and then immediately ducked down again. “Oh man, here she comes!”

They all looked and, sure enough, she was standing there, right on time. Alphys was hiding behind a small barricade she had set up, but Undyne stood poised with a spear in her hand.

“COME AT ME, NERDS!” she challenged.

“OKAY, WE WILL!” Papyrus yelled. 

He and Frisk began to throw snowballs, but Undyne deflected them back. Papyrus caught a few awkwardly, frowned, and began to throw them even faster. Undyne cackled and knocked them back, and very quickly the exchange was too fast for either of the kids to follow. Frisk grabbed Kid and pulled him down out of the way as the snow battle became like a bullet hell. Papyrus could only catch so many, though, and they could feel the fortress weakening around them. 

“Oh man oh man oh man, I joined the wrong team!” Kid said.

Frisk laughed. “No way!”

“Uh… Uh, Frisk? I am actually, in fact, out of snowballs,” Papyrus said.

“New plan!” She stood up. “Throw me at her!”

“WHAT?!” Kid shrieked. 

Papyrus grinned and picked her up.

“WHAT’S THAT, DWEEBS, DONE ALREADY?!” Undyne roared.

“No way! HERE’S MY SPECIAL ATTACK!” Papyrus said.

He tossed Frisk headlong into Undyne and they flopped together back into the snow.

“Oof! Welp. Didn’t expect that,” Undyne said, but she grinned at Frisk. “Don’t think this’ll save you.”

Frisk gulped and quickly found herself flying and wailing through the air until she collided with Papyrus and they toppled off the battlements. 

“That didn’t work at all!” he said.

“Ugh, sorry, bro,” Frisk said, rubbing her head. “There’s gotta be something else we can do!”

“Yes! We can’t give up!” he insisted.

“TOO LATE, NERDS!” 

Undyne dove face first through the wall and Papyrus grabbed Frisk under one arm and Kid under the other and scrambled out of the fortress as part of the wall caved in. Undyne rose from the rubble, cackling, spear in hand.

“Hey, uh… Undyne.” Everyone looked up and suddenly Sans was perched on the top of the remaining snow tower. He grinned and his eye lit up bright blue. “How about you, uh, _chill out._”

“Oh, no, Sans, don’t you dare—!” She was cut off as his magic weighted the snow and the entire rest of Castle Bonechiller tumbled down in an avalanche, knocking her off her feet.

Papyrus shielded the kids, but it didn’t last long; Undyne heaved herself upright in a snowbank and Alphys peeked over her barricade nervously.

“SANS, YOU CHEATED!” Undyne yelled. 

Sans chuckled and strolled across the snow, unfazed, and offered her his hand. She grinned and let him help her out of the snow.

“That’s it, Sans won,” Frisk announced.

“That was actually really cool,” Papyrus said, eyes wide. “Sans, I am impressed!”

Sans’s cheekbones flushed pale blue and he shrugged.

\- - -

When the wind picked up and the snow began to fall again, everyone retreated into the double house for warm cocoa and butterscotch pie in Toriel’s section, where it was much tidier. It was weird— Frisk hadn’t felt cold at all outside, but now that she was inside, she was freezing. She and Kid were bundled in blankets and digging into pie as Toriel gladly handed out generous slices to everyone. 

“Tori, this is amazing,” Asgore said.

“Dude, got something in your eye?” Undyne asked.

“It’s just very nostalgic for me,” he chuckled.

Toriel smiled a little and took a seat close to Sans, who was disconcertingly squeezing a squiggle of ketchup onto his slice. “Yes. I think it’s quite nice, Frisk helped me out, she’s doing very well in the kitchen.”

“Oh man, Frisk, you gotta show me that!” Undyne said. “How many times did you have to punch this filling?! It’s fantastic.”

“One thousand times,” Frisk said.

Undyne gawked. “NO WAY!”

Toriel hid a laugh behind her hand and turned to Sans and watched him curiously. “Hmm… I wonder if there would be a way to make a proper ketchup pie,” she said. “Maybe I will do an experiment with it.”

“Your majesty, I’m sure even a ketchup pie would be good, coming from you!” Papyrus said brightly.

“Yeah, good idea, your pie-ness,” Sans replied.

Toriel was caught off guard with a bite of pie in her mouth and snorted, trying not to laugh. She was only half successful.

“D-Do you guys mind if I bring home a slice for Mettaton?” Alphys said. “I’m sure he’d love this.”

“Of course!” Toriel said. “Wait, he eats?”

“Oh y-yeah, a ton,” Alphys said.

“A _metta-ton_?” Sans asked. He was met with both groans and laughter and he shrugged. 

“I walked into that one,” Alphys said, her cheeks flushing.

As Frisk finished up her slice, she had to stand on her tiptoes to put her plate near the sink and then ducked away to take a small sheet of paper from Toriel’s desk. She quickly wrote a note to “Santa” on it and then folded it carefully. She returned to Asgore and tugged on the sleeve of his big, green and white festive sweater. 

“I heard,” she said, “that you know Santa pretty well, right? I was wondering, could you get this to him?” She held out the letter. 

Asgore beamed. “Yes, of course, my child,” he said as he took it. “Your letter is safe with me!”

“Frisk, what’d you ask for?!” Papyrus asked.

She grinned. “It’s a secret, bro.”

“Wowie, that’s exciting,” he said. 

As the snow began to fall harder outside, everyone ended up cozied together to watch TV. Monsters finally had access to human channels, but still they seemed to prefer the MTT channel broadcast from the lab and small studio downtown where Mettaton worked. There were some humans on the crew now, but most of the work was still done by Mettaton himself and his ghostly cousin, Napstablook. 

Mettaton was on now, in fact, doing a call-in segment whilst sprawled across his desk and pointing at things on the green screen with his pink, high-heeled boots. Frisk always thought he looked kind of like an anime character, but couldn’t quite place it. She supposed it was no surprise, as Alphys had designed that body for him, and she was, in fact, the biggest anime nerd Frisk had ever met.

“Weather alert for the Mount Ebott and Starhome area!” Mettaton announced. “It’s freezing, darlings! Stay inside! It’s only getting worse, blizzard’s coming in! And I’m solar powered, I need to sit under my heating lamps, this is a travesty!” He stomped his boot on a button of the desk and a festive string of lights and fake snow fell from the ceiling. A toot of the horn in the tune of his theme-song accompanied it. “Alright, beauties! Reruns for the rest of the day, Mettaton is outie! Regular call-in contest tomorrow!”

A title graphic with his theme song began to play. Alphys, nestled under Undyne’s arm, stretched her back.

“Oh, I guess that means he’ll be home soon,” she said. “I g-gotta get those lamps ready for him, actually.”

“I’ll give you a hand,” Undyne said. She got up and helped Alphys to her feet. “Thanks for having us over.”

“Of course!” Toriel said.

“Um, we’re, uh… We’re doing a _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie_ marathon next weekend if, uh… Y-You’re all invited!” Alphys said.

Asgore got up from his seat as well, taking a quick peek out the window. “I suppose Mettaton’s right. It looks like the storm is really picking up,” Asgore said. “Kid, how about I walk you home?”

“Oh! Th-That’d be great, your Mayorness!” Kid said.

Frisk hugged everyone goodbye before they headed out, then flopped on top of Sans, who was resting lengthwise on the couch, using Papyrus’s side as a pillow.

“Jeez, kiddo, you’re really startin’ to remind me of myself,” Sans joked.

“But I’m tiiiired,” she said.

Toriel chuckled as she moved to sit with them. Sans hugged the kid lazily.

“I still don’t know what a _Mew Mew Kissing _something is,” she admitted. “Is it at all like these MTT programs? I’m not sure, am I too old for this?”

“It’s, um… It’s like a cartoon?” Frisk said. “But not made for little kids? It’s Alphys’s favourite.”

“Yup. Can’t stand it,” Sans laughed.

“It’s not that bad!” Papyrus said. “I mean, it is, obviously, but that’s part of the fun, right? …Right? I mean, it’s kind of sweet, though.”

“It’s true!” Frisk said, and then looked at Sans, pouting. “So you’re not gonna go?”

“Of course I am, you nuts?” Sans said. “Dude, I’ve been hoardin’ cat jokes for months.”

Frisk grinned and hugged him. “You’re the best!” she said. “Hey, you guys, honestly, thanks for making today super fun, I really needed this.”

“Of course, Frisk! We are all certainly fantastic! Especially me, but everyone else only slightly less so!” Papyrus said. “I wish we had more time with Castle Bonechiller, though, it really was a great fortress, wasn’t it? I should’ve taken some photos, I’m sure we would’ve gotten at least two… no, three uplikes on the UnderNet!”

Toriel’s eyes went wide and she fished her phone out of her pocket to show them. “I did! Take a look. I admit, some are a little fuzzy, but—”

“Did you put your thumb over the lens?” Sans asked as he sat up with Frisk.

Toriel laughed. “Not fuzzy like that!” she protested. “Look.”

Papyrus leaned over and he began to grin. “I think they’re perfect! Ooh, look, there’s us building the fort! And there’s Undyne wrecking it! Nyeh heh heh!”

“Heh. Oh. Is that really what day it is?” Sans asked. “I, uh… thought that was tomorrow.”

“Sans!” Papyrus chided.

“No, no, it’s good, more time to shop for the holidays than I thought,” he said. “Got an extra few to buy for this year, I might actually have to go to more than one store. Weird.”

“It is a strange feeling sometimes, isn’t it?” Toriel asked. “I quite enjoy it, actually.”

“Me too,” Frisk said. “I watched people do it before, but I never actually never had to do it before this year! It’s pretty cool.”

“I still can’t believe that humans also have a gift-giving tree holiday,” Papyrus said. “There’s a lot about monsters and humans that are kind of similar, I wish we had all been able to be friends sooner.”

“I dunno, Papyrus, sometimes humans can be pretty mean,” Frisk said. “We’ve been really lucky here in town with the people who moved in and stuff, but really, I kinda like monsters more. You guys are just so nice.”

“But so are you, Frisk!” Papyrus said brightly. He booped her on the forehead with an affectionate spark of magic and she giggled.

“Maybe it wore off on me!” she joked.


	3. Everything Is Normal?

On the other side of town, nestled amongst an inn and a small park, sat a red brick building, new, with an old sign on the front that asserted it was called Grillby’s. It was one relic of the underground that most were happy to see stick around. 

When Sans walked through the door, he was met with the faces and greetings of regulars: dogs playing cards, a horse-man hugging the wall near a juke box; monsters lazily resting in booths and near the front counter. There were new faces, too. Human ones, people who were getting increasingly comfortable with a fire elemental running the best place in town. It was nice to see, in the warm, familiar bar, that everyone was getting along as they got out of the cold.

Sans held the front way open for Frisk and she hopped inside, sniffing deeply.

“Oh man, my boogers!” she whined.

“What?” Sans asked.

“My boogers are frozen!” She wiped her nose.

Sans started laughing. “Oh my god, what even…?” He grinned. “Dude, that’s hilarious.”

They went up to their usual spot and hopped up on bar stools. Frisk was still sniffling.

“Hey, Grillby,” he said. “Doin’ well?”

The man made of fire behind the counter made a slight downward movement with his head and then placed the glass he was drying onto the counter. He passed Frisk a napkin.

“Thanks,” Frisk said. 

She blew her nose and Sans snickered. Grillby looked at him over his glasses.

“Just pickin' up,” he said. “Hey. Question. Suggestion? Whatever. What about lasagna?”

“Hmm…” Grillby replied.

Sans shrugged. “Welp. Better than _no_. Mac and cheese?”

Grillby frowned slightly.

“Dude, I know I can get it at home, that’s not the point.” Sans laughed. “Okay. No problem.”

“Can we get… milkshakes?” Frisk said.

Grillby held up one finger.

“No rush,” Sans assured him. “Four milkshakes.”

Frisk grinned. Grillby moved off to get their order, which he had to wear silver cooling-mitts to prepare.

Frisk finally pushed her hood back and rubbed her ears.

“Hey, kiddo,” Sans said. “Were the winters like this where you were from?”

She shook her head. “Cold, but not like this. But if this gets us more snow days, I’m totally okay with it!”

He chuckled, but then immediately tensed up as a phone started to ring. “Uh… Is that me, or you?”

“Think it’s you?” she said.

“Crap.” He shuffled in his pocket until he found the phone, and then looked at the front screen. He immediately looked tired. 

Frisk leaned over to look. “The university guy again?” she asked

“Looks like it,” he said.

“Aren’t you gonna get it?”

He sighed, then flicked his thumb across the screen and put the phone up to his head. “Sup? Yeah, I know. I’m just getting food with my kid— Yeah, my kid sister… Right now? It’s a Friday, I don’t work on… Oh. Your lab, huh?” He slumped onto the counter and rested his cheek on his fist. “Which one? ESR? …Oh, dude, no, you need Helmholtz coils, not… Never mind. Look, text me your questions, I’ll get back to you. Later. No, seriously. Go home. Yeah, get out of the lab. No, I won’t mark it late, okay? It’s a frickin’ blizzard. Yup. Don’t get stuck in the snow, dude.” He hung up and rubbed his skull.

Frisk smiled. “Another one, huh?”

“I don’t get these kids, sometimes,” he said as he pocketed his phone. “They have internet, right? And I wrote all the equations on the handouts. And still they don’t get it.”

“It’s tough,” Frisk laughed. “So sciencey. They can, um, read your handwriting though, right?”

Sans laughed. “I typed it.”

“No excuses, then!” Frisk said, folding her arms. “What a bunch of nerds.”

“Heh, tell me about it. I’m just glad tests are over until, what’s that thing called? Spring?”

“Mhm!” she said brightly. “Couldn’t you just not give tests though?”

“Not accordin’ to the top nerds. So, you know how I frickin’ hate markin’, right?” he said. “Get this, first, I make the tests easy; everyone complains they’re too easy. So I make ‘em hard, now they’re complaining they’re too hard. Can’t win. You heard what they’re callin’ me now?”

“Yup! Grim Reaper!” She snickered. “Guess it sorta suits you! But I’d probably go with _Grin_ Reaper.”

“Pffft, nice one. But it’s pretty funny, right?” he said. “Next time is next, uh… next Wednesday, I think, you up for it? They like seein’ you, makes them remember I’m not just there to mess with ‘em.”

She nodded enthusiastically. He grinned.

“But I’m thinkin’ though, maybe I might get like, a robe? A black one with the hood, you know? Just show up like that one day, what d’you think?”

Frisk beamed. “That's the best thing I’ve ever heard, bro, totally do it,” she said. “Ooh! We can go to that Halloween store Undyne got my coat at! It’s gonna be awesome. I’ll go with you for sure! And, bet I can get Asgore to lend you a sickle or something.”

He grinned. His left eye lit up faintly blue. He gently ruffled her hair. “Thanks a million, kiddo,” he said. “Heh. Dunno what the heck I’d do without you.”

Frisk beamed.

Grillby soon brought over the their bags and the tall cups for their milkshakes in a cardboard holder. Sans had a tab but Frisk left a tip and a monster candy from her pocket on the counter before flipping her hood back up and helping him with the bags. The snow was even worse outside than before. Sans shifted his bags to one arm and put his hand on her shoulder. When she blinked, they were in front of the house. Frisk grinned and ran to open the front door for them.

“We got food!”

As Toriel set the tablet for them to eat, Frisk chased Papyrus around the room with the container of hot chilli they had bought for him.

“Nooo, Frisk, I don’t want it,” he whined. 

“C’mon, bro, wait up!” she said. 

“It’s fine! I made spaghetti last night! I’ll just eat that!” 

“Paaapyyyruusss!” Frisk pouted and came to a stop. “Aw, man. Why you gotta have such long legs?”

Papyrus turned to face her, eyes widening. “Nooo no no, don’t make that face! Look, it’s not you, I just don’t like Grillby’s that much!”

“But…! But!” 

Papyrus frowned down at Frisk as she held out the styrofoam container of chilli to him. He hesitated. She pouted more dramatically. Sighing, he took it cautiously like it was some alien object and peeked inside suspiciously. She began to smile again.

“Did Sans put you up to this?” he asked.

“Yeah, obviously,” she said. “It’s new on the menu. We think you’ll like it! C’mon, try try try!”

“Weelllll…”

“You’ll never know for certain if you don’t like it if you will not try it, my child,” Toriel pointed out as she finished laying the plates. “Chilli is quite a bit like spaghetti sauce.”

“It is?!” Papyrus’s eyes went wide. “Welllll… Okay. Okay, yes, I will try it! Frisk, why didn’t you just say so?”

“Because, uh…” she shrugged wide. “I didn’t think of it? Whoops.”

They heard an incidental _womp womp _sound as Sans bumped the door to the partition and tooted on his trombone. Frisk snorted out a laugh.

“Ack, Sans, get yourself and your visual pun in here,” Papyrus said.

“Ooh, I love that joke,” Toriel said brightly. “I wonder if I could ever come up with something similar…”

“Best I got is bon_goats_,” Sans propped up his trombone against the wall.

Toriel snickered. Papyrus frowned and looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Really? I would have thought any _horn_ might work,” Papyrus said. “But I think instrument related puns may not be my… _forte_!”

Sans grinned wide, Frisk gawked, and Toriel put her hands together in excitement.

“Bro, that was on point!” Sans said. He offered his hand and Papyrus gave him a high-five and snickered loudly. 

“Ooh! Ooh! Really _cleff_-er!” Frisk said.

“I’d give it a four out of four,” Toriel said.

Everyone was laughing far too hard for how bad the jokes were. Sans was beaming.

“I love you guys, just sayin’,” he said.

“Ooh, that wasn’t half bad,” Papyrus admitted. “Sans, I have spent too much time with you! Okay! Let me try this weird pasta-less sauce meal!”

They settled in and Papyrus dumped the chilli on his plate and stared at it for a long while as the others ate their burgers. 

“Dude, it’s gonna get _chilly_,” Sans said.

“But it’s already chilli,” Papyrus said. He stared blankly as Frisk tried very hard not to laugh. 

Sans just grinned.

“Oh god.” Papyrus snickered, then rubbed his forehead and shook his head. “Okay. Okay hang on.” He took a spoonful, stared at it, and then put it in his mouth. 

They all watched with baited breath. 

“Oh. Hey. That’s… That’s not bad.”

“YES!” Frisk cheered. She reached across the table and gave Sans a high five. 

Toriel clapped quietly.

“Sort of the opposite of chilly, though, why’s it called that?” he wondered.

“Bunch of jokers named it, I guess,” Sans said with a wink.

With such a success under their belts, after dinner was done, Sans and Frisk retreated to the other side of the house in high spirits to conspire about holiday gifts as Papyrus helped Toriel with the dishes. 

“Okay, so I’ll deal with the big stuff, you do the macaroni frame,” Sans was saying. “You’re a kid; he’ll think it’s the cutest shit. I’ll cover for you.”

“Okay, cool!” Frisk said. “What about for Undyne? New tea set? I think she chipped most of her mugs.”

“I can handle that,” he said.

“No, no, split it at least!” Frisk insisted.

“Kid, you don’t have a job,” he said.

“I get allowance! A-And I still have a bunch of gold left from the underground,” she said. “C’mon!”

“One quarter,” he said.

“A third!”

“Alright, alright, a third,” Sans said with a laugh. “How about Tori?”

“That’s easy! We get—” Frisk yelped instead of finishing her sentence as the floor shook and the walls around them rumbled very violently and very suddenly. 

Dishes clattered jarringly in the other kitchen.

“Wh-What the heck was that?!” Frisk squeaked, recoiling to the corner of the sofa.

Sans frowned and got up to peek through the divider. “Hey, everyone okay over there?”

“Yes, fine!” Papyrus answered as he came to join them. “What _was_ that?”

Sans shrugged and Toriel hurried in as well.

“Frisk! Frisk, are you alright?” She raced over to grab her reassuringly. “Nobody’s hurt?”

“N-No, we w-were just—” Frisk began, but another rumble, even worse this time, startled her and she covered her ears.

There was a strange creaking sound outside over the wind.

“What on earth…?” Toriel ran to the window; her expression switched from worry to horror in an instant. “Everyone, get to the basement.”

“Mom, wh-what is it?” Frisk asked.

Toriel didn’t answer, but quickly put her coat on and made for the door. She paused to turn to Sans. “Please, watch over them,” she said. 

She rushed out into the cold, and worriedly, Frisk got up and ran after her, with Papyrus close behind. The wind was howling and the snow was swirling, and though Toriel was nowhere to be seen, there was some strange, dark shapes moving far beyond them. 

“Mom!” Frisk shouted. 

There was no answer.

“What the heck is going on?” Papyrus said; he shielded his eyes and peered ahead. “Where did she—? NYEH!” He staggered and Frisk clung to him as the ground rumbled beneath them. He grasped the doorframe tightly.

Across the street, Undyne came flying out of their house without a coat, followed quickly by Mettaton, who had his arms wrapped tightly around himself.

“Hey!” Papyrus shouted to them. “Guys! What’s going on?!”

“No idea, darling!” Mettaton called back. “Something bad, I think!”

“Guys.” Sans joined them and put a hand on Frisk’s shoulder. “Think, uh, we should get back in?”

“Sans, something is really wrong here!” Papyrus said worriedly. 

“Yeah. So we should go in.”

“GO BACK INSIDE!” Undyne shouted to them. She stomped off down the street and Mettaton tried to follow. She threw a snowball at him. “BACK!”

“Alright, FINE!” he yelled back at her. 

Shivering, Mettaton stumbled over to them through the deepening snow. 

“Are you okay?” Frisk asked.

“F-Fine, darling, my body is just a little more t-tuned for i-intense heat than this c-cold,” he said, using a shaking hand to brush the snow from his hair. “What the h-hell was that?”

Nobody had an answer. Sans backed up and the others took it as a cue to come back in. Papyrus unzipped his hoodie and draped it around Mettaton’s shoulders.

“Warm up, okay?” he said. “I can’t believe mom just vanished like that! What the heck is going on?”

“I’m n-not sure, but I saw A-Asgore rushing out a-after the first sh-shake.” Mettaton was still shivering, but he put on Papyrus’s hoodie and zipped it up. “Wh-What do you think? Earthquake?”

Everyone looked at Sans. He seemed worried, but he shrugged.

“Don’t you guys think we should go find her?” Frisk asked.

“Yeah, Sans!” Papyrus said, eyes going wide. “What if it is an earthquake? Everyone could be in danger! If we can help, we should, shouldn’t we? And besides, we can’t just leave mom out there alone, right?”

Sans frowned slightly. “Guess you’re right, bro. Okay. Winter gear. Let’s go. Mettaton, you should probably go check on Alphys.”

“Oh, are you the boss, now?” he asked.

“Sans is the boss!” Frisk said..

Mettaton sighed. “Alright. Fine. This better just be nothing,” he grumbled. “Papyrus, darling, thanks for the sweatshirt, do you mind if I borrow it for a little longer?”

“No, not at all, go right ahead!” Papyrus said.

Mettaton smiled and opened the door. “Thanks a bunch, hun, there’ll be some sweet memorabilia in the pockets when you get it back.”

“Wowie!”

Mettaton waved at them as he left and, quickly, the others got dressed and headed out. The wind was biting and calling the weather anything less than blizzard-like seemed disingenuous. Frisk squinted through the snow to the distance but couldn’t make out much. Visibility couldn’t be more than a few feet. She looked at her brothers with worry. Papyrus shielded his eyes; was trying to see far off, and Sans looked just as uneasy as she felt. She latched onto his hand.

“Scared?” he asked.

“No. Yes,” she muttered.

“Well, this is no good, even I can’t see what the heck is going on, and my eyes are great,” Papyrus said.

They headed a little farther into town, but things were frustratingly silent. Frisk was nervous; didn’t want to say it. Even Papyrus looked like he was on edge, running his thumb along a scratch mark on the back of his hand as had become his habit. They heard stumbling, snowy footsteps behind them and they turned to see Alphys and Mettaton struggling through the snow. To their surprise, they were dragging along Undyne’s armour.

“Uh… What are you guys doing?” Frisk asked.

“I’m not sure, U-Undyne phoned and said she n-needed this stuff,” Alphys said.

“Ugh, my joints do _not_ like this nonsense,” Mettaton grumbled.

“Did she say why?” Sans asked.

“N-No, just that… she, um… oh….” Alphys froze in her tracks and her eyes went wide. Her glasses fogged up. She started stammering and pointed towards downtown. 

Following her finger, dread hung heavy over the group as they picked out flashes of fireballs, pink and red, and streaks of Undyne’s bright blue magic glowing, distorted, through the snow.

“W-We gotta g-get over there!” Alphys said. “M-Mettaton, c-can we f-fly?!”

“Only for m-maybe five m-minutes, Alphie,” he said. His energy swelled bright around him and metal wings unfolded from some panels on his back.

“So cool,” Papyrus said.

Mettaton scooped up Alphys and grunted. “Okay, honeys. You guys should go h-home, okay?”

Before either skeleton or Frisk could respond, Mettaton’s lower wings lit up pink and he and Alphys shot into the air and vanished into the storm.

“Okay. Uh. That’s not good,” Sans said. 

“Why are they shooting magic over there?” Frisk wondered worriedly. She felt Sans squeeze her hand and she shot him a look. She was taken aback by the worried expression on his face and she could tell from the snow blowing by that his left eye must’ve been bright with magic. Frisk’s mind raced and her heart thunked to her stomach.

“Brother, what should we—?!” Papyrus’s question fell short when he turned to face Sans. “Oh. Oh, no. Are you okay?!”

Sans didn’t have time to answer as another rumble through the ground shook them off balance and the wind began to howl. Papyrus put his arms around both of them and they huddled together until everything was still again. 

“Jeez, this is really starting to freak me out, where is everyone?” Papyrus asked. “Do you think we should actually go back?”

“I dunno,” Sans said. “Probably?”

“A-Are we… Are we under attack?” Frisk asked at a whisper. “D-Did humans attack us?”

“I’m sure they didn’t…! I mean. Who would attack us? We have such a nice town!” Papyrus said, though his voice rang high with nerves. “Th-There’s no way.”

Frisk gulped. She wanted to continue, but she certainly didn’t want to get separated from them. She took a deep breath, but something in the wind suddenly made her shake. She thought she heard words. She gently moved away from them and pushed her hood down to listen.

“Frisk, what’re you doing?” Papyrus asked.

“Shh,” she said. “Do you hear that?”

Her brothers stopped to listen. The wind carried the echoes of a laugh that chilled Frisk to her core. 

“Frrrriiisssskk~! Oh Friiisssskkk, where are yooouu~?”

From out of the haze rose a spiral of twisting vines, shaping themselves like the body of a beast, and a petalled bulb of a head with long, fanged jaws rose up, black, shining eyes glimmering like onyx through the whirlwind of snow.

“…Two, three, four, five…! Gee! I’m taking so many souls I just can’t keep up!” he laughed. “But not one with even half as much determination as my little Frisk! Wheeerre are youuu? Come on, come try to stop me!”

His laugh poisoned the air. She couldn’t move, could barely finish a coherent thought. Frisk felt arms around her and she was pulled back around a building’s corner and squished tightly against Sans’s chest.

“You aren’t goin’. You hear me?” he said. “You’re stayin’ here.”

She didn’t even know what to say. Her legs felt like jelly. “B-But I—”

“No.”

“But I was the only one who could—”

“Nope.” He was resolute. 

She wilted. Her shoulders shook. She was at a total loss. “Wh-What do I do…? What do we…?!” She looked up at him with horror. “Everyone else is still over there! The whole town is—!”

“Guys, what the heck is that?! Oh my god, it’s huge!” Papyrus shrieked. “I think Undyne is still fighting it, we have to go help!”

Frisk looked at Sans. His brow furrowed.

“We… We can try to get them out. But we are not gettin’ close enough that he sees you.” He pulled her hood back up for her. “Promise you’ll stay with us. You, uh… You won’t run off and do anything crazy, huh?”

Frisk nodded. “I promise.”

The kid held tight to Sans’s hand as they crept in the wake of the towering beast. The air was sharp with screams and the creaking and groaning of buildings, and the ground was shaking with heavy, pounding footsteps. They could still see magic flashes lighting up the white and grey, but the fireballs seemed to be coming less now. Pink lasers had joined them, though— probably Mettaton’s.

“Where is everybody?” Papyrus asked worriedly. “Your majesties?! Undyne?! Alphys?! Mettaton?! ANYBODY?!” 

There was a lot of noise, but no answers. 

Papyrus grimaced and moved to go ahead, but he stumbled, grunted, and pitched forward over something and into the snow. 

“Paps?!” Sans jogged ahead to help his brother up. “You okay?”

“Yes! Just fine! What the…?” He turned to look at what had caught him as he brushed snow off his pants.

Frisk and Sans peeked over, too. It was the top of an office building. 

“Ohhh wow, oh no,” Papyrus said. 

A sound like thunder crashed above them and Frisk latched onto Papyrus’s leg with a tight, trembling grip. Undyne’s spears lit up the sky electric blue and she shouted above the wind, though the words were lost, the anger wasn’t. Papyrus looked relieved and he grabbed the others and rushed them through the snow as fast as he could to keep up with her. They came to the crest of a hill where things suddenly became a lot more clear. 

The three of them stared with horror as a monstrous beast made of plants smashed through buildings below, growing larger, sprouting more tendrils and gaping, toothy heads as he took in pinpricks of coloured energy. Frisk gawked. It took her mind a second to process it. 

“Oh… Oh my god, he’s… he’s killing them…” she breathed. 

“Holy shit, how many souls do you think he has?” Sans asked.

Frisk couldn’t articulate an answer— she was shaking too hard. Her mind raced and her heart pounded hard in her ears. She felt like she was going to be sick.

“He said at least five, but that was a while ago!” Papyrus said worriedly. “It has to be way over seven by now! Look at him! What’s he doing?”

Sans grimaced and put his hand on Frisk’s shoulder. She jumped, but then pressed against him hurriedly. 

“He wants her,” he said. “You heard him. He needs Frisk’s soul to be able to control the timeline.”

“But why would he want to do that?!” Papyrus demanded. “That’s crazy!”

“He…” Frisk gulped, but she could barely raise her voice. “He’s trying to do what his sister wanted.”

There was another thunderous crash and Papyrus bent to shield Sans and Frisk. Undyne emerged down below, throwing spears with fury in her eye. She had her armour, and her attacks were relentless, but the living, monstrous jungle Asriel had become didn’t even seem to notice.

“Go Undyne, go!” Papyrus cheered.

Frisk’s heart dropped. Undyne leaped at him, roaring. He struck her down without even looking at her.

“No no no no no!” Frisk said. “No no, Undyne can’t… No…” She dropped to her knees. It was like she couldn’t even hear anything. She stared at where Undyne fell, her heartbeat drowning out all else. Her head swam. This wasn’t right. None of this was right.

There was a flash, like a sunbeam penetrating up through the ground and a voice roared out. Undyne loomed up from the rubble, covered in spikes, eyes like fire. 

“NGGAAAAAH, YOU THINK I’M DONE?! YOU GOTTA TRY HARDER THAN THAT!” she screamed into the howling wind. “YOU WANT DETERMINATION?! I _AM_ DETERMINATION!” A second spear came to her like lightning and she leapt at the walking abomination, stabbing into its legs with such fury and speed that she began to crack it. 

The face on the main head simply looked annoyed. “Weak,” he said. He slapped her down. 

Frisk felt her heart plummet with her. She felt only a second’s worth of relief to see Undyne stand up and lunge again, roaring with a sound like nothing she’d ever heard before.

Beside her, Papyrus stretched a hand out and his magic drew up bones that begun to spin so fast in place that they became whirling disks.

“I need to help her!” he said. “DON’T WORRY, UNDYNE, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL—”

“Nope. No no no no no.” Sans grabbed him, yanking him out of his attack, the magic bones thunking down and standing straight out of the snow. “Nope, no, we’re leavin’.”

“What?! But—!”

“Bro, you’ll die,” Sans said.

“C-Come on, Sans,” Papyrus said with a nervous smile, “there’s no way that I, the great—”

“Yeah, bro, you’re great. Totally great. So great that I never want to lose you, okay?” Sans said. “I’m not lettin’ you fight that thing.” He lifted Frisk and then grabbed her around the shoulders and held tight to Papyrus’s hand. “Whatever you do, don’t let go of me.”

In an instant, it was like the world beyond them shattered into space. They were engulfed in blackness that seemed infinite, then shifted into a twisting, flowing blue and purple that changed before their eyes without them even realizing it. It seemed like stars streaked and made words, but Frisk certainly couldn’t read them. Before she could even take a breath, the world opened up again. There was snow in shadows, and a tall brick right in front of them.

Frisk collapsed onto her knees, and Papyrus slid back against the wall, grasping at his chest. Sans let out a deep breath.

“Ah, shit. You guys okay?” he asked.

“Sans,” Papyrus said, “why the heck didn’t’ you tell me you were a space wizard!?”

“Dude, I’m not.”

“Then WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?! Where are we?!”

“Uh… Grillby’s, looks like,” Sans said. 

He grabbed Frisk and helped her to her feet. She looked like she was in shock. 

“Kid? You okay? Sorry that was a bit rough.”

“Y… Yeah,” she said quietly.

There was an extraordinarily loud boom behind them and Frisk yelped with fear and covered her ears. Sans hesitantly peeked out from behind the wall. It was hard to pull out details, but even through the blizzard it clear: the city was on fire. Asriel was getting larger with every second, and the only sound he was making sounded like he was simply shrieking Frisk’s name. Faint, crackling spears shot up, but the magic fire and laser blasts seemed to have long since ceased.

“Oh, god,” he muttered. “This is bad.”

“There must be something we can do!” Papyrus said. 

Sans grimaced. He turned to look at Frisk. She was pale, shaking, and edging ever closer to Papyrus. The tall skeleton put his hand on her head reassuringly.

“H-Hey, Frisk, it’s okay,” he assured her. “You know you’ll always have your awesome, cool big brother Papyrus right here with you, right? Promise.”

Frisk nodded and held onto him tightly.

Sans took one last look around the corner. Now he couldn’t see any spears anymore either, and the heads of the beast were looking around through the blizzard. In fact, aside from the monstrosity wailing amongst the buildings and the wind’s rattling whispers, the town was absolutely silent. He felt sick. His eyes began to water but he quickly brushed it away. When he turned back to what was left of his family, he felt like his heart would break; like his soul was dropping into a pit. He set his expression to a pointed neutral as best he could. 

“Brother, what do we do?” Papyrus asked. “You must have some clue, right? Because I don’t have a thing. We can’t fight it, right? I guess we could run, but we can’t leave whoever’s left in the city! And what about after that?! Oh my god, this is _really_ bad, isn’t it?”

Sans’s eyes locked on Frisk. He beckoned her close and knelt down, taking her by shoulders. She had never seen him look so serious in her life. He held himself rigid and gripped her tightly.

“You have to go back,” he said.

“What?!” she yelped. “Go back to where?! How can I—?”

“No, no, you don’t get it, kiddo,” he said. “Reset. The whole thing.”

Frisk’s heart dropped. “Are you sure? I… I…”

“Asriel is gonna kill us,” Sans said. “He’s after _you_. If he takes your soul— he even touches the thing, this… Everything. This whole world is over. He gets the timeline for long enough to ruin everything. I’m not losin’ you like that. You gotta go back, try this whole gig over.”

“Sans, are you sure?!” Papyrus asked worriedly. “You can do weird time travel stuff, too, right?! Isn’t there anything you can do? Can’t you go with her?!”

“Nah, bro, my powers don’t work like that,” Sans said. He grimaced and flinched, pulling Frisk in close as another explosion rocked the ground. 

Papyrus shrieked and covered his head, then scooted closer to them as Sans took a deep breath and let the kid catch some air. 

“Wh-What should I do?” Frisk asked quietly.

“Maybe we missed somethin’. Some way to give that kid a soul.” He grimaced. “I’m sorry, this isn’t fair to ask you, but it’s all we got.”

Frisk’s heart sunk, but she nodded. Her chest tightened. “Okay. I’ll do it. But… But if I go back, you guys won’t… you won’t…” She couldn’t stop the tears now, and she clenched her teeth. “You’ll all be back down there, and… A-And I… What i-if you don’t…? Papyrus, y-you won’t—!”

“Oh, no, Frisk, don’t worry about that, you’re our family!” Papyrus knelt down and ruffled her hair gently. “Even if we don’t remember right away, there’s no way we won’t become the best of friends again! You’re our little sister, no matter what happens. Okay?”

“But he’s gonna k-kill you. I… I don’t want to leave you,” she squeaked.

“You’re not. You’re savin’ everything. It’s gonna be okay,” Sans said. “You’ll see us soon. You know you will. Drag us back, and nobody’s dead. Alright? It’ll be okay.”

Frisk took a deep breath and nodded, even as her heart was breaking. She hurriedly wiped her eyes on her sleeve and forced a smile and Sans laughed quietly. He cupped her cheek and his magic flared up blue in his hand, cool and comforting against her skin.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said. “Don’t worry. We already love you, right?”

She nodded and sniffed deeply, and hurriedly puffed her chest out. “R-Right! I love you, too! I… I love you both, so much. And I’m going to save everyone.”

Sans smiled. “Duh. Go get ‘em, fartmaster, I’m rootin’ for you.”

Frisk couldn’t help a weak giggle and closed her eyes tight to focus, letting her soul float and catch onto that _thing_, that light, the little switch in the world that would take her back. It had been a year since the last time, but it was still there, still shining like a star just within her reach.

“Sans! You can’t just say goodbye to Frisk and send her alone on a deadly quest, and then call her the fartmaster! That’s so childish!” Papyrus shrieked.

“Bro, it’s a joke. Frisk gets it,” Sans said. “See? She’s smiling. She thinks it’s a _gas_.”

“SANS!”

Whatever they said next disappeared into the echoes of a cave. Frisk opened her eyes and blinked up into the droplets of water weeping down the walls around her. She sat up quickly, her hands pressing through a field of golden flowers.


	4. The Lonely Arc

The heartache had already begun to set in, hurting so deeply that Frisk was afraid she would throw up. She clenched her fists and took in a long, deep breath. She felt smaller, and she had lost her winter coat, and instead was wearing her blue and pink striped sweatshirt, shorts that were almost like pants on her, and sneakers. That sweatshirt she had torn by accident— that Papyrus had turned into a winter scarf for her. She had wrapped, filthy cloth bandages around her hands and one of her knees. Same as the first time. 

The silence made her nauseous. She held her pounding head in her hands and wracked her brain. The only way to stop that monster was to save Asriel, she was sure of it. 

Asriel had been a bit of an enigma since she met him. The monstrous thing that had attacked them was the husk of what he once, completely soulless and devoid of empathy, hungering for a human soul and living by the motto his misguided sister had instilled in him: kill or be killed. That little boy, Toriel and Asgore's son, was the key to so much of this world. She had spent a lot of time with him when she had tried to find a way to bring him to the surface before, but nothing so far had worked in keeping him as he should be. She considered him a friend, though as he was now, she didn’t know what to do with him. 

The guilt suddenly struck her like a train. Her mind raced — if she had just tried a little harder! She choked and the tears came, unbidden. She curled up, hugging her knees, her breathing ragged. She had made the choice to stop trying. She couldn’t keep pulling her friends— her family — back underground as she reset the timeline to try again, especially once she knew how hard it could hit. But now, what did it matter? They lost everything.

Frisk took a little while to catch her breath. She tried to relax, then forced herself to her feet. Her mind kept racing back to her family— a family she didn’t have anymore. She wanted to be sick. She wanted to scream. None of it had even happened. She whimpered and rubbed her eyes, sniffling, and she took a long, deep breath that made her chest shudder. She felt like there was a vice around her body. A weight above her head pressing insurmountably downwards.

She finally unclenched her cramping fists and wiggled her fingers. She let the extra warmth her soul took on down here give her strength. She had to remember: everyone was alive again. The friends she knew didn’t make it, the humans and monsters she didn’t even know, they’d all still be alive now. That was something, at least. She wiped her tears on her sleeves. Nowhere to go but forward. She knew “Flowey” was just up ahead. He always was.

Her legs were heavy, but she began to walk. She passed through the first of the Ruin’s passages of purple stone and saw the dappled light shining bright on the green grass in sparse, but vibrant patches before the next gate. As she got closer, he popped up— a little, golden flower with a white face, smiling at her innocently.

“Howdy!” he said. “I’m Flowey! Flowey the flower!”

She expected to feel mad when she saw him, but even now, she couldn’t bring herself to. He didn’t have a choice. He just wanted to survive. He just wanted his sister back.

“Hi, Asriel,” Frisk said. 

The little flower’s expression faltered and his eyes went wide. “What? What did you just call me?”

“Your name?” she said.

He looked stunned. He tilted his head. “…Chara? Chara, is that you?” He looked so hopeful, his face shifted, taking on features more like his old self— his true self, the little goat monster boy who had died so long ago. “Did… Did you hear me? C-Can we reset it all?”

Frisk lost her nerve for just a moment. She quivered. She half-expected a certain voice in the back of her head to laugh at him. But it wasn’t there. She wasn’t there. Frisk took a deep breath. “Sorry,” she said. “No. I’m not Chara. My name is Frisk.”

“Frisk?” he repeated. “Frisk… Who is—?” His eyes went wide again, and his face twisted with anger. His pupils flashed red, then his eyes went pitch black. “No. No, I know you. You _idiot_, I can’t believe this! How many times have you tried!? You didn’t even take my memories and now I have to go through this garbage again?! How about you just give up and die!”

His magic rose up around him, narrow seeds like blades pointed right at her. Frisk had to ignore her surprise; she braced her feet in the grass and bounced a little in anticipation. When he launched them, she sidestepped and rolled out of the way, the pattern sowed in her mind from ages ago.

“I’m n-not gonna fight you,” she said.

The flower grinned. His magic swelled around him and Frisk knew without even looking that it had encircled her. He started laughing very loudly. “That’s easy. Then die. Your soul is mine.”

Frisk took a deep, steadying breath. “Sorry.”

Asriel let confusion cross his face for a fraction of a second— it was quickly replaced with shock as he yelped and was slapped away by a large fireball. He tumbled away into shadows and Frisk’s face lit up as Toriel appeared like a beacon from the darkness beyond her vision.

“What a horrible creature, tormenting a poor, innocent child,” she said, grimacing. Her gentle violet eyes turned to focus on Frisk and she put on a smile. 

Frisk shivered. She tasted ash in her mouth.

“Ah, do not be afraid, my child,” she said. “I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins.”

“H-Hi,” Frisk stammered.

Her throat was suddenly dry and she felt cold. She didn’t know what to say. It took a lot of will to not simply scream for her mother and race for her arms. Toriel moved closer and knelt down to look her in the face. Instead, Frisk froze up completely. She felt like her whole body was stone. She wanted to crumble.

“Are you alright?” Toriel asked gently. “You look a little dazed. That awful creature didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“N… No.” Frisk wiped her eyes. “No, I’m okay.”

“You are human, yes?” she said. “I check through here every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first new face around here in a long while.” She offered her hand. 

Frisk trembled and took a deep breath.

“I can guide you through,” she said. “You will be safe with me.”

The kid nodded and readily grabbed her tight with shaking fingers. “I’m so glad you found me.”

Toriel looked surprised for a moment but then smiled gently. “As am I, my child.”

Through the gate, they entered into an open area, scattered with autumn leaves that seemed to have been placed there with some sort of purpose. There was a sort of mound at its centre where leaves had rolled down around it, framing it in red. Beyond were two sets of stairs that led farther up into the ruins of Home. Frisk’s first visit had been fraught with confusion and the others, with goals in mind, she had rushed, but now her legs felt like lead and she walked slowly around the mound as Toriel released her and climbed up the stairs and to another gate.

Frisk took a deep breath and moved to follow Toriel, but her eyes caught on a pinprick of light in the leaves on the ground between the staircases. She felt the sting of hope. Over there, as she got closer, she saw what looked like a star twinkling before her. What it was, in fact, was a rip in time, a place where she could attach and pull herself backwards. She hadn’t seen one in over a year. She reached out to touch it, determined to stick to it. There was a sort of feeling it gave, like something clicking to place in a very satisfying way. It held. She smiled just a little, and then hurried up the stairs to follow Toriel and entered through what seemed to once have been a building.

Frisk recognized the first room and puzzle immediately. The whole Ruins were filled with them, and it was far from the only place that was riddled with puzzles and small traps. Toriel began to explain. Frisk’s brain tuned it out, though she didn’t notice she hadn’t processed a word of it until the door opened and Toriel looked down at her with a gentle smile. The girl nodded as if she understood and Toriel looked pleased and continued onward. Frisk took a deep breath. She just wanted to lie down, but she followed along anyway.

Toriel gave her a gentle, sympathetic smile and knelt down to face her once she passed through the doorway. “My child, you look absolutely dead on your feet,” she said. “We’re not too far from home, but would you like to take a rest?”

“N… No. It’s okay. I’m fine,” Frisk said. “Wh-What next?”

“Are you certain?”

Frisk nodded again. Toriel smiled and straightened up.

“If you’re sure, we’ll continue,” she said. “This room is—”

“Switches,” Frisk said quietly.

Toriel blinked with surprise. Frisk’s face flushed.

“S-Sorry.” She pointed. “You marked the switches. I can see from here. Follow the path to the right ones, right?”

Toriel smiled. “Clever child. Would you like to give it a try?”

Frisk didn’t. She wanted to sleep, or cry, or both. She wanted to hold onto Toriel and never let go. She wanted her brothers so badly she thought she might be sick. Instead, she nodded, and followed the path as it lead to switches that Toriel had clearly painted bright yellow arrows around. She stood on her toes to pull them down and Toriel met her at the end of the room as the spikes blocking the way clunked downwards and the floor smoothed. 

“Splendid, little one! I’m very proud of you,” Toriel said. She held out her hand.

Frisk took it readily, though her palms were starting to hurt.

“I know we are moving fast,” the woman said, “but it is certainly for your benefit. Do not worry, I know this must be very strange for you, but everything I teach you here will help to keep you safe.”

Before she knew it, Toriel plunked her in front of a training dummy. Frisk blinked at it blankly. 

“Little one, living here, underground, you may find monsters that will attack you. However, do not worry! If such a thing occurs, please just do your best to stall for time and I will be there to resolve the situation. Alright? Would you like to give it a try?”

Frisk looked at her, then looked at the stoic dummy. She took a step back. “Oh… Oh, no, I’m being attacked,” she said. “Um… Hello. Hi. Nice day today? Nice, um… Nice stuffing? V-Very fashionable…?”

Toriel smiled and laughed quietly. “I suppose it’s hard conversing with someone who cannot answer, but it seems you get the idea. Very good.”

Frisk stared at the dummy. She didn’t know why, but she patted its shoulder before she followed Toriel out of the room.

Toriel put her hands in the sleeves of her robe and looked up and down the pathway. She looked thoughtful, and then turned to Frisk and knelt down.

“This is the last one for now,” she assured her. “I know you’re tired, my child. Actually…” She took Frisk’s hand again and then stood, and to her faint surprise, guided her across the path and towards another section of room where the floor was entirely spikes. Toriel stepped through slowly, but confidently, guiding the kid on the path until they reached the other side. “There. Not as scary as it looked, hm? Did you see what we did?”

“You um… You followed the path. From the floor. It was a pattern,” Frisk said.

Toriel beamed. “Very good! But… I’m afraid I fibbed, there is _one_ more little challenge.” She released Frisk’s hand and straightened up. “Forgive me for this.”

She took off quickly and by the time Frisk turned to peek down the long stretch of hall before her, Toriel was gone, tail end disappearing behind what Frisk remembered was a column at the other end of the room. Maybe under other circumstances, she would have been able to manage a laugh. 

Frisk simply followed the path down the long hallway until Toriel peeked out from behind a column near the door and quickly hurried out to meet her. 

“Never fear, my child! I did not leave you, I was merely behind this pillar the whole time!” she said. “Thank you for trusting me. However, there was an important reason for this exercise. You see, I have some business I must attend to, and you must stay on your own for just a little while. The Ruins are too dangerous to explore alone, especially for someone so small as you.”

Frisk stared back at her blankly, but she nodded. Toriel smiled and reached into her pocket and produced an old flip-phone, then offered it to her.

“I must ask you to stay here in safety, but please, take this phone. You may call me any time. I will be back soon. Be good, alright?”

“O-Okay,” Frisk squeaked.

Toriel headed out quickly and Frisk stared after her for a while. She looked at the phone. It was that same one, silver and worn, a little scuffed on one side. Looked like a dog had gnawed on it for a few seconds at some point in its life. She flipped it open. Of course Toriel had already put her number in there. Frisk sighed and closed it again.

Something about the silence was just too much for her to bear. She couldn’t keep herself on her feet and dropped down onto bruised knees. Grimacing at first, her throat tightened until the tears came and, before she knew it, she was sobbing uncontrollably. She put her face in her hands and curled up, trembling, and she cried until she was painfully thirsty and the tears wouldn’t seem to come any more.

She thought she heard a sound through the pounding in her ears. Hesitantly, she looked up. She was surprised to see a Froggit— a monster that looked very much like a regular, large frog— sitting before her. He croaked.

“Oh… H-Hi,” Frisk said. “S-Sorry I’m not happier to see you. I had a rough day.”

The Froggit croaked. Frisk sighed.

“You won’t tell anyone, will you?” she said. 

He blinked one bulbous eye and then the other.

“Thanks… I… Okay, this sounds nuts, but I’m from the future. And everyone I love just probably turned to dust. I came back to when everyone is okay again, but now almost no one will remember me, so it’s kind of like, I lost them twice? I dunno. It’s messed up. I just wanna go home, but it’s not even real anymore.”

The Froggit stared at her blankly. She wiped her eyes.

“Sorry… Th-That probably sounded crazy…” she said. “Thanks for listening though, you’re great.”

The Froggit’s cheeks flushed and he lifted up to flop a hug onto her shoulders. Frisk snickered tiredly.

“Thanks,” she said.

He croaked and settled back down onto his haunches.

“Yeah. You know… at least they’re all okay. And we were all really good friends before, so we’ll be like that again,” she assured herself. “And monsters are so nice. You guys, you’re just basically made of nice stuff, aren’t you? So as long as I st-stay… stay determined, everything’s gonna be okay.”

Again, the Froggit blinked lopsidedly. Frisk smiled.

“Thank you so much.”

He smiled back, took her hand and put something in it, and then hopped away and out of the room. Frisk checked her palm. For some reason, he had given her three gold pieces. 

Frisk picked up her phone as she forced herself to her feet. It was a weird feeling. Again, that silence bothered her; felt so alien. It took her a moment to realize why. She had never been here without Chara in her brain.

\- - - 

Many people have an inner voice that seems to speak to them. It just so happened that Frisk’s, for a time, was a ghost. The troubled spirit of Toriel’s first daughter— Asriel’s sister— in fact.

Frisk used to be able to hear her, sometimes whispering advice, good and bad, in the back of her mind. Later, she’d learned that she wasn’t her first host, though Chara hadn’t remembered the others. Frisk had seen them, though, in her dreams. Almost everything she’d learned about her history, though, was from ancient video recordings made mostly by Asriel himself, long before he’d become the soulless flower that he was now.

Chara was a human who had fallen into the mountain a long, long time ago. She loved monsters, but had grown to despise humanity, to the point where she had devised a plan to eliminate it. She hadn’t been treated well amongst her own people and, when she learned the truth of how they had started the war against the monsters and sealed them below ground, her rage only grew. She wanted them to die.

Monsters and humans had been primarily at odds due to the fact that monsters possessed the ability to absorb the lingering soul of a human. It was said to grant them immense power, turning them into a huge beast: unnatural in form and unmatched in strength. The barrier that imprisoned the monsters below the mountain could only be circumvented by such a beast, according to the stories. It was also said it could be broken completely by the gathering of seven human souls, to match the seven wizards who had cast the spell to begin with.

Chara learned this. She wanted those souls. She wanted revenge. She came up with a plan— poisoned herself in order to die, faking an illness, to give her soul to Asriel. Together, they had travelled to her village and she tried to instigate a massacre, using her own body as bait. But, when it came to actually killing anyone, Asriel hadn’t let it happen. He stopped them from fighting, and they were struck again and again. Mortally wounded, they went home, and they were both destroyed, as was their family. Dust scattered and body buried, that seemed to be the sad end to it. That is, until the CORE malfunctioned.

The CORE, a magical energy reactor that powered all of the underground, also had strange side effects. It warped matter and energy; affected souls and determination strangely. Records on it were scarce and vague, even though it was within recent memory. That was when Chara’s spirit stirred. Drifting at first, aimless, barely conscious, she simply _existed_.

When Frisk fell down below, Chara woke up. For some reason, a tiny, scared, little ten year old girl armed only with a twig had a soul that resonated so strongly with pure determination that she could travel through the tears in time that had appeared after the CORE’s malfunction. That feeling reminded Chara of herself. She attached to the new human, hoping for a way to get revenge, to take that determination for herself— to finally destroy things for good. However, she found she could do little more than help pass on knowledge to Frisk. The girl was unswayable. She wouldn’t hurt anyone. She loved everyone she met that showed her any shred of kindness, like a little lost puppy.All of this confused Chara greatly. Their pasts weren’t so dissimilar.

Even so, Frisk had done something Chara never expected from a human. The skeleton brothers had taken her in as one of their own. Chara’s mother now called _her_ daughter. Frisk had made a family. She hadn’t hurt anyone. She had only turned back time to do her best to make everyone as happy as she could, and now she had decided that she wouldn’t reset the timeline again, even though she had all the power in the world to do so. For some reason that even she didn’t fully understand, this made Chara feel something she hadn’t felt in a long, long time: hope. Just a tiny spark of it, like a candle’s flame flickering in an endless night.

The final day on the mountain, after the barrier had cracked and vanished for the last time, Chara felt like air. She felt lighter. Her grip loosened. She watched Frisk giggle and conspire with Sans about the type of house they’d all build together. She told Papyrus she’d take him to show him all the possibilities of noodles they could try, and promised Undyne and Alphys that they’d all have huge anime marathons together. Told Toriel she wanted more than anything for them all to stay together. 

The sun was setting low over the horizon and, as everyone else began to leave the mountain’s plateau, and the ever watchful skeleton brothers were chatting with Toriel near an ancient mountain path, Frisk hung back for just a second to take in the fresh air. She had suddenly felt a strange sensation, like a weight dropping from her body. 

“Ahem.”

Frisk whirled quickly to the unfamiliar voice. She stood facing a girl in a green and yellow sweatshirt, a head taller than herself. She wore her brown hair a little longer and her complexion was fairer, her cheeks dotted with just a few freckles, but they could have easily been mistaken for siblings. Frisk gulped.

“Nice to finally meet face to face,” the girl said.

Frisk stared. Her heart pounded. “Chara…?” she squeaked.

“In the flesh. Or not. In the ghostly flesh? Whatever.”

“H-How did you…? What did you…?” Frisk looked around and it seemed as if no one else had noticed at all. “What’s going on?”

“What? Not happy to see me?” she said with a laugh. “No no, don’t answer that. It’s fine. I know it’s probably freakin’ you out, isn’t it?”

“B-But how are…? How are you here?” Frisk asked. “H-How come I can see you?”

“Because I’m a spooky ghost. Obviously.” Chara rolled her eyes. “And because I’m leaving.”

“You’re… Wait, what?” the kid said shrilly.

“We’re done. You’re not resetting,” she said. “So… Since I can’t come with, I thought I’d just… you know, leave? Pass on? Whatever.”

“What?” Frisk stared blankly. “You’re going. Just like that?”

“Yup.”

“Wh-Why?” she said.

“Can’t leave the mountain anyway,” she said. “I’m pretty weak even out here, honestly. No point in staying. I’m… Hah. Frisk, right? That’s your name? I’m really tired, Frisk. I could sleep forever.”

“Y… You’re not…? You’re not gonna try to push me anymore?” Frisk asked.

Chara looked thoughtful; folded her arms. She drummed her finger against her forearm and tilted her head to the side. “You know,” she said, frowning a little, “I’d hoped, at first, that you’d be on board. You and I, we know how bad humans can be. You write out your life before you came here, and just change a couple words and it’s the same as mine. Some destruction here in exchange for the strength to end it all, maybe it’d be worth it. But to you, it wasn’t. I sort of envy that.”

Frisk frowned with concern, but Chara started to smile.

“You gave me a little hope in them again. Maybe that’s stupid,” she said, “but maybe more humans can be like you. And if not, well, you’ll protect these losers now, won’t you?”

Frisk’s eyes began to tear up. Chara laughed and patted her roughly on the shoulder.

“God, you’re such a frickin’ crybaby!” she said. “Go live with your monster family. Be happy for once.”

Frisk gulped, but she nodded. She sighed. “I’m… I’m sorry about Asriel,” she said quietly.

Chara scoffed. “Hey. Don’t keep that. That guilt is mine, got it? But… Thanks. Thanks for trying. He appreciates it. Me too.” She hugged Frisk tightly, her grip cold and strong. “Take care of mom and dad for us, yeah?”

She let go. Her form dissolved into what looked like embers, drifting up on the wind and vanishing. Frisk stared blankly for a while. She felt strangely light, but hollow, too. She didn’t know what to say. She supposed it was too late, anyway.

“Hey, kiddo.” 

She turned quickly and saw Sans waiting for her a few paces away. 

“What’re you lookin’ at?” he said.

“Oh… Uh, nothing,” she said, “just… everything.”

“Sounds about right,” Sans said with a laugh. “C’mon. Everyone’s waiting.” He offered his hand.

\- - -

Frisk took a deep breath. She tried to hold onto that moment. She tightened her grip on the phone. “Alright, let’s go,” she said.


	5. The Lonely Arc

Sans blinked, hard. His ceiling seemed to loom darkly above his head. Blank. Bit of a crack in the paint in the corner. For some reason, he hadn’t been expecting that. He heard a thumping beyond his door and he looked up through the dim light.

“SANS!” he heard Papyrus shriek. “SANS, YOUR SOCK IS STILL HERE!”

“Okay,” Sans replied groggily. 

“SANS, YOU MUST MOVE IT!”

“Okay.” He rubbed his eye sockets tiredly.

He got out of bed and popped his spine, listening with quiet amusement as Papyrus stomped around the house downstairs. Slouching and walking as if in slow motion, he left his room and peeked over the banister to watch his brother with a fond grin on his face.

“Sans!” Papyrus yelled. “Have you seen my boot?!”

“Uh, it’s on your foot, bro,” Sans said.

“Not that one, the other one!” Papyrus stuck one bare foot in the air and twiddled his phalanges. “Did you take it?!”

“Did you check the kitchen?” 

“What?! Of course I—!” Papyrus’s face suddenly flushed a little amber in his cheekbones. “I…! Hang on a minute!”

Sans rested his chin on his hand as he watched his brother rush off into the kitchen. He was in there for only a few seconds before he burst out, standing proudly with two boot-clad feet.

“I, the great Papyrus, have rescued my boot from under the sink!” he exclaimed. “That annoying dog was in there again! How on earth does it keep getting in?!”

Sans smiled and stuck his thumb in the air. “Great job, bro.”

“But of course!” Papyrus said. “Sans, you should really get ready, you know. Your post is not going to man itself!”

Sans stretched his arms high above his head. “What day is it?”

“It’s Wednesday!” Papyrus called.

“Aw, really? I was hopin’ it was _Snoozeday_, but I guess that was yesterday.”

“SANS!” Papyrus chided. 

Sans shrugged.

As Papyrus rushed from the house, only barely thirty seconds behind schedule, Sans took his time making a cup of tea, then sipped it while reading through the paper. The comics weren’t particularly good today, but they were his favourite part anyway.

When he finally decided to go outside, he put on his coat and slippers, cozy as ever, and headed out into the snow. The way the air chilled his bones was a little refreshing. He shoved his hands in his pockets and headed towards the other end of town, focussed on maybe getting a bite to eat, taking a nap, checking in on Frisk— He stopped in his tracks for a moment. A sudden sinking feeling caught him. They were back underground.

It all flooded back quickly: the shattered barrier, the warming sunset, the plans they had all made. He was confused, though. Frisk was so sure she wouldn’t send them back again. This kid, _their_ kid— he knew she wouldn’t break her word. Not after everything they’d been through together. He felt a cold pit in his soul, but he knew he’d have to talk to whoever came through that door from the Ruins, first. Either whoever had done this wasn’t his kid, or something was seriously wrong. The former was worse, but the latter wasn’t much better. He tried to push his worry aside, but it wasn’t much for fading. It never was.

Papyrus was already making his second round through town, as usual, when Sans spotted him near the library. His brother was so punctual. 

“Sans!” he shouted, waving. “Brother! Have you checked your posts yet? Seen any humans around?”

“Nope,” he said.

“What, you haven’t checked in or you haven’t seen a human?” Papyrus asked, hands on his hips.

“Your guess is as good as mine, bro,” he said with a grin. “Want anything at Grillby’s?”

“Ack, Sans!” Papyrus whined. “You know if I catch a human, King Asgore will finally let me into the Royal Guard! What if one slips by while you’re off eating burgers and drinking ketchup?!”

“So… Is that a no?” Sans asked.

“Ooh, you’re just hopeless sometimes!” Papyrus stormed off in a huff. 

Sans shrugged. After a few seconds, his brother doubled back, looking a little embarrassed. 

“Does he, um…? Is there pasta on the menu yet?” 

“Not yet, bro, I’ll keep asking,” Sans said with a wink.

Papyrus grinned. “You are officially forgiven, Sans! Nyeh heh heh heh!” 

As Papyrus marched off with a bounce in his step, Sans balled his fists and tried to steady himself. He stole a quick glance behind him and, seeing no one, shifted himself in space. He looked up at the sealed door to the Ruins and then glanced around in the snow. There were no tracks at all, save for his, faded under light snowfall from a few days ago. He frowned to himself. Cautiously, he knocked. There was no answer, but he supposed that wasn’t unusual. It was a little early.

Maybe the anomaly would show up today, maybe tomorrow: it was usually within a few days of his memories settling back in. He hoped like hell that it was still her and that there was just some big mistake, but the more he thought about it, the more he doubted it. He rubbed the back of his skull and couldn’t ignore the sinking, sick feeling inside. Maybe heartbroken was more accurate? He shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Kiddo, you wouldn’t ditch us, right?” he said quietly. No, she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. Not on purpose, there was no way. Not his kid.

He sighed and then shifted himself back to the outskirts of Snowdin, where Papyrus was setting up one of his switch puzzles. 

“Hey, Papyrus,” he said.

“Oh! Hello, brother! Didn’t realize you were here,” he said brightly. “Did you check in at your station yet?”

“Yup.”

“Any sign of humans?”

“Nope.”

Papyrus sighed. “Sans, can I tell you a secret?”

“Bro, of course,” he replied.

“Well, it’s just that…” Papyrus looked a little bashful all of a sudden and he wrung his hands. “I really want to join the Royal Guard and finding a human is my only real shot, I think! But I’m starting to worry I’ll never even see one. I mean, I’m not even totally sure what they look like, you know? What if I miss it?”

“Paps, chill out,” Sans said. “You’re the coolest. You’ll definitely find a human.”

Papyrus began to grin and he picked right up again and balled his fists with determination. “You’re right! I am the coolest! And I will find a human!” he said. “Thanks for the pep talk, Sans. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Hey, no problem. I didn’t even really do anything,” Sans said. “Hey. How about we go check in on your guard house, huh? I think I saw some boxes we could use to patch up the roof.”

“Excellent idea!” Papyrus grabbed Sans up off his feet and out of the snow, grinning, and slung him over his shoulder. “I’m the fastest, I’ll get us there in no time!”

\- - -

Frisk felt like she was on autopilot: doing puzzles, talking with Froggits and other small monsters that pranced about the ruins, and pushing rocks onto switches. She wasn’t snapped from her dazed walking until she heard her phone ringing. She took a moment to rest her back against the cool stone of one of the ancient walls and, cautiously, she picked it up. 

“Hello, my child,” Toriel said. “For no reason in particular, which do you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch?”

“I… um… I like both,” she said.

“Oh! Well, that’s lucky,” Toriel replied. “Thank you for being so patient, little one. How are you feeling? Are you taking a little rest?”

“Y-Yeah. I’m okay. Th-Thanks, mom.” Frisk’s heart dropped and her face flushed. “O-Oh, I’m s-so sorry, I—”

“Wait one moment, did you just… call me _mom_?” Toriel asked. “I… Oh my.”

“I’m so sorry, I just—”

“No, no,” she assured her quickly and gently. “Would that make you happy? To call me _mom_?”

“I… I mean… y-yeah, kinda,” Frisk said quietly. 

Toriel laughed brightly. “Well then! Call me whatever you’d like, little one! I’ll talk to you later!” She hung up. 

Frisk stared at the phone. “Frisk, you idiot,” she muttered. She rubbed her eyes with her palms and grimaced, then took a few long, deep breaths to steady herself. 

Maybe it was good. Toriel was her mom, she was bound to slip up eventually. She sighed. She noticed her hands were shaking. The cold was starting to get to her, but she didn’t know what else to do, so she just kept going.

There were so many gates and passages down here, but it was also very linear. She certainly wasn’t lost, but she didn’t realize where she was until another tear in time sparkled quite clearly before her in a room with a weird, ancient plate of cheese on a table. She approached it and it was stuck. She wasn’t sure why she expected it not to be— she didn’t know why, but almost every piece of cheese in the underground was stuck to something. Some mysteries, maybe, were better left unanalysed. She reached into the patch of starlight and stuck to it much like the cheese to the table.

The light made her feel a little better; made her notice the shaking a little less. She peeked into the next hallway from the doorway. There were red leaves scattered across the floor as if they had fallen in from somewhere, and she thought she saw a flicker of something light amongst them. Curiously, Frisk snuck a little closer. She was caught off guard when she noticed a translucent shape laying down in the leaves. 

She edged closer and leaned over, and was shocked by herself to realize that she knew the vacant, teary-eyed face that stared up at the ceiling. She had to stop herself from saying it out loud, but she had stumbled across Napstablook. He was a sweet, if not quiet, ghost who loved music. It was sort of surreal to find him there— Frisk had been so wrapped up in her own troubles that she had forgotten to expect the weepy ghost laying in the leaves.

“H… Hey. Are you okay?” she asked.

He didn’t answer. She tilted her head. 

“Excuse me?” she said. 

Napstablook blinked quickly, as if he had suddenly heard her, and he looked up.

“Oh! H-Hi there,” Frisk said quickly. “Um… Are you okay?”

“Wh-What? …Um…” The ghost floated up just enough that he could see her clearly. “Oh, no… I’m just in the way again… aren’t I?” 

Ghostly tears began to dribble down from his large eyes and Frisk immediately raised her hands and shook her head.

“No no no, wait, don’t cry,” she yelped, her mind racing. “Hey, it’s okay! Um… Uh…! Hey! Wanna hear a joke?”

“I… um…” Napstablook blinked slowly. “Maybe?”

“Okay, how about this? What’s the perfect dessert to give a ghost?”

“Um… wh… what?” 

“A creme _boo-lée_!” she said.

The ghost stared back at her blankly for a couple seconds before the corner of his mouth twitched up. He let out a weak giggle. Frisk grinned.

“Okay. Yeah. That’s good. You gotta keep your _spirits_ up,” Frisk said. 

The ghost smiled a little more. He sniffled. “Oh… W-Wait, maybe… Check this out.” The phantom tears flowed up from his eyes and, somehow, became a hat upon the top of his head. “I… I call this one Dapper Blook. Do you like it…?”

“Hey! That’s _boo_-tiful!” she said.

He snickered and Frisk stuck her thumbs up. He floated upwards just a little. “Oh gee. I… I usually come here because it’s so… quiet, you know? But today I met someone nice. That’s… a good surprise.” He leaned forward a little. “You look kind of familiar. M… Maybe, have we…? Um… Never mind… I’ll, um, get out of your way… Nice to meet you.” He floated upwards and drifted away.

“See you later, have a good day!” she called.

She felt a little bit lighter. Napstablook usually had no recollection of her at all. Maybe things weren’t so hopeless after all.

\- - -

As Papyrus was making his rounds again, Sans shifted himself to the laboratory in Hotland. The lights were out inside, but from the smell of recently cooked ramen, he was pretty sure Alphys was around, somewhere.“Yo. Alphys?” he asked. 

He heard a weird shuffling, the crinkling of a bag, and a nasally yelp in reply. The fluorescent lights clicked and buzzed to life. The place was a mess, as usual, with cup noodles and crumpled cans of soda all over. Alphys, lab coat pockmarked with the telltale splatter of a cherry cola, was huddling near a bag of dog food before she peeked out and saw him near the door.

“Oh! S-Sans!” she said. “I wasn’t ex-expecting… Never mind! H-How are you?”

“Bone tired,” he said with a wink. “Just checkin’ in. How’re those cameras workin’?”

“C-Cameras?! What cameras?” she stammered.

Sans smiled. Alphys sighed and slumped, rubbing her head.

“You notice everything, don’t you?” she said.

“That’s what they pay me for,” he joked.

Alphys smiled sideways and wandered to the fridge. “Soda?” she asked.

“Sure.”

She handed him a can of green fizzy stuff and took one herself as well, popping the tab almost right away and taking a swig. “Th-They’re working fine, to answer you.”

She beckoned him to a dimmed screen and hopped up on the chair in front of it. She tapped a few keys at her keyboard and it brightened, showing clear shots of every place in Snowdin.

“Huh. Creepy,” he joked. “So no humans, right?”

“N-No, nothing,” she said. “Nothing at all s-since we installed th-them. I, um… I saw you at… at the Ruins today. Were you checking?”

“Oh. Kinda. I practice knock knock jokes at that door,” he said.

“Really?” Alphys shot him a sceptical look and he shrugged and nodded. “Huh. W-Wow. That’s um… Oh! That’s… a-_door_-able…?”

“Now you’re gettin’ it,” Sans said.

Alphys smiled. “H-Hey, um… if… i-if you want to check in, you can j-just use it,” she said. “Your br-brother is always in that area, r-right? I can understand if you’re a bit worried.”

“Thanks, Doc,” he said, taking a sip of his drink.

“You still have a key, right?” she asked.

“Hm?”

“To the lab,” she said.

“Oh. Yeah,” he said.

Alphys smiled, but she looked a little apologetic. “Ever, um…? Ever miss it?”

“Eh. Not really.” He pointed to the screen. “Hey. So. Human turns up. What’s the plan?”

“O-Oh, um… Tell Undyne, I guess?” she said.

Sans nodded. “Could you do me a solid?” he asked. “Paps really would love to see a human, so unless one comes out all, y’know, murdery, think you could hold off on the red alert stuff?”

“Uh, I guess so?” Alphys said. “B-Be careful, alright? I m-mean, n-not that there’s been any hint of a human or anything. It’s been a l-long time.”

“Thanks,” he said. “Guess I should be goin’. See you tomorrow, huh?”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rectangular object in a folded, brown paper bag. Alphys’s eyes lit up and she took it and peeked inside. Her cheeks flushed.

“Wh-Where did you get this?!”

He shrugged. “You don’t have that one, right?”

“N-No! This one’s new!” she said. “Th… Thank you, Sans. ”

He stuck his thumb up and headed for the door as she turned to tenderly place the package on her desk.

“Hey, so you wanna w-watch—?” When Alphys looked again, he was gone; she hadn’t even heard the door open. “Sheesh, he’s f-faster than he l-looks…”

\- - -

Frisk felt like eyes were on her as she continued through the ruins. It was a little unnerving, but she guessed it was probably Asriel following her. He usually kept his distance. She wished he would be reasonable, but as he was, not only was he lacking empathy, but he seemed to assume everyone else was as well. It would be so much easier if she could just explain to him that her plan was to get him a soul, permanently, so not to mess around and be terrible to everyone, but she knew he wouldn’t trust her. 

She tried to busy her thoughts on how to get him a soul to begin with, but she was quickly snapped out of it as she realized she had entered the wrong door. She stood and stared at the dark, vacant city of Home sprawled out before her, below an overlooking balcony and along the path she hadn’t meant to take. It looked ancient, frozen in time. Made from magic, it wouldn’t deteriorate like human buildings. It looked like a strangely fantastic place to explore, even though it filled her with melancholy. She guessed a few of the buildings must’ve still been inhabited, since there were some monsters that still lived in the area.

Frisk realized that she hadn’t ever taken the time to take a look. Maybe because of how confused she had been at first, or maybe a year’s worth of experience had actually changed her perspective a little. She wasn’t sure. Was ten so different from eleven? Maybe not.Maybe one day, when everything was settled, she might have time to come back and explore with… 

Her stomach dropped. She took a deep breath. She didn’t want to start crying again. 

She turned to head back to path, but she caught sight of something a little out of place from the corner of her eye. She squinted through the low light. It looked like a knife. Plastic, maybe? Had that always been there? Didn’t really matter. She picked it up and stood on her toes to put it on top of the ledge and out of the way before heading back.

She soon came upon a large, bright area with a leafless tree as its centrepiece, branches stretching ever upwards even as all they had once held lay scattered, red and orange, around its roots. Frisk supposed this must’ve been the first tree the monsters planted, all those years ago after they finally felt safe enough to emerge from the mountain’s deepest depths. She stared up at the barren branches and felt a little sad. She wondered if it missed Asgore.

Frisk heard her phone ring and she quickly went to pick it up, but before she could, she noticed Toriel around the tree. Eyes wide, the woman, phone under her floppy ear, quickly pocketed the device when she saw her and rushed over, kneeling down to take her by the shoulders.

“My child, how did you get here?” she asked. “Oh, no, I’m so sorry, I should not have left you alone for so long. Are you hurt?”

“N-No, I… I’m sorry, I just… I met some nice monsters out there,” she said. “N-Nobody hurt me. We just kept surprising each other by accident.”

Toriel smiled with relief and she patted the kid’s head gently. “Oh, I apologize, it was irresponsible for me to leave you.”

“Mom, it’s okay,” she said. “I’m sorry for not staying put, but I—”

“Do not worry, my child, either way, you’re here now,” Toriel said with a smile. “Come with me.”

Around the tree, there was a small, tidy house built straight into the wall before them from bricks and stone of the same, dusky hues. Toriel took Frisk’s hand and, together, they went in through the front door. The tone shifted almost instantly. 

Inside was a cozy house— quaint, clean, and bright. The light inside was warm and inviting, especially in contrast to the cool, darker areas out in the Ruins. A fireplace in another room added a soothing glow to the whole place. The air was sweet with the scent of fresh baking. 

Toriel could barely contain the bright smile on her face. “Do you smell that?” she asked. “Surprise! It is a butterscotch cinnamon pie! I thought we might celebrate your arrival!”

Frisk gulped. She wasn’t sure her heart could take it.

“I want you to have a nice time living here. So I will skip on the snail pie for today.” She smiled bashfully, but her ears lifted just a little. “I have one more surprise for you.” She beckoned Frisk down the hallway to the right and took her hand. She escorted her to the first door.

“Here. A room of your own. I hope you like it!” She put a hand on Frisk’s head and gently ruffled her hair.

Frisk felt her eyes getting hot. She drew in a shuddering breath. Toriel looked down at her, her brow bending with concern.

“Oh. Goodness. Have I…? Have I presumed too much?” she asked softly.

Frisk shook her head and hugged onto her legs tightly. “Th-Thank you,” she said. “Thank you so much.”

“Oh…” Toriel went down on one knee, cupped the girl’s face and brushed her tears away with her thumbs. “Little one, what’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing! Thank you for… for being so nice,” Frisk said.

Toriel smiled sympathetically, but then looked quite abruptly towards the kitchen, her snout wrinkling and her ears pinning back. “Oh my, I’ll be right back! Please, make yourself at home!”

She got up and hurried towards where Frisk knew the kitchen was, just as she was starting to get the faint whiff of smoke. She wasn’t entirely sure what it could be, since her mom usually cooked using magic. Frisk rubbed her eyes quickly. Her legs felt like jelly. 

Cautiously, she pushed the bedroom door and peeked in. It was a surreal sight— just an average child’s room, nothing particularly special about it except for someone’s drawing of a golden flower on the wall. Frisk grimaced as she stepped inside. She looked over a box of shoes, some with styles so old she barely recognized them. Six sets. She took off her own shoes and slipped them under the bed and out of the way, then sat on the mattress to rub her sore feet. The silence was starting to get to her again.

She took a moment to catch her breath and slipped out of the room, her socks sliding on the clean wooden floors. She could hear Toriel, but when she entered the living room and dining area, she couldn’t see her. She must’ve still been in the kitchen. Frisk doubled back and quietly slunk out of the front door to latch onto a glimmer of light she noticed outside before coming back in and sneaking back down the hallway to the bedroom. She took a seat on the bed and rubbed her brow as she felt the pressure of a headache coming on. She was starting to shake again. She closed her eyes.

\- - -

When Frisk woke up, she was staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. Her stomach dropped. She sat up quickly, squinting around in the dark for a moment before she realized where she was. She took a deep breath. She had almost forgotten. 

There was a sweet smell hanging in the air. As her eyes adjusted, Frisk could see that Toriel had left a perfect slice of pie and a fork on a plate on the floor. Frisk slipped out of bed and picked it up. It was just barely cool. Two hours. 

She ate one bite and nearly broke down again. She took a deep breath. She had to get a hold of herself. She was no use to anyone crying alone into her pie. She ate it quickly, only then realizing how hungry she had been. 

She wasn’t sure what time it was, but she slipped out quietly into the hallway and checked in Toriel’s room, wondering if she was in bed. She wasn’t, so Frisk guessed it probably wasn’t too late into the evening yet. She didn’t think Toriel would mind, so she went over to the desk to take a plain sheet of paper and one of the many, many pens she kept in one of her drawers. She kept her desk at home and at the school just the same. On the desk itself, her eyes passed over an open passage in a lined book, in Toriel’s handwriting.

“Wh… _Why did the skeleton want a friend? Because he was… bonely_? Dang, mom… That’s terrible.” She laughed to herself. “…Sans’ll love it.”

She went back to her room and leaned over the dresser to write on her paper. She wrote _Soul Ideas_ on the top but couldn’t get much farther than that. She rested her cheek on her fist and sighed. Maybe Sans could help her, or Alphys, once she met them again. 

Her stomach twisted and her eyes watered a little at the thought of her big brother. She wondered if he had noticed the reset by now. Probably had. He was probably worried. It made her heart ache. She wondered how much he knew. Hoped she hadn’t gone too far back. Sans had always been there for her, every time. He had to be again, right? Unless he thought she had lied to him. She put her head in her hands as her headache came back almost right away. She hoped like crazy that he would forgive her.

She tapped her pen on the paper and doodled while she thought, trying to keep the sick, lonely feeling from growing too heavy, and quickly wiped her eyes when a tear splattered her paper. Nothing came from it, just pictures of dozens of hearts. She puffed out an irritated sound, folded the paper to put in her pocket, and returned Toriel’s pen to her desk.

Plate in hand, Frisk walked out towards the kitchen and found Toriel reading to herself in her favourite armchair near the fireplace. She looked up over her book at her and smiled.

“Hello, my child,” she said. “How did you enjoy the pie?”

“It… It was great!” Frisk said, forcing a smile. “Th-That was a really _sweet_ thing to do.”

Toriel’s eyes went wide. “L… Little one,” she said, getting to her feet. “Was that a joke?”

“Yeah, but I meant it though,” Frisk said.

Toriel began to smile. “Oh my!” she said with a laugh. “If you are also a fan of jokes, I _butter_ keep practicing mine, then! I… hmm… I cannot think of one for scotch…”

“Um… neither can I,” Frisk said.

“I suppose hop_scotch_ is always one but it’s not exactly applicable at this second,” Toriel mused. “Perhaps one day.”

She chuckled to herself and took Frisk’s plate from her. Frisk followed her to the kitchen as she placed it in the sink and rinsed it. Confronted with the counter, Frisk realized a little more seriously how short she was again. She had only grown a little in that year, but at least she used to be almost able to use the sink properly. The whole rest of the pie sat upon the counter. It was almost the same size she was.

“It is good to see you smiling,” she said. “I hope you’ll enjoy living here.”

“Mhm,” Frisk said.

Toriel dried her paws on a towel and then looked down at Frisk. She stared for a few seconds, seeming lost in thought. The kid stared back with an increasingly puzzled look, and then Toriel laughed to herself.

“Oh, forgive me, my child,” she said. “You seem so familiar to me. Like… meeting an old friend again. I suppose that doesn’t make much sense, does it?”

Frisk’s heart thumped to her stomach. She shrugged, but her cheeks flushed a bit. Toriel ruffled her hair and returned to the living room. Frisk peeked out of the kitchen after her as she moved back to sit on her chair and put her reading glasses back on. 

“M… Mom? Um… I kinda… feel the same?” she said.

“You’re very sweet.” Toriel’s ears perked at the base a little as Frisk walked over to join her. “I think you will do well here. I’d love to show you many things in the underground. Bug catching, for one thing, is very exciting! And baking. And I’m sure I can prepare an educational program for you. You know, I have always wanted to be a teacher. But there are many fun things we could do together as well. May I ask, how old are you? Have you had much schooling?”

“J-Just a little bit,” Frisk said. “I’m eleven.”

Toriel’s eyes went wide. “Eleven? But you are so small!”

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Frisk said with a tired snicker. “I… um… when I was little, I didn’t really have a lot of people looking out for me, so… so I guess I didn’t grow very well?” She wasn’t keen on elaborating further, but Toriel seemed to have caught her meaning. 

She drooped for just a moment before a look of determination crossed her face. “You’ll no longer have to worry about any such nonsense. Put your fears aside. I will do all I can to help you.”

Frisk nodded and she smiled. “I know. You’re a great mom.”

Toriel looked bashful.“Well, I will certainly try to be,” she said. “It is getting a little late, my child. Please let me know if you’re still hungry or if you would like anything more. Or, simply head to bed if you would like. I know you must still be exhausted.”

Frisk nodded again and watched as Toriel picked her book back up. She scooted in a bit closer.

“So, um… what’re you reading?” Frisk asked.

“Oh! It is just a book about snails,” Toriel said. “Would…? Would you like to hear about it?”

Frisk immediately planted herself on the floor in front of her. “Yes, please. From the start?”

Toriel stared down at her with surprise, then shrugged to herself and smiled. She scooped Frisk up under her arm and then leaned back to sit her on her lap as she began to read the book aloud. Frisk listened for a while, happy just to hear her voice and pretend nothing was wrong, and didn’t realize she had nodded off until she woke up snugly tucked into bed with the sound of a music box’s gentle song tickling her ears.

She sat up, rubbing her head, and looked around. Toriel had laid out some clean, albeit a little large, clothes with a note on top. She slipped out of bed to look. 

_Little one, please feel free to borrow these and leave out your clothes. I’ll wash them in the morning. I’ve also used a little magic to heal you. I hope you are less sore than before._

Frisk checked her hands. The raw skin was completely healed. She hadn’t even noticed. There was a small white bandage stuck diagonally from the edge of her right hand and around the side near her pinkie, too. Puzzled, she peeled it off. She was amused and warmed to find that her mother had used it to cover one of the slightly more visible scars she had, one that was just a little paler than she was. She must’ve mistaken it for something a little more dangerous. Really, though, it was quite old. She and switched into the baggy old purple and white sweatshirt with the Delta Rune emblazoned on the front, just like her mother’s robes, and pyjama pants, and then grabbed her phone and note out of her shorts pocket before she forgot about them. As she held the phone in her hands, however, she felt her heartbeat pick up and she looked at it as she sat back on the bed. 

It hadn’t occurred to her, but brothers were just a phone call away. Though, she supposed, they might not really be her brothers anymore. The thought of it broke her heart and she had to stop herself from crying on the spot. Her fingers shook.

Sans was perpetually losing his phone until a few months ago, but Papyrus still had the same one he had kept from underground. She knew the number by heart. Though she felt sick, she slowly dialled it. Her finger hovered over the call button. She wasn’t sure that she should. He wouldn’t know her. She wasn’t sure she could bear it. Her stomach knotted. She gulped and did it anyway. The phone rang twice.

“Hello! You’ve reached the great Papyrus, who is speaking?”

Frisk hung up quickly and instantly felt horrible, but it was good to hear his voice. She settled back in bed and tried to relax, but almost jumped right out of her sheets when the phone rang. She scrambled to get it and looked at the front. She gulped. Of course it was Papyrus. 

She thought long and hard about not answering, but, honestly, she wanted to talk with him, more than almost anything else in the world. She picked it up. “H-Hello?”Her voice snagged right away.

“Hello! This is the great Papyrus! I believe we got cut off! Who is speaking?” he said.

“Um… I-I’m sorry, I… wrong number,” Frisk stammered.

“Well, hello there, Wrong Number! What can I, the great Papyrus, do for you at this late hour?”

“Uh… N-Nothing! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have c—“

“Are you alright? You sound all choked up!” he said, his voice already taking a concerned tone.

“Oh, I…” Frisk sniffed. “Sorry. I… I guess I didn’t really have a good day.”

“Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that, Wrong Number! Would you like to talk about it? The great Papyrus always has an ear to listen! Well, I mean, not literally. I am a skeleton, after all, but the principle still stands!” he said.

Frisk’s throat tightened and she felt hot tears start to stream down her face. She gulped and breathed out deeply. “You’d do that for a total stranger?”

“Nyeh heh! A stranger is just a not-yet-friend, Wrong Number!” he said cheerfully. “Now, what’s on your mind?”

All her mind was screaming about was how much she missed him; how much she loved him. How she wanted him to know she had never meant to leave him. How desperately she wanted to come home. She didn’t know it could hurt this bad. It took her a moment to be sure she wouldn’t just burst out sobbing.

“I… um… I got lost today,” she said quietly. “I was with some friends, and my mom, and my brothers, but now I’m not sure if I’ll ever really see them again.”

“Oh, no, Wrong Number, I’m so sorry that happened, but trust me when I say that your family is definitely looking for you!” he assured her. “Family can be the strongest thing in the whole world! Let me tell you, if my brother went missing, there’d be no stopping me!”

Frisk smiled a little and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “Your brother? How is he? T-Tell me about him?”

“Who, Sans? He’s sleeping, as usual, most likely. But it’s late now so I guess I can’t really blame him too much,” he said. “But, he is a very good brother. He eats terrible food, and tells terrible jokes, and is so indescribably lazy, but at the end of the day I really would do anything for him. Do you get along with your brothers?”

“You know,” Frisk said quietly, “they’re both kinda opposites of each other, but I really love them both and we always get along. They’re like… my whole world, you know? B-But I… I’m the littlest one. They went a long time without me, so I… I know they’ll be okay without me, but I’m not okay without them.”

“Oh, no, don’t be silly, Wrong Number!” Papyrus insisted. “Your brothers love you very much! They’ll be so relieved when you all find each other! Is there any way I can help?”

“I don’t think so,” she said, but she started to smile. “Thanks, Papyrus. I-It was good to talk to you.”

“But of course! You sound a little better! Do you have a safe place to sleep tonight?” he asked gently.

“Yeah. I guess I’ll try to get some rest,” she said.

“Good! If you ever need someone to talk to, know that you can always call me, the great Papyrus! Any time, day or night.”

“Thanks, Papyrus. Good night,” she said.

“Good night, Wrong Number! Sweet dreams!”

Frisk hung up and took a deep breath. She flopped back into bed and clung tightly to the phone. There was a knot in her throat. “Good night, bro,” she whispered.

\- - -

Sans couldn’t sleep. He didn’t like the feeling. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see some other anomaly, some other kid that looked like_ their_ kid, doing horrible things that their kid would never do. His dreams hadn’t been this bad in a while, but he was sure that this was just his own imagination, for once. He wasn’t sure if that was a relief or not.

Either way, as he sat groggily at the table downstairs, clutching a mug of lukewarm tea, he was really starting to feel sick. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure they had lost Frisk. What were they supposed to do if some other human— some other soul full of determination from wherever the hell they came from— turned up? After her, he didn’t know if he could handle it. She was supposed to be the last. She was like a constant fact of the universe. A particle that came from the heart of an exploding star. As fundamental as the elements themselves. If she was gone, what he knew— what he had been holding on to— was shattered.

With Frisk as their anchor, the world was finally steady, but it wasn’t just that. After three runs of her just trying to help everyone— how they had worked together so closely on what he had been so sure was their final try— he really loved her. Loved her so much it made his whole being ache even thinking about never seeing her again. But no one else would even remember her. It would be like his kid had never even existed.

He rubbed his eye sockets tiredly. They were starting to sting. He sipped his tea. It wasn’t very good. 

He heard Papyrus coming down the stairs quickly, humming an upbeat tune. He stopped rather abruptly.

“Sans?!” he said. “What the heck are you doing up? I thought for sure you’d be fast asleep by now!” He darted around the side of the table, took one look at Sans’s face, and his expression shifted from confusion to a sympathetic frown. “Brother, you look absolutely terrible, what have you done to yourself? No, actually, don’t answer! I know what it is just by that look! You’re having those terrible time shenanigan dreams, aren’t you?”

“Heh.” Sans grinned tiredly. “Not quite.”

“But you certainly can’t sleep,” Papyrus said. “Or else you’d, well, be asleep. Obviously.”

Before Sans could say a word, his brother scooped him up effortlessly and plopped him onto the sofa. 

“Look at you, you’re a mess,” Papyrus said, taking his mug of tea away from him and gently pressing magic-tinted fingers to his temple. “This isn’t even the one you like. What’s wrong?”

“I, uh… I dunno,” Sans said as his brother went to the kitchen to turn the kettle on again. “I feel like maybe I lost somethin’ important.”

“Oh! Well, that’s no problem at all, Sans, I’ll help you look,” Papyrus said quickly. “Your room looks like a trash beast made of trash rolled around in it, but you know I am fantastically organized. I can clean it up for you, if you like.”

“But bro, how will I know where my trash is?” Sans joked.

Papyrus laughed quietly. “Okay, so not that. That’s fine. You don’t have to tell me. I understand.”

When he hopped over the side of the couch to join him, he had a new mug of tea. This one was much better. Sans held the warm cup in his hands for a while after taking a sip. He couldn’t bring himself to look his brother in the eye. Maybe she’d be like a dream for Papyrus. A little ache of missing someone he never met. It made him feel sick.

“Thanks, Paps,” he said.

Papyrus grinned and put his arm up over the back of the sofa and scooted in close as he switched on the TV. He kept the volume low, but put on the MTT channel, where an old episode of one of Mettaton’s early crime dramas was playing. Sans’s eyes were already getting heavy and he slumped onto Papyrus.

“So is there anything you want to talk about?” Papyrus asked. “Anything at all?”

“Nah. Thanks, though,” Sans said. “I’m… uh…” He closed his eyes without really meaning to. 

Papyrus snickered. “You’re going to be alright, brother, promise!”

“…Paps, never change, huh?” Sans said groggily.

“Change? Nyeh heh! Into what? I’m already basically the greatest I could possibly be,” he assured him. “I won’t change a bit! As if I’d even want to! Though I’m not sure why that would be of any concern at all.”

He looked at Sans. The short skeleton was asleep. Papyrus smiled to himself and gently took the cup away from him before he dropped it. He hugged him gently around the shoulders.

“I knew it. _Circuit Super Investigator_ gets you every time,” he said quietly. “That’s okay. I’ve seen it too many times, too.”


	6. The Lonely Arc

Frisk poured over her scrappy list, tapping a pen of a different colour against the margins, pouting. She had step one down now: _leave the Ruins_. It barely helped. She didn’t really want to: she hated putting her mom through that. But, she would never get anywhere or help anyone if she didn’t. She sighed. Step two she jotted down as _find Sans. _Crossed it out, wrote _hug Sans._ Crossed that out again and wrote _FIND AND ASK SANS! +hugs_. She knew she couldn’t deal with this without him. She put away the paper again. It wasn’t really helping her actually plan, but the thought of starting to move forward in any sense helped her steady herself.

It was late in the morning, closer to noon, Frisk suspected, but her sense of time was a little off, especially with no sky to look at. The Ruins were pretty stagnant in regards to time of day.

When Frisk emerged into the living room, Toriel greeted her with a smile. 

“Hello, my child, good morning,” she said. “You look much better than yesterday. I’m glad to see it. How are those clothes?”

“They’re comfy. Thanks, mom,” she said. 

“Are you hungry?” she asked. “You may have pie for breakfast if you wish. It’s still a special time, after all.”

“Oh! Um… Actually, I’m not hungry quite yet,” Frisk said. 

“In that case,” Toriel said, “I was planning on taking a walk down to the flowerbeds near where I found you. Not… Not that there’s much chance we will discover a second human in two days. But I would like to water the plants, anyhow. Would you like to come with me?”

She must’ve been waiting. Frisk smiled sheepishly.

“Sure,” she said.

“Unfortunately your regular clothes are still hanging out to dry, but…”

“No, no problem, these are fine,” Frisk assured her quickly. 

The kid quickly got her shoes on and, together, she and Toriel headed back out the same way they had travelled the day prior. Toriel carried with her an empty watering can. She stopped to fill it at one of the slow streams that flowed through the room just beyond the very first puzzle.

“So, you do this every day?” Frisk asked.

“Oh, yes,” Toriel said as she pulled the can back out of the water, careful not to drip on her robes as she straightened up and began to move on. “Do you know that feeling? As if the one day you do not check on something, a disaster will happen? I suppose I feel a little like that. If another human falls, and they are destroyed, either by accident or otherwise, by some other monster? I don’t know if I could forgive myself.”

“Right,” Frisk said; she had to speed her steps to keep close. “Thank you again for yesterday, by the way.”

“Oh, that was no trouble at all,” she said. “That little flower creature is a strange one. I could have sworn I recognized him, but I’m not certain. Perhaps he is from beyond the Ruins.”

“Y-Yeah. Maybe,” Frisk said quietly.

When they reached the patch of golden flowers, Toriel began to move around them slowly, watering each section and humming softly— the same song from the music box. Frisk stared upwards. She could see the hole from here, but it looked so small and so far away.

“Wow,” she muttered.

“Hmm?” Toriel asked.

Frisk pointed up at the hole. Toriel tilted her head to follow her finger.

“Oh. Yes. That’s where you came from,” she said. “Quite a long way up, isn’t it? It’s a miracle you were not more injured than you were. Humans are surprisingly resilient.”

“I didn’t think _that_ resilient,” Frisk said.

“You are the eighth human to come down here like that,” she said. “In a way, I’m surprised the humans did not try to shut it.”

“It’s really out of the way,” Frisk said. “I don’t think anyone knows about it. Nobody comes back from the mountain. I mean, nobody really goes there, either…”

Toriel let out a contemplative _hmm_ and shot Frisk a curious look. “Honey, were you lost?” she asked gently.

“Sort of. I was trying to get out of the rain.” She shrugged and smiled. 

Toriel chuckled. “Quite a ways to go to stay dry, my child,” she said. “For what it’s worth, I am glad you’re here, now.”

“Yeah, me too,” she said. 

Toriel smiled. “I am happy you feel so comfortable talking to me,” she said. “For some reason, I was worried you would be a little reluctant.”

Frisk’s face flushed. She felt a little bad. She wasn’t sure where Toriel was getting that notion from, but she remembered that, the very first time she had come through the underground, she had been very quiet. She guessed she was a little shell-shocked at the time.

“In fact,” Toriel continued, “I am quite surprised that you did not simply flee from me. That has happened in the past. Humans and monsters do not necessarily have the happiest history together. It must have been quite a shock to see a monster for the first time.”

“Y-You thought I’d run from you?” Frisk repeated, surprised. “N-No, no, never. Besides, you don’t look scary at all.”

Toriel chuckled and ruffled Frisk’s hair, and then gently offered her the watering can. Frisk took it carefully. It was mostly empty, so it wasn’t too heavy, but there was enough to feel satisfied when she tipped it out onto the next bunch of flowers.

“There are some monsters out in the world who may look a little more frightening to human eyes,” she said. “But, I urge you to never act rashly out of fear. Things here are often not what they appear to be.”

Frisk nodded. She smiled to herself as she used up the last of the water. “Don’t worry about that.”

They made the walk back, Frisk holding the woman’s hand quite contentedly. Following a few small signs, they made a stop at a bake sale run by spiders and picked up some cider. Frisk wasn’t quite sure how they made it, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know, but it did taste vaguely like apples and was quite pleasant.

Near the house, Frisk took note of her clothes hanging to dry on the leafless tree as Toriel headed back inside. She snuck up to the shining tear near the front of the cottage and latched onto it. She felt a little more steady. 

Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a little fleck of gold shifting. She rolled her eyes, but smiled to herself. She went inside and could hear Toriel bustling in the kitchen.

“Mom?” she asked, and then peeked in. “Would it be okay if I had that pie now?”

Frisk took her slice of pie back outside and sat on the ground. Using the fork, she broke it into small pieces and only ate a little before putting the plate out in front of her. “Hey, c’mon out,” she said. “I know you’re still here. I just saw you, you dork.”

“Rude.” Asriel stuck his head out of the ground in front of her. “Heh. What? Come to gloat. Or…?” His words trailed off as his eyes settled on the pie. 

She pushed the plate towards him and he recoiled for a second.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Pie.”

“Yeah, okay, but what the hell are you doing with it?”

“Well. I put it on a plate. Then I broke it small so a certain weird little flower could put it in his face,” she said.

Asriel frowned cautiously. He tilted his head. He drew back and his frown deepened. “What do you want?”

“For you to eat some pie?” Frisk replied, puzzled. “Sorry, was that not kinda obvious?”

“I tried to kill you,” he said.

“Yeah, I know. More times than you even remember, probably,” she said.

“So why are you doing this?” he asked.

“Believe it or not, in some small bits of time, we’re kinda friends,” she said.

“That’s probably the stupidest thing you’ve ever said to me,” he replied.

Frisk couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you need me to hold the fork, is that why you’re so grumpy? I’ll do it.”

“No, shut up, I’m fine.”

Frisk snickered. She put her hands over her eyes. “Better?”

He didn’t answer, but she heard chewing. 

When she looked again, he had, in fact, cleared the plate and was drooped over a little. He had a weird sort of smile on his face. 

“I guess this is where I say thanks?” he said. “That’s… the right thing, huh?” He sighed, and then quickly disappeared underground again. 

Frisk picked up the plate and went back inside.

“My child, are you alright?” Toriel called from the kitchen.

Frisk wandered in to join her— she was in the middle of making another pie shell. She reached out and took the plate from Frisk to place it in the sink.

“Thanks for the pie again,” Frisk said. “Do you need any help or anything?”

“Oh! No, not at all, little one,” she assured her. “If you’d like, you could play with some of the toys in your room. Or rest if you’d like?”

“Could I borrow a book?” Frisk asked.

“Yes, of course! Anything you like,” Toriel assured her.

There was a small bookshelf near the fireplace and Frisk took a quick look along the spines. Lucky that monsters still wrote in the same languages that humans did. She pulled out a history book. She didn’t really think it would be helpful, but it was the closest thing she had. She didn’t want to take Toriel’s chair, so she turned her gaze on the dining table. There were two large chairs around it and one child-sized one. For some reason, it made her sad.

“I’ll be in my room,” Frisk called.

“Alright, little one,” Toriel replied.

Frisk took out her note paper again just in case and sat, cross-legged, on the bed with the historical book. It was about the human-monster war. 

Frisk had learned about it in passing from when she still lived among humans. It was no secret, but it was very old, and many details were lost. Humans were ashamed of it, and what they had done, but they hadn’t had a clue if any monsters were even left in this day and age. Finding seven humans willing to sacrifice themselves to break a barrier to save a people they didn’t even know were alive was a tall order, and so the barrier remained. 

Humans started the war, and ended it, out of fear of having their souls stolen. What they didn’t seem to know is that there was almost no chance of a monster maliciously taking a human’s soul. They just weren’t built with that kind of hate in them. Frisk found it all very sad. It was no wonder that Chara had been so angry.

Frisk didn’t learn much from the book, and there were quite a lot of words in it that she had to guess at the meaning of or couldn’t grasp at all, but a line in there did catch her attention. There was a mention of how few monsters there were, and how slowly their numbers would grow. It occurred to her that monsters must have to some way create a new soul to make children. Didn’t know why that hadn’t come to her sooner. Maybe they could somehow use a cheat in that process?

After a while, Frisk realized she was reading the same page over and over and not processing a single thing. She sighed. The silence was getting to her again. She grimaced. She found it a little funny, now— she had never had this problem before falling down that hole but now, she hated being alone. She was so used to snuggling up under Sans’s arm as he read to her, the debates about anime with Alphys and Undyne, or hearing her brothers banter. Listening to the sounds of pasta being made, or even the possible explosion of kitchen appliances. Mostly, there had been a lot of laughter. It was nice. 

Against her better judgement, she picked up the cellphone again. She dialled Papyrus and put the phone to her ear. Two rings and there he was, as usual.

“Hello, you’ve reached the great Papyrus, who is speaking?”

“Hi, Papyrus, it’s me again,” she said.

“OH! Wrong Number! Have you dialled the wrong number again?” he asked.

“N-No, I meant to call you this time!” she said with a laugh. “I wanted to thank you for talking to me yesterday. I was really down and… well, it helped. So thanks.”

“Oh! Wowie! That’s great to hear, Wrong Number! Have you found your family yet?” he asked.

“No, not yet,” she said. “But I found a very nice lady, and she’s looking out for me for now.”

“Fantastic!” he said.

“So, um… is your brother, um…? Is he home?” she asked quietly.

“My brother? Hmmm, no, actually, he is out! Hopefully at work! For once,” he said.

Frisk sighed and nodded to herself. “What are you up to? Are you busy?”

“Oh, not particularly,” Papyrus said. “Though I am preparing my favourite dish! Spaghetti and tomato sauce! However. I’m not sure why but nobody else around me seems to like it.”

She held in a laugh. “Really? Not even your brother?”

“Oh, he’ll eat it just fine, but I know he doesn’t really care for it,” Papyrus said with a sigh. “I don’t know, I think it’s great! I don’t even set it on fire or anything like Guard Captain Undyne does.”

Frisk snickered. “Maybe it’s the flavour of the sauce. Maybe there’s something you could add that would make it better,” she said. “What’s in it, now?”

“Tomatoes,” he said.

“And?” she said.

“Uhh… garlic?” he said.

“And?” she pressed.

“That’s about it. It is tomato sauce, after all!”

Frisk put a hand to her face and stifled a laugh. “Well, that doesn’t sound too bad! But did you ever try adding some sugar to the sauce?”

“Sugar? In tomato sauce?”

“Try just a little bit. Like a pinch. Maybe your brother likes something with a bit of sweet in it. What’s his favourite food?”

“Ketchup. Which is also coincidentally his favourite drink, side, and condiment,” he said with a hint of disdain.

“Well, there you go,” Frisk said with a laugh. She heard the door creak open to her left and she took note of Toriel entering quietly. “Ooh, I gotta go. Nice talking to you!”

“You too, Wrong Number! Have a great day!”

Frisk hung up the phone with a fond smile on her face as Toriel edged into the room with a slice of pie.

“My child, who were you talking to?” she asked gently.

“Oh, I dunno, a monster I butt-dialled,” Frisk fibbed as she scooted back to sit on her pathetic list.

“Butt… dialled?” Toriel repeated with a confused expression.

“Yeah, you know, when you sit on your phone and accidentally call someone,” Frisk explained.

Toriel smiled. “Oh! I have never done that, but I understand. Funny that there is actually a word for that. Here. I hope you like it.” She handed over the slice of pie and looked at Frisk hopefully. 

The kid recognized the smell as cooked snail. “You made a whole other pie?” she said with surprise. “Wow, thank you.”

Frisk dug in with a vigour that surprised the woman. The taste hit her with hard nostalgia. It was rich and silky, like a meat pie but with a consistency like butter.

“How do you like it?” Toriel asked.

“It’s good.” Her voice came out choked and quickly, she wiped her eyes and then took another bite. 

Toriel looked worried. “Honey, are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah. Yeah. Sorry,” she said quickly. “It just reminded me of something.”

Toriel looked guilty for a moment and put her hand on Frisk’s shoulder. “Did you have a family on the surface?”

Frisk shook her head. Toriel’s brow furrowed a little.

“You climbed up the mountain all on your own?” she asked.

Frisk nodded.

“Maybe it’s not my place to ask,” Toriel said, “and… if you don’t wish to answer, I understand… but why did you do such a thing? I know you mentioned the rain, but…?”

Frisk smiled a little. “I didn’t have anywhere better to be. I guess I took a chance.” She wiped her eyes. “I’m happy I did, though.”

Toriel smiled gently. Beside Frisk, she caught sight of the book she had been reading.

“Oh! H-History. Interested, are you?” she said. “I’m sure it is different than… Well… I’m sure humans have a much different account.”

“Not really,” she said. “Humans started to feel bad, actually.”

Toriel’s eyes went wide. She stared at Frisk blankly for a few seconds before she began to smile again. “That’s… That is much more comforting than you might realize. Are you finished with it?”

Frisk nodded, so Toriel took it gently and closed it. 

“It will just be back on the shelf if you’d like to look at it again.”

The kid nodded again and Toriel slipped out of the room again, leaving the kid to her meal. 

She ate slowly. She did actually like snail pie, but it was so rich that she usually couldn’t eat more than half of a slice. She shuffled to lift up her now crumpled list. She scooted again to the dresser to use as a table and added, below the list part, _Monster parents???_ as a note to herself. 

She came out a little while later to put her plate in the kitchen and found Toriel reading again near the fireplace. Seemed like she had her routine down. 

“Hello, little one,” Toriel said. “Would you like to read with me again this evening?”

“Yes, please,” Frisk said.

Toriel smiled and closed her novel, then went to the bookshelf. She pulled out an old book about monster myths. She paused. “Hmm… Perhaps this?” She held it up. “But I believe you may have read this one already?”

Frisk couldn’t hide her surprise. She had— it was one of her favourites— but she had certainly not read it this time. She shook her head. “N-No, but I’d love to hear it.”

Toriel looked puzzled. She took another peek at the cover. “How strange,” she said quietly, “I was so sure that… Hah. Never mind, my child, this is a very good book. You will enjoy it.”

She began to read and Frisk sat down to listen, but her thoughts drifted almost right away. It was really starting to seem like something had stuck in Toriel’s mind. Frisk wasn’t sure why, or how, or even what, but the fact that there was anything at all made pricked straight into her sense of determination. 

It made her heart ache, but she would have to leave soon. The longer she stayed, the harder it would get. And she couldn’t bear to leave Sans hanging.

As it got later and they finished the first few stories in the book, Frisk feigned falling asleep. She heard Toriel chuckle when she noticed her slumped over, and felt herself lifted and carried to bed, then gently tucked in. She turned on that gentle music box and switched out the lights before leaving. Frisk stayed still for a while longer in the covers and was about to get up to check the time on her phone before she heard Toriel’s paws on the floor again. She froze. She listened to Toriel come back in, lay something on the dresser, and then leave again.

Frisk sat up and peeked over. It was her dry clothes. She checked her phone. It was close to nine o’clock. She fumbled through the settings and found a clock with an alarm. She set it for four in the morning, hopefully before Toriel would be awake, before settling back down to rest. 

When she heard the phone beeping at her, Frisk shot up out of bed like an arrow. She hadn’t even realized she had fallen asleep. She hurriedly turned the alarm back off and tried to steady her racing heart. She didn’t dare turn the light on, so by what little light her phone could muster, she tore off a piece of her plan page and sat down to write a note. 

She stared at it for a long while, trying to map it out in her brain. She began to write, slowly, trying to pick her words carefully.

_Dear Mom thank you so much for taking care of me. Your amasing. I can’t stay tho I gotta leave the Ruins. I’m not trying to run away but there’s a few things I need to do out there. I wish I coud tell you all about them but I think it woud sound too crazy. Please don’t worry I’ll come back and we’ll see each other again. I love you very much. Thanks again for every thing._

She didn’t really like the wording, nor did she know exactly what she wanted to tell Toriel, and she was fairly sure she misspelled a lot, but it was the best she could come up with. She pouted. No wonder her writing class marks were low.

She went out front, clung to the starlight, and then checked around the dark house quietly. Toriel was definitely in bed. Frisk paused outside her bedroom door and took a deep breath. She told herself not to cry. She’d see her again once the world was safe. She folded the note, drew a heart on it, and slipped it under Toriel’s door. 

She went back to her room, made the bed, changed into her old clothes, folded the borrowed ones, and then put her sneakers back on. Quietly, she tiptoed down to the basement stairs and slunk down into the darker, cooler path below the house.

She used her phone for light as she started down the long, featureless tunnel. Her steps began to speed and she felt more and more determined the longer she went. The first gate was just within view when Frisk heard a strange sound— she realized rather quickly that it was Toriel’s paws on the stone.

She grimaced; considered going back in time for just a moment, maybe trying again, but the thought that Sans would notice the backtracking weighed like a brick in her mind. She gulped. She only managed a few more steps before Toriel’s voice bounced off the ancient walls.

“Wait! Little one, please!”

Frisk winced. She stopped and turned. The worried woman was racing towards her.

“I… I had this awful dream that…! And then I saw your note and I…!” She grabbed Frisk by the shoulders, eyes wide and worried._“_Oh, little one! I’m so glad I caught you! You cannot go out there!”

Frisk’s heart sunk. “B-But… But I need to.”

Toriel shook her head vehemently. “I don’t know what put this thought into your head, but it is far too dangerous. The world beyond here, you… you cannot understand.” She turned on the door as if it were an assailant, her brow furrowing. “I am going to destroy this.”

“You can’t,” Frisk said quickly. “Please. I need to go out there.”

“My child, there’s nothing for you beyond here,” Toriel said. 

Frisk gulped. She bit her lip. Her heart skipped a beat. “Wait, please!” she said, and Toriel shot her an apologetic look. “I’m not leaving for good! I’m just going to break the barrier!”

Toriel recoiled, eyes wide. “Wh… What do you know about that? My child, you… you can’t. There’s no point, don’t you understand? If you leave here, you will be killed. Asgore… The King will kill you and take your soul. I cannot allow it.”

Frisk grimaced but locked eyes with her mother’s, steady and certain. “He can try,” she said. “But he won’t.”

“You do not understand,” Toriel insisted. “The monsters beyond here, they will kill you. Or they will take you to him. Please, my child—!”

Frisk sighed. She had to break the rules. “M-Mom, I know you’re worried. You’re scared. You know every human before me, they didn’t make it, right?” Frisk said gently. “B-But I can do it. I don’t know how to explain it without sounding crazy, but I have friends who will help me out there. After all, we’re really all on the same side, right? We all want that barrier gone.”

Toriel frowned. “How can you sound so certain?” she said, then shook her head. “No, I won’t hear it. You won’t turn back? Either return home, or face me.” Toriel raised her hands and blazing, magic fire rose up on either side of her, barring the door. 

Frisk gulped.

“To leave the Ruins, you.. You will have to prove to me that you are strong enough to survive,” Toriel said.

The kid took a deep breath and braced herself. She rolled up her sleeves and her soul’s glow fortified her, shining red through her chest. If her mother’s shone back, she kept it hidden, but even still she could hear, deep down, the hum of her soul swelling into a heartbroken melody.

“Okay, but I won’t fight you,” Frisk said. “And I’m pretty determined.”

Toriel’s expression turned stern and cold. With a wave of her hand, the flames came at Frisk in an arc. Her heart started to pound. Her roll and jump out of the way were almost muscle memory by now. She bounced on her toes— she could feel it all coming back, and her soul’s determination carried her farther, faster. Toriel looked a little frustrated.

“Child, you must fight me or flee,” she said seriously.

Frisk smiled. Her energy picked up, too— that red heart of her soul shining brightly. It didn’t do that much on the surface. For some reason, this felt good. “I still pick neither.”

Fire encircled her like a halo and Frisk took off running, rolling through small gaps in the flames and skidding along the ground to slip away from the heat. She hopped backwards to give herself more space, then began again, jumping and dodging, scraping her knees and feeling the heat against her shoulders as she bent out of the way. Toriel’s expression was still sullen and like stone, but even as Frisk began to feel her legs aching, she smiled.

“Dang, mom, didn’t… didn’t realize you were such a _hot head_,” Frisk said through heavy breaths. 

A twinge of a smile crossed Toriel’s face before she tried very hard to set her expression into a frown. Frisk took a deep breath to steady herself, and Toriel’s magic flames rushed straight at her. She winced, but Frisk stepped forward into it and the magic parted before her. She smiled to herself and locked eyes with Toriel through the distortion of heat.

“Mom,” she said, “I gotta do this.”

Toriel grimaced and looked aside. Frisk smiled a bit wider.

“You’ve set up such a great home for us,” she said, “and if I didn’t know what was up next, I’d never want to leave. But, I promise, we can break the barrier and nobody has to die. Not me. Not Asgore.”

Toriel’s eyes darted back towards her; she couldn’t conceal her surprise and Frisk took a step forward. She snorted and raised her arm high and the fire roared and came at her like a hurricane. Frisk took a deep breath and simply walked straight into it. No matter the fury, the magic rushed out of her way, and she didn’t stop until she stood no more than a yard in front of Toriel.

“Mom,” she said, “I… I know you might not understand. But maybe you feel it? You feel like, maybe we know each other, right? More than just this.”

Toriel’s eyes went wide. “M-My child, I—”

“So I’m asking, please, trust me,” she said. “I know I’m little, but I know this place. I know beyond here it the guy you tell bad knock knock jokes to, and his brother. I know that there’s a nice ghost in Waterfall that sells those snails you like. There’s ruins and puzzles near the CORE, just like here, and Asgore’s house looks like it’s missing half of it without you there and he still can’t figure out how to make pie after all this time.”

Toriel looked like she’d seen a ghost. She stared blankly at Frisk for a long, quiet while. Her eyes welled up with tears and, with a wave of her hand, the magic fire faded away to nothing. She knelt down to look her in the face.

“My child, what…? What are you?” she asked gently.

“I’m just a kid,” Frisk said with a shrug. “But I really want to help. Will you trust me?”

Toriel sighed quietly. She brushed the tears away from her eyes and she grimaced. She was quiet for a long while. “When… When I saw you,” she said softly, “I knew your soul was… so strong. And I felt like I knew your face. It felt like I’d always known you. Strange, is it not? I cannot explain it. But I… I do trust you, little one.”

Frisk’s eyes lit up. She jumped and hugged Toriel around the neck. “Thanks, mom,” she said. “Thanks a million.”

The woman laughed quietly and held her close. She went silent for a few moments, then gently nuzzled her snout against the side of Frisk’s head. “When we met,” she said softly, “you looked at me like you knew me, too, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I… I do. Know you. I mean. I know that sounds crazy, b-but—”

“So we were meant to meet. I think… I think I understand.” Toriel drew back and ran her hand through Frisk’s hair, smiling fondly. “I’m not sure why, but, even after just this little time, I know that I care for you very deeply, my child. Something tells me you know what you’re doing. You will… You will stay safe out there, will you not?”

Frisk’s eyes went wide. “Y-You’re gonna let me go out there?” she asked shrilly.

“To be honest, I don’t wish to,” Toriel said. “But, I know there is no way you could know what you said without some sort of power on your side. Just promise me you will be very, very careful, alright, sweetheart?”

“Oh my gosh! Y-Yeah! Of course, I promise! Thank you! Thank you so much!” Frisk grinned. “I won’t let you down! Can you do me a favour, though?”

“Yes, my child?” she asked.

“Pick up your phone!” Frisk said with a laugh.

Toriel smiled. “I will.” She wrapped the girl in her arms again. “You will be good, won’t you?”

“Yeah!” Frisk clung to her tightly. “Don’t worry, we’ll see each other again in just a little while.”

Toriel chuckled quietly. “It’s funny to hear a child so certain like you are,” she said. “Would you like anything before you go?”

“I’ll be okay,” she assured her. “Thanks, mom.”

Both seemed reluctant to let go, but when they did, Toriel laughed softly and wiped her eyes.

“Perhaps this is too much,” she said, “and I will understand if you do not want to… but… would you, by any chance, want to come water the flowers with me one more time before you go? I promise, I will not try to stop you again.”

Frisk couldn’t hide her surprise, but she smiled and nodded. “I’d love to.”

Toriel beamed. She stroked Frisk’s hair affectionately. “What a strange couple of days it’s been.”

“Oh man, tell me about it,” Frisk said.

\- - -

“S-So then, they said _Kissy Cutie 2_ was _better_! And I was just like, O-M-G, how EVEN?!” Alphys threw her arms up and nearly fell out of her chair. 

Sans chuckled and steadied her with his magic as he put his feet up near the monitor. “Gee, these UnderNet trolls, huh?”

“Oh no, they were one hundred percent serious,” Alphys said sternly. “So y-you know wh-what I said? I-I… I told them th-they were so wrong it was like th-they hadn’t even watched _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie_, and they were a moderator! Th-The only way y-you could think the s-sequel was g-good at all is i-if you h-had literally never ever even watched any show at all, e-ever! I said that whole thing!”

“Oh yeah, how did that go?” Sans asked.

“Aw, well, I got b-banned, but that’s okay, m-my forum is way better, I have at least three more followers,” she said.

Sans stuck his thumb up and took a swig of his soda. He felt a sudden sting of shock when he could’ve sworn he noticed a smidge of movement on the monitor. He sat back and nudged Alphys. 

“What?” she asked.

“Look,” he said. “Am I nuts or, uh, did that door just move?”

“O-Oh my g-god!” Alphys said shrilly. 

She hit a few keys and clicked a button on her computer, and the camera looking at the Ruins from a tree in the southern woods, peering straight at the door, came up full on the screen. There was nothing. Sans’s soul pulsed a worried beat against his ribcage. Just as Alphys was about to relax, the heavy Ruins door definitely moved.

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod,” Alphys said, her breathing starting to stutter. “It’s…! I-It’s m-m-moving! SANS! IT’S MOVING!”

Alphys began to cling to his shoulder with panicked, tight fingers as the door slowly was pushed open. Out of the shadows in the opening in the stone came a young girl. Sans’s eyes went wide. Short. Tiny, even. Scrawny little thing. Light brown skin; dark brown hair, barely shoulder-length and straight with bangs; a blue and pink striped sweater. That looked a hell of a lot like her. He felt a chill.

“Oh god. Oh my god,” Alphys said. “A… A h-human? Is th-that a human?! It’s gotta b-be!”

The human pushed her way from behind the door and stepped cautiously out into the snow. The ruins door slammed closed behind her like the huge slab of stone it was and she jumped, startled. She slumped with her back against it, seemingly to catch her breath.

“Oh my god. Oh my GOD!” Alphys was shaking. “Sans, your b-brother…!”

“Can you zoom in?” he asked.

“Uh… y-yeah? Where?”

“Her… Her face. Just for a sec,” he said.

Alphys did, just barely enough. Sans felt a twinge of relief when he saw those eyes were definitely brown, not red or anything else. It was usually the faces that were the most different, from what he could remember of the others, but this… It _really_ looked like her, but it was always a little blurry. The timelines where he’d seen her weren’t exactly real anymore. He knew better than to get his hopes up, but maybe there was a chance…? He guessed it would be too odd to push Alphys to try to get a good look at her right hand. For some reason, he remembered a mark, but after a second of thought, he realized there was almost no way this resolution would pick up something so small.

He took a breath. Reminded himself not to assume anything. He got to his feet. “Gotta go,” he said. “Look. I’ll handle this. Don’t tell Undyne yet, huh?”

“Y-You sure?!” Alphys said. “Th-This is a big d-deal! Th-There’s no way we’ll be able to k-keep this quiet!”

“Try,” Sans said.


	7. The Lonely Arc

The air outside was cold and brisk; kind of refreshing after the mostly windless Ruins. Frisk rubbed her hands together and blew on them quickly. She wished she still had her boots or a coat, but she knew she had to suck it up. She took a look around cautiously. When she had first come to the underground, Sans had snuck up from behind her, and yet she knew there wasn’t really anywhere from him to have come from. He had either used his powers or was napping somewhere, either of which were fairly plausible.

There was a thick line of dark forest around her off the trail, framing the path, and not much else besides some bushes near the Ruin’s entrance. Cautiously, she peeked inside. While there definitely wasn’t a skeleton in there, she was surprised to find a camera. Curious, she bent in closer to look at it and the lens buzzed and moved almost as if retreating from her. She laughed and backed off. She couldn’t believe, after passing through his gate three times before, that she had never seen it.

With one last look around, peeking in between tree trunks, she covered her hands with her sleeves and proceeded forward. She felt much more nervous now even than when she had encountered Asriel. Sans was a wildcard, always had been. She could never be sure how much he knew or didn’t, and he was hard to pry answers out of. He had only really started being fully honest with her after their family had moved in together. That, and the fact that he was one of the people she loved most in the whole world certainly didn’t help the cold feeling in her gut.

As she walked along the path, snow crunching underfoot, she was starting to make out the bridge with awkward wooden bars across it up ahead. She felt a tingling up her back. She skipped over a stick on the path; tried not to flinch when she heard it crack a few seconds later. She hurried ahead and was just about to make it to the bridge when she heard the footsteps in the snow behind her.

“Hey. Human.”

She’d know that deep voice anywhere. She froze in place. There he was.

“Don’t you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand.”

She wasn’t sure if she could face him, but she tried to steady herself. She turned and slapped her hand into his, and instantly a farting sound started as he grinned back at her. Despite everything, she couldn’t help but snicker. He shoved his hands in his pockets and seemed satisfied.

“Heh… The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick,” he said. “It’s always funny.” He smiled, but there was a twinge of worry on his brow. “Can I be honest with you? You looked, uh, kinda like you were expectin’ that.”

Frisk’s smile fell and she felt her cheeks flush a little. “Um… W-Would you be mad if I said I was?” she asked.

“Mad?” he repeated. “Nah. A bit confused, though.”

Frisk’s heart dropped. Sans was still grinning, but it seemed like the light in his eyes had gone out. Her mind rushed with panic— no hug, nothing? Did he not remember her? Where were they in the timeline? Was she even in her own timeline? Had she gone back too far? Her thoughts stumbled over themselves. She had been doing so well, and now doubt weighed her down like doubled gravity. Heartbroken, she pleaded with herself not to cry. She felt like she was going to be sick.

“It’s… It’s not what you think!” she said hurriedly. “I know it’s… It’s awful. It’s just that something really bad happened on the surface and this was the only way to fix it. I’m so sorry.”

“Huh.” It was like a switch had been flicked and he was giving her a puzzled smile again. “Okay. I’ll pretend that makes sense.”

She took a deep, relieved breath, but heat in the corners of her eyes still threatened her. All she wanted, more than anything, was to hug him. She wanted big brother to hold her and tell her it would all be okay, that they’d figure it out together, like before. Holding back hurt, more than she thought it would. She had to cling to her own hands to stop herself. She was still shaking.

“Thanks,” she said quietly. “I’m… I’m really sorry. It’s so w-weird, I… I… Um. D-Do you think we can still be friends?”

“Sure thing, kid,” he said. He moved to pat her on the shoulder but his hand stalled in midair. His eyes went wide and his gaze darted between her face and his fingers. Something started glowing blue. He drew back quickly and frowned. “What the hell is that?” he said quietly. 

“Wh-What is what?” Frisk asked.

Sans grimaced. He carefully put his hand near her again and the blue glow began once more, more vibrant this time. His eyes widened and he stared back at her, pulling away in shock as she looked at him worriedly.

“What? What’s wrong?” she demanded.

Sans looked down at his hand and then back at her as the glow diminished. “Kid, I’m gonna get up in your personal space for just a sec,” he said. He came in close and his left eye shone blue back at her all of a sudden. He cupped her cheek and only then did Frisk really clue in when the blue glow in the corner of her eye shone and she saw it wasn’t coming from him.

“S-Sans, what—?”

“Just a sec,” he said.

He winced suddenly as if something stung him and he drew his hand back sharply, shaking it off. He turned away from her quickly. She put her hand to her cheek.

“What happened? Did I do that?” she asked quietly. “Are you okay?”

She saw his shoulders shake, but when he turned back to her, he was all smiles again. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged.

“Yeah. Just fine. No worries,” he said. “I’m thinkin’ you’ll probably do okay down here.”

“What d’you mean?” she asked.

He shrugged again. “Just a feelin’. Got another one that’s tellin’ me you probably kinda know what’s up next, right?” he said. “I’m sure my brother’ll be pretty excited to finally see a human. Be nice to him, huh?”

“Of course I will, I love Papyrus,” she said.

Sans’s eyes lit up and he seemed genuinely pleased. “Yeah? Alright.” He nodded at the bridge. “Come on. He built this gate but he kinda made the bars so wide that they don’t actually stop anybody, so…”

Frisk snickered despite herself. He offered her his hand.

“Watch out, one plank’s a bit shaky,” he said. 

“Oh! Okay, thanks!” Frisk latched onto him eagerly. “Um… Sans? How much do you—?”

“Don’t worry about it.” He made sure she hopped over the right spot on the bridge. “You wanna be pals, right?”

“But just a second ago—”

“Kid,” he said, “chill out, alright? You trust me?”

He brought her up towards one of the empty wooden guard houses. He nodded his head at an oddly shaped lamp that stuck out like a sore thumb in the midst of all the clean snow. Frisk smiled.

“Yeah, I trust you,” she said.

“Alright. My brother’s comin’. You wanna duck behind that, uh, conveniently shaped lamp?”

“Where did you even get that?” she asked.

He grinned and shrugged. She was about to ask if she could just meet him right away, but she jumped as she picked up the sound of boots in the snow and then she rushed around the back of the lamp. She only stole a quick glance as Papyrus rushed in like a whirlwind, a frown marring his brow, before trying to make herself as small as possible and trying very hard not to dwell on her utter confusion over what was going on with Sans.

“Sup, bro?” Sans asked.

“You know very well what is _sup, _brother!” Papyrus said; he looked perturbed. “Do you realize it has been eight days since you’ve been to recalibrate your puzzles? I just had to go do it! What if I missed a human?! What are you even doing over here?”

“Checkin’ out this lamp,” Sans said with a grin. “It’s pretty cool. Wanna take a look?”

“What?! No I do not! I don’t have time for lamps, brother, what if a human comes through here?!” he said in exasperation. “I must be the one to capture one! Then I, the great Papyrus, will finally get everything that I utterly deserve! I’ll be invited to join the Royal Guard for sure! I’ll—”

“Bro. Chill. You’re the coolest. You’ll get there,” Sans assured him. “Maybe this lamp could help?”

“Sans, you are boondoggling!” Papyrus snapped.

“Actually, I’m doing an experiment with dramatic irony, dude. And don’t you mean… _bonedogglin’_?” Sans said with a grin. 

Papyrus raised his finger and opened his mouth, then scowled and groaned as Sans began to snicker. “Oh my god,” Papyrus grumbled. “I… Ugh! Sans!”

“Yeah, bro?”

“This is serious! This is my only chance to finally get the recognition I deserve,” he said. “You need to be aware! Alert! Quick on your feet! Like me! Not just loafing around like such a lazybones.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve done a ton of work today.” He winked. “A _skele-ton_.”

“SANS!” Papyrus cawed.

Sans grinned wide. “Come on, you’re smilin’.”

“I am and I hate it!” Papyrus rubbed his brow. “Okay. Fine. I need to attend to my own puzzles. While I’m gone, perhaps you could try to put a little more… _backbone_ into your work!”

Sans beamed and Papyrus began to cackle at his own joke as he headed back off down the road, with a loud, “Nyeh heh heh heh heh heh!” that soon faded off into the wind.

“Okay. You’re good,” Sans said. “He’s gone.”

Frisk peeked cautiously out from around the lamp and went back to join him— she let out a breath she didn’t recall keeping in. “I still can’t believe that works.” 

“Yeah, well, he’s got a pretty one track mind, lately,” Sans said. “That last one was pretty good, though, huh? Heh. _Backbone_.”

Frisk nodded and smiled. “I liked the _bonedoggle_, I can’t believe you’ve never done that one before,” she said. “Oh! …U-Um… I m-mean—”

“No, you’re right,” Sans said.

Frisk’s face flushed and she rubbed her head. “S-Sorry… I mean. This must be super weird and—”

“Kid. Relax,” he said. “Hey. You think you could do me a favour?”

“Y-Yeah, of course, anything,” she said quickly.

“So, my brother, he’s been kinda down lately about this whole Royal Guard thing,” he said. “He’s also never really seen a human before. I bet seeing you would really make his day. What do you think? Up for it?”

“Sure, absolutely,” Frisk said quickly. 

“Thanks a million,” he said. “Meet you up ahead.”

He began to head back towards the bridge, but he paused and turned to look at her just as he reached it. “Hey. Thanks for playin’ along,” he said. “By the way. The plank’s fine.”

“Huh?” 

“It’s not shaky,” he said. “Thanks for trustin’ me, pal. See you in a bit.”

“W-Wait,” Frisk said quickly; he paused midstep. “You’re welcome! You butt.”

He grinned and continued on his way. She huffed to herself and pouted, quickly brushing a stray tear from her eye.

“Jeez, Sans, do you remember or don’t you?” she grumbled.

“Ooh, man, this is rich.”

Frisk felt a chill up her spine. She whirled and saw Asriel grinning up at her from the ground.

“Hah. He remembers everything, he just doesn’t trust you at all,” he said. “I wouldn’t even bother with him.”

“Knock it off, Asriel, you’re not helping,” she grumbled.

“Duh.” He sneered. “Ditch the smiley trash bag. He’s worthless.”

“Hey!” she said, frowning and pointing at him. “Don’t talk about my brother like that!”

He looked at her like she was crazy. “Your _brother—?!”_

“You don’t hear me going around calling Chara names, do you?!” she said. “No! And she legit wanted to be a murderer and stuff!”

“You could, I don’t care,” he said.

“Yes, you do! And I wouldn’t do it anyway because I don’t think calling people names behind their backs is cool!”

Asriel raised his eyebrows as Frisk groaned and covered her face with her hands. “Wow. What an outburst,” he said dryly. “I think that’s the first time you’ve actually yelled at me.”

“Ugh… I’m… I’m sorry for shouting,” she said. “I’m just really not feeling great.”

“Hah! You think I actually care?” Asriel said. “You’re pathetic. Man, do you know how easy it would be to take you out right now?”

Frisk squatted down before him to stare him in the face. “How easy?”

He frowned deeply and grimaced. Frisk smiled. She leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the forehead. He squawked and recoiled, looking disgruntled, face flushed. 

“You freak!” he exclaimed. He ducked back underground immediately. 

Frisk snickered. 

She straightened back up and had to take a minute to collect her thoughts. Sans was acting strange— changing up small things, so far. She couldn’t understand what he was getting at. She really hoped he wasn’t mad at her. It wasn’t like before, though, and it made her heart hurt. Maybe she had gone back too far? Maybe she wasn’t in the right place? Sans had described time as not being a straight line, but running sideways sometimes, too. What if the Sans she had just met had never been her brother? If, in her panic, she had set the timeline askew? Had she somehow gone back before they had ever met? But no, Asriel seemed aware enough, and also way more talkative than usual. She just didn’t understand. She felt sick. 

She sighed and looked ahead— pine-like trees and snow stretched out over the cliffs before her almost endlessly, and when she listened closely, she could hear a river. She rubbed her eyes. She was getting so tired; her legs still ached from confronting Toriel. Dodging magic had become second nature after a while, but that had been a year ago for her. She guessed she’d need to get used to it again.

Walking was good, in a way. It kept some feeling in her feet. Her fingers, on the other hand, were getting numb and there wasn’t much she could do about it. She folded her arms to hide her hands in her armpits, but it wasn’t much help. 

She was glad to soon pick out a glimmer of time tearing between the trees just a few paces off the road as she drew closer to a curve in the road and a branching path that headed north towards the river. It was warm and welcoming to the touch, but this time, it was a little harder to hold on. She closed her eyes, frowning, urging herself to stay determined. It wasn’t so bad, she told herself. At least everyone was safe. She made the connection and let out a sigh of relief.

The path curved around and continued to the east towards where the monster town of Snowdin was, so Frisk followed it. She tried not to grumble as the slope inclined, and she stared at the ground ahead as she tried not to lose her footing. 

Frisk froze and looked up in a hurry at the sound of Papyrus’s voice, her stomach dropping.She had almost walked right into him and Sans as they chatted a little farther up the path. 

Papyrus seemed to notice movement from the corner of his eye. He turned to look at her and began to gawk. She stood totally still, unsure of what to do or say. Papyrus stared at her, then looked at Sans, and then back at her. 

“Oh my god!!!” He grabbed Sans and pulled him back, and spun him around as he squatted down and began to whisper far too loudly. “Sans!? Do you see what I see?! Is that…?! Is that a HUMAN!?”

“Uh…” Sans turned to look at Frisk; he winked. “Yup. Sure looks like it.”

“OH MY GOD!” Papyrus shrieked. “I’ll be…! I can finally…! Oh my god! Sans, I finally did it!” He whirled on her, jumped to attention and cleared his throat. “HUMAN! You shall not pass this area! I, the great Papyrus, will capture you! And then I’ll… I’ll…! Oh wow, this is kind of overwhelming, actually. Never mind! I…! I…? Where was I?” He looked at Sans for help, but his brother merely shrugged.

“Y-You’ll join the R-Royal Guard?” Frisk suggested, her voice warbling as she shivered.

Papyrus stared at her, his brows raising high. “Wait a second! I know that voice!” he said. “Wrong Number?!”

Frisk’s heart dropped and she locked eyes with him. She waved awkwardly. “H-Hi, Papyrus.”

Papyrus’s eyes went wide and and he turned and grabbed Sans by the shoulders. “SANS! I know her!! I have been talking on the phone to a HUMAN!”

“Oh really? Nice one, bro, I knew you’d find one first,” Sans said. 

“This complicates matters. You see!” He pointed dramatically at Frisk. “I, the great Papyrus, am supposed to capture you! And yet! You were so candid on the phone! Your plight truly moved me! I would almost say you might be… a friend?! But to join the Royal Guard, I must capture you!”

“Oh. Right. Um…” Frisk wasn’t sure what to say. “Okay, I guess.”

“So then I—! Wait. What?” Papyrus leaned over to Sans. “Sans, I don’t think the human is quite getting the picture. You know, with the fleeing, the puzzles, the clever traps, etcetera.”

“I dunno, Paps,” Sans said. “I mean, she’s probably just tired. And lost. And scared. And cold, definitely cold. I mean, sheesh, just look at her.”

Papyrus’s eyes went wide. Frisk was definitely shivering.

“Y-You really think so…?” Papyrus asked.

“Oh, totally, bro,” Sans said. “And hungry, probably that, too. And lonely. And scared, did I mention scared? Look, I think she might be cryin’ a little. Wow, must be hard. Little kid, all alone out here, not a friend in the world…”

Papyrus gritted his teeth and he put his fist to his mouth in thought for a few seconds. 

“I bet,” Sans continued, “that she hasn’t had a decent meal in days.”

His brother looked to be on the verge of tears. He frowned deeply. “NYEH! ENOUGH!”

He marched down the road towards her with fervour. Frisk wasn’t sure whether to stay or run, but either way, he was towering over her in an instant.

“Human…” He grabbed her by the hand. “Come! You can’t stay out here in this cold all alone! I, the great Papyrus, will see that you are warm and fed! Then we will worry about the whole capturing and Royal Guard promotion thing.”

“Wh… What? Really?” Frisk asked.

“Yes, of course, really! As a soon to be member of the Royal Guard, my first duty is to make sure everyone is safe and well!” Papyrus said, leading her briskly away. “So I, the great Papyrus, will take good care of you! That’s a promise!”

Frisk couldn’t help a smile and she went along with him eagerly. Sans shot her a wink as he followed close beside them. 

“Hey, bro, look at that, she’s not even wearin’ boots,” he said.

Papyrus balked and without a second’s hesitation, he lifted her into his arms. “What is this nonsense!? Don’t they have snow where you came from?”

“The surface? Sure, but I was in the Ruins,” she said.

“What a strange place that must be!”

“Yeah, kind of,” she agreed. She peeked back for Sans he was gone. “Hey, where’s Sans?”

“Oh, he just does that,” Papyrus said dismissively. “Hang on tight, human, I will run us home!”

“What? Oh!” She clung tightly as he broke into a sprint. “Wh-What about the puzzles?”

“Don’t you worry about that, human,” he insisted. “We will come back later and we can do all the puzzles together!”

\- - -

Sitting in Grillby’s, Sans slumped on the counter, hand on his brow, staring vacantly at the back wall. He had screwed up colossally. 

It was Frisk. He knew it was. Had to be. Everything was right. She looked the same, talked the same; moved in that same sort of confident way she had adopted after her second time through the gate. Had that same scar he picked out along the side of her right hand. She noticed the changes, yet trusted him completely anyway. But then, why were they back underground? What had she said, that there was a problem on the surface? She hadn't actually wanted to send them back, had she?

He frowned to himself. He didn’t understand. His memories didn’t go that far, or at least he was fairly sure they didn’t. They never stuck around past leaving the mountaintop. And yet, after seeing that blue magic on her face— being stung by it as he matched what he could only describe as a handprint — he could recall _something_. A house, maybe? A view from the plateau under a bright sky. Vague faces of people he knew. Toriel, a bit. He knew her a lot more than he did. There were a lot of feelings, too. Strong ones. Mostly good ones, and a very sad one. This was weird. It was _new_. It was both reassuring and nerve-wracking. 

He could have kicked himself. Screw the cameras. Screw his initial uncertainty. Why didn’t he just bring her home? Idiot.

Across the counter, Grillby passed him a glass bottle of ketchup.

“Heh. I didn’t even order yet,” he said.

Grillby raised an eyebrow. Sans straightened up and sipped it. He felt a little better.

“So,” he said, “I think I accidentally screwed with my best friend’s head real bad. What d’you think I should do?”

“Hmmm…” Grillby replied, frowning faintly.

“It wasn’t on purpose. I just wasn’t sure it was her. I know, I know, that sounds stupid. You don’t need to tell me.” He sighed. “It _was_ stupid. Real _bonehead_ move.” He chugged the bottle and Grillby took it from him as soon as he put it back down. 

The fire elemental raised both eyebrows. 

“You’re right, dude. You’re right. I gotta apologize,” he said. “Could I, uh, get another bottle of that first? You know, while we’re _ketchin’ up?_”

Grillby rolled his eyes and slid another bottle of ketchup Sans’s way.

“Thanks.” He sighed, but he started to grin a bit, too. He had never been so happy to be completely wrong.


	8. The Lonely Arc

Bypassing the puzzles he had initially set up to stop her, and dashing by the other guards on the path, by the time they reached Snowdin, Frisk was almost asleep in Papyrus’s arms. She clung a little tighter to his shoulders and forced herself alert. The town was small, alongside a river, with a small burb of homes just off the main street, closer to the water. The place looked like it was stuck in a perpetual winter holiday, covered in glistening snow and colourful strings of lights. Frisk knew the friendly little town well— had lived there for a while before Starhome was properly built.

Papyrus took her to their house, the one flying a pirate flag near the end of the main street, planted her on the couch inside, bundled her in a blanket, and served her a hot cup of tea. It was exactly like she remembered it— two bedrooms upstairs, the television and green sofa downstairs near the kitchen, and a sock covered with post-its in the corner. She was fairly sure that Sans had still left it there even when they moved out. The sink in the kitchen was still extra high to allow for more cabinet space below, for reasons only Papyrus really understood. 

Papyrus rushed around the house, chattering to himself just out of earshot. Frisk sipped her tea carefully. It was awful, but it was hot, and that was enough.

“HUMAN!” The tall skeleton jumped to stand before her with his hands on his hips. “You must be starving! I, the great Papyrus, also happen to be a master chef! How would you like a plate of delicious, homemade spaghetti?!”

Frisk remembered that early spaghetti recipe. She tried very hard not to scrunch up her face. “S-Sure, I’d love some,” she said.

Papyrus’s eyes lit up. “Wowie! I’m so excited for you! This will be your first time tasting the perfection that is my spaghetti!” he said. “This won’t take long! Stay right there!”

He bounded off towards the kitchen and she heard the clanging of pots and pans. She sipped her tea and sank deep into the blankets. She closed her eyes. The sounds of his frantic meal preparation and cackling, the scent of the tomato sauce— it made her almost feel like she was home.

Her heart began to ache and she took a deep breath. She wanted to hug him so badly. How strange to miss someone so deeply when they were only feet away.

“Hey.”

Frisk jumped at the sound of Sans’s voice and fumbled with her tea for a second. “Sheesh, you scared me!”

“Yeah. I do that.” He sat down on the other end of the couch. “Doin’ okay?”

She nodded. “Y-Yeah. Happy Papyrus isn’t really trying to capture me right now,” she said quietly. “He’d totally kick my butt.”

“Oh. Right. And puts you in the garage, right?” Sans said.

“With hotdogs in the dog food!” Frisk started laughing.

“He’s a good guy,” he said. “He’d, uh, never actually hurt you, y’know?”

“Don’t worry, I know,” she said. “He’s… He’s just about the nicest guy in the whole world, I bet.”

Sans nodded and he smiled tiredly and rubbed the back of his skull. Frisk frowned slightly and tilted her head.

“Are you okay?” Frisk asked.

“Huh? Oh. Yeah. Don’t worry about me,” he said. 

Sans leaned back to relax and, just a few minutes later, Papyrus peeked back into the room, winter mitts switched for oven ones that were off-white and patterned with cartoon tomatoes, and stained with tomato sauce.

“Almost ready, human!” he said. “Oh! Sans, you’re home! I assume you would also be interested in some spaghetti?”

“Absolutely, bro.”

Papyrus’s face lit up and he ducked back into the kitchen. 

He emerged a few minutes later, carrying three plates of pasta drenched in tomato sauce. He gave Frisk hers first, then Sans, and then turned back to her. “I truly hope you enjoy it, human!” he said brightly. “I’ve heard human food is a little different in that it is not made of magic and is not quite as fantastic, but I think you will find this thoroughly satisfying!”

Frisk put the first forkful in her mouth. The pasta was sticky and the sauce’s flavour was indescribable. She tried very hard not to make a face, and as Papyrus stared at her, eyes alight, she gulped and took a second bite. “It’s, uh… it’s great.”

“Wowie! This is fantastic! You are the first person to ever enjoy my spaghetti!” he exclaimed.

“O-Oh, really?” she asked. “I… I can’t believe it!”

He cackled and plopped down in the middle of the sofa to eat his own meal quite enthusiastically. Frisk stared at her plate with dread. Maybe skunky was a good word for it?

She leaned around and saw Sans was already almost finished his. She took one more bite and didn’t know if she could stomach any more. 

“Hey, Paps,” Sans said. “Looks like the human’s drink is a little low.”

“Oh! Human, let me get you more tea!” Papyrus said. He leapt up and bounded off, grabbing her cup as he raced to the kitchen. 

Sans grinned and held his mostly empty plate out to Frisk. “Trade ya.”

Frisk could have melted with relief. She passed him her plate as she took his. 

Papyrus returned with more tea for Frisk and a second helping of pasta for himself.

“Th-Thanks,” she said.

“Ooh! Look at that, you really ate almost the whole thing?!” he asked. “Wow! Sans, you could learn a thing or two from the human.”

“Yup,” Sans said. “Told you. Must’ve been hungry.”

“Would you like any more?” Papyrus asked.

“N-No, thank you, I’m okay,” she said.

He grinned and cleared her plate away for her in an instant, and was back on the couch in less than five seconds.

Frisk took a sip of the new tea. She wasn’t sure if she was just getting used to it or if this one was actually better, or if it was just washing the taste of the spaghetti out of her mouth. She sunk back into the cushions and tried to relax; didn’t realize she had drifted off until she heard Papyrus squealing and realized she was clinging to his arm.

“Sans, LOOK! The human fell asleep on me!” he said. “She must really have been tired, poor thing.”

“You’re takin’ all this human stuff pretty well,” Sans commented. “With all those stories goin’ around, I thought maybe you’d be a bit more, I dunno, cautious or something.”

“It’s true that Undyne said that all humans were dangerous,” he said. “But this one’s just so small and nice, and—! I don’t know, but I really like her! It’s… It’s like… I’m not sure how to explain it. But I think she actually likes me, too!”

“Fair enough,” Sans said. “She looks like she’s kind of _attached_ to you, bro.”

“Nyeh heh heh, I’ll let that one slide because it was kind of sweet.”

Frisk cautiously released him and pulled back, blinking hard. She tightened her grip on her mug of tea that had, miraculously, not slipped from her grasp.

“I’m sorry, how long was I out?” she asked.

“Don’t worry about a thing, human!” Papyrus assured her. “It wasn’t long at all! You must be so tired. Hey, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you end up getting down here, anyway? Was it a long trip?”

“Oh. I fell,” Frisk said. “Into the, um, Ruins.” She sipped her tea again. 

It was a little soapy.

Papyrus looked thoughtful.He tapped his fork on the edge of his plate. “Human, you said on the phone that you were missing from your family. I assume that’s still the case?”

“Y… Yeah, pretty much,” she said.

“So you are needing to get to the surface, yes?” he asked.

She shrugged and nodded.

“Well, that’s great news! Because, you see, us monsters would also love to get to the surface! Maybe we can work together,” he suggested brightly.

“Sounds like a good idea,” Frisk said with a smile. 

Papyrus grinned. “Fantastic! I knew you were a nice human the moment I saw you!” he said. “We’ll all go to the capital together, later! And, in the meanwhile, never fear! As long as you’re with us, Sans and I will be your family! Isn’t that right, Sans?”

“Sure, why not,” he said with a shrug.

Frisk stared at him in shock. Her throat dried. She nodded.

“I mean, since you’re used to two brothers, there’s not much better you can do down here than us! I’m sure you’ll be excited to know you have such a smart and cool and tall big brother! And Sans, also!” Papyrus continued.“Here! Let me clean up! I’ll tell you all about King Asgore afterwards! I’m sure we can all help each other here!”

“Okay,” she said softly. 

Papyrus took her plate, then Sans’s, and then strode off to the kitchen. She heard the water turn on and she let out a long, deep, shaking breath and rubbed her forehead.

“Hey. Kid,” Sans said.

She looked at him curiously. He was frowning; looked apologetic.

“I didn’t know you had family on the surface,” he said.

She smiled tiredly. “I don’t.”

His frown deepened. “I, uh, don’t get it,” he said. “What about your brothers?”

“Well, um…One’s in the kitchen right now doing the dishes, so…”

Sans stared at her silently for a few seconds. Frisk winced and turned away.

“I’m sorry, forget I said anything,” she said quickly. She hid herself in her blanket. Cursed herself for being so stupid. What kind of position was that to put him in?

Sans’s eyes went to the floor. He rubbed the back of his skull. Quietly, he shifted a little closer to her. He went to reach out to her, but he faltered. He winced as his left eye flickered with magic, crackling like static. He covered it quickly with his hand, but Frisk turned either way, looking worried. Sans couldn’t hide his shock— that marking on her cheek had lit up, as had her left eye. Blue, just like his.

“Sans? You okay?” she asked.

He blinked hard and tried to steady his energy. It settled and, at the same time, hers did as well. She didn’t seem to notice anything had happened to her at all.

He stared at her for a few seconds and then smiled bashfully. “Fine. Just a headache.”

“Oh. Um… Do you want my tea? It tastes pretty… herbal?”

Sans chuckled. He held out his hand and Frisk was eager to give it. He tossed it back without much care, then closed his eyes.

Frisk sat in silence for a few seconds, then slipped off the sofa. She put her blanket over Sans, then wandered to the kitchen.

“Hey, Papyrus?” she asked.

“Yeesss, human?” he said, leaning over towards her.

“Do you need any help?” 

“Oh, no, not at all, human, but thank you for asking!” he said. “Wowie, I didn’t expect a human to be so polite. But, don’t you worry at all, you are our guest! Go take a seat! Relax! I will be with you shortly!”

Frisk nodded and Papyrus got back to the dishes. She wondered if when he had to clean, he ever regretted raising the sink up. Probably not. 

She wandered around the room, looking out the window absently. She heard Papyrus’s phone ring. He picked it up exactly as the second one had finished.

“Hello! You’ve reached the great Papyrus, who is…? Oh! Undyne, of course! Nyeh heh, you know, I was having so much fun I nearly forgot! But of course I didn’t actually forget, because I will be on my way in just a minute! Oh yes, I have a new friend over! Very exciting! Just doing the dishes! See you soon!” 

The clattering of dishwear disturbed the air and Papyrus strode out of the kitchen, pulling his regular mitts back on. 

“Sans and…! Oh. He’s asleep. Figures.” Papyrus rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I must be off to a very important Royal Guard meeting and possible training session!”

“Oh. Okay. Have a good time,” she said with a smile.

“Thank you!” He grinned brightly. “You won’t leave, will you, human? It’s still very cold out there, and potentially dangerous! I’d hate for you to get hurt!” 

She shook her head.

“Good! I’m so happy to hear that! Now! I need to get a move on. Very important stuff! But first!” He went down on one knee before her. “I know you must have been through a lot, so I, the great Papyrus, offer you a hug! You may not know this, being new around here and all, but I am the best hugger in the whole underground, so if you would like one, please feel free!”

He opened his arms to her. Frisk stared at him blankly; her breath was suddenly shaky. She grabbed him and he snickered and held her close. 

“Nyeh heh heh! Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon!” he assured her. “When I get home, we can maybe do some puzzles together, and you can tell us about the surface, and I can teach you how to make spaghetti! How does that sound?”

“R-Really great,” she said.

He let her go and smiled at her brightly. “Hopefully my meeting won’t take too long! Tell my brother to take care of you when he wakes up!” He straightened up and he marched out with a bounce and purpose in his step.

As soon as Papyrus shut the door, Sans opened his eyes. He stared absently at the wall for a few seconds before turning his gaze on Frisk. “Kiddo. C’mere,” he said.

Frisk turned and gave him a puzzled look, then went over to him. He got to his feet to meet her and, to her utter shock, he wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Sans?” she squeaked.

“You’re doin’ great, Frisk,” he said. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to be so stand-offish before, just had to be sure it was you. Plus we, uh, kinda had eyes from the lab on us out there. Still not a hundred percent on what’s going on, but I’ll help you out, okay?”

“S… Sans…” she muttered; her voice cracked. She felt like she could collapse. Her mind reeled. It was too much, and she choked and grabbed him tightly. Started to cry before she could stop herself. “Oh my god, oh my god, you… you… oh my god.” She couldn’t even speak anymore, her throat was so tight. 

“Whoa, kid, uh…” He released her hesitantly, but she clung to him for dear life and sobbed into his shirt. “This was supposed to, uh, make you feel better?”

“I-It does!” she choked.

“Uh… You’re crying, now, though.”

She let out a small, trembling squeak and Sans sighed. He held her against his chest and cupped the back of her head. His grip wasn’t tight, but it felt solid. The sick feeling finally started to slip away. She sobbed and laughed and clutched onto him like she never wanted to let go. 

“S-Sorry, sorry sorry sorry,” she said quietly.

“Don’t,” Sans said.

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, but her breathing was still ragged. She pulled back carefully and sniffed deeply, wiping her eyes with her sleeves.

“Jeez, you alright?” he asked worriedly.

“I just really missed you,” she said.

“Kid, I was here the whole time,” he said.

“Y-Yeah, but… but, your memories, are they…? I mean…”

“I know you. Don’t worry. We’re still best buds, huh?” he said. 

He grunted when she hugged him again and his cheekbones flushed with icy blue. He smiled sympathetically and put his arms around her. She looked so small and tired. She was shaking pretty hard. 

“Kiddo—”

“Oh man, I…I th-thought I messed up really bad,” she whimpered. “I… I knew the others wouldn’t know me, b-but, if… i-if I lost you, too, I… I don’t know what I’d do.” She sniffled into his shirt. 

He stared down at her with wide eyes as she hiccoughed and tried to catch her breath. He rubbed her head; she relaxed a little despite everything. “Heh. C’mon, kid, you’re gonna flood the place,” he said gently.

“Th-That’s fine…” She coughed and laughed. “We can hide in the dumb sink. Oh my god, you scared the crap out of me.”

“Figured. Didn’t mean to,” he said. “More than a little screw up, huh? Sorry. I’m an idiot. We okay?”

She let out a raspy sigh and reluctantly pulled back to dry her eyes again, but she smiled nonetheless. “Y-Yeah, of course!”

“It’s okay if you’re mad,” he said.

“Never, no, no way,” she said. “I’m so glad that you’re… That you… I’m just so glad to see you.” Her eyes began to sparkle. Lit the room right up. 

He grinned and mussed up her hair. She snickered, sniffled, and then wiped her face on her sleeve again.

“Sorry,” she said. “I j-just…”

“Hey. Don’t,” he said. “Got nothin’ to be sorry for.”

“I j-just can’t stop crying!” she said, laughing tiredly as she rubbed at her eyes and sniffled. “Uuuugghhh, I’m a m-mess.”

“Jeez, kiddo,” Sans said. “Relax, huh? S’gonna be fine. Cry if you gotta, you’re obviously not havin’ a great time, huh?”

She huffed and nodded, wiping her eyes insistently on the back of her arm.

“Um. H… How much do you remember?” she asked hesitantly.

“Enough, I think,” he said. “Fourth time you showed up here. But last time we were pretty sure we were done, huh? So what happened?”

Frisk bit her lip nervously. She tented her fingers. “You told me to reset.”

He looked surprised. “_I_ told you?” he said. “Welp. Must’ve been serious. Because, I mean, your type of time travel… Can’t say I really enjoy it.”

“Tell me about it,” Frisk agreed quietly, and though she tried to keep a straight face, tears welled up in her eyes again. “We’d been living on the surface for, like, a year. Everything w-was so nice, but… b-but th-then—”

“You don’t have to say a thing if it’s gonna wreck you,” he assured her. “But… Really, a year?”

“Y… Yeah,” she said.

“Huh. Sorry, kiddo, that’s rough,” he said. “What do you need?”

“I, um… I need to get a soul for someone who doesn’t have any soul at all,” she said. She quickly wiped her eyes again. “And break the barrier again.”

“Huh. That’s a tall order for such a little kid,” he said. “Guess you’re talkin’ about the prince, right?”

“Y-Yeah. He, um… He wrecked some stuff, and…Well, I don’t really know how to fix it,” she said. “And if I don’t get him a soul, he’ll just do it again. And… And it’s really bad.”

“You should ask Alphys,” he suggested.

“You don’t have any ideas?” she asked. “Don’t you have a… what do you always call it, a doctor-it?”

“Doctorate. That’s for quantum physics, kid, not for soul stuff,” he said. “Seriously. Alphys.”

“Okay,” she said. 

She took a long, deep breath to steady herself. “I, um… I have something else,” she said. “I think you’d kinda like to hear it. It’s about, um, Chara? You know about her, right?”

“I know. What’s up?” he asked.

“She, um… She left,” Frisk said. “When I woke up, she wasn’t there. She didn’t stick to me. I didn’t hear her at all.”

“Oh? Oh.Yeah?” There was a glimmer of excitement in his eyes. “You sure?”

“Y-Yeah. Um. On my last time, because I… I never meant to reset again, she told me she was leaving for good,” she said. “So… S-So she’s gone. She’s not coming back.”

“Heh. Well. Okay,” he said, and he raised his brows. “Feels better?”

“Kinda,” she said. “She, um… When she was with me, um… It w-wasn’t too bad, but… I’m happy she felt done. You know? She won’t hurt anyone again.”

He nodded and, gently, he patted her head. “Finally some good news, huh?” he said. “Real glad for you, kiddo.”

She smiled sheepishly. Her eyes felt dry and itchy now, but she wiped them once more. Sans looked at her quietly for a second before he wandered out of the room towards the kitchen.

He returned with a glass of water, somehow. She accepted it gratefully and drank the whole thing in a few quick gulps while he plopped back down onto the couch.

“So,” he said, “you, uh, stickin’ around?”

“Can I?” she asked shrilly.

“Dude, obviously,” he said. “Stay as long as you want. Our place is your place. Take a nap or whatever. That’s my plan. But, uh… can you c’mere a second?”

She nodded and hopped up onto the couch beside him and he straightened up a little.

“This might be a bit weird,” he said.

He turned to face her put his hand on her left cheek carefully. Just as before, it brightened with magic, lines like fingers streaking across her skin. She tried to look from the corner of her eye.

“Oh my god, seriously, am I glowing?” she said.

“Yeah.” His left eye lit up almost as if in sympathy. “Oh. Me too. Okay.”

“Why am I glowing? Are you doing that?” she asked. “Why are _you_ glowing?”

“I’m still not sure, but… Oh. Ow.” He winced and pulled back. “Gettin’ a little _light headed_.”

“Pffft,” Frisk said. “Oh. Wait. Sorry, are you serious? Are you okay?”

Sans laughed. “Chill out.”

She sighed with relief and then tenderly rubbed her face. “That’s really weird,” she said.

Sans shrugged, put his hands in his pockets, and leaned back into the couch. “Yup. It’s all really weird,” he said. “Honestly? This isn’t what I expected when I saw you turn up again.”

“What _did_ you expect?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Welp. Nothin’ good. Resets are usually bad. Thought it might not be you. Definitely not you with weird blue glowing face stuff.”

“Who else would it be?” she asked. “You mean, another time anomaly person or something?”

He shrugged again and Frisk let out a frustrated sigh.

“Why you gotta be so mysterious?” she asked.

“Heh. It’s not on purpose,” he said. “For what it’s worth, it’s real good to see you again.”

He stretched. Drained, she flopped back into the cushions.

“You in a rush to get going?” he asked. 

“Not really,” Frisk said. “I don’t really have any plans other than talking with Alphys, and she doesn’t even know me yet. Look.” She pulled out her plan list and handed it to him. 

He looked it over and shot her an amused grin. “Think you mightta put a little too much stock in step two, there, buddy.”

“It wasn’t done!” she protested. “I just… didn’t have any more ideas. A-And at least I got a hug out of it…”

“Frisk, you are a weird kid,” he said, but he shot her a smile and gave her her list back. “Don’t worry too much, we’ll figure out somethin’.”

She nodded, rubbed her eyes, and began to snicker quietly.

“Sup?” he asked.

“I’m just happy,” she said. “And also super tired. Did I ever tell you I had to fight mom before coming out of the Ruins?”

“Tori actually fought you?” he asked.

“Not seriously,” she said, “but dang, that fire, though.”

“Oh. That’s what that smokin’ smell was,” he said. “I thought it was just Papyrus’s cookin’.”

Frisk laughed and Sans’s face brightened. 

“So, I’m guessin’ you’re not up for much, huh?” he said. “You, uh…? I dunno. Wanna watch something?”

She shrugged. “What d’you got?”

“Uh… Got that garbage old drama where Mettaton plays like ninety percent of the characters on tape. I was thinkin’ of going through it again.”

“Oh! I hate that one!” Frisk started to smile. “We have to start it from the pilot.”

“The pilot’s even worse. They didn’t even have the theme song or the wigs yet,” Sans said.

“I know! It’s awful.” She grinned widely. “I’m so excited!”

He laughed. “Alright, alright. I’ll get it.”

“Can I raid the kitchen?” she asked.

“Do whatever,” he said. “But actually, I have a better idea.”

“What?” she asked.

He winked. “Grillby’s. C’mon, I know a shortcut.” 

\- - -

It was starting to get a little late. Cozying on the couch under blankets, with take-out burgers and fries from Grillby’s, Frisk clung tight to a pillow and Sans nursed a bottle of ketchup as they watched the midseason finale of one of Mettaton’s old shows, _Under Ground Hearts. _

Parading across a set haphazardly thrown up in front of Asgore’s home to make it look like a dark, spooky mansion, Mettaton in a blonde wig rolled out to confront another Mettaton with a moustache and a leather jacket.

“_SUSANA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?_” demanded the moustachioed robot.

“_Don’t give me that, Greg!_” She slapped him. “_You know damn well that I know all about you and that hussy, Diane!_”

The cuts were awkward, trying to hide that whichever Mettaton was not speaking at the time was just a stand-in box. They stared dramatically at each other. The music became sad and a plaintive piano and violin tried to set the mood, and it began to rain very abruptly.

“I never got this part,” Frisk said. “Okay, so like, Susana knows that there’s an assassin out for her but she goes out to Mansion de la Muerte anyway_. _That’s where literally every other character gets killed!”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Sans said. “It’s fine. She had to because reasons. And, uh, because it’s in the script.”

“Ugh.” Frisk rubbed her head but Sans elbowed her quickly. 

“Wait, wait, this bit,” he insisted.

Suddenly, there was a gunshot. Greg fell over. Susana whirled dramatically, hair flipping in the rain so hard that the wig actually flew off— there was a quick jump cut and it was back. Frisk and Sans burst out laughing. It only got worse as there was a smash zoom onto the shooter, who also was Greg, but wearing a cowboy hat.

“_GREG?!_” Susana yelled dramatically. “_But HOW?!_”

“_That’s not me, sugar-circuits,_” the second Greg said. “_That there’s Diane._”

The music ramped up and there were abrupt close-ups on each character. The first Greg ripped off the moustache and was suddenly wearing a long black wig. Sans almost choked on his drink and Frisk buried her face into her cushion.

“_Diane?! How could you pretend to be Greg, my one true love?!_” Susana cried.

“_No! Susana, you are MY one true love!_” Diane, now with a totally different voice, shouted. “_Can’t you see!? All those times I told you I hate you, and that I wish you would fall down stairs, and that I was going to kill you, couldn’t you tell that, deep down, all I wanted was you?!_”

“_Oh, Diane!_” Susana hugged Diane dramatically in the rain. 

The lights flickered and someone banged on a trashcan. It was supposed to sound like thunder. It didn’t. Then, just barely visible in the bad lighting, Asgore’s front door opened.

“Oh my god, look!” Frisk said. She pointed just as Asgore accidentally stepped into the scene in the distance, froze, wide eyed, and then slowly walked backwards and closed the door as if hoping no one had seen him. 

Sans lost it. “Oh my god, I can’t… I can’t…” He was laughing so hard he started coughing. “His face, dude!”

“He didn’t even…! I never noticed that one before!” Frisk said.

They finally managed to settle as Susana started off on a monologue about true love. Sans sighed, slumped, and Frisk kneaded at her watery eyes. Then, Diane shot Susana. They were both in stitches again as the terrible tragic music swelled and Greg screamed “No!” dramatically to the sky — some of the rain cut off at the edge of the frame.

“Haaa, oh my god Diane is my favourite, she’s such a shit,” Sans said, then froze and looked embarrassed. “I mean—”

“Pfft.” Frisk waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, my god, wait, is the stand-in still in the corner?! No one moved it?! Oh my god! THIS IS THE WORST!”

Smash cut to the credits and a title card that said, “_Stay Tuned for PART 2!!!_” Frisk laughed and clapped. Sans grinned.

“Welp. That was garbage,” he said. 

“Yeah, it was great,” Frisk agreed.

Her ribs hurt from laughing so much. It felt good. She yawned and flopped onto him, and he ruffled her hair. He took a deep, satisfied breath. They sat together as the credits rolled, and he absently rubbed her head. She clung a little closer. Everything suddenly started to feel a little more normal. She closed her eyes, just for a moment.

“Kid, I gotta get the next tape,” he said. “Getting tired?”

“Mmhm.”

“Long day,” he said. “What d’you think, can we make it to the one with the mysterious twin before you pass out?”

“Mmmaaybe,” she said. “I’ll definitely try!”

“Okay. Me too. Alright.” He slipped off the sofa and tapped his toes back into his slippers. “Hey, you wanna call Paps and see what’s takin’ him?”

“Mhm!” she said.

As Sans started to scrounge through a box of tapes and disks in the cabinet under the TV, she fished her phone from her pocket and dialled Papyrus’s number. Two rings and he picked up, as always.

“Hello! This is the great Papyrus, who is—?”

“Hi, Papyrus!” Frisk said brightly. “You coming home soon? Me and Sans were wondering.”

“Oh! Hello, my friend!” he said. “Yes! In fact, I’m just coming up the road!”

“Great!” she said. “See you soon, bro!” She hung up before she realized what she called him. Her face flushed. She noticed Sans giving her an amused grin. “H-He said he’s coming now,” she stammered. “Don’t gimme that face!”

“What? I think it’s nice,” he said. “Honestly, you probably just made his day.”

Frisk blushed a little. She pocketed her phone and Sans pulled the tape out of the box, finally. Before he could put it into the VCR, they both jumped as the door slammed open. 

“Hey, bro, how was…?” Sans lost his train of thought to the sting of dread as Papyrus walked in, grinning, with a large, armoured silhouette behind him.

“Hello, Sans and human!” Papyrus said brightly. “Sooo, I was at my meeting with Captain Undyne, and I happened to mention I had a new friend over! Human! She is very keen to meet you!”

Frisk gulped and cast a worried glance at Sans. He got to his feet and Undyne walked in, past the completely oblivious Papyrus. Frisk recoiled. 

“Oh, uh… P-Papyrus, um…” she said. “I, uh… Um… Hello.”

Undyne took one look at Frisk and she tensed up. “Seven,” she said quietly. She held out her hand and a spear came to her. 

Frisk’s stomach knotted. 

“Seven human souls and King Asgore will become a god.”

“Uh… Undyne, what are you…? I think the human may be too little for that kind of training,” Papyrus said nervously.

“Six. That’s how many we have collected thus far. Understand?” Undyne’s shining eye locked on Frisk’s and she came closer. 

Frisk gulped. She understood perfectly.

“Undyne,” Sans said, “I’m thinkin’, uh, chill out a bit.”

“Through your seventh and final soul, this world will be transformed.” Undyne raised her spear. “Goodbye, human!”

Papyrus yelped Undyne’s name. Frisk braced herself, but Undyne’s strike never hit as a row of bones erupted from the floor, forcing her to jump back. 

“What the hell?!” Undyne yelled. She looked at Papyrus, but he was gawking. 

Sans shoved his hands in his pockets and wandered over to stand between Frisk and Undyne. “Yeah, that’s not happenin’,” he said.

“Sans?! What the hell, put those bones down!” Undyne yelled.

“Nope.”

“S-Sans, you don’t have to—” Frisk muttered, but he gave her a stern look. She gulped and edged backwards a little, but there wasn’t really anywhere to go.

“Yo, dude, if you wanted to catch the human, you couldda just said so,” Undyne said. “Didn’t expect that from you, but hey, people change their minds, I guess?”

“Fair, but that’s not it,” Sans said. “I don’t wanna fight you. You know me, I’d really prefer to not have to move. So you, uh, wanna back off?”

“This is a joke, right?!” Undyne said.

“Um, Undyne! Sans! C-Come on, what are you doing?” Papyrus said worriedly. “I don’t understand. We’re all friends here, aren’t we? Frrriiiendly acquaintances who do not stab each other?!?”

“Yeah, Sans!” Undyne growled. “So just hand over the human, and—”

“Nope,” he said.

“NGAAAAAH DAMN IT, SANS!” she yelled.

Undyne’s magic formed spears around her and she shot them out like lightning from her body, around him and towards Frisk; Sans matched every one with a jutting, magic bone. Undyne roared and her attacks got faster and faster. Sans frowned.

“No, no. No no no no no, nope,” he muttered.

“UNDYNE, WAIT! This is not what I meant when I said make friends with the human!” Papyrus yelled. “OH MY GOD, WATCH OUT FOR SANS!”

Sans braced his slippered feet on the floor and his eye lit up vibrant blue. He raised one hand and a wall of bones towered up out of the floor as a shield.Undyne roared and her spears pounded into them relentlessly. Frisk covered her ears. Sans grimaced but held firm.

“SANS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Undyne yelled. “STOP GETTING IN THE WAY OF MY STUFF! I DON’T WANT TO HURT YOU!!!”

“Can we, uh, talk about this?” he asked.

“NGAAAHHHH!”

“No?”

Undyne’s spears were like lightning, but so were Sans’s reflexes, like he could see it all before it happened. He blocked everything. Papyrus gawked and held his face. 

“SANS!?” he demanded over the din. “Sans, you’re actually being kind of awesome, why didn’t you tell me you could do that?!”

“Bro. Not now. Talk to her,” Sans grunted.

“NO TALKING, ONLY STABBING!” Undyne roared. 

“UNDYNE, OUR HOUSE!!” Papyrus wailed.

“I’LL GET YOU A NEW HOUSE!”

Her fervour increased and her magic ricocheted across the walls, breaking everything in its path, including the TV and stabbing straight through the sofa. Papyrus’s eyes went wide and he covered his mouth for a second. He cautiously pointed across the room.

“Um… Wh-What’s the human doing over there with that spear?”

Sans was struck by a sudden sinking feeling and he whirled to follow Papyrus’s finger, the shield of bones collapsing into nothing, and when Undyne let out a victorious _whoop_, he felt ill. Frisk had taken a spear to the chest. 

“No no no no no no.” He was at her side in a second, taking her hand. “Kid, I… Shit. This wasn’t supposed to—”

“No no no, hey, it’s okay.” Her voice was soft. She clung to his finger bones with one hand and gave him a weak thumbs up with the other. “It’s okay. No p-problem. It’s all fine, remember? Be right back.”


	9. The Lonely Arc

Frisk blinked heavily. Her chest hurt a lot, and when she opened her eyes, all she saw was white. She was out in the snow again. The flakes were drifting softly down from above. One landed on her nose and she brushed it away on her sleeve. She took a deep breath and a quick look around. She could see where trees and a branching path ahead. It took her a second to realize she was all the way back at the river. She started to laugh a little and tiredly ran a hand through her hair.

“Thanks a lot, Undyne, sheesh,” she muttered.

She took a few moments to rub her hands together to warm them, then went to shove her them in her pocket, but she paused when her numbing fingers hit her cellphone. It felt like a block of ice. She pulled it out and looked at it, then smiled and punched in a number by muscle memory.

The phone rang twice and then she heard a click.

“Hello, you’ve reached the great Papyrus, who is calling?” Papyrus asked.

“Hi Papyrus, can I talk to Sans, please?” she asked.

“What? Oh! What a coincidence. You want to speak to Sans, and yet you have called my phone number! I am currently standing right beside him!”

“Well, I just wanted to hear your voice first,” Frisk said, trying not to laugh. “And I’m pretty sure Sans lost his phone.”

“Ah yes, that does sound like my brother. Very well!” he said.

She heard a shuffling and a little bit of high-pitched _nyehing_.

“Sup?”

“So, um… Hi. It’s Frisk,” she said. “Um, do you remember—?”

“Yeah. You okay? Where are you?” Sans asked.

“I’m fine. Pretty cold, I guess. I’m near the river crossroads. The one with the, um…” She looked around. There was also what was known as a dimension box and a signpost a little farther along. “The one with the weird box that moves your stuff for you?”

“Hang on. Go back to the empty guard station.”

He hung up before Frisk could answer. She looked at her phone, then shoved it in her pocket. She hid her hands in her sleeves to protect her fingers from the chill and trekked back towards the vacant guard house. She looked around, but she didn’t see anyone nearby at all. She took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. 

“Hey.” 

Frisk yelped and nearly fell over as Sans appeared over guard house’s counter, grinning. “Did I scare you?” he said.

“Surprised! Just… surprised,” she said. “Thanks for coming.”

He walked out and offered a red and white bundle to her. Cautiously, she took it and unrolled it. She was taken aback to see that it was a long, striped sweatshirt.

“It was Papyrus’s,” he said. “It’s a bit big, but it was the first thing I found.” He shrugged.

Her face lit up and she smiled wide. “Thank you so much!”

She hurried to pull it on. Two sweatshirts were much better than one, and it went almost down to her knees. The sleeves were definitely too long.

“Good?” he asked. “We can get home right now if you want.”

“Oh! W-Wait, just a second,” she said. “I, um… I was hoping I could go play with the dogs.”

“After all that?” Sans asked, raising a brow. 

Frisk nodded. “I think it’s important. And… And the puzzles with Papyrus, too. Especially those.”

“That’s good, actually, Paps loves those things,” he said.

She nodded enthusiastically. “I got them memorized!” She stuck her thumbs up. “It won’t take long.”

“Got it, kid.”

Frisk smiled bashfully. “Thanks for being so patient. I gotta get this right.”

“Yeah. That’s true. I, uh… Nah, sorry for tryin’ to rush you. It’s just…” He frowned and rubbed the back of his skull. “Seein’ Undyne get you like that… I dunno.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry!” Frisk said— it had already almost slipped her mind. “I’m fine, really! Undyne usually gets me at least a few times each time! I mean, the first time even she got me so many times I can’t even remember! She’s really tough, so I kinda expect it now, and I mean, all that was a big surprise so at least it was different than normal. Spear’s not so terrible a way to go.”

“Yeah? Huh,” he said. “Still. My bad.”

“No way,” she said. “Thanks for sticking up for me. You didn’t have to.” 

“I know. Weird, right?”

She beamed. “Oh man, it’s so much better having you in my corner again.”

“Always am, kid.” He winked. “Anyway, no problem. See you up ahead.” 

She blinked and he was gone. 

\- - -

Papyrus’s puzzles were the same as ever. She followed his steps through the electric maze, took her time on the Junior Jumble, flipped his switches from X to O, poked at the frozen spaghetti on a table, and confidently strode across Alphys’s trap as it malfunctioned and remained completely harmless. She was happy to play along, but she tried to talk quietly so he wouldn’t recognize her voice from the phone calls this time. She felt pretty good about it, though, especially because her brother was grinning his face off, despite trying to play it cool. She loved that about him.

Frisk also noticed Sans was watching her a little more intently than usual, even hanging around more closely when dog guards approached her in the snow, or when some of the ragamuffin teenagers from town jumped her. It ended up being fun, anyway, no need to worry. Snowy Snowdrake’s pun game was strong, but Frisk’s was stronger. She had learned from the best, after all.

As Frisk came upon the final hurdle before reaching town, a large, long bridge made of stone, but painted to look like wood, she took a little break to catch her breath. Papyrus was at the other end, ducking off to the side, whispering conspiratorially with Sans, just loud enough that she could hear the rhythm of his voice.

She took a deep breath and stepped out. There was little in the way of support, so she tried not to look down and walked straight ahead. Papyrus caught her from the corner of his eye and quickly took a position with his hands on his hips at the other end of the bridge. His scarf billowed like a cape and he frowned defiantly.

“Human! This is your final and most dangerous challenge!” he announced. “BEHOLD! The Gauntlet of Deadly Terror!” His magic sparked and a plethora of weapons appeared around the bridge, pointing squarely at Frisk. 

She didn’t flinch in the least. She was a little curious about where he’d gotten all these sharp things, though. She’d never asked. Maybe he’d borrowed them from someone.

“When I say the word, it will fully activate!” Papyrus said. “All the parts will swing violently! There will be fire, and blades, and slicing and…! And you will be…! And I will! Definitely! Emerge! Victorious!”

Frisk stuck her thumbs up.

“Okay! Then! I will! Activate it! Right! Now!” He didn’t move at all. He stared at Frisk and flinched slightly. “Iiiiis what I would say if I was really going to use the dreaded Gauntlet of Deadly Terror. But! I feel like maybe it's a bit… unfair?”

“You think?” Sans said with a smile.

“Yes! Ahem! YES, actually, I think this win would be much too easy now! There’s no way I can use this!” He whisked the pointy objects away with a wave of his hand. “I have standards! I am a skeleton with integrity and class, after all! No way would I r-resort to using such overpowered tactics to defeat the small… tiny… human!”

“Then why’d you pull it out, bro?” Sans asked.

“Shush! ANYWAY! Now you have seen what I can do… HUMAN!” He pointed at her accusingly. “Seeing as I have definitely won this round, I challenge you to a duel! To fully claim my victory! I’ll…! I’ll capture you for sure! The next time I see you! Um. So, it’ll be just at the end of main street, okay? Hope to see you there soon! GOOD BYE! NYEH!”

He marched away hurriedly. Frisk held in a laugh and crossed bridge, taking a deep breath on solid ground. Sans laughed and gently thumped her on the shoulder.

“Alright?” he asked.

She nodded. “He’s so funny,” she said with a smile.

“Sure is,” Sans said. “I like that you can really feel all his internal conflict.”

Frisk scoffed and rubbed her face. “God, I miss him,” she said quietly.

“You got this,” he assured her. “Hey, come by the house first, alright?”

“Yeah.” She gave him a hug. “Thanks, Sans.”

He smiled and gently patted her head, and the moment she released him, he vanished.

After all that, freezing, damp, bruised, and shaking, but with a smile on her face, Frisk stumbled through Snowdin. She found the sparkling rip in time close to the inn and stuck to it right away, before she forgot.

She greeted everyone on her way, but picked out Kid near the tree. She was relieved to see he was okay, but then again, why wouldn’t he be? He met her with a smile before she’d even said a word.

“Yo! You’re a kid, too, right?” he said. “I can tell because you’re wearing a striped shirt.”

“Y-Yup,” Frisk said; she was shivering harder than she had realized.

“You new in town?” he said. “Never seen you before.”

“Y-Yeah, j-just moved in,” she said. 

“From the city?”

“Y-Yup,” Frisk said. 

“Cool! Hey, want to hang out some time?” he asked. 

He was so enthusiastic that Frisk had to stop herself from laughing. It made her heart light up. “S-Sure! I’m in the h-house with the sk-skeletons, just at the e-edge of town. S-Sorry, I’m g-gonna go, I’m freezing.”

“Heh, yeah, you sound like it,” he said with a sympathetic smile. “Maybe I’ll see you around!”

“D-Definitely,” Frisk said.

She hurried on her way. Coming up to the house was a bit surreal after what had happened before. She climbed the small steps and then cautiously knocked at the door. Usually, no one came, but this time Sans met her.

“So, catch me up,” he said.

“I think it’s going good,” she said. “The dogs all th-think I’m a puppy and everyone keeps giving m-money for some reason. And I saw my friend, Kid. And I think Papyrus had a r-really good time!”

“Yeah, looked like it,” he said. “Come in.”

Frisk was taken aback. “A-Are you sure? Papyrus should be j-just up ahead, right?”

“Heh. Yeah. He’ll probably just wait out there until you go get him. But you’re still cold, right?” he said. “You’ve been outside for hours. You can spare a few minutes.”

She nodded and followed him into the house and towards the kitchen. Her jaw dropped when she saw that he had hot cocoa and a sandwich waiting. “Sans, you didn’t have to—!”

“Kinda did,” he said. He went to the counter to grab a mug and plunked a few marshmallows into it. “Don’t care how _cool _you are, no way I’m letting my kid run around freezing her ass off without any…” He lost track of his sentence when he turned to give her her drink and lunch and saw her eyes glistening. “Uh… kid?”

“Th-Thanks!” She took the hot chocolate carefully and sipped it. “It’s… It’s really good!”

“Buddy, you okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine.” She smiled and wiped her eyes. “Thanks for doing this. I’m excited to go up against Papyrus, actually”

“Oh yeah?” Sans put his hands in his pockets as she took the sandwich too. “He’s pretty tough though.”

“Mostly, I... I miss him a lot,” she said around a mouthful, “and maybe he’ll remember me. At least a little. Mom did, just a bit. A-And even Napstablook seemed to a little.”

“I hope so, kid.” Sans patted her shoulder sympathetically. “You know he’ll be your best friend anyway.”

Frisk gulped. She preemptively wiped her eyes. “Yeah, but…” Her cheeks flushed bashfully. “I just really want my big brother Papyrus back. I really miss him, you know? I kind of hate being away from him. We… We made a promise last time. Th-That we’d always be together, no matter what happens. I want to keep it.”

Sans looked taken aback for a fraction of a second before he started to smile and ruffled her hair. “You know my deal, right?” he asked.

“With the memories? Yeah, mostly, I think,” Frisk said.

“He’s not quite like me,” he said, “but Paps is a little more sensitive than some of the others. Plus, you know every time he’s ever met you, he decides he loves you within like fifteen minutes. I think you’ll be okay.”

Frisk snickered and rubbed her head. “You’re right. Well, anyway, even if he doesn’t remember… I… I just really wanna hang out with him again, you know? But I’m already tired just thinking about it. His blue magic is really a _downer_.”

Sans grinned. “Heh. Yeah. Long day. Double long day, I guess. Welp. I’m rootin’ for you. Get warm. Go whenever.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Gotta do some junk. You okay on your own?”

She nodded. He was gone. 

Frisk sat on the sofa and finished her sandwich. It was basically just chopped hotdogs, ketchup, and chips in bread. It wasn’t bad, actually. She cleaned up after herself as best she could without being able to get anywhere near the sink. She also took off Papyrus’s old sweatshirt and folded it. She hoped he wouldn’t mind, but she went into his room and returned it to his closet. She felt like being a little lighter would probably be better for trying to dodge whatever he would decide to throw at her today.

She went back downstairs and pulled out her phone. She dialled Toriel’s number and sat on the sofa. She honestly didn’t expect her to answer, so when she heard her voice on the other end of the line, she almost jumped and her heart thudded with shock.

“My child, is that you?” she asked.

“Mom! Hi!” she said brightly.

“Oh, thank goodness. Are you well, little one? Where are you? You haven’t had to fight, have you? I hope you’re staying warm, and—!”

Frisk laughed. “I’m okay.I met a nice monster right outside the Ruins and we’re best friends already.”

“R… Really?” She didn’t sound like she believed her.

“Yeah! A skeleton,” Frisk said. “Think you might already know him! He tells really great jokes.”

“Oh…!” She suddenly sounded relieved instead. “Oh, honey… That is good to hear.”

“Yeah! So, I guess I was just calling so you wouldn’t worry,” she said. “I’m safe.”

“Thank you, little one,” she said. “You sound much better, actually. Good luck out there. Please be good. I sincerely hope no more hardship comes your way on your journey.”

“Thanks, mom,” she said. “I gotta go for now. Talk to you later! Love you!”

“Oh…! I… Hah. I love you, too, little one. Have a good day.” 

Frisk hung up, pocketed the phone, and got to her feet. Time to go fight Papyrus. 

She braced herself against the chill outside and walked down the path out of town. Fog and snow began to roll in almost as soon as she was beyond the garage. She shielded her eyes with her arm and squinted ahead. Was that a speck of red? She sure hoped so. 

As she got closer, she saw him through the blur of snow, standing quite heroically, his red scarf billowing. She tried not to smile too wide as she wondered how long he had been standing there like that. She waved. She saw him falter for just a second as if he dearly wanted to wave back before he stood up tall and straight, looking the part of the dashing hero.

“Human! You’ve finally arrived,” he said. “I, the great Papyrus, have waited here for you! Allow me to tell you about some complex feelings. Feelings like… the joy of finding another pasta lover. The admiration for another’s puzzle solving skills. The desire to have a cool, smart person think you are cool. These feelings… They must be what you are feeling right now!”

Frisk tried not to laugh. She stuck her thumbs up.

“Oh, you are?! I…! Of course, I can hardly imagine what it must be like to feel that way. After all, I am very great. I don’t ever wonder what having lots of friends is like. I pity you, lonely human… Worry not! You shall be lonely no longer! I, the great Papyrus, will be your…!” He stopped himself— looked conflicted. It was all rather dramatic. “No. No, this is all wrong! I can’t be your friend! You are a human! I must capture you!”

“Oh. Well, I still want to be your friend, is that okay?” Frisk asked.

Papyrus froze. He frowned. “Th… That voice?!” he said, and his eyes went wide. “Wrong Number?! Could it be?! No! I… I really, really must capture you! You’ll go to the capital! Undyne will be proud of me! I’ll join the Royal Guard! I’ll finally be popular! Everyone will want to be my friend! I will bathe in a shower of kisses every morning and I will smell like the sun and moon! The great Papyrus will finally be number one!”

“You’re already number one in my book,” Frisk said.

“Well then it must be a very cool book,” Papyrus said. “I must admit, I’m having several conflicting emotions right this second. If you are Wrong Number, you…! You trusted me at a very vulnerable moment all those days ago! And I…! I do want to be your friend! I feel like it could even be our destiny to be the best of friends! But, no! I couldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t at least try! It’s my duty!” He stood solid in the snow and his magic whisked bones from nowhere. “Are you ready, human?!”

Frisk took a deep breath and readied herself to move quick and light. She rolled up her sleeves and her soul shone bright through her. His must’ve shone back and connected in sync, because his hum shocked her mind with its upbeat pulse, but she couldn’t see it through his battle body.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said.

He grinned. “Good!” 

He didn’t move. Frisk didn’t either. Her heart started to pound. 

“Well?” Papyrus asked.

“What?” she asked.

“You start,” he said.

“Me?” Frisk said with surprise.

“Yes! It’s only fair,” he said. “As I said! I’m a skeleton with very high standards, mostly involving fairness! You are my new fr… foe! My new FOE. So, you get to start!”

“B-But I don’t want to fight!” she said.

“What?! I thought all humans loved fighting!” he said.

“N-No, I don’t love it!” she said quickly. “Maybe we could not fight?”

“Nonsense, human, I still need to capture you! Think of it like a game,” he suggested brightly. “Come on!” 

He sent a rush of bones at her, but all she had to do was hop and not a single one even came close. “Good!” he said. “Your turn!”

Frisk shrugged. 

“What? Nothing?” he said.

“Papyrus, I don’t wanna fight you,” she insisted. “Couldn’t we be friends and… and maybe hang out or something instead?”

“Wh… What?! You… don’t want to be a foe? Or a fiend? You… You really want to hang out with me?” he asked.

She nodded vigorously. 

“I-I mean, of course you do! I am very great and cool and smart and definitely good at hanging out with… _friends_?! B-But after! After I capture you.”

Frisk threw her hands up. “Okay, I surrender, can you capture me now?”

“WHAT?! No, human, you don’t get it, that’s not fair at all, I need to give you a proper chance,” he said. “But, if you won’t fight, then prepare yourself! Do you think you can handle my fabled blue attack?!”

“Oh dang.”

Papyrus’s eyes lit up amber, then flickered with blue as his magic raised bones that shone with the same light into the air. They shot at Frisk in a violent barrage, but she stood fast, shielding her face with her arms, wincing against the wind in their wake as they passed straight through her. She shuddered, took a deep breath, but then staggered forward as she felt a magically charged weight pull her down. 

“Jeez!” she yelped. She didn’t have time to straighten up before a bone rushing at her at knee level toppled her over.

“You’re blue now,” Papyrus said proudly. “That’s my attack.”

Frisk grimaced but, looking at the shine of her soul, it was definitely a deep blue now. Felt like a rock. “Oh fantastic,” she muttered.

“You alright, human?” he asked.

Frisk couldn’t help a smile as she straightened up, even as everything inside her felt like thunking to the ground. She brushed the snow from her hair. Her heart went a little faster.“Paps, this is a fight,” she said. “If I gotta do it, let’s go!”

“That’s the spirit!”

Papyrus’s attacks were relentless, precise, and quick, racing at her from the ground and cutting through the air above her head. She leapt and tumbled, diving between bones made of magic that he seemed to be able to summon indefinitely. Her heart was pounding. She whirled as another came up behind her and she bent backwards— ended up in a stumbling cartwheel to get around it. Her eyes went wide.

“Dude, did you see that?!” she exclaimed.

“Wowie, human, you’re good!” he said. “I’m impressed.”

“You’re definitely no _lazybones_ yourself,” she said. 

He grinned. He raised the magic up with his hand and bones came at her in a wave, arcing upwards and then down again as they raced at her. She sprinted for it and jumped, but the highest one caught her foot and she tumbled. That blue magic tugged her roughly to the ground, colliding with the rest of the attack on the way down. Hurriedly, she managed to roll back to her feet in time enough to hop backwards and try again on a second wave. She _whooped _excitedly when she cleared it. Papyrus cackled. 

“Don’t get comfortable, human,” he teased.

“Comfortable? Did you see that? I just wrecked my knees,” she joked.

“Oh! Are you okay?!” Papyrus said. “I… I mean! AHEM! Get ready! I might just be getting close to my _special attack!_”

“Dang,” she said.

Papyrus raised both hands this time and rows of bones appears in front and behind her. She braced herself, then leapt over them like it was jump-rope. The attacks only got faster, and bones charged with blue energy entered the mix. Frisk had to dodge, then freeze to avoid taking a hard fall as they rushed straight towards her face. More came from above and she had to try to balance that weight that would make her slam hard to the ground with sliding under them. She stumbled, took a whack to the side and rolled over into the snow. Papyrus was nice enough to pause just long enough for her to regain her footing.

He raised what looked like a wall rushing towards and Frisk gulped. She took a few paces back before running for it and jumping. She couldn’t quite make it, but she grabbed for the top reflexively— though it hurt her hands, she managed to scrabble up and over to balance on the odd shapes— she realized rather quickly that they were words made of bones. Papyrus gawked. She wobbled at first, then sprinted across the first moving _COOL_ and leapt to the oncoming _DUDE_. She quickly confronted more magic flying at her face. She had no time— she braced to take it and it rammed against her chest, and though it hurt, she grabbed it as she tried not to lose her balance. Something happened, then, that she hadn’t expected: it dislodged from its attack position. 

She stood, staring with shock as she held the bone in her hands like a weapon, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it as another one flew at her. With a yelp, she swung the one she held forward into it. The two shattered and exploded into amber tinted, sparkling dust that drifted lightly into the snow. The wall below her disassembled itself and she fell onto her rump, too.

“H-How…?! How did you DO that?!” Papyrus asked. “Hey, is your eye okay?!”

Frisk could do little more than shrug. She forced herself up again and stuck her thumbs up, but Papyrus hesitated. He shook his head quickly, put on a confident grin, and raised his magic up around her once more. 

Frisk spun, wove, and tumbled through speeding pillars of white and blue, but felt her heart thunk heavily when she saw a field of bones racing towards her, backed by the towering sentinel of a femur. There was was _no way_— No! She couldn’t think like that. She had to! She’d done it before, she could do it again.

She ran straight at it, as fast as her tired legs would carry her. She jumped and closed her eyes. Determined to fight that magic, determined to make it over no matter how crazy it seemed. Her heart was pounding in her ears. Something scraped her. She couldn’t bear to look.

Her stomach plummeted and she did too. She tumbled to the ground, landing hard on her back, and she let out a groan. She opened her eyes and could see the calcified titan vanishing just past her line of sight. Just as she pushed herself to her feet, her gaze caught on the final attack, a bone coming straight at her at a rather leisurely pace. She took a deep breath. Her legs were so tired that she could barely make the jump. Her toe caught on the top and she stumbled, but didn’t fall. She doubled over, holding her knees, panting to catch her breath.

“H-Hey, Papyrus…?” she asked, her voice wobbling. “Can we…? Can we take a break from fighting?”

“What’s that, human? The great Papyrus is a bit too much for you?” he asked loudly, striding up to her and putting his hands on his hips even though he was huffing a little, too. “I can see you sh-shaking in your boots!”

Frisk leaned forward and held onto his leg to keep her balance, nodding.

“H-Hey,” he said, his voice softening. “Human? Are you alright? We can take a break. I understand my attacks can be a little too much sometimes!” He snapped his fingers and the blue magic fell from her as if it were simply a shadow chased away by the sun. He bent one knee to join her close to the ground and patted her on the head. “Ooh, what’s this? I didn’t know humans could glow like that!”

Frisk frowned with confusion but, before she could ask, his cheekbones flushed faintly orange-amber and his eyes began to water. A puzzled frown crossed his face and wiped the tears away with his mitts. 

“Why am I—? Nyeh!” He put a hand to his head quickly, flinching. “Why do I…?”

Frisk quickly grabbed him by the shoulders. “Papyrus? Are you okay?!”

“Wow, this is really weird!” he said. “I feel so happy and so sad all at once.” He had to pause to wipe his eyes again, making a quiet _nyeh_ sound, but then looked her in the face with shock, first, and then determined certainty. He took one of her hands and held it tight in both of his.

“Wait a second! We’ve met before, haven’t we?” he said. “I’m sure of it! I feel like we’re best friends! I feel like we should be playing in the snow and doing puzzles and watching action cartoons and cooking! I… I feel like I’ve really missed you! More than I’ve ever missed anyone in my whole life! I don’t want you sent away, that would be the exact opposite of what would be good!”

Her heart thunked to the ground and she gawked. “W… Wait, what?!” she squawked. “You… You actually remember me?!”

“Yes! Well, I think so! I mean… Yes, definitely!” He suddenly looked bashful. “D… Do you remember _me?_”

She nodded and felt her eyes well up with hot tears. Her mind was reeling, she had no idea what was going on, and she couldn’t care less. “I really missed you, too!”

His eyes widened. It seemed to click. He started to grin and grabbed her into a tight hug right away, lifting her up off her feet as hopped back onto his. His eyes glowed gently and he touched his brow to hers. “How could I ever forget you?”

The kid could have melted. She was grinning like an idiot, and she hugged him tightly and gave him a kiss on the head. He giggled loudly and then held her back, aloft, under her arms.

“Seems the great Papyrus has caught some happy tears and a best friend!” he said. “This was all wrong, though. I must apologize, human! I don’t know why I didn’t recognize you the exact second I saw you! It must’ve been all that blowing snow, I guess!! But I’m so happy you’re back! I’m sorry about that nonsense on the bridge, I hope I didn’t scare you too badly with that gauntlet challenge!”

“No, no no no, it’s fine,” she said quickly. “I wasn’t scared at all.”

“Oh good. Excellent.” He blew out the words like a sigh of relief. “I guess I really was victorious after all!”

“Of course, dude, you super captured me,” she joked.

“Hm! Oh, I really am so glad.” He gently bumped his brow against hers. “This is the best day I’ve had in a long time! However, you look completely exhausted, so I, the great Papyrus, will bring you home! And make you delicious spaghetti!”

“C-Can we make spaghetti together?” she asked.

Papyrus’s eyes went wide and he gasped; he was all but sparkling and his eyes had literally lit up. “Are you serious?!” he demanded. “You want to cook with me?”

“Of course I do,” she said.

He beamed and embraced her tightly. “I knew it!!! I knew you were good!!!” he said, cuddling her close. “Yes, of course, human, we will cook together and it will be excellent! Let’s go right now!”

He bounded back to the house and burst inside bombastically. “SANS? SANS, ARE YOU HERE?” Papyrus shouted. There was no reply. He pouted, but only for a second. He put Frisk back on the ground and gestured widely to the house. “Welcome to—! Oh right. Nyeh heh heh! You’ve been here before. Wow, that’s weird but I am so glad you’re here! So, welcome back to our house!” He knelt down to take her by the shoulders and grinned. “Your house, too!” A cautiously hopeful look spread on his face. “You…? You will stay, won’t you?”

“I’d love to,” she said. 

“Nyeh heh heh! Perfect! Like I said, we’re family now! …I… did say that, right? I remember saying that,” he said. “I remember saying that on more than one occasion, actually.”

Frisk nodded. Papyrus beamed.

“Excellent! And I meant it, too! I still mean it, I mean! I’ll always mean it!” He bounced back onto his feet. “Get comfortable, it’s time to cook spaghetti!”

As Frisk took off her shoes, the tall skeleton bounded around the kitchen. She could hear the sharp clanging of pots and pans, and rushing water. She wiped her eyes quickly but still couldn’t keep the smile off her face. What was that feeling? Home? It sure was close.

When she entered the kitchen, she saw him plunking the water-filled saucepan onto the stove. He was already wearing his stained oven mitts and an apron that read “BONE APPETIT” with the lettering made of cartoon bones. He was about to dump the spaghetti into the pot, box and all.

“Ooh, ooh, wait,” Frisk said quickly. “I need a chair.”

“Ah yes, you are in fact quite tiny! Hang on just a tick!” He ran out of the room and, as soon as he was gone, Frisk turned up the heat under the pot of water. 

Papyrus returned and dropped the chair down near the stove, then picked Frisk up and plopped her down on top of it. 

“Okay, so! Let the great Papyrus show you how it’s done!” he said. “You can be my excellent assistant! First, let’s put the pasta in the pot!” He passed her the box. 

She opened it, and he helped her reach over to pour it in.

“Oh! Okay. Different,” he said. “And now—” Papyrus paused when Frisk stuck her hand up urgently. “Yes, human?”

“Do you flavour it with anything? Sometimes I put a little salt in. Just like a small spoon of it.”

“Oh-ho!” Papyrus’s eyes brightened. “That’s not a bad idea!”

As he reached up into a cabinet to grab the salt, Frisk checked the back of the pasta’s box and booped the oven’s buttons to put on a timer. 

“Okay!” he said as he salted the water. “Pasta’s in! Time for the sauce!”

She wasn’t sure where he had gotten the many tomatoes he was suddenly holding, but he smushed them in his mitts, cackling, and threw them into the other pan on the front burner. Pale red goop splattered all over the stove. He handed one to Frisk.

“Now you try!” he insisted.

Frisk frowned and smashed the tomato down into the pan. 

“Excellent!” Papyrus said proudly. “Okay! Next step is… Um… Garlic! Hang on!” He went to scour the fridge.

While his back was turned, Frisk quickly picked the leaves and stems out of the goopy tomatoes. 

“Okay, bad news, we are, in fact, out of garlic,” Papyrus said. “But, never fear! I’m sure we can use something else!”

“What else you got?” Frisk said. 

Papyrus picked her up and moved her to the fridge, and she knelt down with him as he opened up the small crisper at its base. She rubbed her chin and Papyrus mirrored her. She found an onion, and some leaves that smelled like maybe they might be an herb of some sort. 

“Okay,” she said. “This. And a knife, maybe.”

“What for?” he asked.

“Chopping the onion?” she suggestion.

“Oooor…” He grinned. “We could use magic?”

“Ooh, okay, smash it to goo!” she said. “Take the skin off first, though.”

“Wowie, human, you know a lot about vegetables!” He stuck his thumb up and took the onion from her, and with a wave of his hand, his magic was smashing the vegetables together in the pan without so much as scraping the metal. 

Frisk watched with awe for a moment before she clambered back onto the chair and tore off little bits of the herb and threw them into the weird paste Papyrus was making. 

“Now, for… Oh! Ack!” Papyrus put a hand to his eyes. “Oh gosh what is this stinging?”

“Onion stink!” Frisk gasped.

“Onion stink?!” Papyrus repeated.

“Water!” Frisk said.

Squinting through tears, Papyrus reached up to the sink to grab a rag and used it to dab water around his eye sockets. Frisk snickered and patted his shoulder reassuringly when he returned. 

“Phew! That was weird! Didn’t expect a vegetable of all things to get me,” he said with a laugh. “I never use it because of the smell!”

“It’ll be worth it,” Frisk said, and hoped she wasn’t lying.

They simmered and stirred the sauce, adding more seasonings, like some powdered herbs that looked like they had been in a cabinet since Snowdin was founded, and a little sugar.Just as they were about to drain the pasta, Papyrus’s phone rang.

“Oops! That’s probably Undyne,” he said.He reached into his pocket to pull it out but with the oven mitts still on, he slipped and the phone went straight into the pot. “ACK!” he yelped. Papyrus tossed the mitts off frantically and reached into the boiling water to pull out his phone and waved it around.

“Oh jeez,” Frisk said. “Is it okay?”

“I don’t knooowww,” Papyrus said; he stared at the screen suspiciously and poked it. “I think I’ll need to dry it? Probably?”

“Oh no! Uh… You wanna use mine instead?” she asked.

“Thank you very much!” Papyrus said.

Frisk pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it over.

“Oh wow, I’ve never seen one this old before, where did you get it?” he asked, turning it over in his hands.

“Ruins. Never mind, just call her back,” she said, flipping the front open for him.

Papyrus dialled hurriedly and held the phone to his head. He tapped his foot, then frowned. “Hmm… She’s not answering,” he said. “I guess I’ll try again later? Maybe Undyne doesn’t pick up numbers she doesn’t know.”

Frisk shrugged. 

“I don’t quite understand that train of thought, honestly,” he said. “I always pick up my phone! You never know who’s on the other end. Why, just the other day I had a really nice conversation with a monster who was telling me all about a down-on-his-luck prince from far away lands who possibly needed to borrow some gold! No idea why they called me, though.”

“You didn’t send any, did you?” Frisk asked.

“Well, no, I am saving a bit for something, since… you know, very technically I do not actually have a job?” He grinned. “But! I sent a plate of spaghetti in the mail, in a nice envelope and everything. I hope it gets there alright!”

Frisk snickered, patting him affectionately on the arm. “Never change, dude,” she said.

“Of course I won’t!” he said brightly. “Why do people keep telling me that, I wonder…?”

The sauce began to bubble. Papyrus glanced with wide eyes between his phone and the sauce.

“Go set that out to dry,” Frisk insisted. She rolled up her sleeves and grabbed the big wooden spoon. “I got this.”

Papyrus stuck his thumb up, tossed her back her phone, and ran out to the other room. She stirred the sauce vigorously. It was actually starting to look quite similar to food. She wasn’t sure what he had done with his phone, exactly, but when he returned, he was dusting himself off. She offered him the spoon.

“I think it’s done,” she said.

“Ooh!” Papyrus cautiously tasted the sauce and he whirled on Frisk with wide eyes. “Wow, this is really good! This may be the best spaghetti sauce I’ve ever had!”

“Oh y-yeah?!” she asked.

“Try it!” he said. He gave her the spoon. 

She tested it hesitantly on just the tip of her tongue, but then she looked at him with surprise. “It’s not bad!”

“Human, do you know what this means?!” he said, beaming at her. “You and I, being best friends, making spaghetti, being such a great sauce making team!? This must be what was meant to happen!”

“Y-You think so?” she asked. 

He nodded. “Yes, of course! This is right where you’re meant to be. I’m so happy I found you again, because I’m sure you belong with my brother and I! In fact, I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life!”

Frisk stared back at him and her chest tightened. It all hit her in a wave. That was her big brother staring back at her, like nothing had changed in the least. She couldn’t believe it. She shivered and, before she could stop it, tears dribbled down her cheeks again. Papyrus’s face fell.

“H… Human?” he asked, tilting his head.

She sniffled and, quickly, his eyes lit up amber and he cupped her face in both hands, his magic cooing with a reassuring warmth through her skin.

“Oooh no no no, are you okay? Did I say the wrong thing?!” he asked.

Frisk coughed, but she couldn’t help but laugh. “N-No, I’m just… I’m just really happy.”

“Happy?” he repeated.

She nodded and then grabbed him in a hug around his shoulders. He froze and his glow died down in surprise.

“Thanks, bro, thank you so much,” she said quietly.

Papyrus’s cheekbones flushed. “B… Bro…? Brother?” he stammered quietly. He held her close, resting his hand on the back of her head gently. “I… Yes. Okay. I can do that.”

She settled back on the chair, wiping her face on her sleeves. “Sorry about that, it’s… It’s just been a few really long days. I’m just so happy you still like me.”

Papyrus looked shocked and he took her by the shoulders. “Of course I still like you,” he said. “Even if I didn’t remember you, I would like you! I mean, I did the first time we met, didn’t I? And that’s putting it mildly.”

“Y-You remember that?” she asked quietly.

“Absolutely I do!” he said brightly. “I may not really get what’s going on. But know that you can always rely on the great Papyrus! Alright?”

She nodded and again smiled. “You’re the best.”

He looked relieved and then smiled brightly. “I know! Ready for spaghetti?!”

“Yeah!” she cheered.


	10. The Friend-Finding Arc

The spaghetti was a huge success, but, cozied under a blanket on the sofa and with a full stomach, almost two full days behind her, and several pressing worries put to rest, Frisk was quickly out like a light. Papyrus only noticed when she flopped over sideways when he went to get up for more food.

“Oh, ah… um… Human?” he asked cautiously. No reply. He cupped his chin thoughtfully and peered down at her. He felt a little bad. Their battle had even made _him_ a little tired: he couldn’t even imagine how tired someone who was not him must’ve been. Cautiously, he scooped her up and brought her upstairs to his bedroom. 

He didn’t really know much about humans, or their weird, non-magic skin, and though her complexion was generally a little dark, he was sure some of those other spots on her were bruises. He wasn’t sure what to do for that, though. Other monsters bruised, but he and Sans had no skin. Was it even the same for humans and monsters? He didn’t want to make it worse. He supposed he’d wait until Sans got home. He certainly didn’t have any books about caring for humans, but Sans seemed to be full of strange and uncommon knowledge— maybe he would know?

He wanted nothing more than to just hug her close, but he was worried those bruises might be painful. Very carefully, he put her on his car-shaped bed and pulled his blankets up over her. He wasn’t sure what else to do, but he had a hand-stitched fluffy bunny plushy and he placed it with her, then flicked the lights out and tiptoed out of the room. 

\- - -

It was mid afternoon by the time Sans finally got home, carrying a large, boring paper bag in one arm and sipping from a can of soda.

“Brother! There you are!” Papyrus said, leaping to his feet. “Where have you been?!”

“Doin’ my job, bro,” he said with a grin. “How about you?”

“I, uh… Well…” He turned off the television as Sans crossed the room and put the bag down on the table just outside the kitchen, and stood tall and puffed out his chest. “I have big news, brother!”

Sans leaned back against the table and raised his drink approvingly. “Shoot.”

“Okay, so, don’t panic, Sans, but I, your cool and smart brother, have confronted the human, but! I did not capture her!” he said. “Because actually we are best friends and also she is taking a nap now because I guess she’s really tired? Because I tried to capture her all day before I remembered that we are best friends and we’ve actually met a few times somehow, and I really wanted to hug her, but I only did after she actually came quite close to besting my blue attack challenge and then she started glowing a bit. And it turned out she remembered me, too, and she’s very sweet and I like her a lot and I think this is how it’s supposed to be and I’m one million percent sure she’s the good one you told me about.”

Sans looked surprised. “For real? You recognized her, huh? You actually remembered.”

“Yeeeesss?” Papyrus said somewhat suspiciously. “Yes, why? I mean. It does feel unusual, I’ll admit, but yes, I definitely, definitely remember meeting the human.”

“Oh. Cool,” Sans said. “That’s new. She thought you wouldn’t remember her. Glad it all worked out.”

“Wait what?” Papyrus said. “Sans, you knew?!”

“Uh, yup,” Sans said.

“Sannnsss,” he whined. “Why didn’t you tell me that I was best friends with the human, what if she got hurt?! I should have just brought her home right away!”

“Welp, tried the bringin’ her home thing the first time and it didn’t go so well, honestly,” he said. 

“The… The first time? Oh no, this isn’t some weird time travel shenanigans is it?” he asked.

“Yup. Sorry, bro,” Sans said. “Anyway, you’d never hurt her in a million years.”

“Well, of course I wouldn’t!!” he said shrilly.

Papyrus sighed and rubbed his skull. “Sans, I am very confused. Did you do this?”

“No, she did,” he said.

“The human can time travel?!” he yelped.

“Yeah, dude, why do you think you remember meeting her a bunch of times?” Sans asked.

Papyrus’s face flushed a little. “Wow, okay, that’s weird,” he said. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy about it but now I’m also really confused, too. It’s like… I forgot a lot? Which is kind of ridiculous, if you ask me! But more of it keeps coming in and… I do not like feeling this confused, brother.”

“We’ll explain what we can soon, alright?” Sans said. “Where’s the kid?”

“Ah. She is resting in my bed,” he said. “We made some really fantastic spaghetti together but she fell asleep after actually eating it.”

Sans laughed. “That bad, huh?”

“No, no, it was really good!” he said. “She showed me some new things to try! It was really exciting actually.”

“Nice. Glad you had fun,” Sans said.

Papyrus nodded and then went to a strange set up of towels and a small fan in the corner. Sans watched him curiously as he pulled his phone out of the mess, shook it, and then poked at it with a frown on his face. 

“Sup?” Sans asked.

“Oh, nothing, I just dropped my phone in a pot,” he said. “I’m just waiting for it to dry out, I need to call Captain Undyne.”

“Oh, uh… Don’t invite her over yet, huh?” Sans said.

Papyrus seemed confused, but he nodded nonetheless. Sans settled in on the couch and closed his eyes. 

“Wait, wait wait, you can’t nap now!” Papyrus said.

“Why not?” he asked.

“B-Because, I…! I want to talk to you about this!”

“What, your phone?” he said. “I guess I could take a look?”

“No, not that! The human! She’s not hurt, is she?” Papyrus asked nervously.

“What?” Sans grinned and had to stop himself from laughing. “No, bro. Don’t even worry about it.”

“Okay. Yes. Of course,” he said. “It’s just that… I mean, of course. It’s just that she’s so small and what if I—”

“Bro. Chill,” Sans said.

“But I think she’s all bruised! And I have no idea what to do about that!” he said. “It’s just that she’s not made of magic and I don’t want to make her worse by accident!”

Sans smiled and rubbed his brow. “You want me to go ask if she’s okay?”

Papyrus nodded hurriedly. Sans laughed, got back on his feet, and went upstairs. 

It was pitch black in the room with the door closed, so Sans casually lit up his eye to get a little brightness. He saw Frisk, fast asleep. She seemed fine. He wasn’t sure what his brother was so worried about. Nonetheless, he sat on the bed and took her gently by the shoulder.

“Hey, kiddo?” he said quietly.

It took a moment, but she shifted. “Hmm? S… Sans?” she asked groggily.

“Yup. Sorry. Paps was just worried about you.”

She frowned a little. She looked confused as she sat up and blinked heavily in the blue light. “Really? Why?”

“Said you were bruised?” he said, and then shrugged.

“Oh…” She rubbed her eyes and laughed quietly. “That’s probably true. I am a little sore.”

“You wanna go back to sleep, or—?”

“No, no, that’s okay,” she said quietly. “I’ll get up. Where am I?”

“Papyrus’s dream car,” Sans said.

Frisk snickered. “Aw, that’s really nice of him,” she said. “Um. Sans?” She clung to his sleeve. She started to smile and he could see a glisten in her eyes. She snuck closer and wrapped her skinny arms around him. She was shaking, and her grip was strong.“H-He… He remembered me,” she said quietly. “He actually remembers, I… I thought he’d never… I n-never thought that he’d… Oh god.”

“I know. S’good, huh?” He patted her head.

She huffed out a tired laugh and nodded. He smiled.

“He’s, uh, pretty thrilled about it, too,” he said. “Wanna go see him?”

“Y-Yeah! Yeah. I do,” she said. 

Papyrus was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. His face lit up when he saw them as they went down to meet him. 

“H-Human! You’re alright! Did you have a good nap?” he asked.

“Yeah. Thanks for letting me borrow your bed,” she said.

“Of course!” he said. “You, uh… You’ve met Sans, I suppose?”

“Oh yeah, we’re best buds,” Sans said, ruffling the kid’s hair.

She snickered and Papyrus smiled with relief. 

“That’s excellent news! Really, that’s great!” he said. “Sans, I sort of told the human she could live with us, is that okay?”

“Dude, of course, I said the same thing,” Sans assured him, and then turned to Frisk. “I mean, if that’s what you want, kiddo.”

Frisk felt her heart thunk and she started to grin, then hugged him tightly without a second thought. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Welp. I’ll take that as a yes,” Sans said.

“This is excellent!” Papyrus scooped them both up into his arms. “Plus one to the skeleton family!”

Frisk was overwhelmed and Sans started to laugh, but their moment was interrupted by the distorted ringing of a phone.

“Oh!!” Papyrus plopped them down on the floor quickly. “Sorry, I need to get that!”

He hopped the sofa to reach it quicker and then stood almost at attention when he held it to his head to answer. “Hello! This is—!”

They could all hear Undyne shouting. Sounded something like she was saying he had scared her half to death.

“Oh. Undyne! No, no, I’m just fine! I’m sorry for missing your call! I know, I know, out of character, but you see, there was this pot of—! Oh. A… A human, you say?” His eyes darted to Frisk.

She shrunk down behind the sofa. Sans tried not to laugh. 

“N-No! No, I’ve never seen a thing like that at all! Definitely not. Oh…” He started to sweat. “Oh,uh… W-Well… No worries! No human could ever slip by the great Papyrus! Could we perhaps talk about this in person? I’m sure this is just a case of mistaken identity!” He paused to listen for a little while, nodding. 

Frisk wanted to just slink under the couch and hide.

“Okay! I’ll see you soon then!” he said. “Thank you for understanding!” He hung up and sighed. “I don’t like lying to her. But! If it keeps the human safe, I have to do my best!”

“Thanks, Papyrus,” Frisk said with a laugh, “but don’t get in trouble, okay?”

“Never fear, human!” he said. “I’m incredibly resourceful! I’m sure I’ll come up with something.”

“Good luck, bro,” Sans said.

Papyrus winked and put both thumbs up. 

He got ready to leave like a whirlwind, booped Sans and Frisk both on the head with an affectionate spark of magic, and rushed out the door. Sans shot Frisk an amused look.

“Not gonna start cryin’ again, are you?” he said.

“Wh-What? No!” she said quickly.

He snickered. “Where were we? Episode twelve?”

\- - -

_Under Ground Hearts_ was having an identity crises. At the time it was made, there were only two pre-recorded programs on MTT: itself, and another romantic drama that was almost the same but minus assassins and plus few more actors. Audiences said it was all too depressing, so _Under Ground Hearts_ started trying to be funny as well as dark, and scary, and mysterious, and romantic, which only succeeded in making it a failure in all genres. Episode fifteen was a prime example of this awkward phase. After their usual cliffhanger of someone getting shot in the last thirty seconds of an episode, fifteen decided it would try to be artistic and humorous and do a dream sequence episode in a lighter tone that was all together cringeworthy. It was one of the only episodes that wasn’t unintentionally hilarious. Sans had a higher tolerance for sitting through it than Frisk did, but it was possibly due to his reluctance to get up and fast-forward through it. 

Frisk went to the kitchen and shoved the chair around to get her up to the counter to start making some tea, the one she remembered Sans was fond of. When she finished up, she saw the skeleton had heaved himself off the couch and was emptying a brown paper bag onto the table against the wall just outside the kitchen. She passed him his tea and peeked over to look at what he was doing.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Oh. It’s from Alphys.” He showed her a packet of a monster brand of ramen noodles. “For you. Thought it might be closer to human food or something?”

“She… She sent you with all this? When? What? That’s so nice,” she said, and then added, hopefully, “Sh-She… She doesn’t happen to remember me, does she?”

“Nah. Just been spyin’ on you,” he said. “She thinks you’re kinda… what’s the word? The one from anime that they call the cat girl from that show she likes?”

“Oh gosh,” Frisk said, her cheeks flushing.

“Yeah. Weird,” Sans said. “We watched your fight with Paps, by the way. Nice goin’, I haven’t seen him that pumped in a while. I managed to convince Alphys that him huggin’ you and runnin’ you back to the house was actually him capturin’ you, so hopefully that holds up for more than a couple hours. She said she’d keep it quiet for a little. I gotta ask, though, what was up with your eye?”

“My eye?” she repeated. “I dunno, nothing?”

“Hmm.” Sans shrugged. “It’s just that it was kinda gold.”

Frisk stared back at him blankly. “Maybe you need to get your eyes checked,” she joked.

He grinned and lit up his left eye brightly with radiant blue while his right one went dark. “I think I got more problems than an optometrist can fix.”

Frisk giggled and he smiled and sipped his tea as he let the magic dim. 

“Thanks, kid,” he said.

She stuck her thumb up. 

“Hey. Been meanin’ to ask.” He shot her a confused look. “Why didn’t you call?”

“What?” she asked.

“When you got in.”

“Oh. Oh! I… I dunno.” Her face flushed. “I, um, I did call Papyrus. I just mostly cried on the phone to him, I… didn’t know how to tell him who I was. Didn’t know how to tell you either, I… I guess I wasn’t really thinking straight. Wh-What if you didn’t know who I was a-and—”

“Kiddo. I’ll always know who you are. Alright?” he said. “It’s just how I work.”

“…R-Really?” she squeaked. Her eyes seemed to glimmer. “You sure? It’s always like that? Even if I went back w-way too far?”

“Mhm.” He ruffled her hair. “Doesn’t matter. Just, no matter what crazy crap you think, call next time, huh?”

“Hah! A-As if there’ll be a next time,” she said, but there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “I’m sorry.”

“No worries,” he assured her.

She plopped back down on the sofa as the episode was just finishing up and tentatively drank her hot tea. Even now, in their experimental comedic episode, a main character, Tragic Bill, got shot thirty seconds before the end.

“Oh come on!!” Frisk shouted. “Sans, this is dumb. Dang. It’s like it’s trying to be terrible at this point.”

“Do you remember the next episode?” he asked as he wandered over to join her.

“Ummm… I don’t think so. I’m usually asleep by now.”

He grinned. She raised her eyebrow.

“What?”

He merely smiled wider and sat down with her. She looked at him with confusion, and then back at the TV as the credits finished up.

Episode sixteen began with a funeral.

“OH MY GOD!” Frisk shouted.

Sans was immediately choking with laughter.

“What? WHAT?! He’s dead?! Just like that?!” she demanded.

“Yup. Yes. Absolutely.”

“Is this real life?!” she demanded.

“Oh, yeah, dude, Tragic Bill is super dead,” Sans said.

“I THOUGHT THEY JUST LOST THE WIG!” Frisk yelled, throwing her arms up in frustration.

Sans couldn’t stop laughing. “Hooooly shit,” he wheezed, “that’s hilarious.”

Frisk covered her face with her hands and couldn’t help laughing, too.

There was a sudden burst of cold air as Papyrus opened the door and walked back into the house. “Hey, you two!” he said, taking off his mitts. “I could hear you laughing from down the road. What is up?”

“Bro,” Sans said. “U-G-H, episode sixteen. Frisk’s never seen it.”

“Pfffft, oh my god!” Papyrus said. “I’m so sorry!” He leaned over the side of the sofa and Frisk could only gesture to the screen in disbelief.

“You seen this?!” she said shrilly.

“Tragic Bill!” Papyrus said.

“I KNOW, RIGHT?!” Frisk said.

“It was so on the nose with that name I assume it can’t even be called foreshadowing at that point,” Papyrus said. “Uh, wait one second, Sans, what did you just call the human?”

“Uh… Her name?” His brow furrowed for a moment before his expression turned somewhat sympathetic. “Oh. You don’t remember that, huh?”

It was like a hit to the gut for Frisk when he bashfully shook his head. “Oh! Dang, my bad, I should’ve introduced myself, especially since I live with you now,” she said, and she stood up on the sofa and offered him her hand. “I’m Frisk.”

“Frisk. That’s a perfect name for you! I like it!” he said as he shook her hand, but his brow quickly furrowed with puzzlement. “That’s weird, it’s like I’ve heard that before, but not quite? This is getting kind of confusing.”

“I’m sorry,” Frisk said quickly.

“No no, don’t be sorry, human. I mean Frisk. I mean—”

“It’s okay, call me whatever,” she said as she sat back down. “Actually, now that I think about it, most monsters just call me whatever.” She shrugged. 

Sans grinned. “Guilty,” he said. “Hey, bro, you wanna join us?”

“Sure. Let me just get changed,” he said.

Sans stared at him for a moment.

“What’s that look for?” Papyrus asked suspiciously. 

“Nothin’, bro, do what you want,” he said with a smile and a shrug.

Papyrus seemed satisfied and went upstairs, and disappeared into his room.

“How was the meeting?” Sans asked.

“It was good!” Papyrus called back. “Undyne was _pretty_ suspicious but I think I threw her off the trail for now! And we had a very good training session after I gave her my report. She said I’m really improving! Also that I’m her best student! I mean, obviously, but it was really nice to hear her say that!” He bounded back downstairs in a t-shirt with no sleeves that read “Cool Dude” and some shorts, and hurried into the kitchen.

“She’s probably gonna be back on the trail tomorrow,” Sans pointed out. “Alphys saw you “capture” Frisk. Undyne’ll hear about it.”

“Alphys? You mean that monster in the lab?” Papyrus asked. “The one with the hilarious UnderNet account with the anime reviews and the dramatic, vague status posts?”

“That’s her,” he said.

“And she’ll tell Captain Undyne?” Papyrus asked shrilly.

“She’s, uh, easily pressured. And you know how Undyne gets,” Sans said.

“Oh man, she’s gonna kick my butt,” Frisk said with a sigh, but then her eyes lit up. “Ooh! Oh, no, she’s gonna make me into a _Frisk-kabob_! Get it? Because she, like, gets me with the spear?”

“Can we maybe try to _not_?” Sans mussed up her hair. “Good joke though.”

“Well, yeah, I’ll try to not get stabbed,” Frisk said with a laugh. 

“Nobody’s getting stabbed,” Papyrus assured them. He came back in with a mug of that other very herbal smelling tea and sat with them. “Human, I’m confused, do you get stabbed a lot?”

“Depends,” Frisk admitted.

“It doesn’t seem to bother you much,” he said worriedly.

“I mean, I try not to do dumb stuff,” Frisk said, “but if it happens, I can always go backwards, or… Oh. Wait. Uhh…” She looked at Sans for help. 

He shrugged. 

Papyrus gave her a puzzled look. “This is the time travel things again, isn’t it?”

“Oh! You… You know?” Frisk asked with a confused frown.

“A little,” Papyrus admitted. “Sans, has… Well, uh…”

“She knows my stuff,” Sans assured him.

“Right, okay, well, Sans has had some time travel related issues in the past, and he said that this particular memory nonsense is related to that, but it’s because of you?” Papyrus said.

“I… I think so,” Frisk said.

“Okay,” Sans said, “let’s just lay it all out. Frisk’s actually got some important junk she has to do.”

“That’s true,” Frisk said.

“Oh! Good!” Papyrus said. “Yes. Thank you.”

“This is gonna be a bit heavy,” Sans warned.

“That’s fine, I can definitely handle it,” Papyrus insisted. “Nothing is too heavy for Papyrus!”

“So, here’s the deal,” Sans said. “Frisk can time travel. Backwards. Because time got ripped at some point and stuff is messed up. You know that bit, right?”

“Right,” Papyrus said.

“She’s got a set timeline,” Sans continued. “It starts when she falls down into the underground, and from there on she’s like an anchor in this world. Means no one can mess with the timeline except her, and since Frisk is pretty cool, that’s really good for the rest of us. She can also hang onto time in certain spots. We call that _saving_. It’s because of this stuff we called determination that’s a part of souls. It’s barely in most monsters, but it’s really strong in humans. And in Frisk, it’s stronger than anyone else, monster or human.”

“Right, yes, I see,” Papyrus said, nodding thoughtfully.

“Um, usually how it seems to go for me,” Frisk said, “is that no one can remember when things go backwards except for a bit of feelings and dreams, sometimes. Sans is different, though.”

“Well that goes without saying, but what does that have to do with this?” Papyrus asked.

Sans laughed. “She’s just talkin’ about how I actually remember stuff. I mean, unless the barrier goes down and we get out, I don’t remember anything past that,” Sans explained. “But there’s somethin’ up with Frisk this time that’s makin’ people near her hold on a little more, from what we can tell. More like what I do, without all that extra garbage, y’know what I mean? So, I gotta ask, bro, what _do _you remember?”

“I remember… uh…” Papyrus paused to think, then his eyes went wide. “Well, I mean, obviously Frisk is one of my best friends. I feel like I’ve known her forever! Definitely supposed to live with us, absolutely. I remember… I remember meeting a few times, but also not remembering the first few times? Weird.” He smiled and tented his fingers. His cheekbones flushed faintly. “I remember all of the times we met now. All four of them? It makes me very relieved that you’re still here with us, human.”

Frisk was taken aback. She looked at Sans. He shrugged. She took Papyrus’s hand.

“Dude,” she said quietly, “I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?! What for?!” he asked.

Her eyes went wide. Before she could answer, he grinned and took both her hands in his.

“Human, we had so many good times together! So what if they did a bit of time loop nonsense? It just gave us more chances to hang out! You were always incredibly nice and cool and fun!” He was absolutely beaming. “I mean, to have to repeat those events over and over and still to make time to spend with me— you must really think I’m great! And I think you’re great too! It makes me happy to know that, no matter what, we were always best friends from the minute I stopped throwing bone attacks at you. Nyeh heh! I wish we got you sooner.”

“Yeah, me too,” she agreed.

“So what the heck were you sorry for?!” he demanded.

She smiled bashfully, trying to hide a sort of heartache. “Sorry I left you. I never wanted to.”

He froze; eyes went wide. He blinked back at her in shock. He started to laugh again and cupped her face. “Oh, human, I know you didn’t! I mean, who would, right?” he said brightly. “Though, I do have to admit, I did miss you a considerable amount, especially that first time when the barrier did not break, actually.”

“Yeah, he was almost as much of a mess as I am on a regular basis,” Sans said.

“Impossible!” Papyrus said, folding his arms. “But anyway! Human, don’t worry for a second about that! As long as we’re all together, everything is perfect.”

Frisk wiped her eyes quickly, but she giggled anyway. “Thanks. You’re awesome,” she said.

“I know! Thank you!” he said. “Now. Let’s think…”

He drummed the fingers of one hand on the opposite arm and looked thoughtful. “I _do _remember that you went to break the barrier! The second time we met. And third time, too! But more recently, I… Oh! Human, you were the one on the phone! And we had some lunch, but then Undyne… oh.” He looked shocked and put his face in his hands. “Nyoo hoo, I made a terrible mistake! I promise that was _not_ what I meant to happen when I invited her over!”

“Don’t worry, I know,” Frisk said with a laugh. “It’s all in the _past_! Happens all the _time_.”

Papyrus opened his mouth and raised a finger, then began to frown as Sans began to grin. Papyrus groaned and rubbed his forehead.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” she said with a smile.

The tell skeleton sighed, but he laughed as well, just a little. “I’m glad you’re taking that well, it looked like it really hurt, honestly. I’m surprised at Undyne, I thought we were all friends!”

“Not if she doesn’t remember me,” Frisk said with a sigh. “Which, um, kinda sucks because I really love her, too.”

“Wow okay, yes, then we really need to fix this,” he said. “But hoooow…?”

“Same way she got your memories to hold, probably,” Sans said. “Get up close and do the glowin’ thing.”

“Wait, which glowing thing?” Frisk asked.

“I wasn’t jokin’ when I said your eye was gold, kid,” Sans said. “You started glowin’. You did that near Papyrus and now he remembers you.” 

“What?! Is that really it? I didn’t even know that was a thing!” Frisk said. “I thought I was doing weird blue glowing stuff?”

Sans shrugged. “Welp, it seemed to be what helped Paps out. Right, bro?”

“Yes, there was definitely a glow around you when I suddenly recalled all those things,” he said.

“Oh! Well, that’s great, how do I do that?” she said. “And also, how do I get close to Undyne?”

Both skeletons shrugged.

“Carefully?” Sans said.

“Throw me at her?” Frisk suggested.

“You wanna get stabbed?” Sans asked. “Again?”

“You got a _point_ there,” Frisk said.

Sans grinned. Papyrus put his hands on his face.

“Well,” he said, smiling sardonically, “I’m glad you two will be able to deal with each other’s terrible jokes from now on. But, I have one more thing I was wondering about.”

“Oh, yeah? What is it?” she asked. 

“F… Frisk, um…” Papyrus looked embarrassed. “Why did you come back in time? If… If we got to the surface, isn’t that what everyone wanted?”

Frisk flinched and sighed. Reality struck her; made her slump in place, but she nodded. “You guys don’t remember this, but we lived together with mom… um, Toriel, once the barrier went down. It was good. But see, the problem was, back here, there was someone I had to leave behind. His name is Asriel. He’s a monster who came back to life as a flower, but he… he has no normal feelings. He kept trying to steal the souls Asgore has, and mine, too. I found out that he was nice before everything happened to him and I tried to save him, but he needed a new soul and I couldn’t figure out how to get him one. Because of that, he’s…” She sighed again and grimaced.

Papyrus reached over and gently held her shoulder. She steadied herself, but her eyes stayed locked on the floor. 

“I couldn’t keep resetting the timeline trying to figure him out, not with you guys and everyone else getting dragged back underground. And Asriel wouldn’t let me bring him with us to the surface when he didn’t have a soul. Said it was too dangerous,” she said. “So, us, Toriel, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, Asgore… Everyone. We built a town and we started living on the surface. We were happy. I’m not sure what happened, but after a while, somehow, Asriel got all angry again and killed a human and took their soul. Then, with that power, he killed another, and another, and he came for me and… Well… We ran. That’s when you told me resetting was the only way to save everyone, Sans. So, I did. He’s why I’m here again. I need to get him a soul for good. So… So he won’t be bad anymore. So maybe everyone could be happy? I dunno…”

When she managed to look up, Papyrus was gawking. Sans’s face had flushed a little blue and he was staring at her blankly.

“Wh… What? Was that too much?” she asked.

“Holy shit, kid, no wonder you’re so down,” Sans said.

“Yeeeeeah,” Frisk said.

“Oh, no, poor thing!” Papyrus said shrilly. He lifted her into his arms quickly and held her close. “This is all a huge, horrible mess, but know we’re here for you the whole way! I believe in you, human! There has to be something that can be done!”

Frisk let out a deep sigh and clung to him tightly. She nodded. “Sorry to be such a buzzkill,” she said quietly.

“No, kid, that’s… Heh.” Sans rubbed his head. “I didn’t expect it to be as bad as that.”

“Yeah,” she said quietly. 

Her heart was aching again, but it helped that Papyrus was holding her— he was so warm. “What we all had there, it was… It was finally really home for all of us, you know? I wouldn’t have made us give that up if it there was any other choice,” she said. “It… It was really rough to pull everyone back. And now Asriel needs a soul and I just… I don’t know. I still feel pretty lost, I guess?” 

Tears came again and Papyrus immediately cozied her against his chest.

“Don’t give up, Frisk. I’m sorry you lost that. But we’re all here, and soon, I bet all your other friends will remember you, too. And we’ll do whatever we can to make this all right again. I promise!” He put her back on the couch and he gently brushed her tears away. “You know a promise from your super cool big brother Papyrus is always a good one, right?”

“Oh, dude, you are just gonna make me cry so hard,” she squeaked. She hugged him tight around the shoulders.

He gently patted her back and gave her a quick, affectionate shot of magic through his fingertips.

“Okay!” he said brightly. “Sans! We have a new job to do!”

“What’s that, bro?” he said.

“Our small human is a wreck and we must cheer her up!” he announced. “So! What should we do?”

“I’ll be okay,” she said.

“Nonsense, human, there is no use in trying to dissuade me!” he announced, lifting her to look her in the face. “I, the great Papyrus, am top notch at making people down in the dumps with time travel related woes feel much better!”

“It’s true, he is,” Sans added.

Papyrus _hmmmm-ed _for a long time. Then, his eyes lit up and he put Frisk back down gently. “Nyeh heh heh! Okay! I got it!” he said, and he got to his feet. “But! I need to get a few things. Hang on, be right back! Sans, I will take your coat, yes?”

“Go ahead, bro, I’m not leavin’,” he said.

Papyrus threw it on, along with his boots and mitts, before racing out of the house.

“Huh. Lookit him, wearin’ normal clothes and stuff,” Sans said. “Cool.”

Frisk sniffed and wiped her eyes quickly. “Dang, he’s so nice,” she said quietly.

“Bet you feel a bit better after that, huh?” he asked.

Frisk nodded. “It was… It was good to say it out loud but is…? Is it bad that I keep trying not to think about it?” she said. “I feel like I’d just cry, like, all the time if I did. I just… I just want everyone to be happy again, you know? But it… It’s tough for me. Ugh. I’m sorry.”

“Why?” he asked.

“I just keep crying anyway!” she said. “Th-The… The bad stuff. It didn’t happen anymore but—”

“But you still saw it happen,” he said.

“Yeah. Y-Yeah…” She nodded and rubbed her eyes. “And with everyone forgetting me again, after we were all s-so close, I… I just d-don’t even really know what to do with myself.”

Sans was quiet for a bit. He got up, patted her on the shoulder, and walked around the sofa towards the stairs. When she turned to look after him, he was already gone. Frisk took a moment to rub her itchy eyes, but he was back before she knew it. He had put a blue sweatshirt on and brought a blanket, which he gently tossed on top her. She wrapped herself in it and sighed.

“Thanks,” she said.

He sat back down beside her and she bit her lip. The TV was hissing quietly with snow. Sans fished the remote out of the sofa and turned it off.

“Kiddo, you, uh…? You want my advice?” he asked. “I think I know how you feel. I’ve been there.”

Frisk grimaced. “So… So how do you deal with it?”

“Honestly? I just kinda go with it,” he said. “It used to drive me nuts, but, I actually kinda found that, a lot of people, even if they don’t know the things, they remember how they feel after a bit, you know? Sometimes that’s more important.”

Frisk nodded and she sighed, hugging her knees close to her chest. “So I guess hoping to get back to normal is stupid, huh?”

“Here’s the thing,” Sans said. “You’ll drive yourself crazy thinkin’ about it like that. Trust me. If the only thing you can be sure of is yourself, _you_ gotta be normal. Does that make sense?”

“So, like… I’m home wherever I am?” she said. “That kinda idea?”

Sans nodded. Frisk frowned.

“But… don’t you miss everyone?” she asked.

“Nah, kiddo, they’re all right here. You love ‘em, right? That’s what matters.” He shrugged. “Besides, you get a lot of use outta the same jokes.”

Frisk snickered tiredly, then rubbed her eyes. “Thanks,” she said. “That, um… That helps. A lot. Sheesh, what would I do without you?”

“Uh…” He looked confused and then smiled sideways. “Ah, c’mon, kid, you’d be fine.”

“No I wouldn’t, shut up,” she laughed.

His cheekbones flushed blue and he scoffed and ruffled her hair. “Actually, you’re a step ahead. You got the benefit that the timeline is yours. You get a kinda certainty in that, you know?”

“Didn’t expect you to be the one to show me the bright side in this,” she said with a quiet snicker.

“What’re you talkin’ about?” He lit up his left eye and winked. “I’m always lookin’ at the bright side.”

“Pffft!” Frisk snickered. “You get a lot of jokes out of that one trick, huh?”

“Oh yeah, imagine if they both lit up,” he said, grinning.

\- - -

Papyrus seemed to be taking his time, and the magic that lit the outside was starting to grow just a little dim to give the illusion of night. It wasn’t like that in many places underground, but Snowdin and the capital city of New Home both seemed to have enough monsters and magic to warrant it.

Sans had dozed off on the sofa, so Frisk put her blanket over him and watched out the window for Papyrus. Little bits of snow, glittering from the window light, began to fall and she smiled to herself.

A bit of movement caught her eye and she looked down. She was taken aback when a little flower face popped up and looked at her with an expression just as surprised as hers was. He ducked back down quickly. Frisk rolled her eyes. 

Shoving the chair around the kitchen, Frisk had to hop up onto the counter and strain to use a wooden spoon to refill the kettle. She made four mugs of hot chocolate. Searching the cabinets, she found a couple bendy straws tossed in haphazardly with some dry, loose spaghetti. She plunked one into one of the mugs, a white one with a red heart on it, and then cautiously slipped down from the counter. She put on her shoes again before heading outside with it.

She looked around suspiciously, and walked to the left side of the house near the window. She peeked around, checking behind the mailboxes, but didn’t see anything. “Hey,” she said. “Asriel?” She didn’t hear anything, no reply at all. She frowned and sighed, and turned to go back to the house and then saw him pop out of the ground before her.

“Stop calling me that. You shouldn’t come out alone,” Asriel said. “It would be so easy to—”

“Oh, knock it off, grumpy,” she said. “Here.” She knelt down and placed the mug in the snow. 

Asriel frowned. “What the hell is that?” he snapped.

“It’s hot chocolate,” she said. “It’s cold out here. Stay warm, okay?”

Asriel looked confused. “Why even bother, I’ll just—”

“What? Throw it at me? Knock it over?” she said. “That’s just a waste of good hot chocolate. You should probably just drink it.”

The little flower grimaced. Frisk shrugged and slipped back around the side of the house. She peeked back and saw Asriel frowning at the mug. After a few seconds, he reached for the straw and sipped tentatively. He sat still, pouted for a second, and then took a second sip. Frisk grinned to herself. 

She heard footsteps in the snow and she turned to look down the street and saw Papyrus coming up with a microwave under one arm and a grocery bag in the other hand.

“Human!” he said brightly. “What are you doing out here?”

“Oh, nothing, just looking at the snow,” she said. She darted ahead and opened the door for him and they hurried in out of the cold.

“You look like you are already feeling a little better,” he said.

“I am, a bit,” she said. “Sans gave me a pretty good pep talk.”

“You know, for someone who doesn’t take much very seriously, he is actually very very good at that,” Papyrus said.

Papyrus ran around, setting up the microwave, turning the lights off, making popcorn, and getting more blankets and pillows from upstairs. Sans only woke when he accidentally rolled off the sofa when too many pillows slid behind him.

“Oops! Sorry, brother!” Papyrus said.

“Oh. Hey, Paps,” Sans said, smiling groggily up at him.

“Sans, we are going to watch a movie I borrowed from Undyne a while back, and we will have many blankets and popcorn!” he announced.

“And hot chocolate,” Frisk added.

“Huh. Okay,” Sans said. “What movie?”

Papyrus grinned and passed Sans an old tape with a tattered case. He looked at it with a frown.

“_The Screaming Skull?_” he said, brow raised.

“Yes! Well, I was warned it might be a little scary because a human turns into a skeleton in it, but it’s one of the human movies where a skeleton is a good guy!” he said. “A story of murder and revenge! Dramatic! Undyne said it wasn’t very good but you never know! And even if does happen to be a terrible mess of a film, I know you love watching bad things and our human seems to as well.”

“Eh. Okay, I’m into it,” he said.

Papyrus grinned and then bounded back into the kitchen. “Nearly done!”

Frisk walked over and looked down at Sans.

“Sup?” he asked.

“You need help?” she asked.

“Nah.” He stuck his thumb up. “I’m good.”

She snickered. “How you gonna drink hot chocolate like that?”

“Huh. Good question,” he said.

Frisk grinned and scampered to the kitchen to get the mugs, and Papyrus returned, picking Sans off the ground. He put him back on the sofa and put in the movie and Frisk passed out the hot chocolate. 

They all cozied together on the sofa, but it soon turned out that the only screaming skull would be Papyrus. The clearly fake skeleton in the movie was tossed around and broken into pieces quite a few times. It was too scary for him and he hid behind a pillow until they turned it off and watched the MTT channel instead.

It was a good night anyway, though. Frisk fell asleep again long before even Sans did. He watched her snooze under Papyrus’s arm for a little with a sort of sense of disbelief settling in. He looked at the TV for a few minutes, and then looked at Papyrus, who seemed to be getting a little drowsy.

“Hey, bro,” he asked. “I’m, uh… I’m not dreamin’, right? I’m awake?”

“Yes, surprisingly,” Papyrus said. “The human actually fell asleep before you did, that is quite a feat.”

“Y… Yeah. Okay. Good,” he said.

“Why do you ask?” Papyrus said.

“Nah. No reason,” he said.

“Saaannsss…” Papyrus shot him a knowing look. “What’s on your mind?”

“Nothin’. Don’t worry about it,” he said; he got to his feet. “I’m goin’ to bed. Can you handle the kid?”

“Absolutely I can!” Papyrus said.

Sans nodded and lazily wandered upstairs. 

Papyrus finished watching the end of the gameshow before he turned his eyes back on Frisk. She was very much asleep. He switched off the TV stood up and gently lifted her into his arms. As he did, he noticed a small face in the window. A flower. He recognized him. Papyrus waved and the flower hurriedly ducked out of sight. Sort of strange, but it didn’t really bother him. 

He carried Frisk and some blankets back upstairs to his room and tucked her in again. He turned off the lights and sat beside her, using the glow of his eyes to read a puzzle book in the low light until he accidentally drifted off.


	11. The Friend-Finding Arc

Frisk felt like she was falling. Her eyes blinked open in a hall steeped in golden light. What should have been warm felt freezing. The floor’s patterned tiles glared upwards with a polished sheen. Columns that lined the walls were bars between her and the stained-glass windows. She knew instantly that it couldn’t be real. Her heart sunk. There was only one type of dream she had here; she didn’t have the words to describe it. Her heart began to pound and she noticed, much to her dismay, that there was a knife in her hand.

“No. No no no, drop it. Drop that. No. Bad. Stop.” Nothing happened. The hand wasn’t really hers, after all.

She was walking forward without wanting to— she did her best to drag her feet but nothing came of it. In a blink, she saw Sans appear before her. Her throat went dry. His eyes were dark. In her mind, he loomed; towered like he were ten feet tall and made of stone.

“Oh, no. No no no, what did you do!?” she yelled at whoever’s eyes she had.

Sans started talking but she couldn’t hear it through the heart pounding in her ears. She’d heard it before, anyway. It was a nightmare. She could feel her body tensing up.

“No no no no no, don’t you hurt him, don’t you dare—”

She ran at him anyway. His eye lit up. Her soul turned blue. He threw her, hard. She felt every impact— things snapping, other things going numb. In a strange way, it was almost a relief, but it struck her with horror that whoever she was seeing through knew the fight almost as well as she did when her body began to outmanoeuvre the dragon-like skulls, the _Gaster Blasters_, surrounding her brother that shot great, blinding beams from their mouths.

“No, no no no, stop!” Frisk yelled. “Stop it, I won’t…! I don’t want to—!” 

Her body ran at him with the knife again, but she threw all her weight towards the ground. She didn’t expect a thing, and so felt like she could faint when the leg gave out and her body dropped to its knees.

“Wh… What the hell…?” someone else’s voice asked.

The dragon’s maw opened before her and she had no choice— she was blasted away. She felt everything stop. 

Frisk’s eyes blinked open in the hall steeped in golden light. She looked around quickly. It wasn’t quite right, but maybe that was a good thing. Her back was to a column outside of the main path and she faced one of the grand windows marked with the sign of the Delta Rune.

“Wh… What?! No. No, no, c’mon, wake up,” she said to herself. 

She heard a crash. Her eyes went wide and she peeked around the column. To her shock, she saw someone who looked a lot like her, with a knife in their hand. Walls of bones were flying at them. She froze. Her brain stumbled over itself to try to understand. She had never seen this battle from the outside before. That other thing, though, it was fast. It was like an acrobat. She gulped, hard. 

She tried to run; found that she _could_ run. Determination filled her to the brim. She could see them— see them both. It was just like before. That thing that looked like a kid was about to charge at him, the sheen of their blade glinting coldly. She ran faster. Why did she have to be so small? She felt tears in her eyes.

She had to remember it wasn’t real. Maybe it had been, once upon a time, but now it was just an echo. She could help. 

She reached out and snagged the beast around the middle, and tackled them to the ground. They slid along the tile together until the wall stopped them. That thing— she could almost have sworn it was Chara— looked up at her with a frowning face and bright red eyes.

“You again?!” they demanded.

Frisk struggled to get to her feet, but the other one was faster. Their knife was quick. Frisk jumped back, but the blade still caught her shoulder. It hurt like it was real. Frisk gulped, tearful, and tried to catch her breath.

“Stop fighting,” she said. “Please. Leave him alone. You’ve done enough.”

“Or what?” they sneered. “I dunno what you are, but you’re so weak. What the hell could you even do to me?”

Frisk grimaced for a moment saw a flash of blue beyond the other’s head, and she started to smile. “Get dunked on,” she said quietly.

“What?” The other one scowled incredulously.

“I said,” the kid muttered, her voice getting a little stronger, “get dunked on.”

They looked back at her with a furrowed brow, but then their eyes went wide and they whirled to face Sans. It was too late, though — those monstrous skulls faced them and blasted them into the ground until there was little left but charred dust. The glimmer of their red soul hovered for just a second and Frisk hopped and grabbed it tight in her hands.

“Stay gone,” she said.

Frisk took a deep, shaking breath as the soul vanished into dust, and she turned to Sans. His eyes were still black, his brow furrowed. She steadied herself and hurried over to him— had to resist hugging him in case she freaked him out.

“Are you okay? She didn’t hurt you, did she?” she asked. “I think I tripped her up that first time. I hoped she wouldn’t come back, but I think we’re okay for now.”

He didn’t relax much, but the magic along his fingers crackled out. “You’re bleedin’.”

She looked at her shoulder reflexively and wished she hadn’t, but she tore her eyes away quickly. “Hey, small price to pay, right?” she asked with a smile. “It’s not like it’s real, anyway.”

“That’s not a very good joke, kid.”

“I-It’s a dream,” she insisted. “It’s not real now. Everyone’s fine. Papyrus is fine. You just gotta wake up, you’ll see.”

He frowned and rubbed the back of his skull. “Oh. Right. Shouldda guessed when there were suddenly two of you. You her evil twin or somethin’? Evil twin of evil kid means you’re good, right?”

“Sans, what the heck are you talking about?” Frisk said. “Dude, are you okay? Who do you see when you’re looking at me? I-I’m not her, I… I’d never… I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Sans stared at her in silence for a few, long moments. His brows lifted and he leaned in a little closer. “F… Frisk…?” He sounded like he couldn’t believe it.

“Yeah!” she said.

The light came back to his eyes. He took her by her good shoulder. “Frisk?” he repeated.

She nodded. The look of shock on his face made her heart stall. Before she could say a word, he dissolved into glittering blue dust and vanished. She took a deep breath. He had managed to wake up. The dream had been his. This one almost always was. It began to dissolve, too. 

Her vision blurred to black and she stood in a room of shadows. She looked around quickly, confused. This was different. She pulled out a speck of a lighter colour in the darkness. She headed for it, squinting. Hands, maybe? Skeleton hands? 

“S… Sans?” she asked. “Papyrus?” 

Finger bones carefully grasped her shoulder. Comforting; reassuring. Grateful? She turned to look, but still couldn’t see.

\- - -

Frisk woke up sweating, her heart pounding, body shaking with every breath. “Oh my god,” she muttered. “Not again.” She rubbed her eyes and looked around in the dark. She was in Papyrus’s room, on his bed, though he wasn’t even in there.

Frisk threw back the covers and stumbled onto the floor. She hurried out into the hall. Sans’s door was barely ajar. She could hear the skeletons’s voices just inside. She bit her lip and crept closer. 

“You’re one hundred percent sure you’re okay?” Papyrus asked.

“Yeah. No worries,” Sans said. “Thanks, bro. Super cool of you to check on me.”

“Of course, Sans, I’m the number one brother a monster could possibly have!” he announced. “And, as such, I’ll do whatever you need from me to help you feel better. I know the amount of fun involved in these dreams is basically none.”

“That’s true. Huh. What’s that?”

Frisk didn’t realize she was tapping the wall anxiously with her foot until he spoke. Her heart stuttered. She gulped and peeked in.

“S-Sorry. Just me,” she said.

“Ah! H-Human!” Papyrus said quickly. “It’s um… It’s quite late, isn’t it? Would you like me to tuck you back in?”

Frisk shook her head and cautiously looked at Sans. He seemed okay, but only until he locked eyes with her. Then, suddenly, he looked almost afraid. Frisk gulped. 

“I’m… I’m gonna go. Sorry. S-Sans, feel better, okay?” she said.

She hurried out of the room quickly. Uncertain, but wanting to give them privacy, she slipped on her shoes and rushed outside.

Frisk wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the cold and leaned against the side of the house looking off towards Waterfall, frustrated, unsure what to say or do. She wanted nothing more than to give Sans the biggest hug in the world and explain everything, but she didn’t want to put that on him yet. She didn’t have nearly enough answers, and they weren’t even close to being on the same page anymore. Once everything was settled, she told herself. 

She sighed. Of all the memories, of all the dreams, why did it have to be _that _one? Sans didn’t like to talk about it much. All she knew was, in that piece of time, everyone else was dust. Sans fought not to save himself, not even for revenge outright, but to force a reset or what he called “ditching a timeline”. Frustrate another time traveller into giving up on the place he was trying to protect. He was really good at it, too. 

Frisk pouted and rubbed her arms from the cold. She closed her eyes. He must’ve been desperately worried about something else. Usually that one didn’t get to him unless— Frisk gulped. Of course. The reset. It was her fault.

She jumped when she heard the front door open and feet crunching through the snow and hurriedly wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Kid?” Sans knocked on the wall. “What the heck are you doin’?”

She turned to look at him with surprise and he met her with a strange expression. He looked worried, for some reason. She grimaced.

“You’re not lookin’ too good, kiddo,” he said. 

“M… Me? N-No, I’m okay,” she said quickly. “What about you?”

He shrugged. “How’s the shoulder?”

“Fine! It’s fine, don’t w…” Frisk’s stomach dropped. Blew it right away. She stared at him and bit her lip. 

His brow furrowed and he locked eyes with her. It was almost like she could see all the pieces sliding into place in his mind.

“Oh… uh… I mean… I’m a huge dumb idiot.” She smacked her face into her hands. “I was gonna tell you, I just didn’t want to freak you out. I’m so sorry.”

Sans flinched. He came a little closer. “How long?”

Frisk took a deep breath. “U-Um… Ever since I started being able to save,” she admitted. “Sorry. I u-usually can’t stop that thing but I r-really tried and—” 

She squeaked when he hugged her tight. She certainly hadn’t expected that. She could feel something of his soul pulsing like a quickened heartbeat through his ribcage. 

“Kid, I… Uh… I’m sorry,” he said. “That hurts pretty bad, huh?”

“What? Oh, no,” she said, “I mean, my shoulder’s f—”

“Not that.”

Frisk’s stomach dropped, but she laughed tiredly and hugged him back. “It’s okay,” she said. “You’re awesome. They deserve it every time. The, um… the Gaster Blasters are my favourite.”

“Never shouldda been you,” he grumbled. “You shouldn’t have ever even seen those.” He cupped the back of her head and his magic tingled comfortingly through her skull. 

She wilted. “S-Sans…” She grabbed him tighter and hid her face against him. “Th-Thank you. It’s okay. You did the right thing.”

He sighed quietly. His fingers clenched gently into the back of her hair. His magic was faint, a gentle, cool blue light. She felt a little tinge of regret come through the sense of reassurance he was trying to send out. 

“Rough night. C’mon.” He pulled back and shoved his hands in his pockets, then tilted his head towards the house. “It’s cold out here, huh?”

Inside, they caught Papyrus halfway through putting his boots on. 

“Oh! There you are, what happened?” he demanded.

Sans shrugged. “Nothin’, bro,” he said. “Frisk, uh… she thought she saw the nice cream guy go by.”

“Th-That’s right!” Frisk said. “No luck.”

“Darn.” Sans shrugged again. “Next time I guess.”

“Next time, you two grab me first, I am clearly the fastest runner,” Papyrus said. “I can catch up, no problem. Though I’m not sure exactly why you would want nice cream so late at night!”

“I, um… I just thought i-if Sans was having a bad dream, m-maybe it might make him feel better?” Frisk suggested.

“Aw! That’s very sweet of you, human!” he said. “Isn’t it, brother?”

“Mhm.” He grinned. “Just so you know, I’m holdin’ back, like, at least five puns just for you, Paps.”

“NYEH! You better,” he said. “Anyway! Never fear! Know that you all can sleep safely with the great Papyrus around!”

“Thanks,” Frisk said.

He stuck his thumb up and then took off his boot. “Now, unless you two need anything, I’m going back to bed!” he announced. “Good night!” 

“Good night, Paps, thanks again,” Sans said as Frisk waved.

Sans took off his jacket and then turned his eyes on the kid. “Can I tell you somethin’?”

“Y-Yeah…?” she said.

He was quiet for a while.

“Uh… Sans?” she said.

“Sorry. I forgot.” He grinned and shrugged, then ruffled her hair and walked off. “Good night, kiddo.”

Frisk pouted.

\- - -

Frisk woke up to the sound of Papyrus shuffling around his room. She sat up and rubbed her eyes groggily to watch him pulling on his “battle” wear over top of a t-shirt that had a skull and crossbones on it. 

“Good morning, human!” he said brightly. “Sleep well after all that strange stuff last night?”

“Yeah. Thanks for letting me use your bed,” she said.

He stuck his thumb up. “Not a problem at all,” he said. “It’s definitely the coolest bed ever. Very cozy! Feel free to use it any time! Especially right now, it’s still very early.”

“So what are you doing up?” she asked.

“Well, I’m about to…! Uh…” His face went blank for an instant and he straightened up and rubbed the back of his skull. “Huh.”

“What?” Frisk asked.

“Well, every morning since I decided I wanted to be a member of the Royal Guard, I would get ready and go out patrolling for humans,” he said. “But now, I mean, I guess I don’t need to go recalibrate my puzzles, or even Sans’s! I’m… not exactly sure what I should be doing right now. Hm. Didn’t occur to me.”

Frisk frowned thoughtfully and then stood up off the bed. “Well. There’s still a human to catch.”

“I’m not sure I follow,” Papyrus said.

The kid pointed at herself with her thumbs and smiled. “I bet,” she said, “that I can get away from you for at _least_ a few minutes.” 

“What?! Impossible!” he said. “I’d catch you for sure!”

“Okay, how about, if you can catch me before I get out of the house,” she said, “I’ll do whatever puzzles you want.”

Papyrus’s eyes lit up. “You mean it?!” he asked shrilly. 

“Yeah, of course!” she said.

The tall skeleton grinned. “Human, you’re on!”

\- - -

Sans looked up from his newspaper as he heard a clattering and thudding from upstairs. He peered around curiously and the sound of a door slamming made him jump. Frisk came sliding down the banister and ran for the front door. Before Sans could even ask what was up, Papyrus overtook her and she turned on a dime and sprinted for the kitchen. Papyrus cackled and ran after her. Sans watched them with confused amusement as they tore around the room until Papyrus dove over the sofa and grabbed Frisk.

“And the great Papyrus is the victor! As expected!” he said. “Good try, though, human!”

“Oh darn, I guess we’ll have to do some puzzles,” Frisk said. 

“And I have just the ones!” Papyrus said. “Back to the upstairs! Nyeh heh heh heh!” 

Frisk waved at Sans as his brother ferried her away. He finished up the page he was on before getting up and peeking in on them.

“It’s all theoretical, mind you!” Papyrus was saying— he was sitting on the floor with Frisk, pouring over a large sheet of graph paper. “But if you were to change these all from X to O, and you can’t fly—”

“What? No flying?” Frisk joked. “Gee.”

“No flying! And see, these here are… well, I was thinking maybe a really cool spike trap, but honestly they will probably just end up being snow piles. Or rocks. Possibly.”

“Okay. So you can’t go over the snow piles.”

“No! They’re too high and you have no snowpants.” He handed Frisk a crayon. “Got it?”

“Got it,” Frisk said. “Don’t want wet pants. Okay.”

“Wet pants are failure!” Papyrus said. 

Frisk _hmmed_ and stared at the puzzle plan. Sans grinned to himself and walked in. 

“Sup?” he asked.

“Brother, good morning! I’m shocked you’re up! Frisk is going to test some of my puzzle prototypes,” Papyrus said brightly.

“Oh. Nice.” He squatted down to look as well. “Huh. Looks a little complicated.”

“I’m sure I can get it,” Frisk said. “I just need to… um… Hmmm…” She drew her first arrow on the page. 

Papyrus was already beaming. Sans sat down to watch. Frisk was careful with her lines, but the hint for success was soon obvious— the way to go was ultimately like completing a connect-the-dots of Papyrus’s face. 

“Nice,” Sans said.

Frisk grinned. Papyrus was aglow.

“You did it! Fantastic! How was it? Too hard? Too easy? Tell me everything!” he said.

“It was good,” Frisk said. “I think it’s a good challenge. But I think it was a little easier for me because I know what you look like. But I do like that it’s also a picture, that’s pretty creative!”

“Fair enough!” Papyrus said. “Up for another? Ooh! Actually! There’s one I set up outside already that I’d like to ask you about!”

“Oh, okay, which one?” she said.

“The invisible electricity maze!” he said.

“Uh, bro, she did that one already,” Sans said.

“Yes, I know, but I’d like some live feedback,” Papyrus said. “I know we won’t need it any time soon, but you can never be too careful with your puzzles!”

“No problems here,” she said.

“Guess we should get you a coat,” Sans said. “Paps, you got anythin’ left from when you were short?”

“Nnnnoooo I don’t think so, not from when I was as small as the human, anyway!” he said. “I think I gave most of it away, but you’re still short, Sans, maybe you have something?”

“Fair point. Alright,” he said. “Kid, hope you’re okay with hand-me-downs.” 

“Yeah, of course! That’s actually a really good idea, yesterday was super cold,” she said. “Thanks so much!”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Sans said as he got to his feet. “Still gotta find somethin’.”

“Still appreciate it though,” Frisk assured him.

Sans’s room was full of socks, and his mattress and blankets were in disarray, but that wasn’t really anything unusual. In the corner, somehow, a gentle tornado of garbage and papers covered in what looked like complicated maths spun, giving off a light breeze. Trying not to step on any of his floor stuff, Frisk followed him to his dresser and he opened a drawer and began to shuffle through clothes that had been mashed inside. He started tossing junk onto his mattress and Frisk watched with confusion.

“Sorry I’ve been kind of garbage at being the adult here,” he said. “Uhh… Some of this stuff might fit you if you want to change.”

“Thanks,” she said. “Y… Yeah. I must stink.”

Sans laughed. “Huh. I’m not sure if I have another coat, ‘specially one in your size, but… Hmm.” He shuffled through a few more layers of junk. 

Frisk leaned over to look. It seemed like he had never thrown away anything in his life. “How do you find anything?” she joked.

“Determination,” he said with a wink.

She smiled, but then poked his arm. “Hey, so… You okay?” she asked.

“Weird that you’re askin’ me that, you’re the one who got wrecked,” he said. “But yeah. Is it messed up that I feel kinda better, actually? Maybe I’m just a freak, I dunno. Not about the, uh, laser in the face bit. I mean the part after that.”

“Yeah? I’m glad,” she said. “That… That one’s rough as heck.”

“So you’ve done it before,” he said.

“Y-Yeah,” she said. “Um… A couple times.”

“Welp. That’s messed up,” he said. “Thanks for remindin’ me it was a dream, though. I needed that. Sometimes my mind just doesn’t clue in.”

“It, um… It gets better. A little bit,” Frisk said gently. “And um… I… I know I’m just a kid, but I kinda go through the s-same thing, so… if you ever wanna talk about it, or whatever… um… So, yeah.”

“Cool.” He ruffled her hair and she couldn’t help but grin.

He dragged a squished, heavy black hoodie out of the bottom drawer and showed it to her with a brow raised questioningly. “Uh… This okay?”

She took it and unrolled it, then pulled it on. It was only a little bigger than her size, and quite cozy. “Oh! Yeah, that works, thank you,” she said brightly. “Ooh. What’s this?” She pointed to a patch on the front, where there was an oval with four symbols in it. A hand making a victory symbol and a skull and crossbones, framed by a water droplet on each side.

“Oh. That’s just my name. Thing’s mine from when I was around your age.” He shrugged. 

Frisk stared at it, and then shrugged as well before shooting him a smile. “Thanks so much, I really appreciate it,” she said. “I, um… I’m really grateful. For everything.”

“Hey, it’s just like Papyrus said,” Sans said. “We’re family. That’s what we do. Right?”

Her eyes lit up. She nodded, but then looked embarrassed.

“I was really worried you guys wouldn’t feel the same again,” she said. “E-Especially you.”

“Why?” he asked.

“I, um…” She tented her fingers nervously. “I was scared you’d be mad about the reset.”

“That’s hilarious,” he said. “Nah. Not after what you told me, no way. C’mon, kid, after what we been through? You think I’d ditch you so fast?”

“I was just super worried,” Frisk said bashfully.

He frowned; looked thoughtful for a few seconds. He rubbed the back of his skull. “Honestly? When I, uh, first noticed we were back, I couldn’t stop thinkin’ that we were screwed,” he said. “I thought maybe you were gone. Like the timeline was messed up again, it was some other anomaly or somethin’. If we had lost you, well… I don’t know.” He looked troubled for a second. 

Frisk edged closer worriedly. He quickly smiled nonetheless. 

“When I realized it really was just you again, you wouldn’t believe how relieved I was,” he said. “Can I be straight with you for a second?”

“I’ve always thought you were kinda more round though,” she said with a smile.

“Heh. Nice,” he said. “But, uh, I want to apologize. For yesterday.”

“Huh?” She tilted her head. “Why?”

He went quiet to gather his thoughts and he looked kind of tense. “When I saw you, I couldn’t believe it was really you,” he said. “I was so freaked out that I let it mess with my judgement. You needed me and I screwed it up.”

“But, Sans,” she said quickly, “I… I don’t feel like you screwed up.”

“Kinda did, though. Never shouldda been like that. That wasn’t fair of me,” he said. “Kiddo, you… Heh. You’re real important to me, y’know? You never let me down. I kinda don’t wanna let you down, either.”

Frisk tilted her head. He shrugged and rubbed the back of his skull, suddenly looking bashful. The kid smiled and grabbed him into a tight hug.

“Never have!” she said brightly. “I’m sorry for scaring you so bad, though.”

“You can’t seriously be apologizin’ to me,” he said.

“Mmhm!”

“Kid, c’mon, that’s nuts, I… Sheesh.” He hugged her, too. “The hell am I gonna do with you?”

Frisk cozied into his arms and smiled. “This is good.”

\- - -

Some of Sans’s childhood clothes mostly fit her, so Frisk picked out a faded blue-striped shirt, and some shorts that were basically long enough to be pants. She quickly bundled up in her borrowed hoodie before heading out with Papyrus.

It was early and so, outside, there weren’t very many monsters at all— so far, only a bear-like monster outside Grillby’s, but he looked like he was asleep anyway. 

“Are you excited, human?” Papyrus asked. “You get to be my puzzle assistant today! It must be very thrilling to have someone as great and cool as me as your mentor!”

Frisk grinned and nodded. She paused as they strolled by the inn and her eyes fixed on the tear in time again, shining like a star. “Just one second.”

Papyrus watched curiously as she scampered over to it and held on tightly, then returned to him.

“Okay, we’re good!” she said.

“What did you do? Was that saving?” he asked.

“Yup!”

He offered his hand and she took it as they kept going. “Oooh, so _that’s_ what those are for,” he said. “Interesting!”

“You can see them?” she asked.

“Well, yes, of course!” Papyrus said with a laugh. “Hold tight to me on this bridge, it’s actually made of rock but it’s still a bit daunting, and I know Sans likes a piggy-back across it most of the time.”

Frisk snickered and, as they came up to that long “bridge” over a huge canyon, she stopped to look. The distant walls were dark, but as far as the eye could see, there were snow-covered pines stretching out straight to the edges.

“Wow,” she breathed.

“Hmm?” Papyrus asked. “What are you looking at?”

“This place is huge,” she said. “I never really looked out this way before.”

“Well, yes, it is fairly large,” he said, “but I’m sure the surface must be much, much more impressive! Do you have forests like this up there, too?”

Frisk stepped out onto the bridge with him and they walked across. She tried to be as confident as he was. “Yeah, a ton. With different kinds of trees, too.”

“That already sounds amazing,” Papyrus said brightly. “I read that you don’t even have to travel for different temperatures, is that true?”

“Sort of? I mean, you can if you want,” she said. “There’s weather on the surface. And seasons. So for a couple months, it’ll be like this, but then the snow will melt and plants will grow. But different places have different weather and seasons, if they’re far enough away.”

“Hah! Wow! That sounds like total fantasy to me,” he admitted, “but that’s exciting, too. What was it like when you left?”

“Um… Like, when I fell, or when I left?” she said.

“Oh! I’m sorry,” he said. “If you don’t want to talk about before the time travel, I understand.”

They left the bridge and stood on solid ground again. Frisk hadn’t realized how much her legs were shaking until she settled back into the snow.

“No, that’s okay,” she said. “Before I fell, it was spring. No snow. A lot of rain, actually, but some warm stuff and sun, too. Before I went backwards, it was kind of like this, but colder and the snow was like, up to your knees in places.”

He looked down at her and smiled, and then took her hand again as they continued onward. “Well, that’s not so bad.”

“No, not _my_ knees, _your_ knees,” she said with a laugh. 

“Oh! Wow, okay, that is way too much snow,” he agreed. “I guess I had to carry you around quite a bit, since you are much shorter than I am. You are in fact a teeny tiny human.”

“True,” she said. “I was a little taller than now, though. Not that it helped much. Still shorter than Sans.”

“What?! Oh no, you shrunk, too!?” he demanded. “Oh my god, human, you have definitelynot had a good time this last little while, have you?”

“It’s getting a bit better,” she said. 

“That’s good to hear,” he said.

They passed by the greatest of the dog guards, Greater Dog’s, post and piles upon piles of snow poffs, but no one was around yet. It must still have been too early. The path narrowed up ahead and Papyrus paused. 

“Hmmmm…” he mused.

Frisk shot him a confused look.

He grinned and lifted her up. “Hang on tight, human! Nyeh heh heh heh heh!” He sprinted down the path that quickly gave way to ice and slid straight across, dodging the switch patterns he had left there as easily as if he were wearing skates. 

Frisk squealed and laughed. He slid to a casual stop in the snow at the end and Frisk’s eyes were all but sparkling.

“So cool!” she said.

Papyrus’s cheekbones flushed warm orange-amber and he grinned. “Obviously!”

Together, they ran through the snow and slid across more ice fields until they came upon an empty plateau where the snow had been worn down in a square shape across the whole top.

“Okay, this one really confounded me!” he said. “How the heck did you get through the invisible electricity maze?!”

Frisk snickered. “Well, uh… Okay! Let me show you!” She grabbed his hand and put him at the far end of the maze, and then she ran around to the other side. “Okay! So, you gotta give me the electric orb thingy, right?”

“Ah, yes! You are quite correct!” He pulled it out of his pocket and then, without even thinking about it, he crossed the maze to give it to her. “There you are!”

Frisk tried not to laugh and he backtracked exactly the same way. 

“Okay! Be careful, though, human!” he said. “This is a hard puzzle, I would not want you to get hurt!”

She stuck her thumb up and then, quite confidently, crossed the maze the same way he had. He gawked.

“YOU DID IT AGAIN!? How how how!?” he said.

Frisk turned around and pointed at the tracks.

“Yes, I see them, but how does that…?” Papyrus’s eyes went wide. “You followed my footprints?!”

“Yeah! See, bro, you’re so nice that you were guiding me the whole way, and you didn’t even know it,” she said, and she winked. “Shocking, right?”

Papyrus laughed and rubbed the top of his skull. “Very perceptive! Frisk!! You are very clever.”

She stuck her thumbs up again and grinned.

\- - -

Alphys was fixated on the monitor, cross-legged in her chair, clutching a notepad tight in her claws and balancing a cup of ramen on her knee, in the lab’s main room when Sans arrived to check in on her. She didn’t notice him at first and he moved in to stand behind her. She was watching the cliffs around Snowdin where Papyrus and the kid were still out in the snow. They were sliding around on the ice. Frisk kept falling over, but she looked like she was having a good time, and Papyrus was doing his best to look continuously cool. He never lost his footing at all.

“Hey, Doc,” Sans said.

Alphys yelped and nearly fell off her chair, and she turned to face him as she tried, hurriedly, to shove her notebook under her keyboard and the scales of her cheeks turned red. “S-S-Sans! Oh my g-god you scared me.”

“Yeah. I do that,” he said. “Whatcha watchin’ there?”

“Um… Uhhh…” She awkwardly pointed at the screen. “You mean th-there? Just the… um… well… Just, um… The h-human, and…”

Sans was clearly trying not to laugh. She rubbed her forehead. 

“S-Sans, I, uh… Y-You know I’ve been watching…?” she said. “A-All yesterday s-since you left. A-And all night and—”

“Sheesh, Alphys.”

“I-I’m not dumb, Sans! Th-That doesn’t look like a captured human to m-me!”

“Whoops. Guess you caught us,” Sans said. “Turns out it’s not a human. It’s just a skeleton with skin.”

“That _is_ a human, Sans!” Alphys said.

“I know. It was a joke,” he said.

She sighed and rubbed her brow. “What are you g-guys doing?” she said. “D-Don’t get me wrong, it’s… It’s very sweet. And… And your b-brother, he looks so happy. B-But that’s still a human, and we—”

“Yeeeeeah, about that,” Sans said, grinning awkwardly. “I think we’re keepin’ her?”

“Wh-What?!” Alphys squeaked. “Sans, you can’t. You _can’t_, they’re…! Th-They’re d-dangerous! I m-mean… Usually. B-But…! Asgore, he’s gonna find out!”

“Why?” Sans asked. “You gonna tell him?”

“N-No! No…” She flinched and looked down. “I haven’t even t-told Undyne yet.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it,” he said.

Alphys sighed and slurped some noodles. She gulped heavily. “Y-You’re welcome. I think,” she said. “Sans, what the heck are y-you thinking?”

“It’s complicated,” he said. 

“I mean, yeah, the human’s super c-cute, and it… _she_ hasn’t hurt a-anyone, and your brother really likes her, and it’s really cool when she d-does that dodging magic thing, but… O-Okay, I g-guess I see the appeal?” Alphys sighed. “But what is she doing? What are _you_ doing?”

“Listen. I’m just tryin’ to let her be a kid for a bit,” Sans said. “It’s… Heh. This is why I never get involved in this stuff, it’s way too much work.”

Alphys bit her lip. “I… I trust you. B-But I can’t get out of telling Undyne a-another day! I h-have to meet with her t-tonight about…! W-Well…! She’s already s-suspicious about it! She already heard there’s a human, she just doesn’t know where.”

“It’s okay, I’ll take the heat. If she asks, just say I took your cat girl thing and wouldn’t give it back. She’ll understand.”

“Th-This is a terrible idea,” Alphys grumbled.

“Yeah, probably,” he said.

Alphys was about to say more when a strange sort of beeping noise sounded from upstairs.

“ALPHIE? WHO’S THERE WITH YOU? SHOULD I COVER UUUUUP?!”

Alphys’s face went pale and she started to sweat. Sans grinned. 

“ALPHIIEEE? I’m coming DOOOWWN THEEERREE!”

“It’s Sans! It’s j-just Sans,” she said.

Down the escalator on their left came the long-legged, humanoid form of Mettaton, unpolished and monochrome, but definitely stylish, posing dramatically on the stairs.

“Lookin’ good there, Number 5,” Sans joked.

“Thanks, darling, Alphys has done a really bang up job, hasn’t she?” he said as he strutted over. “The new look still isn’t quite ready for public consumption, but we’re getting there!”

“Balances look good,” he said. “How are the new actuators?”

“Feel like they’re a part of me already!” Mettaton said brightly. “Ah, I can’t wait until this is the new normal! We’ve got another session tomorrow, right Alphie?”

“Um… U-Uh… R-Right,” Alphys stammered. “M-Mettaton, maybe could you—?”

“Wait a tick, what is THAT?!” He grabbed the back of her chair and leaned forward, balancing on the tip of one of his toes as he stared at the monitor. “Oooh my.” He bent over Alphys and grinned. 

She looked like she wanted to melt.

“Well, well, well,” he said. “Would you look at that. Doctor Alphys, hero of the underground.”

“N-No, w-w-wait,” she said quickly. “Y-You can’t tell anyone!!”

“What, no one?” he gasped.

“N-Not one p-p-person!” she said. “W-We’re not r-ready yet. And…! A-And besides…! S-Sans, is… Uh… Sans has dibs…?” She shot him a look with a brow raised. 

He grinned and shrugged. Mettaton groaned.

“Now that’s hardly fair!” he exclaimed.

“Uh, finders keepers?” he suggested. 

Mettaton pouted. “I can’t even see the human up close?!” he demanded. “B-But! I must! Human media is why I am who I am today! All those movies about robots and humans getting along! _Metropolis_! _Short Circuit_! _Terminator_! The dramas! The comedies! The decades worth of crime serials! You won’t even let me thank it before you rend the soul from that cute little thing?!”

“Dude, do I look like I’m into rendin’?” Sans said. “Look. I’m sure she’s headed for the barrier eventually, alright? So if she gets past Undyne, you’ll meet her”

“Well, thanks for nothing,” Mettaton said, rolling his eyes. “Ugh, you’re not even taking her soul? Honestly?”

Sans shrugged. Mettaton scoffed and folded his arms. 

“You are a strange, strange little skele-man,” he said. 

Alphys groaned and put her face in her hands for a moment before she looked at Mettaton with pleading eyes. “C-Can we get a little teeny bit of p-privacy for a sec?” she asked quietly.

Mettaton sighed and rolled his eyes again, but he walked off to go up the escalator on the other side of the lab, waving flippantly over his shoulder, leaving Sans and Alphys alone again.

“S-So you’re… _not_… taking her soul?” Alphys asked quietly, her expression hopeful.

“Nope,” he said.

“And P-Papyrus isn’t—”

“Definitely not,” Sans said.

Alphys let out a long, deep sigh. Sans raised his brows.

“Wasn’t expectin’ that reaction,” he said.

“I-I just… O-Okay. Okay. Breathe, Alphys.” She took a few deep breaths. “I… Don’t get me wrong, I w-want to s-see the surface as much as the n-next monster, and… and believe me, I understand the c-consequences of being stuck h-here, but… I-I don’t want t-to see that little h-human get killed e-either, not if she’s not hurting anyone.”

“Cool,” he said. “She appreciated the noodles, by the way.”

“Oh!” Alphys blushed. “Sh-She did? That’s g-great.” She rubbed her head and took off her glasses to brush her fingers over her eyes. “Y-You know Undyne’s gonna… She’s g-gonna… Sh-She’s not gonna stop hunting her. Sh-She’s… Well, you know h-how she gets.”

“Oh yeah, I know,” Sans said.


	12. The Friend-Finding Arc

As morning drifted in, Snowdin town was slowly filling up with bustling monsters, but none gave Frisk even a second look — Papyrus drew almost all the attention as he barrelled into town with her on his shoulders. She tapped his head and he slipped to stop right near the inn and let her down. She saved and then took his hand as they continued down the road.

“Huma— I mean, Frisk! That was really quite fun,” Papyrus said. “I’m so thrilled you like puzzles as much as I do!”

“I’m not sure anyone can like puzzles quite as much as you do,” she said with a grin, “but I’ll sure as heck try.”

“That’s the spirit,” he said brightly. “Obviously you will not be quite as great at puzzles as I am, but you can absolutely be a close second, and together, our puzzles will be the most fantastic ones anyone has ever seen!”

“Awesome!” Frisk said.

As they got home, Frisk hung back to check behind the mailboxes for any trace of Asriel. Instead, she found the mug broken against the side of the house. She grimaced and bent down to pick up the pieces, cold against her fingertips.

“In my defence, I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Frisk looked up quickly to see Asriel giving her a weird half-smile where he sat towards the back of the house.

“I got surprised. Kind of smacked it,” he said. “Hot chocolate wasn’t bad though.”

“Oh. Good,” Frisk said, unable to keep the relief from her voice. “It’s okay. As long as you didn’t do it on purpose, no big deal.” She held up two of the larger pieces of the heart design that had been on the mug and smiled. “You kinda broke my heart though!”

Asriel tilted his head. “Huh. Thought you’d be pissed… Chara would have been pissed.”

“You know I’m not really much like her, right?” she said gently.

Asriel frowned. He seemed to have something on his mind, but before he could say anything, Papyrus peeked over Frisk’s head curiously. Asriel stared with surprise.

“Frisk! Are you talking to some…? Oh!” He squatted down beside her and grinned. “Hello there! I haven’t seen you hanging around in a while! Was that you I saw at the window last night?”

“Wh-What? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Asriel said quickly. “But… Hi?”

“You guys know each other, huh?” Frisk asked.

“Yes!” Papyrus said. “Flowey, right? It’s good to see you again!”

Asriel forced a smile— it looked a little awkward. “Y-Yeah. Um… G-Gotta go!” He ducked back underground in the blink of an eye. 

“Oh! Guess he must’ve been busy,” Papyrus said. “I was about to invite him in. I guess you know him, too, right, Frisk?”

“Yeah,” Frisk said as she stood back up with the mug pieces and they headed for the door. “That was Asriel.”

“What? Oh, no no, Frisk, you must be mistaken, he told me his name was _Flowey, _so there’s no way that he could be…” His eyes went wide and he put his hands to his mouth for a moment. “HE’S Asriel?! That’s the monster that—!?”

“Yup,” Frisk said.

He gasped. “No!”

Frisk nodded.

“Wow! That’s awful!” Papyrus said. “We need to help him!”

Inside, they found Sans dozed off on the sofa. No surprise, really, it was barely 6:30 in the morning. They were especially quiet as they went back to Papyrus’s room. He pulled out a piece of paper from near his computer and took off his mitts to write on it for just a moment. Frisk took a peek once he put it down. It was a list of puzzles and symbols, with checks and notes on it.

“You keep records?” she asked.

“Of course! I, the great Papyrus, am a master of organization,” he said. “I have binders and binders full! Though I guess I won’t need them so much any more. But, that’s just fine! I can start new puzzle binders for when we’re on the surface!”

Frisk smiled. “Yeah, that’ll be good.”

“Oh, also, hum… Nyeh, sorry! Frisk! Feel free to put those mug pieces here, I’ll fix them up,” he said.

She put them on desk and gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry about that, I didn’t think he’d break it.”

“Don’t you worry about that at all.” 

Papyrus went into his desk drawer and pulled out a tube of glue and sat down. Frisk watched with interest as he carefully aligned the pieces again and began to stick them together, his finger bones making gentle _tinking_ sounds against the ceramic. 

“See? Just another puzzle,” he said. “I am quite good at these! But! You actually have much smaller fingers than I do, would you like to help out?”

“Sure, I’ll give it a try,” she said.

She traded spots with him and carefully began placing some of the smaller shards back into place.

“See? Not bad at all!” he said. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we have a few mugs like that already. I mean, some of them even come like that! So don’t worry, alright?” He squatted down to help with the glue and a few of the bigger pieces. “Down here, we’re not really big on throwing things away, no matter how small. Most things can be fixed. It just takes a little work and some determination, right?” He winked. 

They finished up and Papyrus offered her his hand, and she grinned and gave him a high five. They left the mug to dry and went back downstairs. 

“Sans!” Papyrus lifted the sleeping skeleton up off the sofa under his arms. “Sans, wake up, it’s time for breakfast!”

Sans stared at him through groggy eyes for a moment and grinned. “Hey, you’re back,” he said. “_Cool_. Had an _ice_ time out there?”

Papyrus groaned and dropped his brother back onto the cushions. Sans laughed and rubbed his eyes, and his brother went into the kitchen.

“Either of you want me to get you anything?” he asked.

“I’ll look once you’re done,” Frisk said.

The kid lazily sat down with Sans. She yawned and stretched. “Good nap?”

“Yeah,” he said

“Jealous,” she joked. “I guess I should be planning for Waterfall.”

“Oh, right. Yeah. About that,” he said, “I went to see Alphys again. She’s kinda freakin’ out. She’ll probably have to let Undyne know about you by the end of today.”

“Oh.” Frisk’s face flushed. “R-Right. G-Gotta deal with that. I’m sort of worried. This is gonna be a lot of running.”

“Why? You just doin’ the same as last time?” Sans asked.

“Well, yeah, that’s the only way we ever became friends,” Frisk said.

“You really think she needs to chase you around Waterfall to be friends with you?” Sans asked with a laugh. “That’s frickin’ weird.”

“Thing is,” she said, “she wouldn’t even talk to me until I escaped from her in Hotland. If you can call it that.”

“Welp. That’s annoying,” he said. 

Frisk pouted and nodded. 

“To be honest, though,” he said, “I’m curious to see if this magic whatever on your face works again.”

“Y-You think it will, right?” she asked nervously.

He shrugged. “Sure hope so. Did it work on Tori?”

“I… I didn’t even know I had it with her,” Frisk admitted.

He looked thoughtful and then put his hand near her face, his magic flaring. It lit up in lines again across her skin, bright blue, until he let his own magic fizzle out. 

“We should definitely try it on Undyne before anyone else,” he said. “Dunno if this junk has a limit, right?”

“Right…?” Frisk agreed hesitantly. “What, you think it might?”

“Just in case,” he said. “Since, you know, Alphys is definitely not going to try to stab you if she doesn’t remember you right.”

“R-Right,” Frisk agreed a little reluctantly.

Sans patted her on the shoulder reassuringly nonetheless. “Hey, by the way, Paps, turns out we’re no-good traitors to the realm and whatever,” he said.

“What?! We aren’t traitors!!” he yelped. “We’re just helping a human get through the underground safely and… Oh. Whoops.”

“Oh, jeez, guys, I’m sorry,” Frisk said. “A-Are you in trouble?”

“Not yet,” Sans said.

“Should… Should I go?” Frisk said. “Like, should I go try to meet Undyne, now, then?”

“That’s crazy, Frisk!” Papyrus said. “No way, you haven’t even eaten today yet! And it’s probably a long trip! You weren’t planning on going on your own, were you?” 

“I, uh… I guess I didn’t really think about it,” she admitted. “I always have, I guess?”

“Well, fear not, because I, the great Papyrus, will absolutely come along this time!” Papyrus announced.

“R… Really?” she stammered.

Papyrus walked out of the kitchen with his breakfast spaghetti and he patted her on the head affectionately. “Of course!” he said. “Now, if I’m really going to be a traitor, I will be the best traitor ever! I’ll tell Undyne that I did capture you, but you made a daring escape. I may have to come up with something rather spectacular.”

“And you’ll have to explain why you didn’t call her right away when you actually got the human,” Sans pointed out.

Papyrus looked like he was about to protest, but he couldn’t find the words. He put a hand to his forehead. “Ugh, this is why I hate lying, it always comes crashing down like a… a crashing down type thing. I don’t know, I can’t even simile!” He paused, took a deep breath and stood up straight with a determined look on his face. “No! It’s okay! It’ll be fine! I, the great Papyrus, will figure this out for us! It’s just a new kind of puzzle.”

“W-Well, to be fair, we’re still gonna get the barrier broken,” Frisk said. “Just… you know, not through killing me.”

“Wait, killing you?!” Papyrus yelped. “Who said anything about that?! I mean, other than Undyne.”

“Uh… Bro,” Sans said. “That’s… That’s what happens. Human gets captured; their soul gets taken. That’s how it works.”

“WHAT?!” Papyrus shrieked. “I want no part in that! I’M GOING TRAITOR, HARD CORE! The Royal Guard can wait until it is one hundred percent less murdery!”

Frisk leaned her chin on her fist and looked thoughtful. “What if we invite her over again?”

“WHAT?!” Papyrus yelped. “But the amount of stabbing that happened last time was way over the top!”

“But maybe if you just, like… I dunno, call her and explain that I just wanna talk?” Frisk said. “It was a surprise last time so I wasn’t ready, but… I mean, jeez, I love Undyne. I hope we can be friends again.”

“To be a bit more practical,” Sans said, “we, uh, are also gonna have a lot more trouble gettin’ the soul stuff anywhere with Undyne trying to hunt you down. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a terrible idea, but I don’t have a better one.”

“Well… alright,” Papyrus said cautiously, pulling out his phone. “Her patrol route should take her near here around now anyway, so…”

“Oh! Oh wait, sorry, I need to save first,” Frisk said. “Because if she stabs me like right now, I’d rather only have to redo a few minutes.”

“Don’t get lax with those things,” Sans said.

“Sorry, I got out of the habit,” she said bashfully. She got up to put her shoes on. “Don’t even call until I get back, okay?”

“I won’t,” Papyrus assured her. 

Sans offered her his hand. “I’ll take you,” he said. “It’s faster.”

She grabbed him, and before she could even thank him, she was standing out in the snow near the inn. 

Frisk shot him a startled look. He grinned and shrugged. 

“Can everyone see them?” she asked.

He shrugged again. She reached into the tear with both hands and gently felt it stick. When she pulled back, she felt Sans’s hand on her shoulder and they were in the house before she could even blink. 

“Wowie, that really was quick,” Papyrus said. “Okay, so, call now? What do I say?”

Sans shrugged, and so did Frisk. Papyrus frowned a little and pulled his phone from his pocket.

“Oh, one more thing,” Frisk said. “If she attacks me, whatever you do, don’t stop her.”

\- - -

When Undyne burst through the front door only a few minutes later, Frisk didn’t even manage to get a word out before she was standing in the snow outside again. She looked at Sans; he looked a little shellshocked.

“Pffft oh my god.” Frisk started snickering and couldn’t stop. 

Sans put a hand to his face and laughed tiredly. “That was so stupid.”

“Yup,” Frisk agreed. “One more time?”

No one was looking, so it was just a matter of Sans grabbing the kid’s shoulder to take her through one of his “shortcuts.” They arrived back in the house and Papyrus yelped in alarm.

“Holy wow I was not expecting that to be so sudden,” he said loudly. “Just… It just goes back? Just like that? Are you okay, human? I guess she got you?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “That was your first one, huh?”

“Yes! Wow! Freaking weird!” he exclaimed. “Sans, you feel _every_ _one_ of those?!”

“Yup,” he said.

“No wonder you’re consistently a wreck!”

“Dude.”

“O-Okay, how about we try this,” Frisk said. “Papyrus, you meet her outside and try to talk her down first before she sees me?”

“Well, okay, I’ll do my very best!” he said.

He went outside to call. Sans shot Frisk an amused look. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves, and he folded his arms and leaned back against the wall.

“Breakfast after?” he asked.

“Y-You don’t think this’ll work, huh?” she said.

“Nope, not for a second,” he said. “But hey, I’ve been wrong before. Pretty recently. Kinda dig it. Maybe it’ll happen again, who knows?”

“I’m glad you’re so confident,” she joked.

He grinned. “But seriously. What d’you want?”

“Um… I dunno, that sandwich you made me yesterday was pretty good,” she said.

He laughed. “Seriously?”

“Yeah! You could show me how to make it, maybe?” she asked.

“Sure. It’s not like it’s hard, though,” he said.

“Think Papyrus will eat it?” she said.

“Probably not, but he’s got enough spaghetti in the fridge to last him at least a month,” Sans said. “Not that that’ll stop him from makin’ more.”

Voices grumbled outside. Sans raised his brows. Frisk braced herself.

“Wait, wait, Undyne, hear me out!” Papyrus shouted. “Listen! The human is _really_ nice and not at all dangerous and—”

“Papyrus, I understand. Really. You’re just too nice for this. You could never take a human’s soul,” Undyne said. “I’ll do it.”

“No no no Undyne wait, that’s not all, the human knows us! She knows you! She wants to be friends again, and I think if you gave her a chance you’d really like her and—”

“Enough!” Undyne slammed the front door open and her eye settled on Frisk almost instantly. “Well, well, well…” Her spear generated in her hand and her eye flashed brightly through her helmet. 

Frisk didn’t know what to say.

“No no no no no Undyne wait!” Papyrus yelled.

Undyne didn’t wait.

A flicker in time, and they were out by the inn again. Frisk sighed and rubbed her head, and shot Sans an apologetic look. 

“Sorry, I froze up,” she said.

“We done with the terrible plan now?” he asked.

“Y-Yeah,” she said.

He put his hand on her head and brought them home. 

“You’re back!” Papyrus said brightly, but he instantly tossed his phone over his shoulder. “Nope, not happening again. I, the great Papyrus, have decided that this plan is too dangerous for you, human. Frisk. I’ll get it eventually.”

“Sorry,” Frisk said. “You’re right. It was a bad idea. I just hoped she wouldn’t be so… so…”

“Murdery?” Papyrus suggested. “Angry? Hot headed? Spear-attack-oriented? Insistent on killing all humans with a violent passion?”

“All of those,” Frisk said. “Maybe if she would just talk to me…”

“Guess we can’t just take a _stab_ in the dark like that,” Sans said, plopping back onto the sofa.

“Sans!” Papyrus chided.

Sans grinned. “Breakfast?”

“Yeah!” Frisk said.

“What?! Just like that?” Papyrus asked.

“Look, we got until tonight before Undyne is supposed to know the kid is here,” Sans said, and then shrugged. “So we’ll deal with it then.”

Papyrus pouted. He frowned. He paced. “I want to say just do it now, it’ll be fine. You know. Get it done and over with and everything will work out,” he said. “But this seems to call for a little more preparation than I expected due to Captain Undyne’s very stabby nature! Frisk, you became friends with her the first time, when? After I brought you to her house?”

“Yeah, but she was only at her house because I outran her and she almost passed out in Hotland and I gave her some water,” Frisk said. “Ugh, never mind, I’ll just try to meet her in Waterfall again.”

“Don’t worry,” Papyrus said quickly. “Your very cool big brother Papyrus will figure out how to help you! In the meanwhile, I’ll go make up a report. You get something to eat!”

He grabbed his plate of spaghetti and headed back upstairs to his room and, lazily, Sans got to his feet.

“Welp. Guess I could try that whole bein’ an adult thing again for a second,” he said. “Sandwich, right?”

She grinned and scampered after him into the kitchen— it smelled like tomato sauce. Sans, still fairly lethargic in his movements, got out hotdogs and shoved them in the microwave. He pointed to the cabinet under the sink, and though Frisk didn’t know why at first, she found the bread tossed under there amongst extra bones. As she put it on the countertop, Sans was pulling a bottle of ketchup out of his coat. The kid grabbed the counter and bounced up and down on her toes.

“Okay, show me, show me,” Frisk said enthusiastically.

“You know me, it’s not complicated,” he said. He took the hotdogs out of the microwave and pushed them in front of her. “Just chop the hotdogs, I guess? I’ll find some chips or whatever.” He handed her a short knife with a chipped handle from one of the cabinets. 

Frisk nodded and started to chop as he turned to check the fridge. 

Frisk started to yawn again, lost concentration; felt the knife slip in her hand. She yelped and flailed. Knocked the ketchup onto herself and the floor as she scrambled to catch it and dropped the blade as she realized she had cut her thumb. She stood, frozen, wondering what the heck had just happened. Sans turned to look at her with wide eyes.

“Kid, what the heck—?”

“Oh dang,” Frisk said. “Well. Great.” She stuck her thumb in her mouth. 

Sans looked like he was trying really hard not to laugh. “What did you _do_?”

“Oh, nothin’, just…” She showed him her finger. “Can dodge magic going nuts, can’t cut hotdogs and not cut myself. Fantastic.”

“Pfffft, you are just havin’ no luck today, huh? Go show Paps, he’ll fix you up,” he said.

“It’s not that bad,” she said. “Sorry about your shirt.”

“No worries, just swap it,” he said.

“Oh! Thanks. Okay. I’ll… uh… Be right back!”

She dashed off and Sans picked up the ketchup bottle from the floor. He stared at the splatter for a while, then tossed down a paper towel and slowly mopped it up with his foot. 

“Hey, Sans?” Frisk called.

“What?” he said.

“Sans?!”

“What?”

Frisk ran back into the room in a slightly too-large, very faded “Lazy Bones” t-shirt and she gave him an apologetic smile. “Thanks,” she said.

“Oh. No problem.” He tilted his head. “Dude, what’s up with your arms?”

Now that she had bare arms, it was pretty obvious right away that they were bruised and cut up. They looked like she’d gotten on the wrong side of several dogs and flying branches. Probably had, now that he thought about it.

“Oh. Uh…” Frisk looked embarrassed. “It’s no big deal.”

He grabbed her arm and peered at it closely before she could protest. Some of them were old. He recognized as he’d done with the one on the side of her hand. Many of them, however, were still fresh. Sans rubbed his forehead and wandered out of the kitchen towards the stairs. 

“Hey, uh, Papyrus?”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Frisk insisted.

Papyrus stuck his head out of his bedroom. “What is it, brother?”

“Hey, you, uh, wanna come take a look at the kid’s arms?” Sans said.

“What a strange request!” Papyrus bounded down the stairs and over to Frisk very quickly. He looked at her, squatted down, then lifted her hand curiously. “Oh my god, you really are hurt, aren’t you? Why didn’t you say something?! And what’s your finger doing? Oh! Dripping. Oh no, human, are you leaking?!”

“Um… Kind of?” She looked at Sans for help. “I-It’s not a big deal.”

Sans shrugged. “That’s blood, bro.”

“What?! _That’s_ blood?!” Papyrus yelped. “Oh no, Frisk, you’re—!”

“It’s fine!” she protested. “It’s just a little cut, it’ll stop on it’s own soo—!” Frisk yelped as Papyrus lifted her up off her feet and plopped her onto the couch. 

He cupped his chin and paced quickly in front of her, brow furrowed.

“I was thinkin’ you could try to heal her,” Sans said.

“Oh! Yes! Does that work on humans?” he asked.

“Dunno, you gotta try it.”

“Guys,” Frisk said. “I’m okay.”

“Nonsense, Frisk, you can’t be leaking your blood or whatever goo and you must be so achey!” Papyrus hopped onto the sofa to sit cross-legged with her and took her hand in his. His magic glowed bright against her thumb and, though it itched a little, the skin began to close as if being zipped up. “Wowie!” he said brightly. “Brother! It _does_ work on humans! What a relief…”

He reached for the TV remote and flicked on the screen before tossing it away. He took one of her arms in both hands as the magic began to ebb out through his fingers. 

“This may take a little while,” he said, “so feel free to watch some TV in the meantime. I’ve never done this to a human, obviously, but I’ve patched up a few of Sans’s cracks.”

“Yeah, I guess Sans must always be _crackin’ up_,” Frisk said.

“Pffft.” Sans grinned and leaned over the side of the couch. “Got me there. Glad that works.”

“Well yeah, I couldda told you that,” Frisk said. 

Both skeletons looked at her with surprise. 

“Seriously?” Sans asked.

“Sure,” she said. “Back home, one of you guys or mom would usually patch me up if I did something dumb.”

Sans’s eyes went wide and he stared at her blankly.

“Wait, one of…? One of us?” Papyrus repeated. “Am I right in assuming that includes Sans?”

Frisk was confused, but she nodded. Papyrus looked at his brother with shocked eyes, but he started to grin wide.

“Sans! You hear that?! Oh, wow, that is really fantastic news!” His eye sockets had actually started to water and he looked back at Frisk. “Oh my god, I can’t wait for this future.”

A worried frown crossed Frisk’s brow and Papyrus quickly wiped his face on the back of his hand. She looked at Sans. He smiled bashfully.

“I, uh… Wow. Okay. That’s interestin’,” he said.

“You gonna fill me in?” she asked.

“Kiddo, I, uh… I haven’t actually been able to use healing magic for about… what is it, ten years, now?”

“Wh… What?! Really?” she said. “But you could do it just fine at home. You fix my headaches all the time.”

Papyrus gave him a huge grin and Sans’s face brightened considerably.

“Thanks for the good news,” he said. 

“You’re welcome?” Frisk smiled sympathetically. “Sheesh, you _are_ kind of a mess, huh?”

“Absolutely,” he said

He left and came back with sandwiches a few minutes later. He gave one to Frisk and sat on the arm of the couch to eat his. 

“How is that feeling?” Papyrus poked the arm he was working on, gently pressing his cool, pointy fingertips into the skin as if to test it.

“Fine,” she assured him. “Thanks a bunch!”

He seemed satisfied and then switched to her other arm. The one he was done with looked like there had never been anything wrong with it. 

\- - -

Sans fell asleep again, so Papyrus put him on the couch properly and put a blanket over him once he and Frisk were done patching up her cuts and bruises. 

As he went back to his room to check some things on his computer and fabricate his daily report, Frisk slumped over the table in the living room. She turned back to her embarrassingly short list of steps to get Asriel a soul. She was happy to be able to check off step two, but she still wasn’t much closer to any answers. She doodled more hearts on the page. She started listing her friend’s names. It was overwhelming, looking at it again, but she tried to keep what Sans told her in mind. As long as she loved them, that was what was important. 

Frisk sighed. She half considered asking Sans to just bring her straight to Alphys, but with what happened with Undyne, she was worried about doing things out of order. Who knows what sort of things she might miss, or what had happened in the hours before they met that might change how her friends would react? And what if the magic on her face really did have limits? The thought of having to pick between Undyne and Alphys like that made her sick to her stomach, but really, Sans was right. Even so, it wasn’t a responsibility she wanted. Those two, they were a couple. They needed to at least remember each other, right? Or Frisk would have to play matchmaker big time— there was no way she’d ever forgive herself if she didn’t. She sighed.

“Don’t rush,” she whispered to herself. “Get it right. C’mon, Frisk, get it together.”

She tapped her pen on the paper, and then noticed her other note, the one about monster parents. She had almost forgotten. She went over to Sans and gently poked him. “Sans? Hey, Sans?” she asked.

“Hmm?” He didn’t even open his eyes.

“Where do baby monsters come from?” she asked.

He sunk back into the cushions. “Go ask Papyrus.”

Frisk pouted. She poked his shoulder. He didn’t move. She blew a raspberry at him and then went upstairs to knock on Papyrus’s door.

“Papyrus! Where do baby monsters come from?” she asked.

“What?! Um… Uh…” He opened the door. “Did you just ask about baby monsters?”

“Yeah. How does that work?”

“Urm… Well… When two monsters love each other very much, and they want to have a baby monster, _poof!_ They get one!” he said.

“What?” Frisk stared back at him blankly. “Just like that?”

“Yes!” Papyrus said. “I used to think Santa brought them, but then it turned out it was more like… spontaneous combustion! But instead of intense burning, replace the fire with a little monster! I mean, sometimes. Sometimes there is growing, or eggs involved, it sort of depends on the monster, I think.”

Frisk stared at him. That answered nothing. “Huh. Okay. Thanks.”

He stuck his thumb up and grinned. “Anything else, human? Pfft, sorry,” he corrected himself, “anything else, FRISK?”

She shook her head and he ducked back into his room quickly. She sighed to herself and then went downstairs to grab her hoodie, phone, and shoes. “I’m going to the library!” she called.

Frisk’s fingers were instantly cold and she put her hands in her pockets as she walked down the road. The library was only a little ways away— next door, basically—but she took off down main street and passed it to head for the tear in time near the Snowed Inn. She pulled her hood up, just in case. She latched onto the light and then doubled back. 

She was almost there when she heard a familiar voice call out to her. She turned to see Kid coming at her with a big smile on his face.

“Oh! Hi!” Frisk said. 

“Hey! You got a coat,” Kid said. “Awesome! How’re you liking town?”

“It’s nice,” Frisk said.

“Do you like it better than the city?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Frisk said.

“What’re you up to?” Kid asked.

“Going to the library,” she said.

He grinned. “Do you mind if I tag along?”

“Oh! No, I don’t mind at all,” Frisk said brightly, and they continued on their way. “I’m Frisk, by the way.”

“I’m Kid,” he replied. “There aren’t a lot of other kids our age in town, I’m glad to meet you.”

Frisk smiled. “Yeah, same.”

She held the door open for him when they got to the library. It was pleasantly orange and warm inside, and was empty other than a mostly asleep green lizard-like monster in a turtleneck behind the main counter. Frisk and Kid slipped by him and went to the back of the room, which was lined with shelves of books that seemed to be colour coordinated. 

Frisk quickly began to browse the shelves she could reach. Kid peeked around her, then dashed down the shelves, looking around quickly. He came to a stumbling stop at the line of gold-coloured books.

“Oh hey, look, they got the next _Trident of Vengeance _book!” Kid said brightly. “You ever read them?”

“No,” Frisk pulled it out for him and held it out. “Don’t think so.”

He grabbed it in his mouth and ran it over to the table to their right, and then ran back to her. “Ooh! You should! Start at the first one, though. This one is number four. It’s about a cool bird monster hero named Sylph who has the powers of a hurricane! And she beats up all the bad dudes with her magic trident of vengeance!”

“Sounds kind of like Undyne,” Frisk joked.

Kid’s eyes all but sparkled as he grinned wide. “Yeah! Oh man, you like Undyne, too?! She’s so cool, right?! I want to be just like her when I grow up!”

“She is really cool,” Frisk said.

“Sometimes,” Kid said, lowering his voice, “I sneak over to Waterfall to watch her patrol. Don’t tell my parents.”

“I won’t,” Frisk assured him. “Wanna hear something cool? She’s training my big brother.”

“What?! Seriously?!” Kid squealed. “Oh wow, that’s awesome!! So have you actually met her?”

“Not yet,” Frisk fibbed, “but I’m really proud of my brother. He’s super tough. But I don’t really think she’ll ever let him be a guard.”

“What? Why wouldn’t she?” Kid asked, eyes wide.

“My big brother is like, the nicest guy ever,” Frisk said. “I don’t think he’d ever actually be able to hurt a bad guy for real. He doesn’t really believe in bad guys.”

“Huh. But what about, like… a really bad guy?” Kid asked.

“I think he’d try to make them change their mind about being bad,” Frisk said with a laugh.

She finally saw a book that might be helpful, one about monster souls, aptly titled _About Monster Souls_. She stood on her tip-toes and stretched, but still couldn’t reach. Kid looked at her, looked up, and then quickly ducked under her to lift her up on his little shoulders.

“Whoa!” she yelped. “Hah, thanks!”

“No problem!” he said. 

She grabbed her book and he let her down and peeked at it.

“A bit boring, huh?” he asked. “School?”

“Kinda,” she said.

They went over to the table to sit down and Frisk opened the book. Page one already had over a dozen words she couldn’t read. She pouted. Beside her, Kid rolled his face over his book to open it and curled up in his seat excitedly to read. Frisk cautiously looked over. There were just as many words there she didn’t understand, but Kid seemed to be doing just fine.

“Hey, Kid?” she asked. “S… Sorry. Um… Can I ask you something?”

“Sure!” he said.

“Okay, this is weird,” she said, “but where do monster babies come from?”

“Monster parents?” Kid replied with a shrug.

“I know, but, like… how?” she asked. “How do they make a new soul?”

Kid shrugged again. “Sorry. I never really thought to ask my parents. Doesn’t the book say?”

Frisk stared at the first page again. “Maybe…?”

“Do you want me to read with you?” Kid asked.

“No, no, it’s okay, I’ll… I’ll get through it,” she said. “Read your cool book! Tell me about it after.”

“Hah, oh man, you won’t be able to stop me!” he said. “Err, unless you really really don’t want spoilers. Then definitely stop me.”

He went back to it and Frisk could only stare. She heard footsteps and looked up, expecting to see the drowsy lizard, but instead saw a drowsy skeleton.

“Oh! Hey, Sans,” she said. “What’s up?”

“Paps kicked me out. Said I should keep an eye socket on you.” He pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. 

Kid looked over at him and smiled. “Hi! I’m Kid!”

Sans stuck his thumb up, but then looked at Frisk, and then back at Kid. “Crap.”

“What?” she asked.

“His name is literally Kid. This could get confusing,” he said.

“Pffft.” Frisk laughed. “Oh dang, what’re you gonna do now? Use my actual name?”

“I’ll figure it out, buddy,” he said with a wink as he slumped forward and rested his chin on his hand. “Don’t mind me.” He closed his eyes.

“This is my other big brother, Sans,” Frisk said. “He’s a sentry. When he’s not asleep.”

“I’m still a sentry when I’m asleep,” he said. “Just not a very good one.”

Frisk snickered.

“So, you’re, like, a skeleton, then?” Kid asked her.

She nodded. “Yup. Skeleton with skin,” she said. She could see Sans trying not to laugh out of the corner of her eye. 

“Ooh, cool,” he said. “Hey, can you do bone magic?”

“N-Not yet,” Frisk said quickly. 

“Yeah. I’m not old enough for much magic yet, either,” he said. “My parents kind of do bubbles, though, so hopefully I can do something cool with that.”

“Nice! I’m sure you will,” Frisk assured him.

“Do… Do you think someone with bubble magic could ever be as cool as Undyne?” he asked. “Or, I mean, maybe not _as_ cool, because she’s pretty frickin’ cool, but like… I dunno. Maybe Royal Guard cool?”

“Yeah, absolutely!” Frisk said. “Magic is just, like, an expression of your soul, right? And I’m sure you have a super cool soul, so you can totally be cool like that.”

Kid beamed.

Beside her, Sans slumped a little farther onto the table. She nudged him gently with her elbow.

“Sans, you can go home and sleep if you want,” she assured him. “I don’t mind.”

“Nah, I’m good.” He shot her an amused look. “I’m honestly surprised you’re as awake as you are.”

She smiled and shrugged. Kid looked puzzled and Frisk grinned shyly.

“We, uh… We stayed up too late playing humans and monsters,” she said.

“Oh yeah, that game can be fun,” Kid said. “Let me guess, though, you have to be the human, right? Because you’re the youngest? My sister always does that to me.”

Frisk snickered and nodded. “I don’t mind. I’m pretty good at it. Right, Sans?”

He didn’t answer. He was asleep. She stifled a laugh.

“Lazybones,” she said quietly.

She went back to her book, sighed, and pointed to a word on the page before kid went back to his own story. “Sorry, what word is this?” she asked. 

“Uh… calculation,” he said.

“And this one?” 

“Exacerbated.”

She stared at him blankly. He smiled.

“It means to make something worse, usually,” he said.

“Ooh. Okay. Thanks,” she said.

He nodded, but then leaned around her to look at something. She turned her head and noticed his eyes were on the clock.

“Actually,” he said, “it’s probably around lunchtime, huh? I should check back in at home or my folks’ll worry. See you around?”

“Oh yeah, absolutely,” Frisk said.

Kid grinned. “I like you, Frisk, you’re so easy to talk to, it’s like I’ve known you forever!” He picked up his book in his mouth. “Shee you latersh!”

Frisk waved at him as he left. She couldn’t help but grin before turning back to her book and looking somewhat dismal. 

Frisk started to skip chapters, still uncertain. _Regeneration, Composition, The Magic Basics; Advanced Magic. _She was lost. Her cheeks flushed with frustration. She found a chapter called _Genesis, _and though she had no idea what that meant, it started with a flowery passage about children, so she figured she might be on the right track. 

Beside her, Sans straightened up and looked at her with groggy eyes, then looked at the book as she she struggled to read through a paragraph that looked promising. All she could gather was that new souls appeared _somehow_. She put her face in her hands and groaned. Sans didn’t say anything, but he closed the book and took it with him as he got up. She turned to watch as he stood on his toes to put it back on the top shelf, and then he returned, patting her on the shoulder.

“Grillby’s. Come on,” he said.

The bar wasn’t even a full minute away. Sans took them to their regular seats up at the counter, but Frisk couldn’t help but mope, even as Grillby brought her a burger and milkshake. She ate tentatively.

“Problems readin’, huh?” Sans asked casually.

Her eyes went wide with surprise and she nearly choked on her food. “Wh-What?” she yelped. 

“Your expression was kind of an _open_ _book_,” he joked. “Chill.”

She pouted. “Y-Yeah, I’m not super good at it,” she said quietly.

He shrugged. “So, what you really wanted to know about was souls, not baby monsters,” he said. “Okay. Ask Alphys.”

“Sans!” she whined. “C’mon, you gotta know something!”

“All I got is that, usually, monster kid gets a soul that’s part of whoever the parents are,” he said. “It’s a complicated magical thing that just kind of happens, uh, spontaneously.”

“So the parents, do they give up a piece of their soul?” she asked.

He shrugged and nodded. Frisk’s eyes went wide.

“And they’re okay?”

“Seems like it, right?” Sans said with a laugh. “Look, kid, you wanna know the technicals, sorry, it’s just not my area. That’s all magic soul stuff. Monster biology. You wanna know about harmonic oscillators or relativity or wave function, I got you covered, though.”

“What’s…? What’s wave function?” Frisk asked.

“Oh. Easy. It’s when you do this.” He waved at her. “It functions as a greeting or a goodbye, usually.”

Frisk couldn’t help but laugh and he grinned. 

She felt a little better. She sipped her milkshake as Sans drank from a bottle of ketchup. “Sorry for, um… For bringing you into my fibs and stuff back there,” she said quietly. “I didn’t know what else to say to Kid.”

“What fibs? All of that sounded kinda true to me,” he said.

“Wh… What?” She stared back at him blankly. “S-Seriously?”

“Sure. We were definitely playing monsters and humans last night. Game’s trash,” he said with a wink. “Skeleton with skin, also technically true. And that I’m your brother, true. Though, _big_, that might have been not true, exactly, but I guess compared to you, technically it’s fine. But only as long as you don’t grow up too fast, huh?”

Frisk gawked. Tears welled up in her eyes. His grin turned sympathetic. He put his hand on her head and gently ruffled her hair.

“Sorry, kiddo, was that not clear?” he asked. “C’mon, I gotta spell it out? Feelings stick. And you know how I feel, don’t ya?”

She wiped her eyes, sniffed, and laughed quietly. She felt like she could cry from relief. Instead, she took a large sip of her milkshake to try to steady herself. “S… So, it’s not weird if I call you _bro_ again?”

“I was kinda startin’ to miss it, to be honest,” he said.

Frisk’s eyes went wide. He chuckled. She looked down, but her smile was relieved and her cheeks flushed.

“Oh man, I’m such a mess,” she said softly.

“That just proves it, doesn’t it?” he joked, taking the final swig of his ketchup. “Too bad you take more after me than Paps or Tori, huh?”

She scoffed, snickered, and wiped her eyes again.

“SANS!!”

Frisk turned in her seat. Papyrus was stomping towards them. Sans merely puddled on the counter in reply.

“You said you’d be in the library,” he said sternly.

Sans shrugged. Papyrus rolled his eyes and slung him over his shoulder and scooped Frisk up under his other arm. She held tight to her milkshake and Sans waved to Grillby as they were carried away.

“Come on, come on, happenings are afoot!” Papyrus said.

“Sup, bro?” Sans asked as they got outside.

“We are going home right now and doing the planning parts!” Papyrus announced. “Undyne called. She knows. Someone reported a human. I told her I’d handle it.”

“Oh dang,” Frisk said.

“Oh dang is right!” Papyrus said. 

Inside the house, Papyrus dumped Sans and Frisk on the sofa and pulled over the table, which had a hand drawn map of Waterfall laid out across it.

“I’ve taken some time and drawn out the most popular routes to travel through Waterfall,” Papyrus said. “Frisk! Where does Undyne usually find you?” He handed her a bright red marker.

“Uhh…” Frisk stared at the map and began to mark some spots. “Here, near this grass. And this grass. And… this boardwalk, and then this one, and then also at this flower, and on this cliff, and—”

“WHAT?! That many times?” Papyrus demanded. “Oh boy…”

“No wonder you were puttin’ this off,” Sans said. “Kinda want to pass out just lookin’ at it.”

“Don’t do it, brother, we need you!!” Papyrus said.

“Oh! And here, too, we did the big fight here,” Frisk said as she circled a huge, rough drawing of a mountainous outcropping of stone that arched over the road, right near the end. “Oh, and back here, she cut the bridge and I fell into garbage town. ”

Sans leaned over the table and raised a brow at her. She sighed and moped.

“Wow, now that I really think about it, that’s kind of a lot, huh? What should we do?” she asked.

“Don’t let it get you down in the dumps, kiddo,” Sans said with a wink. “Paps, why don’t you go? We’ll catch up.”

“_We_?” Frisk repeated with surprise.

“If you don’t want me to come, that’s fine too, I love doin’ absolutely nothing,” Sans said with a shrug. 

“I… I really want you to come!” she said.

“Okay. You go save, I’ll meet you over there somewhere,” he said. “Paps, you good?”

“Yes! I think so!” he said. “Family hug!” He grabbed them both in a tight embrace. 

Frisk hoped no one would notice she was shaking.


	13. The Friend-Finding Arc

Following the river out of town lead straight towards a massive cave opening where grey stone turned black and the telltale pricks of blue sparkled like glitter in the cracks and crevasses. Tunnels in Waterfall were lit with protruding crystals and blue, bioluminescent mushrooms, giving them a calm light, sort of like a permanent state of relaxing nighttime. The sounds of Waterfall’s namesakes bounced around the huge cavern— through tunnels and down deep, black drops, and there were so many that direction was often impossible to tell, but even so, it was never overwhelming. The air was cool and refreshing; much more palatable than the lands opening on either end of it. Even now, Frisk loved it here.

She took a long moment to stare up at the ceiling of the first Wishing Room— a place where the cavern’s ceiling was high enough to be invisible, and yet crystals twinkled above like stars glimmering in the darkness. Many generations of monsters’ wishes must have echoed across these walls. Wishes for happiness, for freedom— Frisk shared those wishes, now. Some of them even still lingered in the glowing, blue Echo Flowers that grew nearby, and if one made the effort to listen, they could be easily heard. It made her smile that, soon, they’d be able to wish on real stars, but she hoped the beauty of a place like this wouldn’t be lost on them.

Sans was taking his time, as usual. He told her he needed to do a few things, so she had gone on ahead, but he still hadn’t caught up. She wouldn’t be surprised if he was actually asleep somewhere. She didn’t mind, much, though. He always turned up eventually. And she’d had some fun talking with blobs and whistling with a little fish monster deep in the caves on the way in.

Her ears pricked to the sound something just beyond the door. She sunk back into the corner of the room, wondering if it was Undyne. The noise soon changed, though, into of a sort of dragging along the stone. She relaxed turned her head and saw a large, burly hippocampus peek in. He didn’t notice her, probably because of her hoodie and the telescope beside her. She watched him look up at those little shining lights and smile. She leaned up off the wall and walked over to join him, looking up.

“Got a cool wish?” she asked.

He jumped with surprise and reared back onto his tail fins. “Whoa, short stuff, where’d you come from?”

She jerked her thumb at the telescope. 

“Hah. Same wish as always for me,” he said, flexing his biceps. “More days in the week for arm day!”

Frisk smiled and nodded. “Nice.”

“What about you, pipsqueak? Kids don’t usually stop here without a wish,” he said.

“I figure I have the same wish as a lot of people,” she said. “I’d like for the barrier to break. And for all my friends to be happy.”

“Hah! You’re cheesy,” he said.

“Actually, I’m Frisk,” she said, offering her hand.

He snorted and gave her his hoof to shake. “Aaron. You mightta heard of me.” He flexed. 

Frisk snickered. “Good to meet you! But I should get going,” she said. “I gotta meet up with my brothers. Good luck with arm day!”

Aaron flexed dramatically. “Hah! I don’t need luck! See you later, short stuff!” He stopped flexing rather abruptly and a worried look crossed his brow as she approached the hidden door. “Hey! Wait one sec!”

She turned to look back at him and he put on a tough frown.

“I heard some rumours,” he said. “Nothin’ much to me, but a little kid like you should be careful. There might be a human out here.”

Frisk smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Aaron.”

Outside the wishing room opened up into a giant underground lake only passable by a boardwalk that extended over its shallow, inky waters. It was hard to see much but bristly whiskers of cattails poking out alongside the planks. Frisk squinted through the dark and then pulled out her phone for light to look more closely at where the boardwalk ended. Her heart dropped. The black water got very deep, very quickly— no plants peeked out and she couldn’t make out the opposite shore in such low light. All that gave her any way forward was a tiny raft that had barely enough room to stand on.

She gulped; felt her heart speed up. Tried not to think about how she couldn’t swim. Pleading with herself not to simply slip straight into the water, she put her phone away, braced herself and stepped quickly onto the small raft. It wobbled with her weight and, probably by magic, began to drift forward. Frisk’s stomach plummeted and she tried to stay as still as possible, as much as every instinct told her to grab onto something. She held her breath and tried not to imagine how deep the water was just beneath her feet. Whoops. Too late. 

Just as the breeze in her hair began to feel a little exciting, the raft clunked into the boardwalk on the other side of the lake. Frisk yelped and tumbled onto the wood. 

“Dang,” she grumbled. She slowly got to her feet and brushed herself off, and then took a look around. 

There were plaques on the wall right in front of her and a path that carried on to the east. She could also see that the wall cut off into a ledge just above, so there was probably another path up there, too. A sudden sense of dread weighed heavily on her. Hesitantly, she snuck down the planks, keeping close to the wall until it gave way, the area opening up to an ancient overlook of paths and columns that loomed above her. She caught a sliver of movement in the corner of her eye. She gulped. She rolled up her sleeves and tapped her toes into her shoes to make sure they were on right. 

She walked out past the wall, her heart starting to beat too fast, but she tried to keep her pace steady. She had expected to see Undyne earlier than now, honestly, but the chances she hadn’t been spotted were miniscule. She heard a weird sound, like a low buzzing. Energy tingled in the air and the hair on her neck stood on end. 

She felt the first spear before she saw it— preluded by wind, it came right at her and she started to run. The strikes of magic lit up around her, blue and vibrant, striking the boardwalk just behind her heels. She tried to keep Undyne in the corner of her eye as she pursued her through the columns, but it soon became impossible. The changing light and the fast magic attacks made it dizzying and disorienting.

As the path twisted, Undyne’s aim adjusted— spears sailing above Frisk’s head. She yelped and had to dodge backwards; her stomach dropped when there was less than a solid footing behind her. Another strike and she rolled to the side, but it caught her shoulder. It hurt, a lot, and in her moment of hesitation, a hailstorm of spears came down from above. She yelped and scrambled to get out of the way, but more and more kept coming. She slipped and fell, and her heart sank.

“Undyne?! Excuse me, Captain Undyne?!” Papyrus’s voice called out. “I think I have an idea for re-capturing the human!”

Undyne stalled for just a moment, and, out of the corner of her eye, Frisk saw her turn and Papyrus run up to her. She scrambled to her feet.

“So I was thinking, Captain, that maybe, with the human you could—”

“PAPYRUS, I’M BUSY!”

“Oh! Wow, is that the human?! Looks like she’s running away!”

“PAPYRUS!!!”

Undyne roared and the spears came again. Frisk sprinted; thought she saw something ahead— a dark, amorphous shape on the path much taller than she was. She begged herself to keep going. A spear clipped her leg and she cried out and tumbled forward, rolling, dazed into a patch of long grass.

It took her a few precious seconds to orient herself and as soon as she did, she crouched and curled herself into a ball. She covered her head and tried not to breathe too hard. Heavy, armoured footsteps clunked down onto the boards and she felt the rumble through her whole body. Her heart began to pound. She closed her eyes tightly. Those boots stomped closer and closer. Frisk didn’t dare to look.

It felt like an eternity later that she thought she heard Undyne walk off. Frisk grimaced. She had to know, didn’t she? Could she see her soul shining? She hurried out of the grass, panting to catch her breath, trying hard to ignore the pain. She heard a rustling and she felt like her heart would stop. She braced to blink her eyes and see snow but, to her surprise, instead she saw Kid scamper out of the long grass, beaming.

“Oh my god, did you SEE that?!” he said.

“Kid?!” she demanded.

“Frisk! Oh man, that was the coolest!” He puffed out his chest proudly. “Undyne actually TOUCHED me, did you see that?”

“What the heck are you doing here?!” she said.

“Oh dang, I snuck out after lunch to see if I could see her, but I never expected…!” He shut his mouth and his cheeks flushed. “D-Don’t tell my parents, huh?”

She shook her head. He grinned wide.

“Did you sneak out to see her, too?” he asked.

She nodded. His smile only grew. He looked like there were stars in his eyes.

“I’m going on ahead! Maybe we can see her again!” he said. “See ya soon!”

Frisk awkwardly waved as he shot off down the path, now on solid ground. She took a deep breath. The hair on her neck stood on end, and she could have sworn she heard more footsteps on the other side of the grass. She took off running without even thinking.

It wasn’t until she caught a glimpse of blue and white out of the corner of her eye that she slowed at all. It didn’t occur to her until a second later that Sans was hanging out against one of the walls beside a telescope. Frisk skidded to a halt, doubled back, and immediately hugged him tightly.

“Whoa, kiddo,” he said.

He hugged her back and she let out a sigh of relief, before it struck her quickly that Undyne might still be after her. She squeaked and darted around behind him and clung to his coat.

“Don’t move don’t move,” she said in a hushed voice.

“Pfft, okay,” he said.

Frisk listened close, but she didn’t hear any energy rushing or the stomping of heavy, metal boots. Just water, falling ever downwards; flowing ever onwards. She stayed still for a few extra moments before the tension left her and she let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. 

“Th-Thanks,” she said.

“Sure, I literally did nothing,” he said.

She tried to calm down, though she was panting, and and Sans looked like he was trying not to laugh.

“Dude, you’re a mess,” he said. He picked a long piece of grass out from behind her ear and flicked it away. She hurriedly tried to smooth her hair and brush anything more out of it. He snickered. 

“Welp. You survived Undyne so far, not too bad. Whatcha been up to?”

“Oh, you know, crossing lakes on nightmare rafts and running for my life, normal stuff,” she said. “You?”

He shrugged. “Been checkin’ out this telescope. It’s pretty cool, wanna look?”

“Uh…” He moved and she peeked through it, but saw nothing but red. “Oh. Is it broken?” She looked at him with confusion. 

His wide grin was unnerving. She suddenly remembered why. 

“Oh my god, Sans!” she said.

“What? No good?” he asked. “Not _seein’ red_, are you?”

She groaned but, at the same time, she started laughing and rubbed at the ink on her face with her sleeve. “You’re a butt.” 

“Absolutely,” he said. “Hang on, I got a thing.”

He lifted his t-shirt a little and pulled a folded bag out of his ribcage, and from inside, took a roll of bandages and a weird tube shaped like toothpaste.

“What’s this?” she asked as he handed them to her.

“Welp, figured since I can’t heal you,” he said, “I could at least find somethin’ helpful?”

The tube was some sort of MTT brand magic soothing goo. Frisk’s eyes lit up. She popped the cap and squirted out a blob of the sparkling turquoise goo onto her fingers.

“I take it back, you’re not a butt,” she said.

He shrugged and grinned. “So the saves aren’t quite doin’ it for you this time?” he asked.

“Huh?” she said as she smeared the stuff onto one of her cuts.

“I thought they used to heal you up a bit better,” he said.

“They’re good for energy and that last big hit, but smaller things, sometimes they seem to miss unless I just straight up go backwards,” she said. “Feels like the rules are always different. Oh, um… Sorry about your sweatshirt. I got caught a bit.”

“I noticed,” he said. “Don’t worry about it. Our clothes are kind of magic, too. It’ll fix itself eventually. Or I can just take it to someone.”

“Wow. How does that work?” Frisk asked with surprise. “Aren’t they from human places, though?”

Sans shrugged. “Magic.”

“But—”

“Magic. Don’t think too hard about it.”

Frisk took a couple minutes to patch up her cuts before they were on their way, deeper into the cavern. There was a type of grass underfoot where the path wasn’t just boardwalks, and it had a bioluminescent sheen, especially when it was touched. The water had taken on an ethereal blue shine here and it flowed much more slowly as little, glowing bubbles raised from its surface and took to the air, drifting gently like snow in reverse.

Frisk paused at one of the pools to splash some water on her face. She didn’t notice she was shaking like a leaf again until she rubbed her hands together to warm them from the cool water. 

“Ah jeez,” she grumbled. She went to straighten up, but she jumped with surprise as her phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and fumbled, slipping with her wet fingers. A magic grip seized on her soul for just a moment.

Sans pulled her away from the edge of the water and caught her phone before she dropped it. He answered it. “Sup? Oh. Hey, Papyrus. Yeah, she’s here. She’s fine. Yup. Uh-huh. No, don’t worry. No, she didn’t get stabbed. Bro, pretty sure you’d feel the time travel at this point. Yeah, of course. Yup. Uh-huh. I will. Yeah, yeah, love you too. Here she is.” He passed her the phone.

“Hello…?” she asked.

“FRISK! Oh thank god,” Papyrus said. “How are you? Did I provide an effective distraction?”

“Y-Yeah! Thank you. You saved me,” she said.

“Oh! I did! Okay, good, that’s a relief!” he said. “I called because Undyne is tracking you. She won’t come at you around any normal citizens, though! Probably. Most likely. So I believe your next meeting will probably be across those high bridges! Are you ready?”

“N-No, but—”

“Never fear! I, your coolest and tallest brother, Papyrus, will meet you there!” he assured her. “I have a secret clever plan for if you can’t quite put your magic face in her face. Just keep being your usual nice self who is good at running for your life and everything will be fine! I promise!”

“Um, okay, but—”

“Oops! Here she comes, talk to you later, love you, bye!” The line went dead. 

Frisk stared at the phone for a moment, and then offered it to Sans.

“That’s yours,” he said.

“Yeah, but I’m kinda thinking I’m gonna be falling into some water soon.”

“Ah.” He seemed thoughtful but he took it anyway and put it in his pocket. “Gotcha.”

Frisk took a deep breath and tried to steady herself.

“Jeez kid,” he said, “still got snow in your boots or somethin’?”

“I just… I don’t feel ready. Especially if… if she doesn’t… Oh man. I really miss her, you know?”

“You’ll be fine. You always are,” he assured her. “C’mon. Let’s get this over with so we can get some lunch.” He began to walk on lazily and Frisk hurried to walk with him.

“We already had lunch,” she laughed.

“Second lunch,” he suggested.

She snickered. “Thanks again for this.”

“Hmm?”

“For coming with. I know you’d rather be at home,” she said.

“Hey, so would you,” he said. “No big deal. Just don’t ask me to do any runnin’ for you.”

The path lead north into a cave, carved into a contained path and room, that opened again into an expanse of dark water, but it didn’t look so dauntingly deep as before. It was quiet, the walls blocking much sound of rushing water that was common elsewhere, instead replacing it with a gentle rippling sound. Frisk paused to look around. Didn’t seem to be anybody there. 

“Um, hey, Sans?” she said. 

“Sup?” he said.

“Can I ask you a strange favour?”

He turned to her with a brow raised.

“I… I’m scared of what’s coming up,” she said. “And I was wondering if… if you’d practice with me!”

“Dude, what?” he asked.

“I’m out of practice,” she insisted, “and I’m kind of freaking out! Do you think you could just, like, throw some stuff at me?”

“Shouldda asked Papyrus,” he said.

“Y-Yeah, but…”

“I’m not promisin’ it’ll help at all. I can’t do green, but…” He shrugged. 

Frisk’s face lit up. “Thank you!”

“Don’t thank me yet.” His eye brightened blue with magic and he held out his hand to generate a long bone, trying to mimic one of Undyne’s spears. “See if you can even hold it, first.”

It flipped sideways on its own and floated towards her. Hesitantly, she reached out to grab it. It felt weird against her skin— not painful, but definitely not normal either, almost like pins and needles— but she found she could hold it. Sans’s eyes went wide.

“Would you look at that,” he said.

“What?” she asked.

He came closer and turned her to look into the water. It took her brain a moment to process, through the ripples and shimmering, the fact that there were five lines lit up blue on her face, and her iris, too, was bright with magic. She yelped and drew back in a hurry, pointing at herself.

“That’s the glow!?” she said.

Sans shrugged and nodded. 

“Why the heck am I doing that?!” she said.

Sans shrugged again and took the bone spear from her. The magic died down. He tilted his head and passed it back. Her eye lit up bright.

“Welp. Reacts to magic sometimes. Good to know.” He paced backwards to give her some room. “Ready to go?”

“Can I just… get a minute?” she asked. 

“Undyne’s still waitin’, kiddo.”

Frisk took a deep breath. She straightened up and she gulped and held the makeshift spear like she would have done with Undyne. “Okay. If I move, yell at me,” she said. “Let’s do it.”

Sans shrugged. “Straight on all sides, right?”

She nodded. She expected her soul to light up again, but for some reason, it didn’t.

Sans didn’t even have to move and more spear-like bones appeared over his shoulders and shot at her. Compared to Undyne’s, though, they were lethargic. She blocked them with ease, each one dissolving into sparkling blue dust as it came into contact with the one she held.

“Cool. Good to go?” Sans asked.

“J… Just a few more times?” she said. “Maybe a little faster?”

His magic sped and he changed it up a bit. Frisk was starting to feel pretty good until one from the right bumped her a little, sending her off balance before she could block. Blue magic caught on her soul and pulled her back towards the centre of the path before she toppled into the water, and the rest of the attacks froze and disintegrated, as did the fake spear in her hands.

“Heh, sorry, kiddo, thought you would catch that,” he said. “My bad. Maybe quit almost fallin’ into the lake though.”

“Oh jeez, I’m super not ready,” she said.

“Hey,” he said, grinning, “don’t say that, you gotta keep your _spear-its_ up.”

\- - -

Just beyond the strange, contained lake, waterfalls poured from the ceiling, giving the place a cool, damp feeling. Roads and paths had been built specifically around them, but there was a small section of ceiling that seemed to have caved in more recently than the origin of the pathways. From there, water dripped steadily and solemnly onto an old, stone statue. Worn smooth, pieces had crumbled away and detail was missing, but Frisk knew exactly who that hunched, horned figure was.

She stared and looked for a while and Sans waited, seeming glad to not be moving, but he watched her with concern. Her eyes welled up again. Of course they had. She hadn’t been prepared for this. 

She sniffed and wiped her face on her sleeve. She cast her eyes down the path and took note of a tall can filled with umbrellas for the watery road ahead. She scampered over to it, pulled up a green one, and brought it back to place it, very carefully, in the statue’s hand and opened it. As the water droplets began to roll off it, a music box inside the statue clinked to life, its familiar song echoing off the walls gently. The same one Toriel’s music box played. Frisk grimaced.

“That’s him, huh?” Sans asked.

Frisk nodded. She had to wipe her eyes again. “This broken bit… it was probably Chara. Do you know about that?”

“Who doesn’t? Sad story. But…” He ruffled her hair.“Maybe not forever, huh?”

She nodded and smiled weakly. She took a deep breath. “Sorry,” she said. “Jeez. Crybaby.”

“True. But don’t worry about it,” he assured her. “Oh. Hey. Forgot somethin’. You okay on your own for a few minutes?”

She nodded. He vanished.

Frisk carefully pulled another umbrella from the holder and opened it to continue on her way through the downpour, water leaking through the ceiling and splattering spray from the consistent waterfalls. She kept her eye out for Kid, just in case, and sure enough, she spotted him, huddled in a little alcove just out of the cave’s rain.

“Yo!” he said brightly. “Frisk! You got an umbrella? Mind if I sneak under there?”

She smiled. “Of course not, come on.” 

He grinned as she held it out enough for him to come under, too, and they kept going through the puddles and east down the path. 

“Seen Undyne yet?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“Oooh, man!” he said. “I hope you get to! She’s so cool! She beats up all the bad guys and she never loses! I’ve never seen anyone else as cool as her. She seems really on guard today, huh?”

“Y… Yeah,” Frisk said.

“I heard some people talking,” he said, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “and they said there might be a human out here!”

“Really?” Her heart thumped. “Aren’t you worried?”

“Nah! Not with Undyne around!” he said. “It’s the human who should be worried! Dude, if I were a human, I’d be freaking out so bad! I’d be super scared thinking about how she would beat me up. I’d even go hide in the deep trash holes! Right? Dang.”

Up ahead, the drips slowed and the cavern opened up again with a fraction more light as the crags of the tunnel gave way to a massive place that gave a phenomenal view, all the way to the castle of New Home. Frisk had to pause, and she turned her gaze upwards to the black, invisible ceiling coated in sparkling gems that mimicked stars so closely she was tricked for just a second.

“Wow,” she breathed.

“Yo, what’s up?” Kid asked.

She pointed. He snickered.

“I didn’t mean literally,” he said.

“That was just a coincidence,” she said. “I was looking at… that. It’s so pretty.”

“Oh, sure, but I bet, when we finally get to the surface, the real sky there will be like, a million times better,” Kid said.

“Even if it is,” Frisk said, “this place is still great.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Kid said with a shrug. “Hey. That’s New Home all the way over there, huh? You homesick at all? Homesick for New Home, sounds kinda funny.”

Frisk smiled and shook her head, closing up the umbrella as they continued. The water droplets were slow now, barely enough to wet the ground.

“No. I was actually homesick for Snowdin, a bit,” she said. “I miss my brothers too much when I’m away. I’m actually a huge crybaby without them, it’s kind of embarrassing. Well, actually, I’m a huge crybaby with them, too, but I feel a lot less horrible about it.”

Kid laughed. “Nah, that’s okay, family’s important and junk. I got a sister, Daisy, and I mean, she kinda drives me nuts sometimes but I’d miss her a ton if I went to some other town for a long time,” he said. “Huh. Look at that.” He scampered up ahead, but then stumbled and landed hard on his face. 

Frisk winced, but he was up in an instant before she could even offer help, speeding to a ledge in the dark that lay before them. He stood on his toes to get a look as Frisk lowered the umbrella and gently shook it off.

“Hmm… This is pretty high, right?” he asked.

“Looks like it,” Frisk said.

There was another bucket filled with borrowed umbrellas, and she gladly returned hers before joining him. She looked thoughtful. 

“Aw, man, guess we’re kinda stuck, huh?” he said.

“I dunno, How about you get on my shoulders?”

“Me?! But, you haven’t even seen Undyne yet!” he said. “You got a much better chance if you go up there.”

“That’s okay,” she said. “You’re like, her biggest fan, right?” She bent down enough that he could put a foot up on her shoulder. 

He hesitated for a second. “You sure?”

“Yeah, c’mon, it’ll be fine,” she insisted.

“Th-Thanks, Frisk!” 

He stood on her shoulders and she helped lift him high enough that he could squirm over the ledge. 

“Yo, you’re stronger than you look,” he said as he looked down at her. 

She grinned. “Maybe I’m just really determined,” she said. “See you up ahead!”

“Maybe you could grab my feet?” he suggested.

“Don’t worry about it! See if you can catch Undyne and then tell me all about it!” she said. “I need to wait up for my brother anyway.” She would also prefer for him to be out of the way if the bridge fell, but she kept that bit to herself.

Kid smiled and nodded. “Thanks again, Frisk! See you soon!”

He ran off and Frisk let out a breath of relief. Maybe that would make it easier for him in the long run. Though, now, she wasn’t entirely sure how to climb that ledge. She jumped. Couldn’t make it. She doubled back to the umbrella stand— maybe she could use the handle?— and was about to take one when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Before she could even turn, she was up on the ledge.

“Whoa jeez!” she said.

Sans laughed. “Sorry. Ready to go?”

“Nope. Let’s get outta here. Where were you?” she asked.

“Laundry.”

“Laundry?” she repeated.

He shrugged and nodded.

Frisk could see the bridge up ahead— knew that it twisted into complex, branching paths across a deep chasm. She gulped and reflexively grabbed onto Sans’s sleeve as they moved towards it.

“Nervous?” he asked.

“Oh, uh… s-sorry,” she said, quickly shoving her hands into her pockets.

He bumped her with his elbow and then took her hand. “It’s fine.”

She was surprised, but her heart swelled and she grinned. She clung to him tight until they were just a few paces away.

Frisk took a deep breath and peeked over the edge of the cliff. There was another bridge far below, but beneath that seemed to be nothing but a void. She felt a sudden grasp on her soul and saw it had lit up blue. She cast a confused look at Sans.

“I know you’re used to fallin’ down places,” he said, “but maybe right now isn’t the best time?”

“Oh. R-Right.” She backed up and the light dimmed. “Sorry. Thanks.” She straightened up and took a deep breath. “I’m gonna go. Wait a minute, okay? If this anything like last time, Undyne’s gonna throw a bunch of spears at me.”

“Welp. Alright. Whatever you want,” he said. “I’ll keep an eye socket out.”

She nodded and hugged him tight. “Thanks a ton, bro. You’re great.”

She cautiously started out on the bridge. It felt solid enough, though there were no railings. She didn’t understand monsters and their constant insistence on high falls with no safeguards. Things were quiet, though. Her ears burned. Her heart started to beat, hard. Where was Undyne? Maybe Papyrus had delayed her? She expected spears to shoot up from below her at any second. 

She squinted ahead through the darkness and faint crystal’s glow. Through the bleakness, though, she started to see a shape, large and ominous, balled up in her path. She slowed down a little, her heart pounding in her ears, and the shape grew and loomed as, before her, Undyne stood up straight and glared right at her. Frisk stopped. Kid was with her.

He looked at Frisk, eyes wide, and then looked up at Undyne.

“Get behind me,” she said.

Kid froze. Undyne lit up a spear in her hand and Frisk flinched. Kid’s eyes turned on her again, and, to her surprise, he ran towards her.

“KID, WAIT!” Undyne barked. 

His toe caught on a plank and he face-planted, then lay still. Heart in her throat, Frisk ran to him without even thinking. She grabbed him and helped to lift the stunned kid up off his face.

“You okay?” she asked. 

He looked at her with shock, and then back at Undyne. She was holding position, a gargoyle, her spear raised, a faint growl making the metal hum.

“F… Frisk? I need to know, is it true?” he asked, wide eyed. “Are… Are you the human?”

Frisk bit her lip. She nodded. “S… Sorry.”

“Oh my god, seriously?!” he said shrilly. “But you’re…! But you’re so nice and…! And you’re not scary at all!”

“HEY!” Undyne stepped forward once, the impact shaking the planks beneath them. “Get away from that thing.”

Kid whirled on Undyne, eyes wide with fear. Frisk put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“It’s okay,” she said quietly. “Get out of here, okay? Get onto solid ground. Everything will be fine.”

He locked eyes with her, but then frowned and looked at the Guard Captain defiantly. “H-Hey! Undyne, you… you can’t! You can’t beat her up! I… I won’t let you! She m-might be a human, but she’s s-super nice!”

Undyne growled.“Come back towards me,” she ordered. “Now.”

Kid flinched, but he stood firm and shook his head. “N-No! She’s… She’s my friend!”

“It’s okay,” Frisk assured him.

“But what about you!?” he asked. “She’s gonna beat you up!”

“I’ve been beaten up before,” Frisk said with a smile. “Don’t worry. Trust me.”

He stared at her, wide-eyed, for a few long seconds. He gulped and his mouth hung open for a few seconds more. 

“Please. It would really mean a lot to me,” she said, lowering her voice. “…Just don’t want you to fall, y’know? I mean, like, into the dump or something.”

His brow furrowed. “…A-Alright, dude, but you better meet up with me later!”

She grinned and nodded. He scampered by Undyne in a hurry, casting a worried look over his shoulder. Frisk waved at him.

The towering monster in stiff, metal plating— one of her best friends in the world— took a step towards her. She scoffed. “So. Got the courage to drop your living shield, did you? Ready to fight me for real, you little brat?”

Frisk didn’t know what to say. She took a cautious step backwards and braced herself.

“Yeah. You know. You’re not so tough. Gettin’ real sick of chasing you down, honestly.” Undyne took off her helmet and dropped it onto the planks with a heavy, hollow thunk, then started to grin. “There’s supposed to be a big speech, you know. Tell you why we need your soul. Blah blah blah. Forget it. I just want to get a good look before I take you out. Ready to die?”

Before Frisk could even protest, the bridge bounced with quick steps.

“CAPTAIN UNDYNE! HEY, CAPTAIN UNDYNE!?” Papyrus bounded up behind her and took her by the shoulder. “Phew! There you are! So glad I caught you!”

“Uh, dude, a little busy, here?” she snapped, gesturing to Frisk.

“Oh, yes, of course! With the human,” he said. “So are you best friends yet?”

“What?! Are you nuts?!” she demanded.

“Oh, uh… Am I a bit early?” Papyrus asked Frisk. 

She shrugged nervously. Undyne frowned deeply and rubbed her brow.

“Papyrus, oh my god…” She took a deep breath, but then raised her head and grinned. “You know what? Whatever. Doesn’t matter.” Her eye flashed. 

The area around Frisk’s feet began to glow and she nervously stepped back.

“Um… Undyne, wait, I—!” Frisk’s words fell into a yelp as magic severed the bridge.

Her stomach twisted and she plummeted— she thought she heard Papyrus call her name. The drop stopped suddenly and midair as blue magic grabbed her. Her body was pulled sideways and she plopped with a gasp onto the lower bridge.

“Damn, kid.” Sans grinned down at her sympathetically. “No luck with this today, huh?”

“Oh my god, thanks,” she said.

He offered her his hand and helped her to her feet. She hugged him gratefully. 

Clunking down onto the boards from above, Papyrus rushed to them and bent down, cupping Frisk’s face in both hands. “That was too close!” he exclaimed. “Are you okay?!”

“PAPYRUS!!” Undyne glared down from the bridge above and Papyrus jumped back up to stand in front of Frisk and Sans protectively. “What the hell are you—?!” Her eye narrowed. She pointed accusingly. 

Frisk wanted to melt.

“Oh for god’s sake, you didn’t…?! YOU DIDN’T MAKE FRIENDS WITH IT, DID YOU?!”

Papyrus sighed. “I guess I have no choice,” he said. “Yes, Captain! The human is my friend! And the human wants to be your friend, too!”

“Oh my god, Papyrus,” Undyne grumbled. “Sans, is that you down there?! Talk some sense into him, will ya?! That thing is dangerous!!”

“Nah, I’m good,” Sans said with a shrug. 

“NGAAAAAH!! WHAT IS WITH YOU TWO?! DON’T YOU KNOW WHAT THEY DO?!” The confusion and anger was plain as day on her face. “DON’T YOU REALIZE THAT WE NEED THAT SOUL TO BE FREE?!”

“Undyne, w-wait!” Frisk said quickly. “P-Please! I want to break the barrier, too! I just want to—”

“THEN DIE AND GIVE ME YOUR SOUL, BRAT! I can’t believe you tricked Papyrus into—!”

“No no no no no, Captain, that’s not right!” Papyrus insisted, wide-eyed. “There was no tricking! This human is really, really nice! I promise! You’ll really like her!”

“THAT’S CRAZY!”

Papyrus frowned. “CAPTAIN UNDYNE, YOU COME DOWN HERE AND GIVE THIS HUMAN A HUG RIGHT NOW!”

“ARE YOU NUTS? JUST GIVE IT TO ME AND THIS’LL ALL BE DONE WITH!!” she yelled back.

“NO, CAPTAIN, THERE IS ANOTHER WAY! FRISK KNOWS THE FUTURE, SHE CAN HELP US GET TO THE SURFACE AND EVERYONE WILL BE FINE!”

Undyne froze. She stared down at them for a few moments in silence, squinting indignantly at them from her perch.

“Frisk?” she repeated.

Papyrus’s face lit up and Frisk and Sans looked hopeful.

“WHO THE HELL IS FRISK?!” she demanded.

Frisk pouted. Papyrus frowned. Sans sighed and shrugged.

“Welp. We tried,” he said. “I’m goin’ home. Come on, kiddo.”

“But…! But we need her on our side!” Frisk said worriedly. “A-And I want Undyne to remember me! I gotta at least try, right?”

“Never fear, Frisk, I, the great Papyrus, will settle this,” he assured her.He turned his gaze up on Undyne defiantly. 

She simply scowled in return.

“CAPTAIN UNDYNE! PLEASE, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, I NEED YOU TO TRUST ME! LOOK!” He scooped up Frisk rather quickly and held her against his chest snugly. “FRISK IS A NICE HUMAN, SHE HASN’T HURT ANYBODY! SHE EVEN LIKES MY SPAGHETTI! AND MY PUZZLES! WE ARE, IN FACT, PUZZLE PARTNERS! HOW COULD SHE BE A HORRIBLE HARBINGER OF DEATH WHEN SHE IS SO SMALL AND NICE AND FRIENDLY?” 

Undyne huffed out a frustrated sigh. She rubbed a hand through her hair and paced for a minute. Frisk felt a spark of hope and looked up at Papyrus.

“If she comes down,” he whispered, “I have a plan. Just go with it, alright?”

She nodded.

After what seemed like a very long time and much grumbling, Undyne jumped down from the top bridge, landing heavily and then straightening up as if it were nothing.

“She’s so cool,” Frisk breathed.

Undyne eyed her suspiciously. Frisk waved, and Undyne scoffed.

“Okay, Papyrus, what’s so—”

“CATCH! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!” To the shock of everyone, he whipped Frisk at her and then two tumbled together off the bridge and into the void

“CRAP!” Frisk yelped.

“PAPYRUSSSSSS!” Undyne roared.

“Dude. Holy shit,” Sans said, eyes wide, hands on his head. He looked over the edge where the two had fallen, and they were both still yelling and spinning until they disappeared into shadows. 

A splash and a blurble echoed up to them from the depths below.

“Never fear, brother!” Papyrus said, thumping him on the shoulder. “I did not regain any of my memories of Frisk until I was up close. This should do the job nicely.”

“Hey, Frisk?” Sans called. No answer, but, after a few long seconds, no reset either. 

Papyrus leaned over beside him. He put his face in his hands.

“Oh, no, kid…” he muttered.

“Don’t worry, brother, I have her phone number!” Papyrus said brightly.

“I have her phone…” Sans grumbled.


	14. The Friend-Finding Arc

Frisk had landed mostly on top of Undyne’s chest in a shallow pool deep below the two bridges, where stacks of trash were piled like hills around the walls of a deep, dark cavern. Undyne looked a little dazed. Frisk felt the same. She looked up, but it was too dark to see anything much above. She cautiously peered down at Undyne.

“You okay?” Frisk asked.

“You’re asking _me_ if _I’m_ okay?” Undyne growled.

“Yeeess…?” the kid said hesitantly.

Undyne frowned deeply and Frisk made to get off her, but she grabbed her tightly, claws digging into her shoulder. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” she said.

Frisk grimaced but, rather suddenly, something seemed to distract Undyne. She frowned deeply. Frisk’s heart thumped. She thought she saw a blue light brightening in the shimmers of the water. At least, she certainly hoped so. Undyne stared at her, quiet for a long while. Frisk tried not to squirm; didn’t want to start crying, but her shoulder was really starting to hurt. 

Rather suddenly, Undyne grabbed the girl’s face in both hands and then sat up quickly. Frisk yelped and tumbled away, landing back-first into the water. She groaned.

“Ow.” Undyne took a moment to rub her head and then pointed an accusing finger at her. “Wait a damn second, I know you!” She hefted her up out of the water under her arms and then, to Frisk’s utter relief, began to grin widely. “Yeah! That human kid who saves everyone!” She looked suddenly confused. “Wait, why the hell am I—? Was it just a dream or something? I thought we were…? Oh, whatever, good to see you!”

Frisk could hardly believe it. Her heart began to pound. “So you…? You really remember me?”

“Duh. Yeah. Of course I do, squirt,” Undyne said. “Oh. Well, I mean, I do now. Huh. Weird.”

“W-We’ll explain everything soon,” Frisk said, her voice coming out more choked than she had anticipated.

Undyne’s grin fell and she frowned a little and gently put her down. “Kid, why the hell are you crying? You’re fine, right?”

Frisk nodded, but she couldn’t stop herself from grabbing her and hugging as tightly as she could manage. Undyne barked out a loud laugh and squished the kid close.

“Okay, okay, sheesh!” she said. “Why’re you so emotional and junk? How many times did I stab you?”

“Oh I dunno, only like a hundred,” Frisk laughed.

“A hundred! That’s my kid, gets stabbed a hundred times and comes back swinging,” Undyne said proudly. “This is really weird but I’m happy to know you and stuff! How come I didn’t like just a few minutes ago? Why the hell didn’t I recognize you?”

Frisk pulled back just a little to wipe her eyes. “Sans can explain best.”

“Sans? Really? Him?” Undyne asked.

“He’s super smart, and he knows all about a lot of weird stuff,” Frisk said.

“Fair enough,” Undyne said.

She stood up out of the water and lifted Frisk with her to put her on her feet.“Oh. Crap. We fell a long way, right? You okay?”

“Y-Yeah. I’m okay,” Frisk said.

“You’re shivering like crazy,” she pointed out.

“I-I’m covered in trash w-water, Undyne!”

The big monster laughed. “Hah, sorry, it’s not funny,” she said. “It’s just… Wow. What a switch. My mind’s kind of all over the place right now, but I feel pretty good!”

Frisk let out a relieved sigh. “You wouldn’t believe how happy I am to hear that.”

Undyne grinned. She tussled the kid’s hair roughly. “Alright, let’s get the hell out of here.”

Undyne took her hand and helped her over a pile of garbage that had come down to the watery dump from the surface, carried by rivers and waterfalls to rest in this dark place. The water wasn’t deep at all on her, but Frisk, on the other hand, had to wade. It was freezing. She kept feeling like something was pulling at her legs. 

As they came to the end of the path, however, it seemed like it was a dead end. There was a huge pile of trash stuck up against a wall and Undyne leaned in close to it, her ear-fins raising.

“Hear that?” she asked.

Frisk shook her head. Undyne pointed at the trash.

“Water through it. Must’ve blocked this path off. Hang on.” She grabbed Frisk quickly and walked her back a few meters and stood her on a small trash hill of sopping clothes and what had once been a television. She charged the junk and, with a roar and one kick, burst through it, sending any hard pieces forward like torpedoes into another cavern. 

Peeking through, the first thing that stood out was a spattering of glittering, golden flowers. Frisk tried to contain her surprise. 

“Oh! Hey, I know where we are,” Undyne said. “Almost home.” She helped Frisk over what was left of the rubble and they made their way out into the tunnel.“Just follow me.” She kicked large pieces of rubble and trash out of their way, clearing the path as she guided the kid through the dark water. “So, back there… Sorry about all that murder stuff.”

“It’s okay,” Frisk said. “I’m used to it.”

“Sorry about that, too,” she laughed. “Man, you are a resilient little dork, aren’t you? I’m kinda jealous.”

“Determination,” Frisk joked, smiling.

Undyne grinned. 

She stopped midstride and bent into the water to lift up what looked like a DVD case. She turned it over, then tried to open it. Couldn’t. Frowned deeply, then tried again, only succeeding in crunching in the plastic. She huffed out a sigh and passed it to Frisk. “Stupid gauntlet,” she grumbled. 

Frisk tried to pry it open. It was stuck, but she got it after a moment and handed it back. 

“Thanks, squirt.” She looked at the contents curiously. “Huh. Doesn’t look broken. Nice.”

“For Alphys?” Frisk asked.

Undyne’s cheeks flushed and she laughed. “Yeah, maybe.” She tucked it into the front of her armour and jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “C’mon, exit’s this way,” she said.

Frisk nodded and followed her, taking her time, trying not to slip. She thought she noticed movement from the corner of her eye. She paused to look, but saw nothing.

“Kid?”

She turned quickly and saw Undyne frowning at her.

“You okay?” the monster asked.

“O-Oh. Yeah, s-sorry,” Frisk said.

Undyne grinned and waved her along. She turned and kicked a large plastic tub out of the way, and it slammed into the wall and stuck. Frisk watched her with a sense of relief growing in her. 

“So, um, Undyne?” she asked. “You’re just… okay with this?”

“Okay with what?” she asked.

“Um… S-Suddenly knowing who I am and stuff?”

Undyne shrugged. “Sure. Instant friend. I’m into it,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s weird as hell, but… that stuff’s real, right?”

Frisk nodded, and Undyne grinned. 

“Well, I don’t totally get it, but I’m okay with this,” she said. “And you really can break the barrier without dying, can’t you? So that’s a bonus.”

Frisk sighed with relief. “Th-Thanks, Undyne. I, um… I really missed you and stuff.”

“Pffft, hah, don’t get all sappy on me,” she said, but her cheeks flushed a little. “I’m not sure how it all works, but I missed you, too.”

She took her hand again and helped her out of the water and onto dry land as they got to the end of the dump. Frisk shivered. Undyne snickered.

“Let’s get you a towel or something, sheesh. We’re almost at my place. Remember that?”

“Y-Yeah.” 

Undyne’s house was in a little cove just off the main path, a little to the north of where they came out of the watery trash heap. It, too, looked like a fish monster. The doorway opened sliding up and down, like the teeth of a beast.

It was sort of surreal to see Undyne in full armour stomping around the rather pastel, modern interior of her home. She wiped her boots on one of her purple rugs and then went to her bedroom at the back of the house. She carried out a sofa over her shoulder and tossed Frisk a towel.

The kid fumbled with it and dried her face and hair, but it didn’t help much. The rest of her was still soaking. Undyne slammed the sofa down on an empty purple carpet in front of her piano, and then shot Frisk a concerned frown. 

“Need something to change into?” she asked. “I might have some junk somewhere. Might take me some time to find, though. Might be a bit big.”

“I’d, uh… I’d r-really appreciate it, actually,” Frisk said, but something pinged in her mind— laundry. “Oh. Oh, crap.”

“What?” Undyne said.

Frisk hurried for the door again. “I… I gotta go find Sans and Papyrus.”

“Oh. Sure,” she said. “Just lemme get outta my armour and I’ll join you soon, alright?”

“Th-Thanks,” Frisk said gratefully.

She rushed back outside, but didn’t have a clue where to look. She headed back out onto the main road. She walked west, but realized rather quickly that that was a dead end, and much closer to the way out of Waterfall than she wanted to be. A quick walk in the other direction and she realized that it was too far away. She sighed. There was a tear in time here, glittering, so she supposed it was probably a good idea to use it. The warmth in the light made pain in her cuts and shoulder begin to subside. She bit her lip and folded her arms, and pressed up against a wall.

Her ears soon pricked to a distant sound. A voice, maybe? Kind of low. Familiar. She hopped off the wall quickly and listened more closely. It was far, and she couldn’t pinpoint it, but it sounded a bit like Sans. She thought she heard her name. Frisk gulped and hurried to try to get a little closer to the voice. She could soon make out words, despite the distance. 

“Kid? …Hey, kiddo? Answer me, huh? You’re, uh, startin’ to freak me out.” He actually sounded pretty worried.

“Sans?” she called.

“Kiddo?”

She looked around, but didn’t see him. He still sounded like he was far away.

“Bro, where the heck are you?” she said.

“Forget that, where are you?” he asked. 

He was right, that made a lot more sense.

“I’m just on the path near Undyne’s house!” she said. “Just a bit south!”

She heard footsteps approaching and turned to look, and was quickly squished into a hug. 

“There you are,” Sans said. “Damn, kid, you had me worried.”

“I’m sorry!” she said. “I’m okay.”

He pulled back, holding her by the shoulders, and looked her up and down. “Heh. Welp. You look pretty alive. Did you get away, or—?”

“No way, Undyne actually totally remembered me!” Frisk said brightly.

Sans grinned. “You are one lucky kid. And… a super damp kid. You didn’t cry _that_ much, did you?”

“Wh-What? No!” she protested. “Sans!”

He grinned even wider and shoved his hands into his pockets. “So, where is she?”

“She’s ditching her armour, I think,” she said. “Where’s Papyrus?”

“Dunno, actually.” He pulled out her phone, then stared at it blankly for a moment and handed it to her. 

She dialled quickly.

“Hello! You’ve reached the great Papyrus!” he answered a ring away from immediately. “Who is speaking?”

“Hey, Papyrus, it’s me,” Frisk said.

“FRISK! Oh thank god, are you alright?! You didn’t get stabbed, did you? Is Sans with you? Where are you?”

“I’m fine! Sans’s with me, and we’re at Undyne’s place,” she said.

“Oh. OH! Okay! Did it work?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said.

“Fantastic! I knew it would, of course! Thank you for trusting me! Though I’m sorry you fell down that ridiculous drop into wherever you ended up.”

“It’s fine,” she assured him. “See you soon?”

“Yes, of course! I’ll be right there! Okay love you bye!!!”

“I should probably find my phone,” Sans said as Frisk hung up.

“Yes please!” she said.

“Do it, dork!” Undyne said loudly. She walked up to meet them. Out of her armour, Undyne barely looked any smaller. She wore a black sleeveless tee and jeans, her huge arms showing off a plethora of old scars. She was smiling wide with those big, pointed teeth of hers. “Every time I’m up too late and start thinking dumb stuff is funny and I want to text you a bad joke, I have to send it to Papyrus and he just replies with screaming. How’s it going?”

“Good,” Sans said, grinning. “Thanks for not stabbin’ my frickin’ kid on sight this time, ‘preciate it.”

Frisk couldn’t contain a smile and she hugged onto his arm as Undyne laughed.

“Right, sorry about…” Undyne’s eye went wide and she pointed at Sans. “DUDE! HOLY CRAP!”

He raised his brows and and she grinned brightly.

“DUDE! That fight, though?!” she said. “I didn’t know you could—! I mean, you blocked, like, _everything_, that was fantastic! We should totally train together!!”

“Uhh…” He smiled awkwardly. “Not sure it’s really my thing.”

“Come on!” Undyne insisted. “You need to at least show me your stuff sometime. Oh, man, that’s confusing, because I…” She suddenly looked shocked. Her gaze turned on the shivering girl. “Oh, crap, squirt, I’m sorry. Jeez, I didn’t even give you a chance.”

“H-Hey, that’s okay,” Frisk assured her quickly. She sniffled. 

Sans laughed. “Guess I don’t need to tell you to _chill out_ this time, huh?” he said. “Yo, Undyne. Got anything to dry the kid with? She’s pretty cool in all the wrong ways,”

“Oh! Right, yeah!” She scooped Frisk up and dashed back towards the house.

Before she knew it, Frisk was plopped into Undyne’s bathroom in the back of the house, through the bedroom, with a pile of clothes she had set out for her. Monsters had no need for toilets, making the clean, cool room with miscellaneous, mismatched fish tiles in the walls a very literal bath room. In fact, the tub and shower a took up about half of it and was ringed by a big, colourful curtain. She took a quick shower and changed shorts and into one of Undyne’s old sleeveless tees, which was all she really seemed to have, and hung her own stuff up to dry. She felt bad about the tears in Sans’s clothes, and the bit of blood that shone through the t-shirt pretty clearly.

Finally somewhat warm and only a little damp, she headed out, cautiously covering the worst shoulder wound with her hand and trying hard not to look conspicuous. Almost instantly, Undyne grabbed her and dumped her on a sofa near her piano and dropped a huge, shark-patterned duvet over her. 

“YEAH! Okay! Stay cozy, you dork!” she said. “Tea? Tea. Alright. Sans, tea?”

“Sure,” he said.

“Okay! Dry that nerd!” She tossed a towel that smacked Sans in the face and bounded over to the stove to boil some water in a kettle. 

Sans put the towel on Frisk’s head, and she tried to dry her hair a little more.

“Dude, this is nuts, right?!” Undyne said. “I’m actually getting kind of hyped! Oh man, I can’t wait to tell Alphys!”

There was a sudden banging on the door.

“CAPTAIN UNDYNE? HELLO?” Papyrus called.“YOU IN THERE? IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

“YEAH, GET IN HERE, PUNK!” Undyne shouted back.

Papyrus burst in; as soon as he got a glimpse of the room, he relaxed and his face brightened. “Oh! Everyone’s here! Hello, brother! Frisk! Undyne!”

Frisk waved. 

“Yo!” Undyne said. “Tea, right?!”

“I’d love some!” he said brightly, and he hurried to the sofa and squished Frisk and Sans into a hug. “Good work, everyone! Even you, Sans, look at you, getting the job done!”

“Job?” Sans said, plopping onto the sofa beside Frisk.“If I’d known it was work, I wouldda asked for more breaks.”

Papyrus scoffed. “As if you need them. Frisk, you’re all shaky again!”

“I’m okay,” she assured him.

Sans grinned and pulled more of the blanket up to drop over her head. She laughed.

“Just wait for the tea, it fixes everything,” Undyne announced proudly. “Trust me! I’m the Captain of the Royal Guard, after all, I know what I’m talking about.”

“Oh! Oh, Undyne, that, um… That reminds me,” Papyrus said, walking up to her and tenting his fingers. “I… I think I may have to renege on this whole Royal Guard business until killing Frisk isn’t on the agenda anymore. I would still really love to train with you, though!”

“Hey. That’s okay,” she said. “No problem. We probably won’t even need a Royal Guard for much longer.”

“Huh?! What, why?!”

Undyne turned to him and grinned. “Because, we’re getting out! That barrier’s comin’ down, baby, and we are gonna be FREE!”

“You remember that?!” Papyrus asked.

“Well, not the actually _out_ part, but I know it’s gonna happen!” she said.

“Yes!” Papyrus said. “Frisk’s going to help everyone!”

Undyne beamed and grabbed him into a hug and lifted him straight off his feet. Papyrus’s face flushed.

“We’ll get to see the sun! And the ocean!” she said.

“And fast cars!” he added. “And a real night sky!”

“And all the anime humans have ever made!”

They laughed and Undyne spun Papyrus around the room before throwing him onto the sofa and punching the air.

“I’M PUMPED!” she said.

“I’m r-really glad,” Frisk said.

Undyne beamed. She turned back to check on the kettle. She cranked up the heat on the stovetop, scowling at the steam coming from the spout. 

“Almost done,” she said. “I’m actually kind of surprised to see you three all hanging around out here, though. Seems different. What gives?”

“We wanted to help, of course!” Papyrus said. “You probably noticed that weird glow on Frisk, right? And then you remembered you were friends.”

“Oh. Actually, yeah, now that you mention it,” Undyne said.

“Weelllll, Sans and I, we know all about that! It’s some weird magic that breaks weird timeline barriers or something. And it’s always much better to be friends than not, so we wanted to help Frisk get to you. Plus how is she going to help save the world if you are constantly trying to—”

“Make Friskabobs!” Frisk said.

Sans started laughing. Undyne tried not to and Papyrus covered his grin with a scowl.

“Pfffft, nice reuse,” Sans said.

“She didn’t hear it before,” Frisk protested.

“No, no, it’s fine. It’s good.”

“Frisk, are you sure you should be so flippant about your own death?” Papyrus asked.

“Bro, I gotta, or I’ll go totally nuts,” she said. “Do you know how many times I’ve died? Too frickin’ many, that’s how many.”

“I hear that,” Sans said, nodding.

“So, wait, you guys, you were all just… conspiring so the kid and I would be friends again?” Undyne said.

“Yes, absolutely,” Papyrus. “Pretty clever, right?”

“Oooh, so that’s why you were acting way weirder than usual,” she laughed. She dumped the water into mugs with teabags quickly. “Sugar. Sugar. A lot of sugar. No sugar.” She tossed the bags and passed out the teas accordingly. “There we go.”

“Th-Thanks, Undyne.” Frisk sipped the hot, mildly sweet, floral tea quickly— it did help. “It’s great.”

“Nice,” Sans said. “Now maybe we can take care of that shoulder?”

“What?!” Frisk yelped. “How did you—?”

“You flinched when I grabbed you,” he said. “And your stuff was ripped. And I got your blood on me. And I saw it when you came out.”

“Aw sheesh.”

“Let me see, let me—” Papyrus moved her blanket and his eyes went wide. “OH WOW THAT’S WAY MORE BLOOD THAN I EXPECTED.”

“WHAT?!” Undyne barked. She was crouched on the arm of the sofa in an instant, glaring as Papyrus lifted the kid straight out of the blankets and held her aloft. “Holy crap, kid! Why didn’t you tell me I—?! Jeez, I’m sorry!!!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Frisk protested. “It doesn’t hurt, it—”

Papyrus ignored her, sat cross-legged to plop her in his lap, and tossed his mitts aside. “Never fear, human, I’m more than happy to heal you again!”

“I’m sorry, I just don’t want to be trouble,” she said.

“What a silly thing to say,” he said. He gently pressed the tips of his finger bones against the wound and his eyes and hand lit up with magic.

“Dude, she’s a human, does that even work?” Undyne asked.

“Of course it does, why wouldn’t it?” Papyrus asked. “It is a tiny bit slow because I’m new to this, but I’m sure with a bit more practice I’ll be able to patch up any human in no time at all! Now just sit tight, your awesome big brother Papyrus has this handled!”

Undyne’s brow furrowed. She looked at Sans with confusion. He shrugged. Frisk yawned as that familiar, relaxing feeling started to settle in.

“Thanks, Paps,” she said quietly.

Papyrus grinned brightly. 

“Hey, since you guys are here, you wanna chill and watch a movie or whatever?” Undyne asked. “I can drag the TV out or something.”

Sans stuck his thumb up, but he looked half asleep just thinking about it. 

“Great idea, Undyne!” Papyrus said. “That reminds me, actually!” He pulled— from somewhere— the movie he had borrowed and handed it to her. “Thank you for lending this to me.”

“Oh, uh… No problem?” She gave him an awkward smile. “Did… Did you like it?”

“Ah, um… well, we actually didn’t get through very much because… Uh… Because—”

“I got scared,” Frisk said. “I made him turn it off.”

“Pffft, of what part?!” Undyne scoffed.

“The murderer man,” she said. “And I didn’t like seeing the skeleton get all smacked around.”

“It was so fake though.”

“I’m a little kid!” she protested.

Undyne laughed. “Okay, okay, nothing even a little scary for you. I’ll go see what else I got. Um… Hey, Sans, maybe you can veto?”

“Uh…” He looked a little confused, but she glared and he got to his feet. “Sure.”

She smiled hopped off the arm of the sofa and went back to her bedroom. Papyrus looked at her with surprise.

“F-Frisk…!” he squeaked.

“Shh, it’s a secret,” she laughed.

\- - -

Undyne was clearly on edge when she closed the door, and she whirled on Sans with a frown on her face.

“Guess this isn’t about movies?” he said.

“No. What the hell is going on?” she asked. “The squirt said you could explain best.”

Sans laughed. “Dang it, kid. Probably true? I’ll definitely use the least words.”

“SANS!” Undyne took a deep breath. “Sorry. Okay, short version?”

“It’s going to sound crazy at first,” he warned.

“I don’t care,” she said.

“Okay. Frisk time travels. What you remember are Frisk’s first times trying to break the barrier and save everyone. The extra feelings and everything, that’s new. Frisk’s last time, we got out,” he said. “We lived on the surface for a year or somethin’ before things went bad and she had to try to fix them. We don’t remember the year, but we still feel it. There’s more but that should, uh, make things a little less confusin’? I’d rather not get into the details until we get Alphys on board because I hate explainin’ things.” He shrugged. 

Undyne gawked. “Time travel,” she repeated.

“Yup,” Sans said.

“So… So, all those times with the déjà vu, where I felt like we’d fought before, we really had and—?”

“Yeah. You should remember it all pretty clear now, though, right?” he asked.

“I do! Like, dozens of times, and… Oh, jeez.” She rubbed her head. “I… I stabbed the shit outta her, dude.”

“Don’t worry. She doesn’t care,” Sans said.

“And you’re telling me that we’re all missing a WHOLE YEAR?!” she demanded. “And she had to undo it because something screwed up?!”

Sans nodded. Undyne pointed at the door.

“But she still has the year,” she said. “She remembers everything.”

He nodded again. She put her hand to her head.

“Holy shit,” she said.

“Yup,” Sans said.

Undyne rubbed her brow, frowned into the carpet, and then let out a sigh. “Okay. Okay, I’ll deal,” she said. “It’s fine. This is fine. For that kid’s sake, I’ll be fine.”

“Thanks,” Sans said. “She, uh… She’s still kind of a wreck about it. Paps and I have been doin’ our best, but I know it’s not quite the same.”

“Oh. So… So Papyrus, he knows, then?” Undyne said.

Sans nodded. She sighed again, and then chuckled.

“I grabbed you in here because I thought this would freak him out!” she said.

“Heh. Good job on the pointless subterfuge,” Sans said with a wink.

Undyne laughed again and lightly bonked him on the head. “Yo, you gonna help me find a movie or not?!”

\- - -

Sans slept through the barely PG-rated action flick, as expected, even as Undyne and Papyrus shrieked and cheered and laughed along with it. Frisk was getting groggy, especially with that healing magic knitting her skin back together, but she was really happy, too. The noise made her feel so much closer to home. She started to relax and fell asleep before she knew it.

Papyrus didn’t actually notice he was done until the movie had finished and long after the kid had fallen asleep. “Oh! Hey, human, you’re okay now! Uh… F… Frisk? Oh.” He laughed. “No wonder Sans likes you.”

Undyne snickered and leaned a little closer over her to look at her curiously. “Sheesh,” she said, “for something so dangerous, she’s pretty cute, huh?”

“I don’t know, I don’t think she’s all that dangerous,” Papyrus said.

Undyne got up, stretching her arms high above her head, and then cracked her neck. She watched him absently petting the girl’s head. “You, um… You really like her, huh?”

“Oh, yes, very much so,” Papyrus said. “We’re family. S… Sister. Yes. Yes, that sounds right.” He grinned brightly. “It might seem strange, but it feels like she’s been here forever already.”

Undyne nodded. She grabbed a couple things from around the room and sat down to scribble on a piece of paper.

“Yo, Papyrus,” she said. “Can you do me a solid?”

“Of course, anything you need!” he assured her.

She came back over and held out a letter in a neat, clean envelope. “There’s two guards in Hotland, usually patrolling just a little northwest of the Lab. Can you give them this for me? New orders. It’s very important.”

“Sure thing, Captain, no problem!” He got up, took the envelope, and saluted. “Thank you for entrusting me with something like this! You will not regret it! Nyeh heh heh heh!” He gently propped Frisk up against Sans before marching quickly out the front door.

Undyne stood, thoughtful, for a moment, watching Frisk snooze. There was that soul— that _final_ soul— humming so close. It felt surreal. She huffed out a sigh. She knelt down and shook the kid’s shoulders. She opened her eyes groggily, blinked, and then looked surprised.

“Oh no, did I fall asleep? I’m sorry!” she said.

“Nah, no problem,” Undyne said. “I was wondering, you wanna come with me for a second?”

Frisk nodded and slipped off the couch, and followed her out to the front of the house. 

Undyne folded her arms. She looked thoughtful. “You know,” she said, “I sent Papyrus off for a bit. It wouldn’t be hard at all to take your soul right this second. But you came out here anyway.”

“Uh…” Frisk stared at her blankly. “Yeah. We’re friends. Right?”

Undyne smiled. “Yeah. Weird, huh? Thanks for trustin’ me after what I did,” she said. “Oh. Shit. That was a really sinister way of saying that, wasn’t it? Hah. Sorry.”

Frisk snickered. “That’s okay.”

“I guess, the reason I really wanted to talk to you out here is because I can never tell if Sans is actually asleep or not? And… And this is kind of embarrassing, but—”

“Hey, it’s okay, you got to see me being a gross crying trash mess, I’m sure it’s not nearly as embarrassing as that,” Frisk assured her.

“Hah. Okay,” Undyne said. “I, um… I want to know… I mean. Okay. So since your magic, or whatever the hell that is, got me, I, like, remember how I feel about you, right? But also about some other stuff, too. And I was wondering, uh… does… does Alphys…?”

Frisk tilted her head as Undyne struggled to find the words. 

“Okay. Shit. I’m just gonna have to come out and say it,” she said. “I frickin’ love Alphys. Right? Okay. So… does…? Does she feel the same? Are we together? Like, it’s kinda driving me nuts.”

“Oh jeez,” Frisk said. “W-Well… I haven’t seen her yet. So if… if that’s how the magic stuff worked on you, I’m sure that’s how it’ll be for her, too! And anyways, she totally loves you no matter what. So… So I hope you don’t worry.”

“Oh. Good.” Undyne sighed and laughed. “Thanks, squirt, that helps. Sans sort of told me just the basics of what’s going on, and… So. I mean. You… time travel, then?”

“Y… Yeah,” she said.

“Is that a human thing or—?”

“No. No, just… Just a Frisk thing,” she said bashfully.

“But I’m remembering all your time travel stuff,” Undyne insisted.

Frisk nodded.

“Okay. Okay. Cool. Weird. But cool,” she said. “Hey, thanks for not doing anything weird and screwy with it around me, huh?”

“Yeah! Of course,” Frisk assured her quickly. “That’s… I mean. I just wanted it to be okay for everyone.”

“Oh. Well. That’s good,” Undyne said. “One more thing?”

“Yeah, of course,” Frisk assured her.

“Could I, uh…?” She looked just a hair away from embarrassed. “Can I, like, stick my hand on your face again?”

Frisk shrugged. “Sure?”

Undyne grinned and then knelt down to her level. Cautiously, she cupped this kid’s face, and that blue glow started up again, brighter than before. Undyne stared for a while, her eye seeming to glaze, and then she winced.

“Crap. Does that hurt you?” she asked.

“No,” Frisk said.

“Frickin’ stings.” Undyne laughed to herself and pulled away. “I think I saw something. It was kind of like a dream.”

“You did? What was it?” Frisk asked quickly. 

Undyne grinned. “I think it was a beach,” she said. She started to laugh and she scooped Frisk up, giving her a noogy.

“No no no no, aaaah, my brains!” Frisk wailed.

Undyne guffawed and she hugged her tight. Frisk grabbed her around the shoulders and laughed, too. 

“Thanks for this,” Undyne said.

When they went back inside, both of them were surprised to find Sans gone, but a note left in his place.

“What the heck?! How did he…?! How the hell did he sneak past us?!” Undyne barked.

Frisk was a little surprised she didn’t know, but she guessed it wasn’t something he just told everyone. He hated explaining things. She smiled and shrugged, but went for the note.

_brb gone 2 snowdin i 4got somethin_

_kid i took ur phone sry call if u need stuff_

_ l8r_

_ ps undyne thx 4 babysitting plz dont sit on my kid tho its just an xpression_

Sans’s handwriting was terrible. Undyne leaned over Frisk and squinted at the note, frowning. 

“What the hell does that even…?” She took the note and looked at it closer. “Oh for god’s sake, Sans.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Frisk said quickly, “I can find my way home if you—”

“Not that,” Undyne laughed. “Dude, his handwriting, honestly.” She shook her head, but she smiled. “Don’t worry, squirt, I wouldn’t kick you out. Hey! I’m kinda in the mood for more tea, you want some? I’ll show you how to make mine.”She grinned proudly and put her thumb to her chest. “I’m second only to Asgore when it comes to this stuff. What d’you say?”

Frisk’s face lit up. “I’d love to.”

“Alright! I’ll get you a chair!” Undyne grinned, big and bright. “LET’S DO THIS!”

\- - -

Things were kind of quiet back in town. It felt a little strange, now, to have any sort of silence. It wasn’t an uncomfortable quiet, though, not like days Sans had seen in other times. It was just that, all of a sudden, he wasn’t used to it. Strange how one weird, sweet little kid could shift things around so much, and so quickly.

At a lazy pace, Sans strolled the main street, heading towards the inn from Grillby’s when he heard hurried feet crunching through the snow in his direction.

“Hey! Hey, wait up!” 

He knew the voice. Sans turned to see Kid running at him with wide eyes. He was sort of surprised. Must’ve come straight back from Waterfall. He looked a little flushed; panicked.

“You’re… You’re… Frisk’s, um…” He looked confused. “She called you her brother…?”

“Yup,” he said.

“A-Are you really her—?”

“Yup,” he said again.

“B-But, she really is a…?” He lowered his voice. “She really is a human, though, isn’t she?”

Sans shrugged and nodded. Kid bit his lip.

“D-Do you happen to know, is…? Is she okay? Undyne didn’t beat her up, did she?”

“Chill out,” Sans told him, but his smile was sympathetic. “She’s fine.”

“Y-Yeah?!” Kid demanded.

Sans nodded.

“S-So… So she won’t go to the capital, then?” he asked. “She’s gonna come back, right?”

“Oh yeah, absolutely,” he said. “She lives here.”

“Y… Yeah.” Kid started to smile. “Th… Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“Uh, sure, pal, no problem,” Sans said.

Kid ran off in a hurry. He tripped. Sans winced, but the little monster was up again in seconds, racing off with a bounce in his step.

Sans continued on to the inn, where he picked up a bag of laundry from the rabbit woman behind the counter.Hadn’t done it in a couple weeks, but with Frisk consistently getting covered in weird gunk, he figured it was about time. 

Back in the house, he tossed the bag on Papyrus’s bed. He usually complained, but he knew he loved organizing that stuff. 

He grabbed some stuff from the kitchen, ramen mostly, and put it in a bag to stash in his ribcage. He checked the time. Mid afternoon, around four, probably. Maybe the timing would work out.

He shifted himself in space and looked up at the huge, solid door to the Ruins. It was strange how normal it looked. It seemed like it had never even opened at all. He knocked on the stone. He waited for a little, and then knocked again. 

“Knock knock,” he said.

“…Who is there?” asked a familiar voice.

Sans grinned. “Etch.”

“Etch who?” Toriel said.

“Gesundheit.”

She started to laugh. “Oh! Oh goodness. I hadn’t expected that. I have one for you as well!”

“Oh yeah?” He leaned his back against the door. “Hit me.”

“Why did the skeleton want a friend?” she asked.

“I dunno, why?” he said.

“Because he was feeling _bonely_.”

“Heh. Good one,” Sans said.

“I’m glad you liked it. I’m also very glad you showed up,” she said. “I actually have a question for you. It may be a little strange, perhaps, but…”

“No worries,” he said. “Shoot.”

“Have… Have you seen a young human out there, by any chance?” she asked. “She would be small. W-With brown hair, and… wearing blue and pink?” Her voice was quiet, trembling a little. 

Sans felt a sting of sympathy, but he was actually glad she asked. “Yeah.”

“Ah. And… And… do you happen to know, if she is—”

“She’s fine. Don’t worry,” he said. “She’s stayin’ with my brother and me.”

“Oh…! She is, is she?” Her tone lifted instantly. “And you, may I ask? Are you a skeleton?”

“Yup,” he said.

“Oh thank goodness,” she said. “She… She called me, told me she was with a skeleton who told jokes, and I could only hope that—”

“Hey. Don’t worry,” he said. “You’re who she calls _mom_, huh? She’s a sweet kid. Paps is basically her big brother already. No one’s gonna hurt her with him around.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” she said softly. “I… I still wish she had not decided to leave, but… I’m glad she’s with someone like you.”

He smiled. “Yeah, well… I’ll do my best. Promised I would, right? Hey. Got another joke.”

“Alright?”

“Okay,” he said, “it’s a knock knock joke. But you gotta start it.”

“Knock knock,” she said.

“Who’s there?” he asked.

There was silence for a little while and Sans grinned wide. She started snickering, louder and louder, until she was howling with laughter. He beamed. He wished he could have seen the look on her face.


	15. The Friend-Finding Arc

“CRANK THAT HEAT, KID!”

Frisk stared at the stove. She had flashbacks of fire. She hesitantly turned up the heat under the kettle, just a bit higher than she thought was safe, until it started to rattle. Beside her, Undyne smacked their mugs back onto the counter, but she was delicate with the teabags; little pouches filled with dried flower petals and some light green leaves. They looked handmade, despite coming out of a generic-looking box.

“Do humans drink a lot of tea?” Undyne asked. 

“I think so,” Frisk said.

“You?”

“Actually,” Frisk said, “yours was the first I ever tried.”

Undyne’s eye went wide. “SERIOUSLY?!” she barked. 

Frisk nodded. Undyne’s scales flushed a little darker on her face.

“Wow. I made your first cup of tea.” She sounded kind of awed. “That’s… That’s a lot of responsibility. And you like it, though, right?”

“Mhm!” Frisk smiled. “Yeah, it’s great. It’s my favourite one.”

Undyne beamed. “Damn, squirt, you kinda just made my day. Okay! Bit more on that water!”

Frisk bit her lip but turned it up until it sounded like it was bubbling almost out of the kettle. Undyne _whooped_ and whisked it from the burner, and quickly poured the water into both mugs. Just as quickly, Frisk turned the stove off

“Now,” she said, “this is the secret. Timing. You can only leave the flowers in the water jussst until it settles, and then…” She yanked the teabags out.

Frisk ducked and they flew across the room. 

“Hah! There were go. It gets strong really quick, so that should be just enough.” She grabbed the sugar and put one spoon in each mug and stirred. “To tell you the truth, my mix is still a bit off. One day I’ll make one just like Asgore’s. It’s been my goal for a long time!”

Frisk smiled as Undyne passed her a mug. She blew on the tea and took a small sip. Undyne stared at her expectantly

“It’s really good, though,” she said.

Undyne laughed and grabbed both Frisk and the chair, and then put them back at the dining table. She sat across from them with her tea and took a small sip.

“You know,” she said, “Asgore basically, uh… Well, he took me in, when I was around your age. I trained to fight with him, right? Some days, after we were done, he would take me with him to show me his flowers. At first I thought it was boring, and I just went, you know, because he was already taking time out for me and letting me bum around in his house. It was the least I could do. But, soon, I really wanted to make tea just like he did. Funny, huh?”

“No, I think it’s nice,” Frisk assured her.

“Hah. Of course you would,” she said. “You’re a sap, like him. He’s really kind of like a dad, you know? A big, fuzzy, dopey dad.”

Frisk nodded. “Lucky,” she said brightly.

Undyne’s smile was a little sad. She sipped her tea. Frisk’s face fell.

“It must’ve been nice to have that,” she said.

“Heh. Yeah,” Undyne said. “I was an angry kid back then. I needed a huge dork like him. I’m really grateful to him, you know?” She smirked and sipped from her cup. “Look at me, gettin’ all sentimental over tea.”

“H-Hey, don’t worry,” she said. “I’m way worse, I’ve been crying over leftover spaghetti and pie since I got here!”

Undyne snickered, then gave her a sympathetic smile. She drummed her claws on the table and then got up. 

Frisk watched her as she rummaged around through a drawer on the kitchen counter. She returned with her cellphone and sat down again.

“What do you think?” she said. “Call Alphys?”

“R-Really?” Frisk asked.

Undyne shrugged and nodded. “Well, I need to talk to her, and I figure you do, too, right? Maybe we could invite her over? What d’you say? I mean, I’m supposed to meet her in a few hours anyway.”

“Th… That’d be great, actually,” she said. “Oh man, I hope this works.”

“What, you think it might not?” she said.

“I guess it depends if I start glowing or not,” Frisk said. “B-But… I think I will.”

“Let’s find out,” Undyne said.

She quickly dialled Alphys’s number, put her phone on speaker, and then put it in the middle of the table. They listened eagerly as the phone rang a few times. Then, there was a quiet _click_ and a strange breathing noise.

“H-Hello?” Alphys stammered.

“Hey Alphys, how’s it going?” Undyne said, her ear-fins perking.

“Undyne?! Oh th-thank god, where are you?” she asked. “I… I couldn’t s-see your fight with the human and I… I didn’t s-see anyone in Waterfall for a l-long time! I was worried.”

“Oh. No, no, it’s all cool,” Undyne said. “I’m at home. I actually have the human with me right now.”

“Wh-What!?” Alphys squawked. “I-Is she, um… I mean… The f-fight, how did it—?”

“It wasn’t really a fight,” Undyne said. “Fell off a thing. Ended up hugging. Don’t worry, the squirt’s not like the others, she’s not dangerous.”

“Hi, Alphys!” Frisk said brightly.

“O-Oh my g-god, is that h-her?!” Alphys asked shrilly. “Um! Um, hello! Hi! W-Wow, I’ve n-never… Um… Undyne, is everything o-okay?”

“Oh, yeah, don’t worry,” she said. “Stuff is weird but we’re all fine over here. The human wants to meet you.”

“Wh… Wh-What?” Alphys stammered.

“Yeah! So, come over and stuff. You got time today?”

“Y-Yeah! Um… Okay! S-Sure! Oh w-wow. Okay, I’ll…! I’ll come now! Okay! S-See you soon!”

Alphys hung up and Undyne grinned.

“And there we go,” she said as she pocketed her phone. “Not so hard. Sheesh, I feel kind of bad, though, she was so worried.”

“Other humans have come down here, right?” Frisk asked. “Was that really bad? Is that why?”

“Yeah. Some of the time it was _really_ bad,” Undyne admitted. “You gotta understand, kid, humans souls are way stronger than ours. It can be pretty easy for any human, especially a determined one, or a really hateful one, to kill a monster. Doesn’t seem fair, but that’s just the way it goes. There’ve been some humans that came here that weren’t bad, kind of like you, but that’s from before my time. The most recent one actually killed some monsters before we stopped them. That’s, uh… That’s how I lost my eye.”

“That’s awful,” Frisk said. “I’m sorry.”

Undyne shrugged. She pointed at her face. “I dunno, I think it looks pretty cool!” she said with a big grin.

Frisk couldn’t help a smile. “That’s true. But you’re always cool.”

Undyne grinned even wider. She took a moment to sip her tea. Her expression softened.

“You know, kid,” she said, “this is a heck of a lot easier.”

Frisk nodded enthusiastically.

“So, I heard this right, right?” Undyne said. “Frisk? That’s your name?”

Frisk nodded again. Undyne smiled.

“It’s weird. When I remembered you, I remembered… a lot. Of how we were friends. Like, real close, huh? But not your name. Hope that doesn’t bum you out.”

“Dude, no way, Papyrus is my brother and even he didn’t remember it either,” Frisk said, and she smiled bashfully. “It’s my fault, I was never used to meeting people, so it always slipped my mind to tell people my name.”

Undyne chuckled and grinned. She held her cup and stared at the table thoughtfully.

“Your brother, huh?” she said.

Frisk’s cheeks flushed a little and she nodded. Undyne laughed.

“That explains a lot,” she said. “That’s nice. Paps probably really digs the opportunity to be someone’s big brother. You’re happy with ‘em, huh?”

“Super happy,” Frisk said.

\- - -

“You’re SURE this is from Undyne?” One of two guards in huge, dark, metal armour, with long rabbit ears peeking out of the top, stared at Papyrus intently while the other quietly reread the note. 

The tall skeleton rolled his eyes and tapped his boot impatiently on the red stone beneath. “As I’ve told you, YES, Captain Undyne gave it to me herself!” he said. “She said to give it to you two. She said it was very important!”

“But, like, it says to call off the search?” the guard said, and he turned to the other guard beside him. “Yo, bro, this seem legit to you?”

The other guard remained silent, but he folded the note gently and passed it to his counterpart. He shrugged.

“Un. Be. Lievable,” Papyrus said. “Why would Undyne personally ask me to deliver fake orders to you?! Look. Just look at it. She wrote it, she signed it, it’s on her paper and everything!”

“Huh, that’s true, it is totally on the fish paper,” the guard muttered. 

“Hey. Sup?”

Papyrus turned as Sans wandered up casually, hands in his pockets.

“Oh, hi, Sans,” the guard said; the other one waved shyly. “What do you, like, make of this?” He showed him the note.

“Oh come ON!!!” Papyrus cawed.

“Uhh, yup, that sure is a letter,” Sans said.

“Legit?” the guard asked.

“Yeah, totally. Look, she called you chowderheads and everything, sounds just like her,” Sans said.

The guard nodded. He gave Papyrus a thumbs-up. “Alright, thanks, dude, we’re gonna go on break.” He nudged the other guard with his elbow and they marched off along a cliffside path, towards one of the steam puzzles that lead back onto the main trackways of Hotland.

Papyrus sighed with relief and then looked at Sans. “What are _you_ doing here?” 

His brother grinned and shrugged. “Dunno, thought I heard you were here. Goin’ back yet?”

“Yes! Definitely, let’s go,” Papyrus said.

There were disconnected pillars back the way they had to go, patterned with steam tiles that would bounce one safely between them— a strange, old combination of transport and puzzle. Papyrus scoffed.

“Oh my god, I’m glad we don’t live in Hotland,” he said.

“Oh, yeah, absolutely,” Sans agreed.

Papyrus scooped Sans up over his shoulder and bounced around the panels. When he landed back on the path and went to put Sans down, the short skeleton was half-asleep already.

“Sans!” he said. “Come on, you can’t fall asleep now!”

“Heh, sorry, bro,” he said, rubbing his groggy eyes. “Alright. Goin’?”

“Yes! Okay!” Papyrus lead the way confidently. “Ugh, I do sort of still wish I could be a Royal Guard, though, if only for a few days! Did you hear those two?”

“Chill,” Sans said with a laugh. “They just don’t know you, that’s all. If they did, they’d see how cool you are.”

“I know, right?!” he said. 

He looked thoughtful for a few moments. He rubbed the back of his skull. “Hey, Sans?” he asked. “There was some part of time somewhere where I was a Royal Guard, wasn’t there?”

“Yup.”

“But Asgore was gone. That was bad. But we had a queen. Toriel, right?” he said.

“Yup,” Sans said again.

“That’s who Frisk called _mom_,” Papyrus continued, “but Frisk wasn’t there. Why wasn’t she there? I really missed her.”

“Oh. She got stuck outside,” he said. “She told me that flower guy stole the human souls and tried to fight her, but she beat him. She woke up out on the surface and had no idea where she was. She couldn’t find the way back.”

“Oh! Is that why she set time back again?” Papyrus asked.

“One of the reasons, yeah,” Sans said.

“She didn’t want to be on the surface?” he asked with surprise.

Sans shook his head. “Nah. She told me she only ever left Toriel’s to begin with because of some dreams and a ghost, or somethin’? And then she decided she’d try to break the barrier after just sort of gettin’ to know people and seein’ how much everyone wanted it, I guess.”

“Really?! That all sounds rather dramatic,” Papyrus said. “Strange that we all want very much to go to the surface but she did not actually want that even though she came from there.”

“Surface didn’t matter to her. You mattered. She’d never want to be there without you,” Sans said.

“I would not want to be there without me either. That is very sweet. Huh. I wonder why she never told me about this.” His eyes went wide. “You don’t think she didn’t trust me, do you?!”

“Dude, no,” Sans laughed. “That kid loves the heck outta you. But when she came back, I knew about her time travel junk, and she found out about mine, so it ended up bein’ me that she talked about that stuff with.”

“Ooooh, okay. I guess that’s fair,” he admitted. “Ugh, I wish I had known. Can you imagine?! If Frisk and I had worked together earlier?! That barrier would have been down in a day!”

“Heh. Welp. Good thing she has you now, right?” Sans said with a wink.

“Yes! Definitely!”

As they came upon the bridge that lead back to Waterfall, there was a sound of a hurried set of footsteps behind them, and a sort of wheezing noise.

“H-Hey, wait up! S-Sans, is that you?” Alphys, in a somewhat clean lab coat and clutching a blue shoulder bag covered in button pins with various cartoon characters and symbols on them, stumbled to catch up with them. Her cheek scales were flushed. 

“What’s up, Doc?” Sans said.

“O-Oh! It’s, uh…” She froze and then looked Papyrus up and down. “O-Oh, my god, you g-got really tall!”

“Oh-ho! Doctor Alphys!” he said brightly. “It’s good to finally meet you! Again. I think?” He looked at Sans with confusion. 

Alphys laughed awkwardly and she waved a hand dismissively. “Th-That’s okay if you don’t remember, I h-haven’t seen you since you were a little k-kid. U-Um, wh-what are you two doing out here?”

“Ah! I, the great Papyrus, was sent on a very important delivery run by Captain Undyne herself!” he said. “We’re heading back to see her right now!”

“O-Oh! Y-You are, huh?” She smiled awkwardly. “M-Me too! U-Um…” She shuffled in place. 

Sans grinned. “She invited you over?”

She nodded.

“Did you talk to the human, too?” he asked.

“Y-YES! Yes, sh-she said h-hello, and…! And…! And I should’ve had a shower, oh my g-god, I—”

“Don’t worry, Doctor, Frisk is used to all sorts of weird smells! She hangs out with Sans almost constantly, after all,” Papyrus said. “He smells consistently of melancholy and ketchup.”

“Kinda do,” Sans said. He tilted his head towards the bridge and they started to walk together.

“F… Frisk?” Alphys stammered. “Is that the human's name? Frisk?”

“Oh! Does it sound familiar?” Papyrus asked.

“N… No, not really,” Alphys said, frowning just a little. “It’s, uh… it’s kind of cute, though.”

“Oh…” Papyrus was trying hard not to look disappointed. He puffed out his chest to compensate. “Well, yes! The human is very cute! You’ll like her, I’m sure. That’s why you’re coming over, right?”

“Yeah,” Alphys said. “She w-wanted to meet me, I g-guess? Oh man…” She took a deep breath and then looked up at Papyrus with a smile. “S-So, um… Wh-What have you been up to? Oh! Oh, I’m s-sorry, that’s not a tall joke. I, uh… I j-just wouldn’t mind catching up? OH!! That’s not one either! I m-m-mean, uh, how are you doing, P-Papyrus?”

“You… You want to know about _me?_” Papyrus asked, eyes wide. “I mean, of course! Of course you do! I am, after all, the great Papyrus! Undyne’s most notable protégé!”

“Her only protégé,” Sans added with a grin.

“SANS!! Yes. That is technically true!” Papyrus said. “But that does not lessen the fact!”

“Y-Yeah! H-Honestly, I’ve heard a l-lot about you,” Alphys said.

Papyrus’s face lit up. Sans smiled and hung back.

“Yo, guys, I just realized I forgot somethin’ at home,” he said. “I’ll leave you to it, alright? Meet you at Undyne’s.”

“Of course! See you there, brother!” Papyrus said.

Alphys looked over her shoulder, confused, but he was already gone. “H-Hey, wait, isn’t your house back in Snowdin? Did he j-just…? Where’d he go?”

“Oh, don’t worry, he probably just took a shortcut,” Papyrus said dismissively. “I’ll tell you all about my training! And then you tell me all about those button things.”

\- - -

Loud, harsh piano notes were bouncing energetically around the cave walls around Undyne’s home by the time Sans got back. It was incoherent and if it were any louder, he was sure it would be making his bones rattle. He knocked on the door.

“COME IN, PUNK!” Undyne shouted over the noise.

Inside, the big blue monster was standing behind the piano, one foot up on the bench, her face alight. The banging on the keys stopped and Frisk leaned around the lid and instantly started grinning.

“Sans!” She hopped off the bench scampered over to hug him. “Undyne’s teaching me piano!”

“Oh yeah?” he said. “Couldda fooled me.”

“Pfft, why you gotta give me _treble_?” she asked.

Undyne smacked her brow with her hand, but Sans had to try hard to keep a relatively straight face.

“You know, piano can be a little tough, but I heard there’s a _key_ to figurin’ it out,” he said, “but it’d take more than a _minuet _to explain, and you know me, so…”

“Oh my god Sans,” Undyne grumbled.

Frisk, on the other hand, started grinning. “C… Couldn’t you write it out for me on a _note?_”

Sans started to beam and he lifted the kid up— she yelped with surprise, but quickly hugged him around the shoulders— and he started laughing. “Dang, kid, that was terrible. Good job. I’m proud.”

“Y-Yeah?!” she said.

“You guys are literally the biggest dorks I’ve ever seen,” Undyne said. She was still frowning a little, but she couldn’t stop the smile that was growing on her face.

“Really? I’d think literally we’d be the shortest dorks,” Sans said, letting Frisk down gently and mussing up her hair. “Or, alternatively, when’s the last time you saw Alphys?”

Now, Undyne laughed. She rubbed head. “Alright, alright, you got me,” she said. “Where the hell did you guys get all those music puns?”

“Sans loves music puns,” Frisk said, pointing at him. “Almost as much as skeleton puns! I learned them from him. Bonus points if they’re both. Have…? Have you not seen his trombone?”

“Oh, come on.” Undyne looked flabbergasted and she looked at Sans. “You don’t really have a—”

“Yup. Sure do.” He winked. “You should have seen Papyrus’s face when I picked it up. I thought his head’d catch on fire.”

“Oh. My. God. Sans.” Undyne rubbed her temples. “You two, holy crap. You are a bad influence on her, dude.”

“Tell me somethin’ I don’t know,” Sans joked. 

Undyne snickered as Frisk grabbed his arm and clung tightly to it. 

“Nooo, I need him, who else is gonna put up with me?” she whined.

Undyne shook her head and went for the counter again. “Tea, Sans? We just boiled the kettle a little while ago.”

“Sure. Thanks.”

“Undyne showed me how she makes tea, too,” Frisk said proudly, “and we didn’t even burn the house down!”

“Huh. Congrats,” he said.

The fish monster brought him another cup of tea, and then scooped Frisk up and brought her back to the piano bench before sitting on it beside her. “I got another thing. I just remembered. You ever do my piano puzzle?”

Frisk nodded. 

Undyne put her fingers on the keys, but was much more gentle with them as she played the first couple notes. She looked at Frisk. She copied her as best she could, poking each key gently. Sans wandered over to watch curiously as Undyne repeated it and added a few more notes. Again, Frisk copied her. Undyne smiled and used both hands, playing out the melody and adding a few more notes with her other hand. There was that song; the same one from the music box.

“Hey, that doesn’t sound like you’re trying to smash anyone with it,” Sans said.

“I know, right?!” Undyne said. “Asgore showed me this one. He had an old music box that plays it. It’s in that statue on the rainy path, have you seen it?”

Sans cast a worried look at Frisk. She gulped, but she nodded.

“Y-Yeah,” she said. “Can I try?

Undyne nodded and shuffled over a little. Frisk tried to remember where to put her fingers, and poked the keys slowly for the melody. She missed the mark a few times, but soon she could peck out that song she had come to know so well. Undyne’s face lit up and she carefully; slowly, she played the accompanying notes, until the song almost sounded like _something_. 

“Hey, lookit you, not too shabby for your first try!” Undyne said.

Frisk smiled. Undyne roughly tussled hair and then slammed onto the keys enthusiastically. The girl snickered and scooted to the side and out of the way. 

When she cast a look back at Sans, she was surprised to see that the magic in his left eye was glowing, but was mostly gold, rather than blue. She frowned with confusion. Nevertheless, he sipped his tea casually. Frisk leaned around the piano to follow his gaze— he was looking towards the window, but she couldn’t see anything. When she looked back at him, his eyes looked totally normal again. 

“Kid, I think there may be someone outside who wants a word with you,” he said. “And tell him Papyrus is busy, huh?”

It took Frisk a moment to catch on, but as soon as she did, she hurriedly slid off the bench. “Be right back,” she said quickly.

Undyne’s piano still boomed around the cavern, but Frisk kind of liked it. She looked around, trying to see any signs of Asriel at all. She almost never could, though, she wasn’t sure why she bothered.

“Hey, Asriel?” she said. “It’s okay to come out. Truce?”

After a few seconds of silence, Asriel poked his flower face out of the ground before her. “You think I’d actually care about a truce?”

“Well, not really, but I thought I’d offer,” Frisk said. “Good to see you.”

“Oh, gee, Frisk, didn’t know you were a dirty liar,” he said.

Frisk couldn’t help but laugh and she knelt down and poked him in the forehead. He recoiled instantly.

“That wasn’t very nice,” she said. “So, what’s up, why’d you come here?”

“You think I’d tell you?” he sneered.

“Well, yeah, you showed up,” she said. She took a seat on the ground and he let out a sigh.

“I was just trying to figure out what you losers are doing in there,” he said. “It’s different. I don’t get how the heck you’ve changed things this much, but you won’t tell me, I’m sure, so does it really matter?”

“Guess not,” Frisk said. “Hey, just so you know, Sans knows you’re talking with Papyrus again, so, you know, if you don’t wanna get wrecked, you might want to stay away.”

Asriel rolled his eyes. “Ugh, of course he knows.” He didn’t sound surprised in the least. “Doesn’t miss a thing, does he? So paranoid. He watches you, you know. All the time. Every step you make. Creepy.”

“No, not at all, I appreciate it,” Frisk said with a smile.

“Why? It’s not because he cares, it’s because he’s scared you’ll turn into me,” he said. “Or one of those other whatevers. A psycho. You think he trusts you? No way.”

“I think you’re pro… what’s the word?” she said. “Projecting?”

“What?” Asriel asked.

“Projecting. That’s when you say a thing about someone else that’s really not true, but it’s true about yourself. Papyrus does it a lot, but in a weird kind of friendly way? You’re just trying to hurt my feelings,” she said. “But they’re not hurt. So, you know. Sorry.”

Asriel opened his mouth to protest, but then frowned and pouted. “Shut up,” he grunted.

“Hey, you’re the one who’s been following _me,_” Frisk laughed. “So, what did you want, again?”

“Kind of still want to kill you,” he said.

“Yeah, besides that, though,” Frisk said. “You heard the song, huh? I’m sorry I’m terrible at playing it.”

Asriel went quiet, frowning for a moment, and then turned to her with a grin on his face. “I’ve killed them all, you know. Every one of them. Doesn’t that make you mad?”

“Yeah, sure,” Frisk said.

“I turned those skeletons to dust, one at a time. I watched the fish girl melt in front of the dorky scientist, and then I killed her, too. I killed the King and Queen the moment after they thought I wouldn’t. Doesn’t that piss you off? Don’t you want to scream at me?”

“Sometimes,” she said.

“Punch me right in the face?” he said. “Rip me to little pieces?”

Frisk smiled a little. “That’s a bit crazy, isn’t it?”

“For what I’ve done?! You’re an idiot,” he said. “I don’t care. I can’t care. Don’t you get it? I’d do it all again if I could—”

“What, if you could go back?” she asked. “But you won’t hurt them since you can’t undo it. Gee, Asriel, sounds like you’re not totally committed to being a huge jerk.”

“You’re stupid. Shut up.”

She started laughing and his face became a snarl.

“You think you can get through this without resetting again?! I’ll _make_ you do it,” he said. “I’ll make you do it or I’ll take your soul myself!”

“So you don’t know what comes after all this, do you?” she said. 

“I know I’m gonna take all the souls and you can’t stop me,” he said. “All the humans, and all the monsters. You’ll have to reset again and again. You’re never getting out of here. Promise.”

Frisk cut her eyes at him. She tried not to look overly smug, but his face fell as he looked at her skeptically.

“What? What’s that face for?” he demanded.

“Oh. Nothing,” she said. “I think things are gonna go a bit different than that, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see, right?”

His face turned sour again and he scoffed and turned himself away. Frisk smiled sympathetically. She noticed, amongst his petals, some weird little pointy bits that glimmered in the light from Undyne’s window. She scooted a bit closer.

“What is that?” she asked. “Is that glass?”

“What?! N-No!”

“It…” She squinted. “It looks like you have glass stuck in you, what happened?”

“N-Nothing happened, shut up!” he said. 

“Want me to get it out?” She scooted closer and crossed her legs. She patted her knee.

“What?” he asked blankly.

“If you can get up on a windowsill, you can get on my lap,” she said. “Oh? Did you fall through a window or something?”

Asriel looked at her, looked down at the ground, and then back up at her. He frowned. “If you try anything, I’ll—!”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Frisk said with a laugh. “C’mon. It’ll be fine.”

Tentatively, he raised up just a little, vines creeping up onto her leg, and he slid onto her knee, looking almost ashamed. 

“Hey, there we go,” she said. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

He grimaced, but he nodded. Very gently, Frisk checked through his petals and found the little shards and carefully pulled them out. He winced every time.

“How’d you even do this, anyway? You’re so light,” she said quietly.

“Who cares?!” he growled. “You’re really weird and I don’t get it.”

“What don’t you get?” she asked. 

“Why the hell you’re being so nice to me. You know what I am. You know what I do. You know what I’m _going_ to do. It’s inevitable.”

“Like I said before, we’re friends,” she said. “And if mom and Asgore can’t look after you, and Chara’s gone too, I guess I’ll do my best.”

“Don’t talk about her.”

“I’m sorry,” she said sympathetically. “It must be hard.”

He groaned and rolled his eyes. His vines squeezed, but just a little. “I could kill you right now.”

“No you can’t.”

“Yes, I could! What makes you say—?”

“Because Sans will rip you apart,” she said. “He’s always watching, remember? And no matter how many times you say it, I don’t think you want to die like that. And I don’t want you to, either, I’d undo it.”

“You’re an idiot,” he said. “You think you’re being nice? You’re just making everything worse.”

“Really? I think not having glass stuck in your head is just, like, straight up better,” she said with a smile. “I’m done, by the way, I can’t see any more.”

He let out a frustrated groan and then disappeared back underground. Frisk rubbed her forehead.

“Sheesh,” she muttered. 

As she expected, Sans was leaning up against the wall near the doorframe by the time she got back inside. He shot her a questioning look. She stuck her thumbs up and he straightened up, tapping his toes into his slippers.

“You’re probably wastin’ your time, kiddo,” he said.

“Probably,” she agreed, “but… I dunno, at the same time, I feel like it’s kind of important? It’s weird.”

“How many times did he threaten to kill you this time?” he asked.

“Ummm…” Frisk counted on her fingers. “Three, I think? Not too bad.”

Sans laughed. “Kid’s got issues.”

“Hopefully not for much longer,” Frisk said brightly, but then she moped. “He _really_ doesn’t like you.”

“Oh no,” he said flatly.

“He, um… He had the timeline before I did, right? Was he ever strong enough to get by you?” she asked.

“What do you think?” he said.

She emphatically shook her head. “No way, you’re the toughest.” 

Sans looked surprised, his face flushing. He shrugged.

“I uh… I yelled at him earlier. For calling you a smiley trash bag, ” Frisk said.

The skeleton grinned wide; started laughing. “What?! Dude, seriously? That’s hilarious. That’s the _best_ he could come up with? Man, I got like a thousand better ones. Smiley trash bag…”

He laughed so hard that Frisk laughed too. She couldn’t help it.

“Let’s hope givin’ him a soul gets him a better sense of humour,” he said. “But I’m not sure which is funnier, that or you yellin’.”

“Hey, what’re you nerds doing over there?” Undyne shouted over the piano.

“Nothing!” Frisk said brightly. “Hey, how long until Alphys gets here, d’you think?”

Undyne finally stopped banging on the piano keys and she leaned around the lid, ear-fins perking. “What?”

“When do you think Alphys will be here?” she repeated.

“Uhh…” Undyne shrugged. “Soon?”

Frisk looked thoughtful. Sans tapped her shoulder, and then jerked his thumb at the door. Frisk frowned with confusion, but it clicked after a second.

“Oh! Oh right, okay, hang on,” she said.

Frisk ran right back out. There was a patch of starlight she could cling to up the path, and she did so gladly. She really had to get back in the habit. Now, that light warmed her like that hot cup of tea did. 

Her ears pricked to footsteps bouncing off the cave walls and she turned to look east. She saw Papyrus still a little ways away, but she waved nonetheless.

“Hey, Papyrus!”

“Frisk!” he called back. He jogged to close the distance and she beamed and hugged his legs. “Nyeh heh heh, so short!” he said. He bent down to give her a hug, too. “Did you have a nice rest?”

“Yeah! Thanks for fixing me up again,” she said brightly. “Where were you?”

“Ugh, Hotland, unfortunately,” he said as he straightened up. “You’ve seen their puzzles, yes? Conveyor belts and steam vents?! What were they thinking?”

Frisk could only shrug. 

“You’d be hard pressed to beat ice and spikes, obviously,” he said. “Oh! Also! I need to reintroduce you, don’t I?!”

Frisk raised her eyebrows and he whirled around. He looked surprised and then peered around.

“Doctor?” he called. “Doctor Alphys? Where did she…? Oh, not again.” He held up one finger under his mitt. “Hang on just one second.” He bounded back down the hallway, calling, “DOCTOR ALPHYS!”

Frisk’s heart started to pound, but she couldn’t help the giddy, butterfly feeling in her gut. She hoped, very hard, that this would all work out and rushed to think of what the heck to say. Her desperate hope wasn’t just for herself anymore.

A speck of a yellow tail and the sound of heavy breathing clued Papyrus in to where the Doctor had hidden, off behind a small outcropping of rock that jutted from a wall. Grinning, he walked over to her.

“Doctor! There you are!”

The little buck-toothed lizard yelped and jumped, turning to look at him with wide eyes. “O-Oh um, h-hi. I w-was just, umm…”

“Wow, you sound really nervous!” Papyrus said.

“I… I, um… I k-kind of am?” she said.

“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “Let’s go, the human’s just up ahead!”

“M-Maybe I should… m-maybe I should just g-go home?” Alphys suggested.

Papyrus laughed. “Nonsense, Doctor Alphys, this is really important. I, the great Papyrus, promise you that you will definitely not regret this at all.” He offered her his hand and she took it hesitantly and straightened up. He stuck his other thumb up. He lead her back out to the path, but as soon as they got there, she froze with shock. 

Frisk had caught up and stood before them, a bashful smile on her face. Alphys’s jaw dropped and she started to stammer. Papyrus, on the other hand, grinned.

“Doctor Alphys!” he said. “This is the human! How about I leave you two to get acquainted?”

“W-Wait, but—” Alphys protested quickly.

“Trust me, Doctor,” Papyrus assured her. He patted her on the head, gave Frisk two thumbs up, and marched off down the road towards Undyne’s with a bounce in his step.

Alphys stared at Frisk, shaking a little. The kid instantly felt bad; wanted to hug her, but she smiled and stuck her hand out.

“Hi,” she said, “I’m Frisk.”

“H… Hi…?” Alphys’s smile was twisted and pained with fright. “I… I-I… u-um… I’m… U-U-Uh…”

“You’re Alphys,” Frisk said. 

She nodded. She hesitantly shook Frisk’s hand. 

The fear started to melt away, replaced quickly with curiosity. She tilted her head. Frisk mirrored her, and Alphys let out a warbling, nervous laugh and pulled her hand back to rub her headspines.

“I’ve, uh… Wow, I’ve n-never s-seen a… a r-real human close up b-before. I’m sorry, th-this is weird,” she said, “b-but now that I see you, you… um… y-you look a l-little familiar to me…?”

Frisk’s face lit up. “I’m really happy to hear that b-because, um… I know you don’t remember this, but we, um… we know each other.”

“Wh… What?” Alphys said blankly. 

“We’re actually friends!” Frisk insisted. “I dunno if you’re gonna believe me, but… but I mean, you worked with Sans, right? S-So… maybe you know a little? A-About the, um… time anomaly stuff?”

Alphys’s eyes went wide. She started to shake. “Oh my god,” she said quietly. “He t-told you about that?”

Frisk nodded. Alphys drew in a shaky breath.

“W-Wow, he must… h-he must really t-trust you,” she said. “But… Oh my g-god, does that mean you’re…? Y-You’re a t-time traveller? N-No, that’s… That can’t be, can it?”

“No, no, that’s actually exactly right,” Frisk said. “I… I’m here to break the barrier and save a friend of mine. I really need your help!”

Alphys stared at her quietly. She smiled slightly and she rubbed her brow. “Oh… D-Did Undyne put you up to this?” she asked. “Or m-maybe Sans?”

Frisk frowned with confusion. “What?”

“Aw, hey, h-human, someone told you I… I wasn’t feeling so great, right?” she said. “Thanks for trying, but—”

“No, Alphys, no no no, that’s not it,” Frisk insisted quickly. “It’s really true! I know it sounds weird and crazy and—”

“A k-kid time traveller asking for h-help from a scientist? S-Sounds a lot like a h-human movie,” Alphys said. “A-And besides, if… if you really knew about me, you w-wouldn’t be coming to m-me for help.”

Frisk sighed. She couldn’t help a quiet, tired laugh. “Oh man, Alphys, c’mon, don’t be like that.” She held out her hand. “You were surprised that Sans trusted me, right? That has to mean something to you. Maybe you’ll trust me, too?”

Alphys hesitated for a moment. She looked Frisk in the eye with a hint of suspicion, but she let out a wobbly sigh. She reached out to her, but her fingers were shaking. Nevertheless, she took her hand.

“Okay,” Frisk said quietly, “hopefully I can… If you could just use a little magic…?”

“Wh… What? Uh… U-Um, okay?” Alphys’s scales prickled with a shimmering, yellow light. “I-Is that… okay?”

Frisk could feel it like a static tingle through her skin and hoped desperately for that glow to start up again. When she saw the blue reflection in her friend’s glasses, her heart began to pound. 

Alphys let out a small gasp. “Wh… What? Oh my god, what is that? Oh!” She winced and pulled back for just a moment, but her curiosity got the better of her and she moved in close again. She cautiously matched the lines on the kid’s face with her fingers.“Oh my god. I… Why do I…?” She cringed, but the corners of her mouth twitched upwards. “W-Wait. Waaaait. Oh. Oh my god. I d-do know you… don’t I?”

Frisk started to grin, but her throat tightened. She couldn’t stop herself from hugging her tightly.

“Okay. O-Okay,” Alphys said. “Oookay. That’s… Oh… Oh my god.” She started to shake.

Frisk was about to pull back and apologize, but Alphys hugged her tighter. She sniffed deeply and gently moved back to grab the kid by the shoulders and bent down just a little. Her eyes were full of tears and Frisk was sure she didn’t look much better. 

“I can’t believe it,” she said softly. “Oh my god, h-here you are!”

“You too!” Frisk said.

“M-Me too?” Alphys asked.

“Yeah! I really missed you.” Frisk’s voice was strained and high. “Like, a lot!”

“Y-You did? Oh…O-Oh… I…” Alphys’s lip quivered, and she hugged her close again and heaved out a sigh. “W-We really a-are friends, huh?”

“Of course,” Frisk said quickly. “Of course we are!”

“G… Good. Thank god.” She started to laugh quietly. “I… I r-really should have showered.”

“Pfft, I don’t care,” Frisk assured her; she pulled back to wipe her eyes on her sleeve. “You could smell like total garbage. I’d still be happy to see you.”

Alphys snickered quietly. She sniffled and took off her glasses to dab at her eyes with her coat. “This, uh… Th-This isn’t what I was expecting at all,” she said. “I’m s-sorry I didn’t believe you at first. But… wh-what are these memories? Have we r-really met three times?”

“It’s okay,” Frisk assured her. “I dunno if I’d believe me either. And yeah. I… I was trying to help as many monsters as I could, so I time travelled backwards a few times. I’m really sorry, it’s confusing and weird.”

“But how can you even—?”

“Determination.” Frisk put a hand against her chest. “My, um… My soul is basically just that, so…”

Alphys’s eyes went wide. She put a hand to her forehead. “The… The anomalies… Of course…” she said. “O-Oh my god.”

“We can explain everything soon,” she said. “It’s just a big complicated mess. B-But, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne, they have memories from the same times and everything.”

Alphys’s eyes went wide. Her jaw hung open for a second, but she smiled a little awkwardly and wrung her hands. “Um… Th-This might be a little w-weird to ask, b-but, about Undyne…? Um… D-Does she, um…?”

“Don’t worry about that,” Frisk assured her quickly. “You wanna go back to her place?”

“O-Oh, um… w-well… Y-Yeah, actually,” she said.

Frisk grinned. She held her hand on the way up the road.


	16. The Friend-Finding Arc

Outside Undyne’s house, the cave abounded with the sound of a piano’s tune. This one was slow, a bit more controlled, kind of jazzy— Frisk recognized it. Alphys froze at the door.

“M-Maybe I shouldn’t…” she muttered. “M-Maybe I could, um… j-just text h-her? O-Or… send her an i-invite on UnderNet…?”

Frisk laughed and rolled her eyes, held tight to Alphys’s hand, and dragged her into the house.

Papyrus was waiting directly in front of the door, beaming, and he scooped them both up into his arms. “Good job, Frisk!” he said. “And welcome back into the know, Doctor Alphys!”

“Wh-What?!” Alphys squeaked. “Oh. O-Okay.” She slumped, puffed out a sigh, and Papyrus gently put her down. 

“Oh, Frisk, were you crying?” he asked.

“Yup, again,” Frisk laughed. “It’s okay.”

“You sure do that a lot, huh?” he said.

“Tell me about it!” she agreed.

He snickered and put her down, too, and then cooed and gently wiped under her eyes with his thumbs. She laughed and rubbed her face with the heels of her hands. Alphys looked nervous, and she cast a look around. She gulped, peeked around the piano, and her eyes went wide.

“S… Sans?!” she squeaked. “Oh! H-Hi!”

“Hey, Doc, hope that wasn’t too rough on you,” he said.

“N-No! No, it’s… um… It’s actually kind of a relief?” she said. “Oh my god, d-did you know th-this whole time?”

“Yup, ever since I crossed that bridge. I mean, literally, the one near the Ruins,” he said.

“Wh-Why didn’t you just _tell_ me?” she asked.

“Didn’t know how the kid’s magic worked for sure until Undyne, honestly,” he said. “And that was just a few hours ago? Figured she should probably talk to you first, anyway.”

“Um… Wh-Where’s…? Where _is_ Undyne?” Alphys asked worriedly.

“Oh. As soon as Paps said you were basically here, she said she needed to, uh… do something in her room? With her hair? I dunno.”

Alphys looked surprised. Frisk scooted up beside them and watched curiously, her face lighting up.

“You play, too?” she asked.

He shrugged. She hopped up onto the bench with him to watch.

“I didn’t know that, either,” Alphys said.

He shrugged again.

“I thought you’d be asleep by now,” Frisk joked.

“You know, Paps came back in, and he was like, _SANS! Don’t you fall asleep again or by spaghetti, I’ll_—”

“I don’t sound like that!” Papyrus protested shrilly.

Sans snickered. “Anyway, thought I’d waste my time here.”

Alphys smiled, but she looked like she was sweating. Frisk patted her shoulder. 

“Don’t worry,” she said.

“R… Right.” Alphys rubbed her brow. “I feel kinda like I’m g-gonna throw up.”

Sans looked thoughtful and handed off the piano to Frisk; she began to softly poke the keys to the one song she knew. He took a bag out of his ribcage and put it on the table, and pulled out a few packages of the monster-brand ramen from inside.

“O-Oh!” Alphys said, her eyes lighting up.

“I had a feelin’ the kid’s plan would get you here today,” he said. “So I figured, you know. Noodles?”

“Ah… W-Well, I wouldn’t m-mind,” she said.

“Saaannnss, did you say _noodles_?” Papyrus was leaning over him to look in an instant. “What are those? Are they good?”

“Oh! O-Oh! You’ve never had them, P-Papyrus?” Alphys asked. “Th-They’re, uh… They’re r-really good! Th-They come in, like, b-blocks, and you boil them, and then y-you add the b-broth packet and—”

“Noodles with broth? Isn’t that just soup?” Papyrus asked skeptically. 

“L-Let me show you!” Alphys said with a determined frown. “I-I’ll make it for everyone! Maybe you can help me out? S-Since you’re so, uh, t-tall.”

“Absolutely, Doctor, I, the great and master chef Papyrus, would be more than happy to help you make your strange soup noodles. You’re talking to a noodle expert, you know!”

As the noodles cooked, Sans plunked down with Frisk again and occasionally started hitting seemingly random keys as she tried to play.

“Bro, no!” she said.

“Bro, yes.”

“It’s so distracting, though!” she whined.

He grinned. “No, look. Try again.”

Frisk rolled her eyes, but she did as he asked. He hit a key an octave lower, then waited for her to play a few more notes before doing it again.

“Get it?” he asked.

“Oh. Um… Oh, yeah, I think so!” she said.

“It’s just math,” he said. “You’re good at that, right?”

“Y-Yeah! How’d you know that?” she asked.

“Dunno. Guess you just kinda look like a huge nerd.”

“Saaannsss.” She elbowed him lightly and he laughed.

“Don’t you worry, Frisk, you may be a complete nerd, but I currently posses enough cool factor for the both of us,” he said. “In fact, I may be surrounded by the absolute dorkiest three people in the whole underground currently and I feel confident I carry enough coolness within me to sustain all of us!”

“Good job, bro,” Sans said. “What would we do without you?”

“I-I dunno P-Papyrus, my n-nerd levels might be o-over capacity,” Alphys joked. “Ah! N-Noodles are good! Broth time!”

With Papyrus’s help, Alphys served the ramen to everyone, and set out an extra bowl for Undyne. She had some extra chopsticks in her handbag, and passed them out to everyone. Nevertheless, Papyrus picked at his with a fork suspiciously. 

“Are you sure this is how it works?” he asked.

“You also do this,” Frisk said; she sipped the broth straight from the bowl. 

“Ah! Y-Yeah! Just like that,” Alphys said. “Ooh, n-next time, I’ll m-make some hardboiled eggs to put in! And maybe some vegetables?”

Papyrus _hmmmed_ and stared at his bowl. Frisk snickered, put her bowl on the counter, and hopped onto the sofa to sit with him. She stole his fork and grabbed the chopsticks and put them in his hand.

“What the heck am I supposed to do with these?”

“Look, like this.” Frisk helped position his fingers right. “Then you can use them to stir, or grab, or whatever? See?”

“I don’t get it. What’s wrong with the fork?” he asked.

“Nothing! Just try it though.”

Almost instantly, he was holding them wrong. Frisk snickered and grabbed his hand again.

“No no, like this,” she said.

Alphys watched them as she very slowly slurped her noodles, the scales on her face turning red. Sans took note and leaned from the piano bench to look at her, then followed her gaze

“Sup?” Sans asked. “Oh. Oh, no no no, _don’t_.“

“Wh-What? But…” She hid her face behind her bowl. “B-But they’re so cute…”

“Nope. Do not make them your OTP.”

Alphys pouted. “But what if—”

“No.”

“It’s an AU?” she suggested.

“Definitely nope,” he said.

“But, I mean, maybe if she were—”

“I cannot nope any harder than I am currently nopeing, dude,” Sans said. “Currently in Nopesville, population: Sans.”

Alphys pouted.

“There you go, bro, got it!” Frisk cheered.

“Sans, look, I’ve managed the food sticks!” Papyrus said proudly.

“Good job,” Sans said.

Alphys slumped sheepishly, but her eyes went wide and she pointed and edged closer to Sans. “D-Did she just call him _bro_?” she asked quietly.

Sans quickly downed the rest of his soup and cut his eyes at her. “I told you. We’re keepin’ her.”

Before Alphys could say another word, Frisk scampered back over to grab her ramen and scooted back onto the piano bench to eat her noodles. She shoved a bunch into her face all at once.

“D-Do you like it?” Alphys asked.

Frisk nodded. She swallowed a little too fast and started coughing.

“Pfft, dude,” Sans said.

“I’m okay. I’m okay,” she choked.

He snickered and she took a deep breath, one more mouthful of noodles, and then she offered the rest to him.

“You sure?” he asked.

She smiled and nodded. He shrugged and took it, and she turned in her seat to look at Alphys. 

“You doing okay with the memories and everything?” she asked. 

“Ah… Y-Yeah, it’s… It’s actually not too bad, it’s… like I always knew, but I just forgot,” she admitted. 

“That’s a very accurate way of putting it,” Papyrus agreed. “Hey. This pasta soup is not too bad actually!”

Alphys smiled. Her cheeks flushed a little. “So… So how did this happen?”

“Let’s all just chill for a bit first,” Sans suggested. “No rush. Right, kiddo?”

Frisk nodded. “The explaining bit is long and makes me cry a bunch. But I’m super happy you remembered.”

Alphys’s brow furrowed with worry, but she nodded. 

Frisk got up again and went to Undyne’s bedroom door. She knocked gently. “Undyne?” she asked. “Um… Hey, Undyne? Alphys is here. And there’s ramen, so… um… You coming out?” 

Beyond the door, there was a thump and a sort of scuffling sound. 

“Hang on! Just a sec!” There was more thumping. Some muffled cursing. Undyne stepped out, brushing a hand through her loose, damp hair to get it out of her face. “Hah. Sorry. I…” Her eye caught on Alphys, who was midway through a very large slurp of noodles, and her ear-fins perked. “O-Oh. Man, uh… Hi. Alphys.”

Alphys’s scales started to go red again. Awkwardly, she swallowed the ramen and gulped, hard. “U-U-Undyne, um… Um… I-It’s… It’s good to, uh… umm…”

“Y… Yeah.” Undyne started to grin. “Sorry, I was just, uh… covered in trash water, so… uh…”

They both suddenly seemed lost and stared at each other blankly. Frisk gently elbowed Undyne’s leg. She jumped; seemed to snap out of it. 

“Dude, do you…? Ah, hell.” She was over to Alphys in just a few strides and bent down to look her in the face. “So do you like me or what?”

“O-O-Of course I d-do!” Alphys squeaked.

Undyne beamed and lifted her up into her arms, spilling the ramen without care. Alphys looked about ready to boil over and she wrapped her arms around Undyne’s shoulders. 

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod.” She began to quake. “U-U-Undyne, I… Oh my god.”

Undyne began to laugh and bumped her brow gently against the hers, the scales on her cheeks darkening blue. “Missed you, you dweeb.”

Alphys looked like she could have simply melted away.

Sans slipped off the piano bench and looked at his wrist as if to check a non-existent watch.

“Welp. Gettin’ a bit late,” he said.“Think it’s about time we head home.”

“Wait, what?!” Undyne snapped, whirling on them with surprise. “But you barely explained anything! And Alphys just got here!”

“Tomorrow,” he assured her. “We’ll come back. We’ll hang out, have some laughs, explain this weird garbage, Frisk’ll cry a lot, it’ll be a blast.”

“Really?” Papyrus asked. “What about Frisk’s quest?!”

“Kiddo, there a time limit?” Sans asked. When Frisk shook her head, Sans smiled and raised his hand as a goodbye. “See you tomorrow.”

Frisk grabbed her now-dry hoodie and the red-stained t-shirt, and they all headed out to give Alphys and Undyne some space, though Papyrus was moping a little.

“It’s not that late,” he said as they walked away.

“Dude, I know,” he said.

“Then whhhyyyy did you say it was late, now they’re going to think we are dorks who go to bed at seven,” Papyrus said. “Incredibly uncool, Sans.”

Sans laughed. “But I totally do that though.”

“I don’t get it,” Papyrus grumbled.

“Um, Papyrus, you know how, when you got your memories of me back,” Frisk said, “that you said you felt like you really missed me?”

“Yes, why?” he said.

“Well, like… Undyne and Alphys probably feel like that about each other, too,” she said. “Except they love each other, like with dating and smooching and stuff.”

“What? WHAT? Really?” he asked, eyes wide. “OH WOW. Okay. I didn’t see that coming. And I am incredibly perceptive.”

Sans grinned. “So, we’ll let them be alone to catch up for a bit. No problem. Right?”

“Right!” Frisk agreed.

“Got it!” Papyrus stuck his thumb up. “Hey, Sans, there aren’t any more secret dating people that I didn’t notice, are there?”

“Nope, don’t think so,” he said, but he looked at Frisk for confirmation.

She shrugged and shook her head. He stuck his thumb up, stretched, and yawned. 

“Ah, crap. Gotta walk home, don’t we?”

“Feel free to take a shortcut,” Papyrus assured him. “It won’t take me long to walk back.”

“Yeah?” Sans asked. “…Actually, I did forget somethin’. Meet you guys back at the house?”

“Wait,” Frisk said. “Still have my phone?”

He nodded. She stuck her thumb up and then stood on her toes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. His face flushed blue instantly.

“Okay, that’s all,” she said.

“Jeez, kid,” he said. “Alright. See you guys.”

He doubled back and they went on without him through the glittering cave. 

“I’m always amazed by how good he is at that,” Papyrus commented. “Figures someone so lazy would have a power that lets him get places without walking. Right, Frisk?”

She snickered. “I dunno, he works hard in his own way.”

“Yes, at not working hard,” Papyrus agreed, but he smiled. “Did he ever tell you how he does that?”

“Determination, I think?” she said. 

“What, like you?” he asked. “Can you do that, too?”

“Nope, I don’t think so,” Frisk said. 

She put her hands in her pockets, but her fingers bumped into something hard that she hadn’t expected. She grabbed it and pulled it out curiously. It was a Rubik’s cube, totally scrambled, and the paint on a few of the tiles was a little faded. She stared at it with surprise. She didn’t remember picking up something like that at all. Maybe she’d gotten it accidentally in the dump? It was just a little damp.

As they came to one of the glowing rivers, it cut through the path and Papyrus picked her up and easily hopped across. Frisk was a bit jealous. 

“There we go!” He put her down again. “Imagine how long this would take you without me here! Sheesh!”

“I don’t have to imagine,” Frisk said with a laugh. “I did that all before. I’m glad you’re here, now, though.”

Papyrus grinned brightly. She grabbed his hand.

“Hey,” she said. “Here. I think you should have this.” She put the Rubik’s cube in his mitt.

“Oh, cool, what is it exactly?” he asked, lifting it up to peer at it curiously. 

“It’s called a Rubik’s cube,” she said. “It’s a puzzle game from the surface.”

“A puzzle game?!” he repeated excitedly. He turned the cube over in his hands a few times, inspecting it curiously. “How does it work?”

“I think what you do is you turn all the pieces until every side is one colour,” she said, “but I guess you could make up some other stuff to do with it, too.”

“Frisk, that’s so thoughtful!” he exclaimed. “Thank you!”

\- - - 

Papyrus was still playing around with the cube when they got home. Sans was out like a light on the sofa in a way that suggested he had basically collapsed over the arm of it.

“Oh, of course, he forgot a nap,” Papyrus said, rolling his eyes. His irritation was mostly feigned, though, because, as soon as he got close to Sans, he gently put one of the pillows nearby under his head and patted his back affectionately. 

Sans, somehow, slumped even lower than he already was. 

“Actually,” Papyrus said quietly, “I guess he did have quite the adventure, didn’t he? He usually doesn’t do much in a day at all.” He shot Frisk a smile and patted her head. “I’m glad you two are already such good friends. I think you’re very good for him, honestly.”

“Y… You do?” she asked.

“Oh, yes! Definitely,” Papyrus said. “Somehow you can convince him to actually _do_ things. I almost want to give you a medal. But, can I ask? He knows you more than I do, doesn’t he?”

“Um… I think he just remembers a bit more,” she said, “because just normally without the weird glowing thing, he remembers me.”

“Ah. Right. He does, doesn’t he? And all those _others_ he dreams about,” Papyrus said with a faint frown, but he quickly smiled again. “You know, that’s another reason I’m glad you’re here! Since you’re real, that means the other ones aren’t real, and maybe he’ll stop almost Gaster Blasting through the walls in his sleep.”

“Gets that bad, huh?” Frisk asked worriedly.

“Not often,” Papyrus assured her. “Hey. Maybe he told you? What’s a gaster?”

“I dunno,” she said. “I always just thought it was called that because it rhymed.”

He snickered and shook his head. “Our brother is definitely full of mysteries, isn’t he? Hey, side note, you probably need to save, don’t you? How about we go together and I can have the nice lady at the inn fix up your clothes?”

“Oh. Right. Good idea,” she said.

“I know!” he said.

She scampered up to Sans’s room. It looked like a bomb of trash and socks had hit it, which wasn’t unusual. Unless he was in there sleeping, somehow he managed to shove his blankets into a baffling, orbish wad that stood out like a strange, patchwork moon in the middle of the room. 

Frisk dug through the stuff he had left out for her and changed into the only long sleeved shirt that she could find. She put all the things that she had bled on or otherwise messed up together, and she tugged on the blanket mess until she could wrench one of them free and dragged it downstairs with her.

Papyrus was waiting near the door, ready to go, still focussed intently on the cube. She scampered up to Sans and covered him snugly, and turned off the light before they went back out. 

By the time they reached the tear in time, Papyrus twisted the last row of colours into place. “Nyeh heh heh heh! I, the great Papyrus, am victorious again! Look!” he said, showing off the cube to Frisk proudly. “That was fun.”

“You’re really good at that!” Frisk said.

“Would you like to try?” he said. 

“I think it’d take me all day,” she admitted.

“Nonsense, Frisk, just stay determined and you can accomplish anything.” He held out his hand. “Now, you save, I’ll meet you inside?” 

She nodded and gave him her things, and he quickly bounded into the inn. 

Frisk took a few seconds to secure them all in time. It made her feel a little steadier; a little nostalgic. Something about the quiet of the snow around her gave her the shivers, though.When she closed her eyes, it was like she could see it all again, like it was all dust. She gulped and took a deep breath. 

“I’m home where I am,” she said quietly. “…Everyone’s alive. It’s… It’s okay.” It didn’t help much. She folded her arms.“Hey, Asriel? If you’re listening,” she whispered, “please try to be good, okay? I’m… I’m gonna find a way to solve all this.” Her thoughts shot across the faces of her friends and family nonetheless. They lingered on Kid. Frisk felt a sudden sting of guilt. “Oh crap.”

Frisk rushed to the inn and stuck her head in. Inside the pleasantly warm, cozy building, Papyrus was leaning against the wall, fiddling with the Rubik’s cube again as a small bunny boy hopped up and down behind the counter to watch.

“Papyrus?” Frisk said. “I’m just gonna go meet a friend real quick, okay? Meet you back here?”

“No worries, Frisk, just go home afterwards, this shouldn’t take long,” he assured her. 

She stuck her thumb up and rushed out. 

It wasn’t until she was already at Grillby’s, turning towards the houses off the main street that she realized she had no idea where Kid actually lived. She froze, worried for a moment, but she reassured herself that maybe there would be another monster around to ask. Worst case scenario, she could just knock on a random door and ask for directions. It was a small town, after all.

The street was silent save for the sound of her own footsteps crunching through the snow, and she looked at the houses as she went, hoping to maybe get a glimpse of a face she recognized through the windows. There weren’t many streets between the main one and the river, anyway, she was bound to find it soon. That is, unless he lived across the river? Frisk sighed to herself. 

Turning the first corner, she caught a glimpse of the tail end of someone else wandering. Her face lit up. “Excuse me!” she called. She jogged to catch up.

Moving as if he were floating, a tall someone in all black drifted just a little ways up the street. 

“Excuse me!” she called again. “Sorry, could you maybe help me out?”

The figure turned to look at her with surprise in his dark eyes. He had a white, smiling face without many features to it, save for some black lines near his eyes. He flowed back over to her and looked her up and down. He seemed pleased.

“Sorry to bother you,” she said. “I was wondering, do you… uh…?”

The monster moved downwards, mimicking a squat. He extended a thin, white hand towards her and said something that she couldn’t quite understand, but she smiled and shook his hand anyway.

“Sorry, mister, I don’t quite speak that,” she said. “But I’m Frisk, good to meet you.”

He nodded slowly.

“Sorry to bug you, but do you happen to live around here?” she asked. “I’m looking for my friend’s place. He’s a little kinda yellow lizard kid? And his name is Kid.”

The monster tilted his head slightly and pointed up the road, but just as she was about to thank him, he held up one finger as if to tell her to wait. He took her hand in one of his and put something in it with the other, giving her a serious nod as he pushed her fingers closed around a thin, rectangular object. 

“Oh, um… Thank you?” she said.

He straightened up and offered her his hand. She didn’t hesitate to take it and he drifted up the street a little until they came to a house that looked much like the others, except it had an extra door handle that could be reached by a clawed foot.

The monster released her hand and pointed at the door.

“Oh! This is it? Thank you so much!” she said brightly.

He nodded again, gently patted her head, and flowed away down the road, back the way Frisk had come, and disappeared.

Frisk blinked and looked around. She felt like she had zoned out for a second. Must’ve lost track of where she was walking. She did notice that there was a strangely low knob on the door to the house in front of her. Could it be to open the door with feet? She sure hoped so.

Nothing to lose— she knocked on the door. She waited in silence for a few seconds, then heard a muffled voice inside calling elsewhere. When it swung open, Frisk couldn’t help a grin. Kid gawked back at her, silent for a moment before his clenched his teeth and ran out to meet her. She grabbed him into a hug and he slumped against her shoulder.

“Oh my god, dude, I was so worried!” he said. 

“I’m sorry!” she said. “I’m okay. Are you? Did you have trouble getting home?”

“No, no, it was okay. You…” He pulled back and she let him go. “Your brother was right. You don’t look like you got beaten up too bad.”

“I didn’t,” she said. “I mean, I fell off a thing, but then it was all okay.”

Kid blew out a relieved sigh. “Man, Undyne was kind of mean to you, huh? I didn’t think she’d wanna beat you up so bad if you were nice! Even if you are a… a…” He bit his lip. 

Frisk laughed. “Don’t worry, it was just a big misunderstanding,” she said. “Undyne’s actually super nice. Don’t tell her I told you.”

Kid snickered. He tilted his head. “So, I guess… you’re not really from New Home, are you?” he asked. “You’re… You’re from the surface, huh?”

Frisk nodded. His eyes lit up.

“Dude, what’s it like?” he asked.

“Big. And… bright,” she said. “And things change up there a lot. And there’s a whole world full of totally different weird non-magic stuff.”

“Aw man, it must be such a bummer to come down here after being up there!” he said. 

Frisk shook her head. “Actually, I love it here.”

“Hah, c’mon, Frisk, no way,” Kid said with a laugh.

“But it really is nice down here, honestly. But I guess, it’s more about the people, you know?” she explained. “Down here, I met so many great monsters. I guess that’s more important to me than where I am. Anyway, I’m really sorry for lying to you about what I was.”

“Yo, that’s fine, I get it,” he said. “I mean, I was thinkin’, you know, if it were me, and I was suddenly dropped in around a bunch of humans? I’d probably try to pretend I was one, too.”

“Thanks for not being mad,” she said. “And thanks for sticking up for me. I mean, against Undyne! That was really brave.”

He smiled, his cheeks flushing. “Aw, nah.”

Frisk grinned and squished him into a hug, lifting him off his feet. He laughed and flopped into her. She snickered and let him down again, but they both started to the sound of something else landing in the snow.

“Whoops! Think you dropped something, there,” Kid said.

Frisk looked around and saw something grey in the snow— she reached for it, thinking for a moment that it was her phone before she remembered that Sans still had it. Instead, what she pulled up from the snow was an old calculator. She stared at it with surprise.

“That yours?” he asked.

“Guess so,” she said. She put it in her pocket.

Kid opened his mouth to say more, but abruptly stopped when a woman from inside called his name. “Oh! That’s my mom. You, uh…? You wanna come inside? Dude, sorry, I probably should’ve invited you in sooner.”

“Hah, no, that’s okay,” she said. “I should probably get home anyway.”

“Still in the skeleton house?” Kid asked.

“Yup, that’s where I live,” she said. “See you later, have a good night!”

“You too!”

Home looked untouched when she got back. Quiet, though. Frisk’s ears felt like they were burning and her heart hurt a little. She had hoped that magic would have brought Kid’s memories back, too.

“Frisk?!” Frisk jumped at the sound of Papyrus’s voice. “Frisk, is that you?!”

“Y-Yeah!” she answered.

“Okay! I’m in my room if you need me!”

Frisk took a deep breath and rubbed her arms to warm them. She scooted onto the sofa and curled up against the arm opposite Sans. Alone with her thoughts for the first time in a little while, Frisk began to feel the weight of everything again. What she wouldn’t give to have to wake up and go to class with Toriel tomorrow. Instead, she’d have to explain how she had watched everyone disappear into the snow. How she had seen Undyne crumble in a battle against a monster as big as an apartment building. How Sans and Papyrus had sent her off and had tried so hard to keep smiling while doing it. She grimaced. Even if she didn’t say it out loud, her eyes started to water.

She wanted to go home. She wanted her mom. She wanted everything to go back to the way it was. She hugged her knees, sniffling. She tried hard to keep in mind that she wasn’t really alone, but no matter how relieved she was, in this moment, it didn’t help. She hid her face against her knees. “I’m home where I am,” she whispered, but her voice was choked. “I… I _am_ home. It’s okay… It’s… It’s all okay.”

When she raised her head to catch some air, she was surprised to see the groggy-eyed skeleton beside her, staring at her. “O-Oh, I’m so sorry,” she squeaked. “W-Was I too loud?”

“Nah.” He sat up slowly, losing his slippers, and looked around, rubbing his skull. “You look like crap, dude.”

She grimaced and huffed out a sigh. 

Sans gently tossed his blanket over her. The warmth of it helped a little.

“Havin’ an episode, huh?” he asked.

She pouted and nodded again. “I… I… I miss my mom,” she said quietly. “I-It’s so weird, I went forever without having a mom or anything and then now that I do, I just… Ugh.”

“Makes total sense,” Sans assured her.

She let out a weak laugh and pulled the blankets in around her like a cloak. “T-To be honest, I… I never even started to feel like I belonged anywhere until I met everyone down here. You know, when I met mom, I was so happy that I st-stayed with her almost two weeks before I even went out of the Ruins. B-But it’s… It’s still one of the only things I’m really grateful to Chara for, because I… I needed to meet you and Paps and everyone. Really, really needed you, you know? I never r-really wanted to leave the underground at all. I… I just wanted to help.”

“Dude, I know,” he said.

She sniffled again. “Hey. D… Did I ever thank you, for back then?”

“Sure you did. Didn’t need to, though,” he said. “You’re, uh, pretty weird, huh?”

She snickered, then took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, it’s just… sometimes my brain just goes right back to what happened and I—”

“Hey,” he said, raising his hand as if to stop her, “kid, I’m right there with ya. Know what you should do?”

“What?”

He offered her her phone. “Call your mom.”

She cautiously took the phone from him. She held it in both hands. Her fingers were shaking. “You’re right,” she said. “It’s just… I wish things were like they were, you know?”

“They are,” Sans said.

She tilted her head, confused. He lazily got up to look along the floor on other end of the sofa. 

“You love her, right? And she loves you,” he said. “So, you’re good. Go with it.” He bent over and then straightened up with his fuzzy slippers in hand. He wandered off towards the kitchen, his boney feet clicking on the tile floor.

Frisk took a moment to steady herself, trying to calm her thumping heart. She dialled Toriel’s number, put the phone on speaker, and waited, hoping she’d pick up as she bundled herself in a blanket cocoon. Her face lit up when she heard a click.

“Hello?” Toriel asked. 

The sound of her voice lifted Frisk’s spirits right away.

“Mom! H-Hi!” Frisk said. “Me again!”

“Oh! Little one! What a relief,” she said. “How are you faring out there? Where are you?”

“Snowdin! But I went to Waterfall today!” she said. “Do you remember the wishing rooms? It’s so pretty in there.”

“Hah. Yes, my child, I remember,” she said fondly. “Are you…? Are you still with your new friends?”

“Yup! When this is all over, you gotta meet them, you’ll love them,” Frisk assured her.

“Oh, honey, I’m not sure if—”

“Don’t worry,” Frisk assured her as, beside her, Sans lazily slid over the arm of the sofa to sit with her.“They’ll love you, too. And things are gonna be okay. Today, I made friends with the Captain of the Royal Guard, and the Royal Scientist, too. We’re all gonna figure out how to deal with the barrier, together.”

“Are you sure you can trust them?” Toriel asked quickly. “They… They will not turn you in, will they?”

“No, they wouldn’t,” Frisk said, pausing for just a second as Sans passed her a tall cup from Grillby’s. “Like I said, we’re all really on the same side, right? We all want the same thing.”

“Just be careful,” she insisted.

“I will, promise,” Frisk said. “And besides, if anything goes wrong, these guys, they’re the best ever. They wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”

Toriel laughed softly. “What a peculiar child you are,” she said fondly. “But, I am happy for you. I am glad you are safe.”

“Yup! So, what have you been up to?” Frisk asked.

“Watering the flowers every day,” Toriel chuckled, “and taking some nice walks, I suppose. I did have a strange occurrence where one of my windows was broken when I came home today. I suppose someone must’ve had an accident.”

“Oh no! Was everything okay?” Frisk asked.

“Oh, yes, just fine, not to worry,” Toriel assured her. 

“Sounds like a _pane_ in the _glass_ to me,” Sans said.

“What?! Oh. Oh, my goodness.” She started to laugh. “Hello there! I did not expect to hear your voice.”

“Yeah, I turn up in weird places, it’s sort of my thing,” he replied.

“Mom, this is Sans,” Frisk said brightly. “He’s been taking care of me. You kinda know him, right?”

“Ah! Yes!” she said. “Yes, we’ve spoken quite a few times, actually. Sans, you said? Thank you for watching over her.”

“Hey, no problem. She’s a bit of a crybaby, but it’s been pretty fun.” He had to hold in a laugh when Frisk elbowed him. “So, uh, don’t worry about her, alright?”

“I admit, I am a little surprised,” Toriel said. “My child, I’m sorry, might I have a word with your friend privately for a moment?”

Frisk and Sans shared a confused look. 

“Sure, no problem,” she said.

The kid excused herself to check the kitchen for a snack and Sans and Toriel continued to chat. She sipped from the cup Sans gave her and was pleased to find it was another milkshake— Grillby’s only did one flavour, and she wasn’t quite sure what it was, but she liked it. As she scrounged in the fridge, she could hear them start laughing. It made her smile. She thought about trying to make that sandwich again, but she could never find the chips. There was an empty bag in the fridge, but other than that, it was a mystery. There seemed to be quite a few extra milkshakes in there, too. She found bread and hotdogs, though, and she could manage that. It also meant she didn’t have to go anywhere near a knife again. She put them in the microwave.

“Little one?” she heard Toriel call.

Frisk poked her head back out into the living room. “Yeah?”

“I must be going now. It was so good to hear from you. Sleep well!” she said.

“Thanks, mom, you too, good night!” she said.

Sans hung up and Frisk brought him a hotdog too when she came back. He was looking at the phone with a weird expression.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“We were close, huh?” he asked.

“Who? You and mom?” Frisk asked, starting to eat. “Yup. She’s… mom. You know. For you, too, kind of. Or she tried to be. Without getting too in your way, since you’re a grown-up and stuff.”

“Huh. That’s cool. Always liked her,” he said as he smiled and returned the phone to her. “So that’s what that feeling was. Kinda nice, actually. How’d Paps take it?”

“He’s so funny,” Frisk said through a mouthful, “he, like, would still keep trying to call her _your majesty_ and stuff to her face, but as soon as she was out of the room, he’d start calling her mom all the time. I think maybe he was worried about being polite since she used to be the Queen and all, but… really, she would really love if he called her _mom_.”

“Sounds hilarious,” he said. “Heh. Poor Papyrus.”

“Why?” Frisk asked.

“Welp. I do puns. You do puns. Tori does puns,” he said. “He’s doomed.”

Frisk snickered, but she abruptly caught on and she looked at Sans with shock. “Oh. Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” she said. “I-It didn’t even occur to m-me that… oh man, I’m s-sorry!”

“Dude, what?” he asked.

“Mom. I d-didn’t… I didn’t… O-Of course you’d miss her, too. Ugh, oh my god, I’m a dumb idiot.”

“Jeez, kid. Don’t bother,” he assured her. “Tori’s pretty predictable. I’m not even worried about it.”

“Really?” she asked quickly. 

Sans nodded. “Sure. Soon as this is over, we’ll all be a family in no time.” 

“R… Right,” she said. She sighed. 

He ate his hotdog. “Hey.” He patted her head. “Seriously. Don’t worry.”

She nodded, but sunk back into the cushions, pouting.

“So, like… what did she want?” she wondered. “Oh. I mean, if you can say.”

“She asked why I didn’t want to take your soul,” he said. “Guess she thought implied child murder was too much for you?”

“Dude, I’ve died a ton, though,” Frisk said, unable to help a laugh. “I died two times just today!”

“Well, yeah; can’t tell her that, though, she’d never let me hear the end of it,” he said with a wink. “I kinda told her, you know, it started to get late, I took a nap, you followed my brother home, next thing I know you’re livin’ in our house, eatin’ our spaghetti and I accidentally really like you. Go figure.”

She smiled a little and curled up again against the arm of the sofa. Something jabbed her in the leg when she moved, and, curiously, she pulled something out of her pocket. The calculator— she had almost forgotten. 

She looked at it absently. The back was a bit scratched up. It took her a moment to realize that some of those scratches were her brother’s name. His handwriting really was really terrible. She offered it to him. He looked puzzled, but took it anyway.

“What’s…?” He flipped it over. “Oh. Where’d you get this?”

“Dunno, think it was in the pocket of the shorts I borrowed?” she said.

“Huh.” His brow furrowed slightly for a moment. “Oh. Weird. This is pretty old, actually, I haven’t seen it in years. I mean… not that I was lookin’ for it. Thanks though.”

Frisk stuck her thumb up and he put it in his pocket, then got up.

“Papyrus? Yo, Papyrus?” he called.

“What is it? I’m very busy!” Papyrus shouted back.

“Just get down here when you get a minute, then,” he said. 

“Ugh, fine!”

Sans grinned, and then bent to Frisk’s eye level and put a hand on her shoulder. “Remember,” he said. “You’re home. Okay?”

She nodded. He patted her approvingly and straightened up.

“I’ll probably, uh, turn in,” he said. “Get some sleep, huh? Hope I don’t see ya.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Same. G’night.”

Frisk was starting to get a bit sleepy, too. She found the TV remote in its usual spot, between the sofa cushions, and turned it on. Mettaton was on, live, doing some sort of gameshow. Frisk couldn’t really follow it, but she watched anyway as her eyelids got heavier. It was nice to see him, anyway, even if he was still mostly a metal box on a wheel. She guessed, by now, his final body must’ve almost been done. She hoped he wouldn’t try to blow her up.

When Papyrus finally came downstairs in his pyjamas, Frisk was half-asleep, watching the bars on the television to Mettaton’s show’s theme without really realizing it.

“Sans? SANS?” Papyrus said. “Where did that lazybones get to?”

“Bed, I think?” she said.

“Bed?! Why did he call me down here if he was just going to go to bed?” he demanded. 

Frisk shrugged. Papyrus sighed and rolled his eyes. He whirled on Frisk, but his expression immediately softened and he squatted down to look at her.

“Frisk, were you crying again?” he asked.

“That obvious?” she asked.

“And you look pretty tired,” he said.

She nodded. He grinned.

“I have a surprise for you,” he said. “Wait one second?”

She nodded again despite her sudden confusion. He bounded up the stairs again and vanished into his room. Frisk turned off the TV and saw him come back out and start doing something to the door. Frisk wandered up to look curiously.

He was taping something to the outside of his door.

“What’re you doing?” Frisk asked.

“Well, I figured, since you’re staying and all.” He pointed to a new, small, neat scrap of construction paper taped on his door sign. “I thought it would make you feel more at home.”

Under the sign that declared only Papyrus allowed in the room, he had added a note that said “_ALSO FRISK”. _She stared at it blankly for a moment before looking up at him with shock.

_ “_Y-You sure?” she asked.

“Well, yes, obviously,” he said. “You’re sleeping in here anyway. And I do have the largest room. It’s really not a problem. I certainly don’t mind. You can just pay me back in puzzle solving!”

Frisk grinned. “Bro, you get the heck down here.”

When he squatted down, she hugged him tight and smooched his cheek. “Ooh!” His face flushed. “I’m glad you’re happy! This means I’m being a good big brother, right?!”

She nodded.

“You know, I never expected to be a big brother except in a literal sense,” he said, “but now I can be both! I’m actually really enjoying this.”

Frisk snickered. “Thank you.”

“Nyeh heh! You don’t need to thank me for something like this,” he said. “That implies I might have been inconvenienced in some way! Which I haven’t, if that wasn’t obvious.” He lifted her and affectionately touched his brow to hers. 

She giggled. 

“Now,” he said, “I’ve got a couple things I still want to do on the UnderNet, but—”

“Can I hang out?” she asked.

“Oh! Absolutely, what would you like to do?” he said.

“Oh no, I mean, you do your stuff, I’d just kinda like to sit around,” she said. “I’m really tired so I’ll probably fall asleep, but, if it’s okay…”

Papyrus looked at her with confusion. “Wait. Just… sitting? Not doing anything? No activities? No plan?”

She nodded. The way he looked back at her was like it had never occurred to him.

“Is that… normal? Is that a thing you do with friends?” he asked.

Frisk nodded again.

“Right! I mean, of course, I absolutely knew that already!” he said quickly. “I was just making sure that was what you wanted!”

He spirited her into the room and she sat, quite contented, in his lap, half-asleep as he spent his time on the underground’s only social network. She wasn’t really following what he was doing, but she was glad to just sit with him.

“Hey, look, Undyne just updated,” he said. “Taken? What does that mean? Taken where? Oh no, FRISK!”

Frisk tried to force her eyes open. “Hmm?”

“Undyne is—!”

“Means she’s dating,” Frisk mumbled.

“Huh?!”

“Taken. Like, not single,” the girl said with a tired smile. 

“Oh. OH! Jeez. Sorry,” Papyrus said. “How did I miss that?”

She laughed sleepily and looked at the screen through bleary eyes. There were quite a few comments popping up under Undyne’s, including one from a familiar face.

“Is…? Hey, is that Asgore?” she asked.

“Oh, yes! King Asgore has everyone on UnderNet, you know. He mostly just posts pictures of flowers, though. And teacups. Hey, do you have an account?” he asked.

“I used to,” she said.

“Oh. You should get one!” he said. “Don’t use your real name, though, I learned that the hard way.”

Frisk didn’t know exactly what that meant, but she nodded. She felt herself slumping but she wasn’t very inclined to stop.

\- - -

When Frisk’s eyes blinked open and saw golden light. Her heart sunk as that hallway, the columns, and the stained glass came into focus. Her stomach turned and she started to shake. Sans was there. His eyes were dark and his grin was almost taunting.

“Oh no no no no, not again,” she pleaded. She took a step back. Felt a sting of shock. 

His expression changed— eyes were still lightless, but his brow furrowed. She looked at her hands, her heart thumping. She could move. She clenched and unclenched her fists. She gawked, started shaking so hard she couldn’t stay on her feet. She dropped to her knees and stared at her hands, trying not to hyperventilate.

“Hey. Wait a sec,” she heard Sans say. “K… Kiddo?”

She nodded numbly.

His slippers slapped gently on the tile to break the silence as he walked closer, and he went down on one knee in front of her. He lifted her face and tilted his head. “Hey. Would you look at you. And not even cryin’, huh?”

She whimpered and hugged him tightly, and he grunted and plopped back onto the floor. She might not have been crying, but she couldn’t stop shaking. He patted her head gently.

“Deep breaths,” he said. “You’re okay.”

“Y… Yeah…” She did as he said. “Oh my god. Oh my _god_.” She started laughing and hid her face against his shirt.“I’m me, I’m actually me! I… I can’t believe it! I’ve… I’ve never been _me_ here!”

“Happy for you,” he said. “You hurt?”

“N-No.” She pulled back and took another deep breath. “No. I’m okay. I’m… okay. A-Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Was expectin’ a fight,” he said. “This is fine by me, though, that crap is pretty tiring.”

He started to get up and helped her to her feet, too. “So, if I’m not having a flashback, what the hell are we doing here?”

Frisk could only shrug. She looked around, then felt a weight around her neck. When she looked, she saw a heart-shaped locket, and she lifted it curiously. 

It wasn’t hers. She had found one just like it in Asgore’s home, a long time ago. It belonged to Chara. Before they had left the underground for the last time and after Chara had passed on, she buried it under Toriel’s old, leafless tree. She took it off and rubbed her thumb over the rounded metal.

“Do… Do I look like me?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Sans said.

“Do I always?”

“Yeah.”

Frisk grimaced. “So, all those others, they—”

“Oh. Them? That’s not you.” Sans shrugged. “No. They’re always a bit different.”

Frisk could have melted from relief. She rubbed a hand through her hair and blew out a long sigh. Sans grinned sympathetically. 

“Kid, just because you’re along for the ride doesn’t make that crap your fault, alright?” he said. “If anything, it’s mine. They’re my memories.”

Curiously, he slowly began to walk to hall, looking at the windows with interest. Frisk followed. She still couldn’t stop shaking.

“I don’t get it,” she said quietly. “Am I…? Like, what am I? What are these _anomaly _things?”

“We never talked about this?” he asked.

“No, not really, whenever I’d ask, you’d be all like,” she did her best impression of him, “_who cares? Bunch of trash. Good thing they aren’t real._”

“Oh.” He laughed. “Welp. Yeah. Pretty much true.”

Frisk pouted. He sighed.

“Honestly, I dunno,” Sans said. “I guess it’s anyone with high enough determination to control the timeline. If we’re talkin’ just your time, before you, it was Asriel, but I have a feelin’ you know all about that. But those other humans, I dunno. I don’t know why so many of them look a little like you, though, or how you’re connected. Probably won’t ever know, now, and I’m perfectly comfortable with that.”

“It’s just so confusing,” Frisk grumbled.

Sans stopped in front of one of the windows and looked thoughtful for a moment. “Look, this thing with the other anomalies, it’s… sideways,” he said. “I know that doesn’t make much sense. But time isn’t… It’s not a straight line. Think branches, I guess. So what happened with them, it’s… not happenin’ right now, but maybe somewhere else it is. Or it happened a long time ago.”

She gave him a confused look.

“I know. Convoluted, right?” He smiled knowingly. “Honestly, it’s hard to remember them, sometimes. I remember more of what happened than who did it at this point. Think that’s just due to, uh, overexposure. But sometimes I get their faces. Some of them never get a hold of the reset right before they vanish and I still have almost everything. Some other ones did, and my memories of them are broken up a bit. But I still know what happened, in a way. I still get these echoes. It’s hard to explain. Even though, at this point, all of it technically never happened. Weird shit. Guess it’s just a case of hubris on my part, maybe?”

“Hu… briss?” she repeated.

Sans grinned and shrugged. “Time travellers remember time travel. Not always a good thing,” he said. “It’s my own fault. Welp. At least it’s helpful to somebody, so it’s not all bad.”

“Wow,” Frisk said quietly. “How did…? Never mind. Are you okay?”

“Mostly. Like I told you, I just kinda go with it. Hard to be invested in much when everything’s just gonna be reset. Or… I guess that’s how it used to be.” He cut his eyes at her. “But, you know, then somethin’ _really_ weird happened. You showed up. Go figure. Pretty lucky, honestly, because you wouldn’t believe how sick of watchin’ everyone die I am”

“I think I have a bit of an idea,” she admitted. “That must’ve been so awful.”

“Pretty much,” he said. “If I can be a huge whiner for a second…?”

“Of course!” Frisk assured him. 

“Thanks,” he said. “Actually, I’ve, uh, never been able to talk about this before. Couldn’t tell Paps this part, didn’t want to freak him out. I think the worst part about all that was I couldn’t do anything. When it started, I used to try to stop them. But they’d just keep going backwards. Eventually I just couldn’t keep up. Had to just wait for the reset. The worst were the ones that seemed nice at first, and then they stomp through my town and kill my brother. Seriously, what kind of freak does that?”

Frisk bit her lip. She could hardly imagine how betrayed he must’ve felt— to think things might finally be going well, and then _that_… She shuddered and hurriedly wiped her eyes.

“What did they want, though?” she asked shrilly. “Who were they? Why were they killing people?”

Sans shrugged. “Other than that crap with the ghost in their heads? I have no idea,” he said. “Don’t care, honestly. Learned a long time ago that no answer was enough, you know? All that matters is that they’re gone. Thanks to you.”

“B… But you still see them,” she said quietly.

“Like I said, it’s only memories. Echoes, I guess,” he said. “I can deal with that. Wish _you_ didn’t have to deal with it, though. Kinda complicates things. Also, it just sort of hit me that we’re talkin’ in a dream. That is some weird crap, kid.”

“Oh, about that, also,” she said, “um… in the future, we had this deal that if you see the, um… the anomaly or whatever, and they’re doing bad stuff, you just smash them right away.”

“…Really? Doesn’t that hurt?” he asked.

“Yeah, but it usually wakes me up,” she said. “And then I go wake you up.”

“Oh. Okay. That’s fair,” he said. “Do you ever get to be yourself in dreams, by the way?”

“Oh! Yeah, sometimes,” she said. “Not in any of these memory ones, though. I mean, until like right now, anyway. I guess it’s just a thing where the worst one make the most impressions, you know? But, actually, we can do a thing. We can _make_ a thing.”

Sans stared back at her blankly. She smiled and grabbed his hand. 

“Grillby’s?” she asked.

“Uh… Okay?”

“Just picture it!” 

The energy in her soul flared and, around them, the golden hall melted and rebuilt into the red-brick bar— a near-perfect replica. Still smelled like the cooking of greasy comfort food. It was uncharacteristically quiet, but otherwise, it felt pretty close. Sans looked around with surprise.

“Damn,” he said.

“I know, right?” Frisk said brightly. “Oh! And watch this!”She held out her hands in front of her and concentrated for just a moment. Red, sparkling dust floated together and, with a _pop_, a bottle of ketchup formed and she caught it, and then handed it to him. 

He took it cautiously and tapped on it curiously. “Damn,” he said again.

Frisk smiled proudly. “It took some practice, but I’m pretty good at this now. Try it!”

“I… can actually drink this?” he asked.

Frisk nodded. He took a sip, and then looked surprised again.

“Okay, yeah, that’s really weird,” he said. “Not bad, actually. How are you doin’ this, exactly?”

“We’re both doing it,” she said. “Weird magic lucid dreaming. I mean, since we gotta be mind-linked anyway, might as well do something fun with it, right? And it blocks the other ones. It just… I mean, you don’t get a very good sleep out of it. But like, sometimes you can tell when a bad one’s coming, you know? So, better to get ahead of it, I guess.”

Sans strolled around the building curiously. He tapped the bar and poked the stools. “How’d you figure this out?”

“You did,” she said brightly.

“Oh. ”

“Sorry, is that weird?” she asked.

“No, it’s cool,” he said. “Oh, uh… Kid? What’s happenin’ to you?”

Frisk tilted her head, confused, and then looked at her hands. They were starting to sparkle with red dust. “Oh! No worries, I guess I’m just waking up. I’ll come get you!”

She let go and felt like she was falling. Her feet alit gently on the ground, and she saw darkness before her, prickled with little dots like distant stars. She frowned. No, this wasn’t quite right. She should be waking up, shouldn’t she? 

She thought she saw something move— some dark shape obscuring the lights. She felt a hand on her shoulder, bony fingers clutching her. She turned to look, but there was nothing there. Something brushed her hand, and when she lifted it to look, she noticed that she held a simple, silver key. There was a little bit of copper-coloured stain around the hole for a keychain and it was a little grimy otherwise, too. 

Her brow furrowed a little, and when she looked up from it, she was startled by the outline of a door in the dark. Light shone through the cracks and a keyhole blazed like a lamp. Cautiously, Frisk approached it and reached up to try the handle. She was surprised when the door moved, but for some reason, that light gave her such a stomach-turning feeling that she pushed it back closed tightly. Cautiously, she put the key in the keyhole and locked it. The key wouldn’t come out again, but it blocked that light, so that was fine by her. 

It took Frisk’s eyes a moment to adjust to the dark when they opened. She could see a strange glow. She blinked hard and sat up. She was tucked into Papyrus’s bed again. He, however, was at his computer desk, but the way his shoulders were slumped and how his head was leaning on his fist made her realize that he was definitely asleep. She dragged the comforter off the bed and tossed it over his shoulders, then stood on her tiptoes to turn off the bright screen before she snuck out.

Sans was still out when she slipped into his room.

“Hey, Sans,” she whispered.

He didn’t budge. She sat on the floor next to his mattress.

“Sans,” she said, forcing her voice louder. Still nothing. She grabbed his shoulder and shook him gently. “Bro,” she said. “Bro, c’mon, up up up!”

He flinched a little. His eyes opened a bit and pushed himself up on his elbow, rubbing his skull groggily. “Sorry, thought I was at Grillby’s. Sup, kiddo?”

“Sans, c’mon, I just told you I was coming to get you,” she said.

He stared at her blankly for a moment and then rubbed his eye socket with the heel of his hand and started to grin. “You sure did,” he said. “So that was totally legit.”

She nodded. He laughed sleepily.

“Huh. Okay. Cool,” he said. “That is messed up.”

“You okay?” Frisk asked.

“Shouldn’t I be askin’ you that?” he wondered. “I mean, hell, half the time I don’t even want to be in my own head, I definitely never wanted anyone else to have to deal with it. Are you okay?”

Frisk pouted, but she nodded. She scooted up onto his mattress and hugged him.

“Oh. Hello. Okay.” His shoulders sagged a little and he held her close despite his surprise. “Ah, c’mon, kid, it’s fine.”

“Lame,” she said with a snicker. “Hey. Could you help me with something?”

“Hm?”

“Papyrus fell asleep at his desk,” she said.

“Ah.” 

He put on a sweatshirt as they left the room. Both of them were surprised to find Papyrus running frantically around the downstairs, looking under cushions and behind the TV. Sans looked over the banister with a groggy smile.

“Hey, Paps. You, uh, lose something?”

“B-Brother, I…!” He whirled and his eyes lit up. “Oh! F-Frisk, there you are!”

“You were looking for me in the sofa?” she asked.

“You never know!” he said shrilly.

“Okay, okay,” Sans said. “C’mon, you two, back to bed.”

“Story time?” Papyrus asked.

Sans smiled. “Yeah, sure, let’s go.”

Papyrus was back in bed within seconds, whisking Frisk along with him. Sans wandered to the bookshelf.

“What d’you guys want?” he asked.

“Frisk, you can pick, since it’s your first story time, this time around, at least,” Papyrus said.

“Um… Oh, okay,” she said. “Do you…? Do you have the first _Trident of Vengeance_?”

“Ooh, good choice!” Papyrus said brightly.

Sans pulled it from the shelf and sat in the bed with them, but to Frisk’s surprise, he used his magic to pull her up to sit under his arm so she could see the pages when he opened it.

“Just try followin’ along,” he suggested. “I mean, until you pass out."

Frisk tried very hard, but she was so cozy she fell asleep again after a barely chapter and a half. 


	17. The First Plan Arc

A warm, sluggish heat permeated the air and made Sans want to fall straight back to sleep as his eyes opened. The muffled ringing of a phone registered in his mind, but there was no way he was going to try to find it. Would have been difficult, anyway, because he could barely move. The kid had passed out on him, cozied up under his arm and clinging to him lightly, and Papyrus was holding both of them close. Strange, he thought, that he had never felt so safe in his life. 

The phone stopped ringing and he was left in a relaxing silence, listening instead to the soft breathing of the kid and his brother’s gentle, sporadic snores. The faint light of his brother’s golden amber soul shone through his shirt, and he was sure that, under the kid, he was doing the same. He would be okay not getting up for a long time. Even with the weird dream crap, he felt like he hadn’t slept this well in ages.

He settled back farther into the covers and felt Frisk snuggle closer. He had no problems with that. The kid was warm. Still surprised him how okay with hugging skeletons she was. Strange to think about— kind of surreal for him, too— but skeletons must’ve been a morbid prospect for humans, right? But it was like it was the most natural thing in the world. He kind of felt that way, too. But it couldn’t be that comfortable, though, could it? Either way, she never seemed to mind.

He closed his eyes again and had almost fallen asleep when he heard the muffled ringing of the phone again. He rubbed his brow and tried to feel his pockets. Nothing. He thought about it for a moment before he gently nudged Frisk.

“Kid?” he asked. 

“…Hmm?” She was barely awake at all. “…Yeaaaah?”

“You got the phone?”

She didn’t even open her eyes, fidgeted with her pockets, and then passed it to him in mostly limp fingers. Through bleary eyes, he looked at the number and recognized it as Alphys’s. Reluctantly, he shifted out of the bed, though with the kid so close, she was an accidental tagalong. He looked down at her as she plopped, sleep-dazed, to the floor, then back at the phone. He sighed to himself and used his magic to gently float her back to Papyrus. He clung to her right away.

He slipped out of the bedroom and closed the door to avoid more noise, then answered the phone. Mostly just to stop it from ringing, if he were honest. “Yo,” he said.

“H… Hello?” Alphys said.

“Sup?” he asked.

“…U-Um… Who is th-this?” she asked.

Sans rubbed his brow. “Dude, it’s Sans.”

“Oh! O-Oh, I’m sorry, y-your voice was all… Oh. You just woke up. S-Sorry! A-And I expected F-Frisk, this is her n-number, right?” she said.

“She’s asleep,” he said.

“Her too?! C’mon, S-Sans, it’s already…! Oh…” She started to laugh nervously. “Oh man, it’s… I-It’s actually kind of early, huh?”

“Mhm.”

“I’m s-so sorry!” Alphys said quickly. “I didn’t realize…! Sorry, Undyne and I, we just stayed up and talked and watched m-movies and stuff, and I’m not even t-tired, and—”

“So it all worked out,” Sans said. “Good. I’m happy for you guys.”

“Y-Yeah! Yes! I… I’m happy, too. Oh! Oh, right, I was calling to invite y-you guys back over!”

“Yeah sure, when it’s not, like…” He checked the clock on the phone. “4:30? Huh. Haven’t seen this hour in years.”

“I-I’m sorry! I thought it was later. It’s a little hard to tell in Waterfall,” she said. “A-Actually. I wanted to talk to you, too.”

Sans held in a sigh and he shifted downstairs to the sofa and plopped onto the cushions, putting up his feet. “Sup?”

“Um… W-Well… about all this memory stuff,” she said quietly, “The, um… the time stuff. I… I mean… You seem k-kinda… weirdly comfortable with it?”

“How do you mean?” he asked.

“I mean, is it j-just ‘cause you were k-kinda studying this? Y-You expected it?” she asked. “A-And you and Frisk s-seem so close, and… Oh my god.”

“What?” he asked.

“H-How old is she?” she squeaked.

“I dunno, ten? Eleven?” he said.

“D-Did you make her, is th-that why you quit? Are you her dad?!”

Sans was floored. He started to laugh.

“Wh-What?” Alphys demanded.

“Dude, I’m headin’ back to Nopesville,” he said.

“Aw, c-come on!” she said shrilly. “It’s not _that _bad of a theory! Think about it! An experiment t-to make a human soul, g-gone wrong, that y-you take in and raise as your own and—”

“Doc, that’s gotta be like, at least seven levels of crazy.” He frowned. “That’s not even what I was… You already wrote the fanfic, didn’t you?”

“Wh-What?! N-N-No, that’s crazy, I… I only did the outline…?”

“How do you even…?” Sans sighed and smiled to himself. “You know what? Actually, that’s fine. Write the heck out of that. Just as long as you’re not shippin’ the kid and Paps, do what you want.”

“Not even if—?”

“Nooooope.”

“Okay okay okay, sheesh,” Alphys said, but she laughed. “U-Um, anyway! Sidetracked! So maybe you could tell me—?”

“Later,” he said. “I told Undyne the same thing yesterday: don’t really want to explain more than I have to, so once we get there.”

“B-But…! But… Okay. Is that soon?”

“I’ll get back to you when everyone wakes up.”

\- - -

“Shhh, shh, Papyrus! No, it’s okay, we’ll just wait.”

“But I don’t know where it is and you don’t know where it is, so it’s only logical that—”

“But he looks so cozy. I don’t wanna move him.”

Nonetheless, Sans rather abruptly found himself lifted up into the air and, when he groggily opened his eyes, he was looking into the face of his brother. “Oh. Hey, Paps, sup?” he asked.

“Good morning, brother!” he said. “Frisk needs fire!”

“Aw, Papyrus, you didn’t need to wake him up,” Frisk said. 

She was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, looking bashful, but she smiled. “Good morning, anyway!” she said.

He waved lazily. “What’s this about fire?”

Frisk grinned. Papyrus put Sans down, and he rubbed his eye sockets and wandered after the kid into the kitchen. 

The counters and walls were covered in a dusting of white flour, and pots and pans were scattered all over, and there was a bowl with leftover, fluffy white something inside and a bone sticking out of it. There was a sort of warm, sweet smell in the air, too.

“Hey, Sans, Frisk had the same weird idea you did,” Papyrus announced. “She made a quiche! But with sugar and some other sweet nonsense in it.”

Sans shot Frisk a surprised look, and she grinned.

“I figured, since you guys have been so cool to me and stuff, I could pay you back a little,” she said. “So I tried mom’s pie recipe!”

As she went into the fridge, Sans took note that one of the girl’s hands was wrapped in bandages. She took out a pie topped in fluffy meringue and show him proudly.

“It’s not as big as mom’s, and I probably forgot a bit, but I think it’s probably pretty good!” she said. “I just wanna toast the top! Mom can breathe fire so she usually does it.”

“Wow. You’ve been busy,” he said.

Frisk put the pie carefully up on the counter. “So, do you have a lighter or something?” she asked. “Do monsters use lighters?”

“I think you can just put it back in the oven,” he said.

“What? Really? It won’t get runny again?” Frisk asked, eyes wide.

“I don’t think it works like that,” he said.

“Oh! Jeez, you’re so smart. Okay, I’ll give it a try,” she said. 

Frisk put the pie back in the oven and squatted down. Sans looked with her and put the broiler on. He pointed to her hand.

“Oh! I’m just a moron,” she said.

“She burned herself,” Papyrus said. “Can I please take a look at that now?!”

“Soon, soon,” Frisk said. “Just let me finish.”

“Jeez, kid, how?” Sans asked.

“Oh! So, part of this recipe is, like, you gotta cook some sugar and stuff?” she said. “So I finished that and I forgot to turn off the burner, I guess? But then I saw Papyrus leaning on it and I forgot that I forgot because you guys totally don’t burn or anything, and then I touched it, and yeah.”

“I like that you just brush that sort of thing off, but someone says something nice and you just start cryin’,” he joked.

Frisk snickered and shrugged. Papyrus sighed and lifted her up off her feet.

“Sans can take out your weird quiche,” he said.

“It’s a pie!” she protested.

“Whatever. He can manage it!” Papyrus said. “Come on. I’m fixing you.”

“Okay okay, sheesh.”

He ferried her away to the living room and Sans lazily watched the pie brown on top. He had to actually try quite hard not to nod off again. He could hear Frisk quietly _ow-ing_ in the other room and the sound of the MTT channel.

“Hold still, hold still,” he said.

“Ew, ew ew, the bandage stuck! Ewww it’s peeling!!! Ow…” she whined.

“Oh, Frisk. Wow, that is gross. You are ridiculous, next time I heal you right away! No complaining!”

“Okay, okay, okay.”

When Sans took out the pie, he was kind of surprised: it didn’t look too bad at all. “Did you, uh, want this now?”

“Yes! Hope it’s okay!” Frisk said. “And I figure we can bring the rest to Undyne’s, right? Paps, your phone has a dimension box thing, right?”

“Absolutely!” he said. “Ooh, wait, don’t move yet.”

When Sans wandered out of the kitchen with pie, he could see strange raw skin on Frisk’s hand clearing up and the amber glow of Papyrus’s magic dying down.

“Hey, that didn’t take long,” Sans said approvingly. 

“Yes! I’m getting quite proficient at this,” Papyrus asserted. “Unfortunately at Frisk’s expense, but still. Sheesh, human skin does a lot of weird stuff, doesn’t it? What do you call that?”

Frisk snickered and he let her hand go. She looked at it curiously and grinned. “Blisters. They suck. But, Paps, seriously, you’re great. You’re gonna try some pie, right?”

“Welllll…”

“Dude, you better,” Sans said, handing him a plate. He gave one to Frisk, too.

She hurriedly tried it, and then let out a sigh of relief. “It’s not terrible!” she said proudly.

Sans snickered and sat on the arm of the sofa, but quickly reconsidered and slid down to rest comfortably against Papyrus. The tall skeleton stared at the pie somewhat suspiciously.

“Well, it was fun to make, but so sugary…” he said. “I’m not sure.”

“Bro, you can’t just eat spaghetti forever, try the stuff.” Sans tried some himself and his face lit up. “Dude. This is good. Really good, actually.”

“Y-Yeah?” Frisk asked excitedly.

“This is Tori’s recipe?” he asked.

“Basically,” Frisk said with a nod. “B-But I couldn’t find any vanilla beans. And I forgot how much sugar and stuff, and I couldn’t roll the crust, Papyrus was cool and did that part, and—”

“Kid, you did good,” he said. “Tori told me these were her speciality, and I tried to make one, too, but it kind of just turned into goo.”

“What, you mean that other sloppy quiche?” Papyrus asked.

“Ooh! Corn starch,” Frisk said.

Sans stared at her and then smacked himself in the forehead. “Of course.”

The kid snickered. “It’s okay, when I did it the first time I forgot it, too. Mom had to save it,” she said; she smiled fondly. “It’s… not as good as hers, but… still kinda makes me feel better, y’know?”

Sans nodded. Papyrus stared at his plate. He took a deep breath and then tried the pie.

“Oh. Oh!” he said. “Hey, I kind of like that. Maybe a bit sweet for me, but it’s actually pretty pleasant.”

Frisk beamed and she and Sans high-fived.

\- - -

Papyrus all but relished the cleaning portion of cooking, happy to return order to the flour coated kitchen. Frisk tried to help, but he kept putting her back on the sofa instead. She could barely reach anyway. 

The MTT channel was playing reruns. Really old stuff. Seemed a little off— usually daytime programming was live, but then again, Mettaton ran his own work schedule and was a bit of a diva, so if he decided not to work on a day, there wasn’t much anyone could really do about it.

Sans was half-asleep, staring at the screen, and Frisk lay lengthwise on the sofa, using his side as a pillow as she looked over the hand that had been previously red and blistered.

“Look at this,” she said. She held up her hand and he sleepily cut his eyes at her.

“Somethin’ wrong?” he asked.

“No! It’s perfect,” she said. “I didn’t realize how quick he picked that up. Even from the future stuff, this is the first time for burn blisters.”

“Yup. Paps is pretty great,” he agreed.

“But, like… I’m always so impressed because you guys don’t even have skin,” she said, “but he just kind of gets it. But… I guess that’s just kind of perfect for him, right?”

“Heh. Yeah. True,” Sans agreed.

“I, um… I know you don’t remember this, but you know what you were really good at?” she said.

“Uh… Nope,” he said. “No clue.”

“Headaches,” she said. “Actually, any sort of inside thing. Stomach aches, too. I wonder what changed.”

He shrugged. She frowned and looked at her hands, then rubbed them together gently. She tilted her head back to look at him. She felt a strike of shock when she noticed tears at the corner of his eyes. She hurriedly sat up.

“Bro?” she squeaked.

He didn’t reply; stared vacantly at the television. She grabbed his arm but he didn’t respond.

“Papyrus!” Frisk called shrilly.

Papyrus stuck his head back into the room, but didn’t even need to ask what was wrong. He bounded over and immediately scooped Sans up into his arms and gently touched their brows together.

“Brother. Come on, now, back with us,” he said gently. He cupped his face and his magic shone amber. 

After a moment, Sans’s eye lit up as if mirroring his brother’s.

“There you are,” Papyrus said, smiling and squeezing him affectionately. 

“Oh. Jeez. Sorry, guess I spaced out there for a sec,” he said. “I’m okay.”

“Are you absolutely sure?” Papyrus demanded.

Sans nodded and wiped his eyes. He laughed quietly and hugged Papyrus in return. “Thanks, Paps.” He leaned over his brother’s arm to give Frisk an embarrassed grin. “Sorry, kid, was hopin’ not to do that in front of you.”

Frisk shook her head hurriedly and grabbed them both and hugged them as tight as she could.

“D-Do you want to stay home?” she said. “I-If you’re not feeling good, still, th-then—”

Sans scoffed. “Kid, c’mon, what’s the top rule of skeleton family?” he said.

“Um… Uh…”

“That’s easy, Frisk,” Papyrus assured her. “We stick together! No matter what.”

She was surprised when Sans took her hands in his.

“Right,” he said. “And we always give each other a hand, huh?”

She nodded. His hand detached. She shrieked. He started laughing so hard he fell backwards.

“SANS!!” Papyrus cawed.

\- - - 

Afternoon rolled in and Sans decided it was finally a proper time to head back to Undyne’s. Frisk’s nerves were building and and she busied herself with a new list as Papyrus sorted through his clothes. He stumbled through his closet, _nyehing_ to himself. Frisk scribbled out things she knew she needed to talk about. It wasn’t that she was worried she would forget, but it helped settle her mind a little. 

“Hey, Frisk!” Papyrus held out two shirts: one a tattered, faded, grey sweatshirt, from a human sports team with a with the word “PIRATES” on it and the other a green, sleeveless tee that had been roughly torn in half at some point, making whatever graphic was on it a mystery. Looked like it might have been pizza. “Which is cooler?”

“Bro, anything you wear is cool,” she assured him. “You aren’t gonna wear your battle body?”

“I’m off duty!” he said. “But… I guess I still do want to make a good impression. What do you think?”

She pointed to the sweatshirt. 

“Really?” he asked.

“It’ll look good with your scarf,” she said.

“Ah! Yes! True,” he said, tossing the green shirt over his shoulder haphazardly. “Good call.”

Frisk turned back to her terrible list as Papyrus changed in the closet. He burst out again very quickly and leaned over the back of her chair.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Just trying to get ready, I guess,” she said.

He frowned a little and put a hand on her shoulder. “You… You’re scared, aren’t you?” he asked. “Why are you scared?”

“Well…” She pouted and rested her cheek on her fist. “It’s… It’s hard to talk about, you know? And I’m definitely gonna cry a bunch. And… And then what if there’s no way to get Asriel a soul at all? What if it ends up just being better to not give him the chance to steal any souls at all and we all end up stuck down here? I mean, I love it here, but everyone deserves to be free, right? B-But then I bet the same thing will just happen again, and… and…”

She sighed. Papyrus knelt to match her eye level and cupped her cheek, giving her an affectionate tingle of magic— reassuring and warm, it helped her let her shoulders down. His eyes brightened, too.

“Hey. Listen, Frisk. I know I don’t totally get it,” he said, “But I want to help you. It’s true, what Sans said before he so rudely detached his hand, you know.”

She nodded and Papyrus touched his brow to hers gently. She had to grit her teeth to keep back a sudden, painful shock of heartache. She hugged him tightly.

They jumped when there was a loud, slow knock on the door.

“C’mon, let’s get the heck out of here,” Sans said.

Papyrus pulled back. He patted her head. “Remember,” he said. “if you need anything at all, you can count on me! The great Papyrus! Also your great big brother! Okay? I’ve always got your back. And your front. And whatever else you need.”

Frisk couldn’t help but snicker. “You’re the coolest, bro.”

“I know! Thank you!” he replied brightly.

\- - -

The darkness of Waterfall was always jarring coming straight out of Snowdin, where the white snow could almost trick the eye into thinking there might be sunlight. Goings were smooth. No monsters paid any mind at all to Frisk while she walked with two skeletons. In fact, there weren’t many other monsters around at all. 

Before they could get close to Undyne’s, they still had to cross that wide, black lake on the tiny raft. When they reached the open, void-like expanse of darkness, however, not a single raft was to be found— not even a scrap of wood. Frisk felt her heart sink and she grabbed Sans’s arm nervously.

“What?” he asked.

“I can’t swim,” she said.

“I can!” Papyrus assured her.

“Nope. We are not goin’ through the everyone gets soaked thing again,” Sans said. He squinted across to the other side of the lake. He paced the dock. 

Frisk hung back, a little nervous. “I guess you can’t just put us all over there, huh?”

“Only works on you,” he said. 

Frisk blinked with surprise. “Oh.”

He looked thoughtful and, without another word, he vanished.

“S… Sans?” Frisk called.

“Well that was jarring!” Papyrus said. “Where the heck did he go?!”

“I crossed the thing!” Sans’s voice echoed distantly out of the darkness. 

Frisk peered across and, squinting, could see just the faintest lightening of a shape that must’ve been him. 

“I’m gonna try somethin’,” he said loudly. “Paps, pick the kid up.”

“ALIRGHT?!” He lifted Frisk up under her arms. “NOW WHAT?”

“You have her tight, right?” he asked.

Papyrus hurried to clutch her tight to his chest. “Too tight?” he asked.

“No…?” Frisk said.

“YES! NOW WHAT?” Papyrus shouted.

“Okay. Don’t move.”

In an instant, Papyrus’s soul lit up blue, shining through him much like Frisk’s would. His eyes went wide. “SANS?!” he called.

“Hang on. One sec,” he answered. 

Across, through the dark, they saw a bright blue dot of light. Slowly, Papyrus lifted up off the ground. He yelped. 

“ARE YOU MAGICKING ME?!” Papyrus shouted.

“Uh, yeah, dude, just chill,” he said.

“BUT SANS—!”

“I’m actually not bad at this. Trust me?” Sans called.

“It’s true, he is good at this, if that helps,” Frisk said.

“OKAY, OKAY!” Papyrus said.

He braced himself as he lifted a little higher and he clutched Frisk close. He was gently pulled forward, hovering just enough so the toes of his boots wouldn’t graze the water. 

“Oh my god,” he muttered. “If he drops us, so help me I’ll—“

“Don’t worry,” Frisk assured him, though her heart was going a little faster than what was comfortable just from watching the water, like polished obsidian, pass beneath them. She clung a little tighter, and he did, too.

When they finally reached the next boardwalk, Sans grinned at them as he put them down. He was sweating a little, but didn’t look any worse for wear. Papyrus let out a sigh and Frisk, with her feet on the ground, staggered for a moment and tried to steady herself. Papyrus looked at his brother with wide eyes and then, hurriedly hugged him close. Sans snickered.

“Told you,” he said.

Papyrus lifted him right off his feet and squeezed him. “I’m so proud of you!”

“No big deal,” Sans said.

“Yes big deal!” Papyrus retorted shrilly.

Sans laughed and hugged him back. Their eyes lit up in sync; their glow brightened the dark.

\- - -

Waterfall was quiet today. Not many monsters out at all. Felt a little strange, and Frisk was starting to worry that it was her fault. Rumours of humans had been circulating yesterday, and she wouldn’t be at all surprised if it had just gotten worse. 

The trip to Undyne’s was proving to be pretty quick, however. At some point, Papyrus had picked up Sans to ferry him over a flowing river that divided the road, and the shorter skeleton promptly fell asleep over his brother’s shoulder. Frisk was a little jealous. She wished she could be so relaxed. Even so, Papyrus still held her hand as they went, and it definitely helped her nerves.

Just beyond Undyne’s house lay that tear in time, and Frisk took a moment to attach to it. Before they could continue on, she caught a glimpse of pale shimmering over out of the corner of her eye. When she turned, she saw Napstablook drifting. His home was just a rocky wall away from Undyne’s. The ghost paused with surprise and froze when he noticed them. Papyrus waved. Napstablook’s eyes welled up. He tilted sideways a little and floated closer, sinking down to look Frisk in the face.

“H… Hey. Oh. I know you,” he said. “Oh… I’m sorry… Were you busy…?”

“We’re going to see a friend,” she said brightly. “It’s good to see you again! Ooh! I’m Frisk, by the way. This is my big brother, Papyrus. The sleeping guy is my other big brother, Sans.”

“Oh… Nice to meet you,” he said. “Oh… I mean… we’ve already met, but… Are… Are you guys sure you should, um…? Oh… M-Maybe I should just… go…?”

“Is something wrong?” Papyrus asked. “Do you need some help!?”

“Um… W-Well…” He looked reluctant and worried. “Everyone is sort of freaking out, you know? S-Someone said… they saw a human? A-And now, where is the Guard Captain…? But… maybe she just slept in…? I don’t know…”

Frisk’s eyes went wide. Papyrus’s, too, but when the girl shot him a worried look, he started to laugh, much to her surprise.

“Nyeh heh heh! Oh, no no no, my new spooky friend,” Papyrus said quickly. “You’ve got it all wrong!”

“…Oh…?” Napstablook said, wide-eyed.

“Undyne’s totally fine,” he said. “We’re going to see her now! Don’t you worry, I, the great Papyrus, assure you that if there was a real danger from a human, Undyne would be out chasing them down to keep everyone safe.”

“B… But… Oh… Okay,” Napstablook agreed cautiously. 

Frisk gulped. She had just saved. She decided to take a chance. “Um… And, uh… the truth is,” she said, “I’m the human.”

Papyrus looked surprised, as did the ghost. Napstablook’s eyes watered and he got even closer. 

“…I… I thought, maybe…” he said quietly. “I didn’t want to ask… in case I was wrong, didn’t want to be rude, but… you’re not, um… You’re not hurting anyone.”

“N-No! Of course not, I… um… I just really would like to be friends. If… If that’s okay?” she said quickly.

Napstablook looked thoughtful. After a moment of deathly silence, he started to smile, just a little. “Oh… You’re actually kind of nice, huh?”

“W-Well, I hope so,” Frisk said. “I’m sorry for scaring everyone.”

Napstablook nodded, and though a few stray tears dribbled down his face, he smiled. “Well… that’s good,” he said. “I’ve, um… I’ve seen humans be… mean? You know? But you… and your, um, brothers, too? You can, um… If you want. You can come over sometime. Um… no pressure or anything.”

Frisk grinned. “Thank you!” she said. “I definitely will!”

They waved him off when he drifted towards home and Frisk let out a breath of relief. Papyrus gave her a sideways grin.

“That could have gone poorly,” he said. “Good job, Frisk!”

“I’m so glad,” she said.

“Didn’t think someone so spooky would get so easily spooked,” Sans commented.

“Oh! Brother! How long have you been up?” Papyrus asked.

“Was I supposed to be keeping track?” he asked.

Frisk snickered and Papyrus scoffed and gently put Sans down. He rubbed his eye sockets and laughed tiredly. 

“Oh. Hey. We’re here,” he said.

Just outside the house, Frisk borrowed Papyrus’s phone and used the in-built dimensional box to pull out one of the many slices of pie and a plate, and left it on the ground near the window. She began to break it into small pieces. Papyrus knocked on Undyne’s door.

“COME IN, NERDS!” they heard.

“It is I, the great Papyrus! And Sans and Frisk also!” Papyrus announced as he burst in. “We come with pie!”

“Pie?! I’m into it! ALPHYS THEY BROUGHT PIE!”

Sans followed lethargically, but paused just before open doorway to wait as Frisk finished up. “You’re spoilin’ him,” he joked.

“Nah,” she said. “I dunno, I think he might almost kind of trust me! Maybe. We really are friends. I don’t mind being nice even if he can’t.”

“Ah. Yeah. I tried being nice once,” he said. “It was awful.”

She smiled sympathetically. “Yeah?”

“Sure. Back when he was still in charge, I kinda did like I did with you, you know? Told him I understood. True. He stops screwin’ around and comes to find me in the next timeline and I’d take care of him,” he said. “Guess how that turned out?”

Frisk sighed and nodded. “He’s just not thinking right.”

Inside, the room was askew with blankets and pillows all around the area where Undyne had shoved the sofa and TV. The piano was pushed back for more room, but even so, Alphys was nowhere to be seen. Papyrus finished unloading the already sliced pie onto the table as Undyne watched, face alight.

“Wow, you guys! This looks great!” Undyne said brightly. “Can I put this in my face?!”

“Yes, of course!” Papyrus said. 

Undyne grabbed a slice in her hand and all but inhaled it. Her eye went wide. “Dang, this is great!!! Where’d you get it?!”

“Frisk and I made it ourselves,” Papyrus said proudly.

“No WAY!! ALPHYS! PIE! PUT IT IN YOUR FACE!”

“It’s my mom’s recipe, sort of,” Frisk said. “I’m glad you like it! Papyrus did the crust and Sans helped toast the top!”

“Barely,” Sans said.

“Awesome! We definitely need to cook together!!” Undyne said. “Again. And not burn my house down, I guess! Hah! I didn’t know you could actually cook well, though!”

Frisk nodded emphatically. 

Near the piano, Alphys slowly and awkwardly edged out of bedroom, cleaning her glasses on the collar of her black t-shirt with a text face like a cat’s on it in white. Sans patted Frisk on the shoulder.

“Yup. My kid’s pretty multipurpose. Saves the world _and_ makes a killer dessert,” he said.

Frisk giggled. Alphys leaned around the piano to look and she grinned.

“Oh! H-Hi you guys!”

“Hello, Doctor! Hope you’re doing well,” Papyrus said. 

Alphys nodded, smiled bashfully, and then hurried to Sans. “S-Sans! I’m gonna hug you, is that o-okay?!”

Sans shrugged and she grabbed him and squealed out something in what they could only assume was Japanese.

“S-So,” she said as she pulled back to hold him by the shoulders, “I was doing s-some writing and—”

“Oh shit, Alphys, you’re not gonna tell him about it to his face, are you?!” Undyne barked.

“I-It’s not e-even dirty, though!! I don’t even ship anyone!” Alphys insisted. “Okay, so what if— just hear m-me out—you made h-her in the l-lab by accident, right? And th-then that’s wh-why you—!”

“Wait, how far are you on this thing?” he asked, eyes wide. “When did you have time for this?”

“It doesn’t m-matter, just—!”

“Hey, whatchu guys talkin’ about?” Frisk said, leaning in with a curious expression. 

Alphys’s face flushed and she pulled away from Sans and held her hands in close to her body like a t-rex. “Uuuhhh… n-nothing, I—!”

Sans grinned and shrugged. “Alphys here was just tellin’ me about the AU fanfic she’s writing about me where I’m your dad and I made you by accident in a weird experiment or something and that’s why I stopped workin’ at the lab mysteriously ten years ago.”

Alphys looked like she could faint. Frisk looked confused, but she held onto his arm almost nervously. 

“Oh. Okay. Can we still be best friends in the story? Can you be best friends with your dad, is that a thing? I never had a dad, I dunno how this works.”

“Uuuhhhhmmm…” Alphys’s scales just turned brighter red.

Undyne was trying really hard not to laugh and Sans’s grin only widened.

“I’m sure that’s a thing,” Sans assured her before looking at Alphys and his expression turned serious. “But I’m not gonna tell her to eat her greens, you can’t put that in there. That would be too OOC.”

“And if you were my dad, you wouldn’t ground me for staying up too late, would you?” she asked.

“Heck no,” he said.

“And you’d make hotdogs all the time!”

“I do that anyway,” he said.

“Oh. I guess it wouldn’t be too different, then, except I’d call you dad?” Frisk frowned and laughed. “That sounds weird! But that’s actually pretty close to real life, Alphys, you gotta make it weirder or else what’s the point of writing it?”

“U-Um, w-w-well…” Alphys stammered.

“Well, she came from the lab, give her super powers like in those animes,” Papyrus suggested. “Or like the comic book heroes!”

“Yeah!” Frisk said. “Oh man, give me like, cool, dramatic super powers that I need to train super hard to control, or else I could blow everything up, and it’d be super awful!” She gasped. Her eyes brightened and she grabbed Alphys’s hands. “No no no, wait, gimme a Gaster Blaster!”

“A-A-A Gaster Blaster?” Alphys squeaked.

“Yeah! If Sans is my dad in your weird story then I should get a Gaster Blaster! But it’s red, though! I mean the eyes, they’re red. And… And it’s called… umm…”

“Disaster Blaster,” Sans said. “It has to rhyme, that’s the rules.”

“Or it could be a Faster Blaster, if it was quite quick,” Papyrus said with a grin, “or a Master Blaster, if it’s very smart!”

“Right, right, because the secret is I was a skeleton the whole time,” Frisk said.

“Nooo, really?!” Papyrus demanded.

“Yes, really! That’s the big twist,” Frisk said, and she winked. “It’ll be a big shock!”

Alphys looked like she could faint. She gulped. She pointed both index fingers and Undyne’s room and seemed flop towards it. “I’m j-just gonna… go… s-sit in the t-trash now, BRB.” She slunk away and closed the door. 

Sans grinned. Frisk snickered and Undyne was still trying not to laugh.

“Dudes, you trolled her super hard,” she said.

“Hey, look, to be honest, if in her AU, Frisk’s literally my kid for some reason, well, I can think of a hell of a lot worse,” Sans said with a shrug. “At least she’s not shippin’ me with Asgore again.”

Frisk burst out laughing and Sans grinned even wider. Papyrus snickered.

“I’m not sure where she’d ship you two to, that box would need to be huge!” he said. “And think of the provisions you’d need to pack!”

Undyne smacked her face into her palm and Sans beamed.

“Dude, never change,” he said.

Papyrus stuck both thumbs up.

“Guess that means I don’t get a Disaster Blaster,” Frisk said with a dramatic sigh.

Undyne finally gave in to a snicker and she walked back to the bedroom to fish Alphys out. “C’mon, you nerd, let’s go.”

“Nooo, I’m t-total trash,” Alphys whined.

“No you’re not, we love you!” Frisk called.

Undyne returned, carrying the lizard over her shoulder, and then plopped down on the sofa with her. Alphys covered her face. Frisk snickered and scooted up to give her a hug.

“We’re just joking, Alphys, you do what you want,” she said. 

“W-Well, I mean…” She looked at Sans with a bashful smile. “Y-You _did_ call her your kid…”

“She is my kid,” Sans said with a shrug. “And Papyrus’s. And Undyne’s, and yours. And Toriel’s. Just turns out, mostly mine because I’m home the most.”

“And I’m very grateful!” Frisk said with a smile. 

“R-R-Really? B-But… y-you’d be okay if… I said that, too?” Alphys demanded. “I-If I called you m-my kid? E-Even m-m-me?”

Frisk laughed. “Of course. I’m… I’m just so happy you guys all still like me that much that you’d even think to call me that.”

Alphys cooed and hugged Frisk tightly.

“Nyeh heh heh, oh Frisk, so insecure,” Papyrus chided.

She was just happy to get more hugs.

“Um,” she said, “I think I’m okay to tell you guys about stuff now. If you want.”

“Alph, keep a hold on her, she is gonna cry like a baby,” Sans said.

“Oh, c’mon!” Frisk protested. “I… I might cry a little, but—“

“D-Don’t worry, Frisk, if you cry, I’ll p-probably cry with you,” Alphys said.

“Maybe Papyrus should take her,” Undyne suggested. “We are gonna be in a never-ending crying loop if you do, Alph, no offence.”

“Oh-ho! Time to activate the pre-emptive Hug The Human Before She Cries Instead of After Plan!” Papyrus announced. He hopped onto the sofa and scooped up Frisk, draping a blanket around her and sitting her in his lap. “There we go! Perfect execution. How do you feel, Frisk, like crying?” he asked.

“N… Not yet?” Frisk said.

“Nyeh heh! Saved again by the great Papyrus!” He put his arms around her. “Just let me know if you need anything, alright?”

“Okay,” she said. She took a deep breath to steady herself. 

Sans wandered over to sit on the arm of the couch and stuck his thumb up. Frisk nodded.

“Okay, s-so, here’s the stuff,” Frisk said. “Um, you guys all probably figured I can time travel, and—”

There was a crash outside. She yelped and covered her ears, and Papyrus held her tight. Her heart began to pound and she clung to his arms. 

“HUMAN!” a voice boomed, rattling the windows. “I HAVE TRACKED YOU HERE TO YOUR STOLEN STRONGHOLD! WHAT HAVE YOU ALREADY DONE TO ITS OCCUPANTS, I WONDER?”

“W-Wait, a second, is that—?!” Alphys stammered.

“The hell is this?!” Undyne growled. 

There was another crash. The house shook. Frisk huddled and, quickly, Undyne snatched her up and jumped over the piano to put her in front of the bedroom door.

“Hide,” she ordered.

Frisk was about to, but, with a burst of energy and a sound like a cannon going off, the front door blasted inwards. Undyne ducked; Sans appeared at the stunned kid’s side and got her into the back room. Papyrus yelped and shielded Alphys as the pieces of door rocketed inwards and slammed into the kitchen walls.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Undyne roared. She stood tall and summoned a crackling spear in her hand.

Through dust and inexplicable fog, a weird, rectangular shape began to appear, until Mettaton stood in the doorway. The room settled into an uncomfortable, shocked silence.

“A… Alphie?” he asked. “You…? You were here?” Mettaton seemed to stare blankly around the room. 

Alphys stood up on the sofa. “M-M-Mettaton, what the hell is wrong with you?!” she barked.

“Well, excuuuuuse me, Doctor! You tell me there’s a human around, you vanish, I can’t get in contact, you MISS our MEETING?!” he shouted back. “Pardon me for being concerned!”

Alphys wilted, bit her lip, and tented her fingers. “O-Oh… Our meeting, that was…” She grimaced. “Oh… I’m s-sorry, M-Mettaton, I—”

“Ugh. Whatever. At least you aren’t dust,” he said. “Now where is that little—?”

“Um… Mister Mettaton, uh…” Papyrus said. “Um. Love your work, but I’m sorry to tell you that you’re quite mistaken about the human. Really, she’s completely safe and—”

“Oh. You must be Papyrus,” he said.

Papyrus’s eyes went wide. “Y-You know my name?!”

“Oh, yes, darling,” Mettaton said. “I feel like we’re already best friends, with the amount your brother talks about you. Now, how about you be a good boy and hand over that little cutie, hmm?”

“M-M-Mettaton!” Alphys snapped.

Undyne leapt over the sofa and stopped before him, crossing her arms and frowning. “Look, pal, you’re in my place,” she growled. “You break in my door and you wanna hurt one of my guests? I don’t think so.”

Mettaton put a hand to his front as if completely offended. “Moi? I… I don’t want to HURT her! Or… well… I do want that soul, I admit. But I LOVE humans! And if everyone is unharmed, I…”

Papyrus got up, too, and stood beside Undyne and mimicked her posture. He almost looked intimidating. Mettaton rolled backwards just a fraction.

“Well then. This is certainly a pickle,” he said, and he balled his fists. “Because I still don’t intend on going anywhere without—”

“Hey, T-800, chill out.” Sans tapped him on the shoulder as if appearing from nowhere. “No one’s gonna fight anyone. Right, guys?”

Undyne tried to mask her surprise, and her gaze settled for just a moment on Frisk, slinking up behind the metal monster. It looked like she was trying to use that magic on her face. She grinned her big, pointed teeth and furrowed her brow.

“Oh, I dunno, dude.” Undyne cracked her knuckles. “I never beat up a pop star before.”

“I believe you’ll find I’m more known for my game shows,” Mettaton protested. “And television dramas. And my attractive physique.”

“Heh, whatever,” she said. “You might be metal, but I bet you aren’t so tough.”

“You really think so? I’ll have you know Alphys built this very frame. I am, primarily, designed for combat,” he asserted.

“Oh yeah?!” Undyne growled.

“Yes!”

“OH YEAH?!”

“VERY MUCH SO!”

Sans looked behind Mettaton quickly. Undyne couldn’t see Frisk, but when the skeleton’s brow bent sympathetically, she understood. He shrugged and Undyne sighed and rolled her eye, but quickly folded her arms again and became like a wall. 

“Well, I think you’re definitely not getting past me. No matter what. Try it and you’ll wish Alphys never made you at all!”

“It is very nice to meet you, Mettaton, but there’s no way we are letting you anywhere near Frisk at all with an attitude like that!” Papyrus said.

“Frisk? What a strange and adorable name,” he said. “Did you give it to her? Finders keepers, gets to name the human?’”

“N-Nope, that’s just my name.” There was a harsh, heavy clunking sound and Mettaton whirled to find the kid standing behind him with a bashful smile on her face. “H-Hi there! Sorry about that!”

“Sorry about wh…?” He froze up like a block of ice. “Oh. Oh my.”

Mettaton’s form shook and rattled, and then began to glow and shift, and very abruptly, he was left standing in his sleek, humanoid body, wide eyed, at the girl before him. Papyrus’s jaw dropped and Undyne gawked for a moment before pointing an accusing finger at him.

“Yoooou! You’re the one who ate all my grapes!!!” she yelled.

Mettaton didn’t even seem to register her words. He stared at Frisk with shock. “D… Did Alphys actually tell you to—?”

“No,” she said, “I’m a time traveller from the future. We’re friends there, so I already knew about it. Sorry for surprising you like that.”

Sans smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. “So, this is my kid, Frisk. She’s the human. We’re all pals, so, maybe you can give us a bit of a break, here?”

“Your… kid?” he repeated. “Really?! You, of all monsters? You trust a human?”

He grinned. “I know, weird, right?”

“Sorry to flick your switch like that. I just kinda thought it’d prove my case?” Frisk offered him her hand. “I know you don’t remember, but I hope we can be friends again.”

Mettaton tilted his head to the side, his hair falling to obscure his right eye, and he cautiously took her hand and shook it.

“Oh. Oh my. I’ve just touched a human,” he said; he started to grin and, to everyone’s surprise, grabbed her under the arms and lifted her off her feet. “TELL ME! Human robot movies, what’s your favourite, quickly?!”

“Ooh. Um. That’s a hard one,” she said. “There’s a lot of good ones. I think I’ve only seen really really old ones though. I do like _Terminator _even though it’s kinda old and scary. I hope that doesn’t mean you’re gonna terminate me!”

“What about_ Short Circuit_?!” he asked.

“Dude, what about _Short Circuit 2_?” Frisk retorted.

Mettaton’s eyes lit up. He started to laugh and nodded vigourously. “Yes, Frisk the human, I think we can definitely be good friends! Huh. Now this, I didn’t expect. I have to make some calls!”

“Oh, no, don’t start telling people sh-she’s here!” Alphys said.

Mettaton gently put Frisk down and pshawed, flicking his hair and tilting his hips. “Alphie, please. Trust me! I will be back in just a second. Ciao bella!” 

Mettaton slid out of the house as quickly as if he had wheels built into his boots. There was a sort of stunned silence in the room. Frisk started laughing and put her face in her hands, and Sans patted her on the shoulder. 

“What the heck just happened?” Papyrus said.

“My frickin’ door, dude.” Undyne went back to the bedroom, yanked the door off its hinges, and then carried it to the front. “Holy crap, Alphys, he must’ve been worried sick about you.”

Alphys slumped back onto the sofa. “Oh no, I’m s-so sorry, if I h-hadn’t forgotten, then—”

“That’s not what I meant,” Undyne said with a laugh. She shoved the door into place awkwardly. She kicked it to try to get it to fit, then gave up when it did, but only because it cracked. “So, what now? Your magic didn’t work, huh? Should we get him to leave?”

Frisk shook her head. “I dunno, I think it’s okay if he stays. Knowing him, he’ll be way more trouble if he doesn’t.”

“What, really?” Papyrus asked. “Oh! Wait! I remember! Those last times, he was trying to take your soul on his shows, wasn’t he?”

Alphys looked aghast. “H-H-He wouldn’t for r-real!! Um… Uh… W-Would he…?” She started to sweat. “I’m s-sure you weren’t r-really in d-d-danger, Frisk!”

“No worries,” Frisk assured her. “Whew, that scared the heck outta me just now!”

“You did good, kid,” Sans assured her. “Hey, Doc, actuators did seem like they were workin’ well.”

“Y-You think?!” Alphys asked. “I think the, um… The w-weight distribution seemed p-pretty good, too. He m-moves r-really well. H-He just wanted a few more cosmetic touch-ups, I think, and—”

“Man, that guy owes me some grapes” Undyne joked. “How long you been building him, Alphys?”

“O-Oh. Um… A while,” she said. “It’s… It’s taken a l-long time to get the parts. A-And even now, if he u-uses any magic in th-this form, his battery l-life is definitely not optimal. I’m n-not sure what to do with that.”

Frisk stuck her hand up.

“Uh… Yes, Frisk?” Alphys said.

“Can we cheat a bit?” she said. “Can I tell you what you did in the future? I thought it was pretty smart.”

“O-Oh! Sure!” Alphys said. “I f-figured it out?”

Frisk nodded enthusiastically. “Solar panels. You changed his body to have solar panels when we got to the surface. It didn’t look much different and he almost never ran out of energy. Even when there was less sun, you can buy these, um, special lamps that make up for it.”

Alphys’s eyes lit up and she clasped her hands. She started to smiled. “W-Wow! H-Hey, that… That _is_ good. The specs m-might be a little difficult, and getting all the parts, b-but…! Thanks, Frisk! I g-guess all I needed was to…” She shot Sans a hesitant smile. “To, uh… see things in a _new light_!”

Sans grinned. Papyrus and Undyne groaned.


	18. The First Plan Arc

Setting up at the table this time, Undyne grabbed all the chairs she had and even shoved the piano bench over so there would be enough seats. Papyrus put his barely pronounceable HTHBSCIA Plan back into action right away— he took the bench so he could sit cross-legged and hug the kid as she sat in his lap. She didn’t mind in the least. Any excuse for hugs was okay with her.

Undyne also made and served tea, having memorized each person’s taste, though she liked to joke that Alphys liked a little tea with her sugar. She wasn’t sure why, but she knew Mettaton liked it sweet, too. They also shoved slices of pie around to everyone. Frisk was feeling too nauseous to touch hers at all.

The robotic monster waltzed back in quite quickly— kicking the door down in the process. Undyne glared at him and he looked a bit uncomfortable for just a moment, flipped his hair, and then picked up the wood and clunked it back into place.

“Well, look at you all, so serious,” he said. 

“Just sit your shiny ass down,” Undyne said. “We’re doing the time travel talk.”

Alphys patted the empty seat next to her and Sans pointed, too.

“Dude, you are gonna be confused as hell,” Sans said, “but the kid says you can stay.”

“Well, we might need your help,” Frisk said. “If… If that’s okay?”

Mettaton smiled. “Of course, darling! Anything for a fan. Or a cute little human!” He glided over to the empty seat and sat quite gracefully, then leaned dramatically over the table, resting his cheek on his fist. “So what is this, what kind of game are we doing here, beautiful?”

“Um, M-Mettaton, it’s, uh… It’s not a g-game. I r-really didn’t tell her about your switch,” Alphys said quickly.

Mettaton sat back and casually slung one of his legs onto her lap as he leaned over to her. “You wouldn’t be pulling my leg, now, would you, Alphie?”

Undyne rolled her eye. “Listen, this is serious crap! We’re trying to help Frisk! She’s gonna get us all out of the underground! But first we all need to know what the heck happened and what’s going on.”

“Alright, alright. Just so you know, this sounds crazy,” Mettaton said with a sigh. He sipped his tea daintily, sticking his pinkie in the air. “Ooh. Lovely.”

“Thank you.” Undyne sat down heavily on the chair between Papyrus and Alphys and crossed her arms. “Enough distractions. Frisk. Let’s go, squirt, you can tell us what’s up, right?”

Frisk nodded. Nerves chilled her, though, and she guessed it showed because Papyrus clung to her just a little tighter. “W-Well, um… Dang, where do I start?” she said quietly. “S-Sans?”

He slumped forward onto the table. “Kid, really? C’mon, you start it this time. Basics first, then get into it.”

“Ugh, but you’re way smarter than me, but fine,” she grumbled. “Okay, so, like… I can time travel? And there’s little points I can find where time kinda got torn or something and I can stick to it and _save— _that’s what me and Sans called it— so I can go back there from wherever to the last one I touched. Which is what happens if someone stabs me or blows me up or anything like that. I can do it on my own, too, but I try not to.”

Most of her other friends gawked at her. She gulped and looked at Sans for help. He sighed.

“Kid, you owe me,” he said.

“You’re the best,” she said quickly.

He just barely sat up and rubbed his skull.

“Okay, groundwork info-dump. Frisk’s soul is basically just made of determination. Determination is really powerful stuff. Links to time travel somehow. Frisk is something we called an anomaly. It’s this weird phenomena that shifts around time and space,” Sans said. “What you gotta know is that our world is split into a crap-load of timelines. The anomaly is able to control theirs. Undoing, redoing, whatever. We get it because of some crap with the CORE, started maybe ten years ago, don’t ask. Frisk’s not the first, but as long as she sticks around, she’s the last we’ll ever meet. The others were mostly garbage, and you guys don’t remember them. Good. Don’t ask about that too much either. That also makes Frisk somethin’ we called the anchor, because she’ll hold our universe and our timeline steady. As long as she can save and reset, no one else can. The only thing that could take that from her is someone with more determination, which is actually impossible at this point.”

“S-Sans, w-wait!” Alphys said. “How do you…? W-Wasn’t that in the D-Dark Model?! How did you finally put that all together?!”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Point is, Frisk can time travel. It only works backwards. Usually no one remembers but me, but somethin’ new is going on with Frisk that’s helping the rest of you hold onto it. Mostly, anyway. Sorry, Number 5, doesn’t seem to work great on you.”

Mettaton shrugged. “Well, what can you do, huh?” He grinned a bit. “You know, if this wasn’t coming from you, I’d swear it was a joke.”

“Huh. I’d be more likely to think it was a joke,” Sans said.

“It’s not a joke, it’s very, very important!” Papyrus said. “Frisk’s had a really miserable time.”

“S-Sorry, Sans, but what do you mean n-no one remembers except you?” Alphys asked. 

“Exactly what I said,” Sans said.

Alphys’s eyes went wide.

“S-Sans knew me through all the, um, timelines,” Frisk said. “A-All three. Or, four now, I guess. Without the weird magic thing on my face.”

“So, wait, you’re telling us that YOU…?! You knew all of this?!” Undyne demanded, staring at Sans incredulously.

“Yup,” Sans said.

The way the others looked at him begged for elaboration, but he merely grinned. Undyne folded her arms and frowned with confusion. Alphys began to stammer something, but Papyrus stuck up his hand high to catch their attention.

“Please just let her tell you what happened,” he said quickly. “Go ahead, Frisk. It’s alright.”

Frisk nodded nervously. She felt like there were stones in her stomach. She gulped. “S-So, um… what… what kind of happened, was,” Frisk said, “the barrier broke, last time I was here, like a year ago for me, I guess?A-And we all could live outside. We had a new town and it was so cool, b-but then—”

“W-Wait a sec,” Alphys asked. “So, w-we were really outside?! Th-That… That’s what those feelings are, aren’t they? A… A year we don’t remember? S-Sans, you remember that, too?”

“No, not really,” he said.

“Yeah, that’s one thing I don’t get,” Undyne said with a frown. “What gives, Frisk? Why the backwards stuff?”

Frisk sighed. She rubbed her forehead and stared at the table, trying to gather her thoughts. Papyrus hugged her reassuringly.

“Don’t be angry with her, Undyne! Things must’ve been horrible,” he said. “She told us a monster called Asriel lost his soul, came back to life as a flower, and then stole human ones and started destroying everything! Sans is the one who told her to go back, so I think that must’ve been the right thing to do because normally he hates this stuff.”

A look of shock went across Alphys’s face and she grabbed for Mettaton’s arm, but before she could say anything, Undyne scoffed and punched the table.

“What, and we couldn’t fight him in the future?! We couldn’t kick his butt?” Undyne demanded.

“You died,” Frisk said quietly.

The others froze. The look on Sans’s face was like she was simply stating the obvious, but he grimaced anyways. Undyne’s ear-fins pinned back and she couldn’t keep the surprise off her face.

“Uh… What now?” Undyne asked. “Did you just say I died?”

“No one made it out of the city,” Frisk said, clinging tight to Papyrus, “except Papyrus and Sans. All the people… our mom, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, Asgore… And not just that, but most of the town, too. Humans and monsters. We lost everyone. How could I just leave it like that?”

“…Whoa.” Undyne stared at her, all the frustration fading from her face. “Dude, that’s pretty messed up.”

“Sorry,” Frisk said softly.

She rubbed her eyes with her knuckles. Her throat tightened, and she tried not to cry. Papyrus’s gentle magic glowed through her as he held her tighter. Alphys took a deep breath. Mettaton’s brow furrowed. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

“Uh, dude, your eyes,” Undyne said, tapping Papyrus.

“Hmm? Oh! Yes. I’m just trying to help,” he said.

“It’s a skeleton thing,” Sans said. “Anyway. So, yeah, Frisk did the time travel thing so everything wouldn’t suck. Not usually what happens, but so far so good. Nobody’s dust yet.”

“…Staying that way,” Frisk said softly. She wiped tears away quickly on the back of her hand.

“So… S-So, what’s going on now, then?” Alphys asked. “You… You h-have to destroy Asriel?”

“No, no no, I need to save Asriel,” Frisk said. “He’s… He’s nice. Just not when he doesn’t have a soul. Then he can’t feel anything and he just wants to steal my soul and erase the universe, or keep us in a time loop so he doesn’t get lonely. Kind of a bummer.”

“Also, he’s Asgore’s kid,” Sans added. “Him and Tori, right? Toriel, the old queen, in case you nerds didn’t know.”

Frisk nodded.

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait,” Undyne said loudly. “Asgore. Toriel. _Asriel_?!”

“My god!” Papyrus said. “The King is really, really horrible at names!”

“At least he didn’t get Togore,” Sans said with a grin. “Then we’d really be in trouble.”

“It runs in the family, while he’s a flower he calls himself Flowey,” Frisk said.

“Oh my god that’s just terrible,” Papyrus said. “He should come to me for a new fake name if he wants one so bad, I bet I’d come up with a great one.”

“It wouldn’t just be Papyrus Jr. would it?” Undyne asked with a smirk.

“No, not at all, there can only be one Papyrus! But maybe some variation…”

Sans began to laugh and Frisk snickered and rubbed her eyes. 

“Okay, okay, wait a sec!” Undyne said. “So, what’s the plan here?”

“I don’t have one,” Frisk said. “That’s why I wanted to talk to all of you. Especially you, Alphys.”

“M-Me?” she stammered.

“Ooh, yeah, that makes sense!” Undyne said. “You made a new soul for Mettaton, right? Could you do that for Asriel?”

Alphys’s face flushed a little and she stared to sweat. Everyone’s eyes were on the little reptile and she was at a complete loss for words as Mettaton seemed very interested in something on another wall. Frisk raised her eyebrows. 

“Oh. Uh… Actually, I think that might take too long. I heard that kinda took years, right?” she said quickly. “I was hoping there might be another way.”

Alphys seemed relieved and she smiled sideways. “Uh… U-Um… There might be?” she said. “But m-maybe we could get more info, f-first?”

“Can it just be any soul? What about we just steal what Asgore’s got?” Undyne said. “Give one to Asriel. One of us takes another, goes out and steals a few more to break the barrier?”

“No, that’s no good,” Frisk said. “Asriel isn’t himself right now. He’s sort of an evil flower, I guess?”

“Yeah, he’s a real _bad seed,” _Sans said.

“SANS, NO,” Papyrus cawed.

“Heh. Point is, he gets a human soul like he is now, we’re back to why Frisk came back in the first place,” Sans said. “He needs somethin’ closer to his own.”

Undyne pouted and slumped on the table. “Ugh, this is messed up,” she said. “All these timelines are so confusing!! Sans, how the hell do you deal with it?”

“I dunno,” he said.

“Okay, so, like…” She counted on her fingers. “Number one was okay, number two was awesome, number three was more awesome, but now we’re in number four? But in number three I didn’t really remember number one and two, but now I kind of have all three before now? But like, I feel like I’ve known all of you for way longer even than that?! Ugghhh it’s so frickin’ weird!”

“Oh no, four whole timelines, what a nightmare,” Sans joked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Undyne asked.

“Nothing. I’m happy for you guys,” he said. “You only remember Frisk. That’s good.”

“What’s THAT supposed to mean?” she asked.

“I’m not sure, I thought number one was just swell,” Papyrus interjected with a smile, shooting Sans a knowing look. He rubbed the back of his skull. “But, this is getting kind of confusing.” 

“I’m so sorry about all this,” Frisk said.

“Just focus on what’s going on for real,” Sans suggested, and then gave Frisk a stern look. “And kid, don’t apologize.”

“Listen, darlings, this is all _fascinating_, but to me you all just sound like a bunch of lunatics,” Mettaton said. “You mean to say that we have a girl who leapt through time here, and multiple versions of the same events, and a future that didn’t happen anymore, all because a pissy flower without a soul goes all _Little Shop of Horrors_ on the world? Do you not see how this sounds crazy?”

“I did not get that reference,” Papyrus said.

“I… I can prove it, I think,” Frisk said, “if that would help?”

“How?” Mettaton asked suspiciously.

“Oh, c’mon, you overgrown VCR, Frisk already did the whatever thing to you to make you look like an anime, isn’t that enough?” Undyne growled.

“I still don’t believe Alphys didn’t tell her,” he asserted.

“B-But I didn’t, though! …At… At least not this time…?” Alphys said with an awkward smile. 

“AH-HAH!” Mettaton barked.

Sans put his head down on the table. “Wake me up when you sort this out.”

“Sans,” Papyrus said with a worried frown. “Come on.”

“It’s okay,” Frisk said. “Be right back. Nobody move too much.” She slipped out of Papyrus’s hug and snuck out under the broken door.

The others stared for a moment. Undyne folded her arms, frowned, and then ate another slice of pie. That seemed to jog Alphys’s memory, and she tried a little bite, too.

“Oh wow that’s good,” she muttered.

“I know, right?!” Undyne said.

Mettaton rolled his eyes.

Frisk jogged back into the house just a few moments later and went straight to Mettaton. 

“Okay,” she said. “Tell me a secret.”

“What? Why?” he asked.

“Just a little thing that I shouldn’t know. I’m gonna prove I can time travel,” she said.

He looked skeptical, but he lifted her up nonetheless. “My favourite human movie,” he whispered in her ear, “is actually _Ghost_. It’s very romantic.” He put her down and patted her on the head. 

Frisk stuck her thumbs up. “Okay. Get ready,” she said. “Three. Two. One.”

There was a sort of shift in the air. Frisk wasn’t there anymore. Undyne’s pie was back. 

“Hey, sweet, more pie!” she said. 

She ate it, then paused and looked at Alphys, whose eyes were wide. She stared at the fork in her hand.

“Whaaaat…?” Alphys said, a tremor in her voice.

“Dude, you okay?” Undyne asked.

Alphys covered her mouth. Papyrus smiled sympathetically.

“It’s not so bad,” he said gently. “She won’t do it often.”

“Do what? What are you talking about?” Mettaton asked.

Frisk ran back inside and puffed to catch her breath. “Sorry everyone,” she said. “Mettaton, your favourite human movie is _Ghost_, you think it’s very romantic.”

“Hah! Well, yes, of course, I just told you tha…aaaaaaaaaat ohmygodwhatjusthappened?!” His eyes went wide and he recoiled in the chair. “Why did you just do that twice?!”

“…Oh. Oh!” Frisk started to grin. “Hey, I didn’t expect that! You remembered that!”

“Your favourite movie is _Ghost_?” Undyne cut her eyes at him. “Oh my god what a sappy dork.”

“You, shush, it’s lovely,” Mettaton snapped, before whirling on Frisk with worried eyes. “F… Frisk, darling, what on earth…?”

“Sheesh, we’re just breakin’ all the rules now, huh?” Sans sat up and smiled groggily. “See? Time travel. But now you remember. For some reason.”

Frisk shrugged. Papyrus grinned.

“That’s what we’ve been saying,” he said. “It’s like that for us, but with many more things. And with Frisk and Sans, a million more things. Which is how we know the barrier will break, but we need to save Asriel so we don’t all get completely murdered and such.”

Mettaton gawked. He put a hand to his brow. “This is heavy. So all of that was…? Okay. Okay, fine.” He sat up straight and put a hand to his chest. “I will do all in my power as the underground’s number one super star to help you. Provided I get exclusive movie rights afterwards.”

Alphys smacked her face into her hands.

“I dunno what that means,” Frisk said.

She looked at Sans. He grinned.

“Give her thirty percent and it’s a deal,” he said.

“Done!” Mettaton said. “Ooh, excellent, I’m so excited to work with a human! So! How about I just go find this stupid flower and blow him up?”

“No no no, no killing,” Frisk said quickly.

“I didn’t say_ kill_, I said _blow up_,” he said.

“No, Mettaton, we can’t do th-that,” Alphys said quietly. “We n-need to be s-smart about this. He’s… I mean, he’s Asgore’s son. And he’s Frisk’s f-friend.”

“What kind of friend keeps trying to _kill_ you, darling?” he said, throwing his hands in the air.

“You. Undyne,” Frisk said, listing them off on her fingers. “Asgore. Doggo. The married dogs. Almost all the dogs, actually. Muffet. Who you hired to kill me, by the way. Those guys waiting in the CORE building, and—”

“Fine.” Mettaton put up his hands in defeat. “Point taken.”

“W-Wait!You hired p-people to kill Frisk?!” Alphys squawked.

“Oh, don’t be such a drama queen, Alphie,” he replied, waving a hand at her dismissively. “It was your plan, I just took some creative liberties. Who do you think I was calling just now?“

The others stared at Alphys as sweat began to bead at her brow and her hands began to shake. Sans frowned. Frisk, on the other hand, started to laugh loudly.

“It was good for ratings,” she joked.

“Oh, now wouldn’t that be something, darling!” Mettaton said, “Just think of it—!”

“L-Later, later!” Alphys shouted. “We need a plan here.” 

The lizard scooted off her seat and rummaged through one of Undyne’s drawers for a pen and paper. When she sat back down, she readjusted her glasses. 

“Okay, let’s all b-brainstorm,” she suggested. “We need to make a new soul for a b-body that already exists and has a consciousness. I d-don’t think it’s ever been done before.”

“And… And I’d like to put it in his normal body, if we can,” Frisk said. “Um… After the barrier breaks, it seems like he can look like he’s supposed to for a little while.”

“Ooh, what does that mean?” Papyrus asked. “Does he get legs?!”

“He’s like a cute little goat dragon! Or dragon goat? Mostly goat. Whatever,” Frisk said with a laugh. “He’s Asgore’s kid, remember?”

“Right, right!” Papyrus said. “This is exciting, I can’t wait to see a tiny Asgore!”

“S-So, wait, r-really we need two plans, right?” Alphys said. “W-We need to, one, create Asriel’s new soul. And two, w-we need to get to him. Which seems to involve the barrier b-breaking. So that can be step one of the accessing him plan.” She wrote it down.

Undyne leaned around her to watch and started to frown.

“Huh… N-Now that I think about it, step t-two might actually be the easier one,” Alphys mumbled. “S-So… Let’s s-start there. Any ideas? At all?”

“This is probably going to take a few tries,” Frisk said reluctantly.

“Oh, kid, you aren’t, uh, plannin’ on going all the way back, are you?” Sans asked.

She shook her head quickly. “No, of course not. There’s a place I can stick to right after the barrier breaks. But then I have to rush. I wish I knew how long Asriel could stay himself…”

“Get a clock, duh!” Undyne said.

“Y-Yes! Good! A clock. A timer!” Alphys jotted it on the list. “Time Asriel. Th-Then what?”

“But before that, kid needs a soul,” Sans said, resting his head on his hand and slumping on the table. “Humans are out. So, monster, I guess.”

“But who the hell is going to do that?” Undyne said. “Monsters’ll give up a bit to make a kid, but otherwise, I’ve never even heard of—!”

“I’d love to help out!” Papyrus said. “I’m sure I, the great Papyrus, have enough soul to spare for the both of us!”

“Uh… Doesn’t quite work like that, bro,” Sans said with a smile. “Nice thought, though.”

“If only we had, like, a hundred of Papyrus,” Undyne said. 

“That would be FANTASTIC!” Papyrus said. “Except there can truly only be one Papyrus!”

Alphys frantically followed on the list, though she scribbled a big line through the words _100 Papyrus_. “B-But… I mean, wh-what if everyone thought like Papyrus?” she asked quietly. “I wonder…”

“Ooh, Alphie, I like that look,” Mettaton said. “Got an idea?”

“M… Maybe,” she said. “It’d take a lot of m-magic. And… d-determination, too. Maybe… Maybe a boss monster’s soul?”

“Oh no, no no no, there’s no way,” Frisk said quickly. “We can’t tell mom or Asgore! What if this screws up? We can’t get their hopes up like that. It… It’d be too awful.”

“You’re right. It’d be cruel. That’s out,” Undyne said, folding her arms. “Which is a pain in the butt, honestly. Alph, how’d you do it with Mettaton? C’mon, it’s gotta just take a lot of magic or something, right? Couldn’t we do a quick version?”

Alphys bit her lip. Her scales went a little red. “W-W-Well, it… Ummm…”

“Wait, um… Sorry. What about a hundred monster parents?” Frisk wondered.

“Say again?” Sans asked.

“N-Not… Not literal parents. But what if the one hundred Papyrus thing isn’t that far off?” she said, and Papyrus beamed. “What if we just introduce a bunch of people to Asriel? Get them to be his friend. Or at least to like him enough to want to help out. Or… Or something, I dunno, just anything that might make them help. Then maybe more monsters could give up just a tiny piece and—”

“And get j-just enough t-to…! Oh my god, that could actually work,” Alphys said, eyes alight. “I mean, it’s never been tried. But if two monsters can make a new soul, then it stands to reason an e-even sm-smaller sacrifice of magic from more people could p-potentially…!” Alphys began writing swiftly on the paper. Her handwriting was awful and no one seemed to be able to follow any of it but Sans. “I’ll n-need to find the right magic ratios and h-have some way to anchor it to him, b-but…! But, y-yeah! That c-could maybe work, actually! Even if it’s a bit small, if a s-soul can hold its sh-shape, then it can actually rebuild n-naturally. It does take a little determination, though.”

“Oh my god, that is awesome!” Undyne said, slamming her fists down on the table, making Sans bounce. “So we just gotta get a bunch of soul magic and shove it together so it sticks?”

“If it just takes some determination, I can make up the difference, I think,” Frisk said. “But I don’t really know how to do that. I’m sure we can figure it out.”

“This is a fantastic plan that I fully approve of!” Papyrus said loudly. “Sans? What do you think?”

Sans shrugged. “Could work. Gonna need to get there fast if you don’t want him to stay a flower, though. Can’t exactly run through the whole underground lookin’ for him.”

“Umm… The closest way is probably through the hole I fell in from the outside,” Frisk said, but then pouted. “Asriel usually goes back the Ruins, but that door is sealed with magic as long as mom’s inside, so we can’t really check it out right now. Keeping her outta the plan makes it harder, but… I just don’t wanna break her heart again if this screws up, you know?” She sighed and rubbed a hand through her hair in frustration.

“Sounds a bit tough,” Papyrus said.

“Yeah. Az seems to remember a lot of what went down last time,” she said, “and if he’s anything like before, he probably won’t actually want me to find him this time. So dropping down from above into the Ruins— even if he’s not where I think he is— it’ll give us enough time, maybe, to find him before he turns back into a flower. But if we’re lucky, he’ll have just woken up there and we’ll catch him by surprise because the hole is basically right on top of him. That would be the best idea, I think, but also I have no clue where it is. We’d have to find it on the outside.”

“Barrier,” Sans said. “Need two souls for that.”

“S-So we br-break the barrier like Frisk did before?” Alphys wondered. “Then scout it out, m-maybe?”

“I’m not sure, that could take days,” Frisk said. “Maybe even weeks if we have to climb. The mountain we’re under is frickin’ huge. And then I’d have to go back in time a bit, and I don’t want to drag everyone back under _again _after however long it takes to find the dumb thing.”

“Great, so that’s out, too,” Undyne grumbled. “Ugh, if we just had a human soul, one of us could just walk through and do it ahead of time!”

“Ooh. I have one,” Frisk said with a smile.

“That’s stayin’ inside you, kid,” Sans said.

“I guess we could just borrow one of Asgore’s,” Undyne said. “I mean, he’s got six of ‘em. And if Frisk does the time travel thing backwards after we’re done, it’ll be like it never happened, I guess.”

“Well, I’d love to go through the barrier,” Mettaton said. “But the way you’ve been talking, sounds like your little friend goes from a more desirable form to the less desirable one, yes? And you have no idea how long that takes. So how on earth will getting to a hole on the outside matter? That will definitely take even longer than running through the underground, for one. You’ll have to go around a mountain.”

Frisk looked thoughtful. “Well, I was thinking, actually,” she said, “that Sans could do it. He’s fast enough. I mean, if that’s okay with you, bro.”

Everyone’s eyes went to Sans. He smiled tiredly and slumped back in his chair.

“That’s actually not a horrible idea,” Papyrus said, “assuming that you don’t just nap on the mountainside, Sans.”

“So it has to be me? I was actually hopin’ I could sleep through most of this,” he joked.

“Wait, okay, s-someone fill me in, I’m l-lost,” Alphys said.

“Oh! Right! Everyone, my brother is also full of strange time travel powers,” Papyrus said proudly. “He can just vanish and turn up anywhere! A very impressive testament to his absolute refusal to walk more than a block!”

Sans laughed. “Good one, bro.”

“Wait, WHAT?! Since when?!” Undyne yelled.

“Dunno.” Sans shrugged. “Forever. You guys seriously didn’t notice?”

“What?! Oh, man, no, shut up, tell us all about it,” Undyne demanded.

“Uh…” Sans shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

“You guys really didn’t know?” Frisk asked.

“N-No?” Alphys said.

Frisk looked at her brother curiously. “Can I…?”

Sans shrugged again and gestured at the others as if to give her the go-ahead. She nodded.

“I don’t know all of it, but it comes from being able to time travel. Like I can,” Frisk said. “I mean, I can’t do what Sans does, but he used to be able to do what I do, kind of? So he can do a weird space jump thing. But he’s gotta know the place he’s going and the bits around it so he doesn’t end up inside a wall. Like, he has to sorta have a path there, so as long as he actually has that and stuff, he can just kinda teleport there whenever. After time went wonky, he was the first one to hold the timeline. Before Asriel came around. It’s something related to that, but he could do it before that, too. Is that about right?”

Sans’s cheekbones flushed blue and he shrunk down into his jacket. “I… uh… Yeah.”

“Oh m-my god, S-Sans!” It was Alphys's turn to slap the table. “Your l-levels of determination m-must be…! Oh m-my god! That’s amazing! Wh-What happened?”

He shrugged. “A lot.” He was reluctant to elaborate. 

Alphys opened her mouth but Papyrus eagerly jumped in overtop of her.

“Yes, it’s really very impressive since Sans is, in fact, the weakest of all monsters,” he said.

Sans rubbed the back of his skull. “I’m fine with that.”

“So what you’re saying,” Undyne said, “is that Sans is the one who has to take the human soul?!”

“Whoa. Uh… That’s not… uh…” Sans cast a look at Papyrus and Frisk for help.

Papyrus nodded enthusiastically, looking quite proud of his brother. The kid, on the other hand, looked a little sullen; contemplative. He suddenly felt a sting of nerves. 

“Kid?” he asked.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah! That should work.” She smiled, quickly trying to mask the worry that was clear on her face as if she had said the words. “Are you okay with this?”

“Nope,” he said. “Doesn’t mean I won’t do it. Just… Never thought it’d be me.”

“I know, right?!” Undyne said loudly. “I thought for sure if it was anyone besides Asgore, it’d be me! When are we doing this? Now?!”

“No way,” Sans said. “Everyone needs rest first. Tomorrow.”

“Lazybones,” Papyrus chided.

Sans grinned and shrugged. Frisk finally succumbed to the concern that lowered her brows. 

“Dude, if you’re not okay with this—”

“Welp. It’s the only way, right? Doesn’t really matter,” he said.

“There’s maybe one more way,” she said, “but it’s probably more crazy?”

Everyone looked at her curiously. She gulped, smiled nervously, and shrugged.

“Someone blows me up or something, takes my soul and all the others too, and breaks the barrier temporarily?”

“Hell no,” Sans said.

“Absolutely not!” Papyrus said almost at the same time.

“That’s w-way too risky,” Alphys added.

“Really? Why, doesn’t sound so bad to me as long as Frisk can still go back in time,” Undyne said.

“There’s n-no way to know that,” Alphys said, shaking her head.

“Yup. No way we’re riskin’ it,” Sans said. “I’ll do it. It’s fine. Just, kiddo, you better come too. Keep in touch. Just in case I need some backtrackin’.”

“Yeah, of course!” she said, and she grinned. “You couldn’t stop me from coming if you tried!”

Sans looked relieved. He nodded. He pointed at Undyne. “You know which soul is which, right? Asgore told you?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“Then you’re definitely comin’ with,” he said. “Because if I gotta put a human soul in me, there’s a few that I don’t wanna go anywhere near.”

“Gotcha,” Undyne said.

“Okay, maybe I’ll go save now?” Frisk suggested. “So if something goes wrong and this is a terrible idea, we can just regroup right away and make a new plan right here.”

“Good thinking, sweetie, because this sounds like a disaster waiting to happen,” Mettaton said. 

“Thank you, Captain Optimism!” Papyrus said loudly, grinning and leaning towards Mettaton. “See, I called you Captain Optimism because you, in fact, are the opposite of optimistic! Nyeh heh heh heh!” 

“Oh, darling, I know, I caught the sarcasm,” he replied, rolling his eyes.

Papyrus seemed pleased and Undyne laughed and rubbed her forehead. Frisk smiled to herself and slipped from Papyrus’s lap. It was good to see them all together like this. 

She stepped outside and walked just a little ways down the road where the glittering, star-like rip in time shone out brightly to her. She gently pressed her hand against it, determined to latch on. This one was easy. 

“Oh… Hey again. What’re you doing?” a sleepy-sounding voice asked. 

Frisk turned and was pleasantly surprised to find Napstablook hovering nearby. “Oh! Hi again!”

“Oh, um… actually, it’s none of my business,” he said quietly.

“Don’t worry about it!” Frisk laughed. “Oh, hey, actually, I was just hanging out with your cousin, want me to ask him to go see you later?”

“M… My cousin?” he repeated.

“Yeah,” she said.

The ghost’s eyes seemed to light up. They glistened with tears. “O-Oh. Y-Yeah, actually, I’d really like that. I, um… I haven’t seen him in… forever, it feels like…”

Frisk stuck her thumb up. Napstablook smiled, then vanished rather lazily. She took an extra moment to save again.

\- - -

“This is so exciting!” Papyrus said. “It’s so strange! I feel like we should be doing this all the time!”

“Pfft, what, stealin’ souls and running through the barrier?” Undyne asked.

“No! All of us, hanging out like this,” Papyrus said brightly. “I think the amount of fun we could have increases exponentially! Sans, what about you?”

Sans was still slumped on the table. He looked up with an expression like he had been far away. “Yeah, bro, absolutely.”

“Sans, were you asleep?” Papyrus asked with a frown. “This is a big job ahead of you!”

Sans winked. “Why d’you think I was sleepin’?”

Undyne snorted out a laugh, then sat back and looked around. “Where’s the squirt anyway? Does this normally take this long?”

“I’m s-sure it’s fine, it hasn’t been t-too long,” Alphys said.

“Darlings, about the human souls, don’t you think maybe I could be the one to—“

“NO!” Undyne said loudly. “You can’t teleport!”

Mettaton folded his arms and pouted.

Frisk returned quickly, edging in around the broken door blocking the way. “Okay, we’re good,” she said. “Hey Mettaton, you wanna go next door?”

“Wh… Whatever would I do that for?” he asked. Mettaton’s expression became suddenly very nervous. 

Frisk frowned with confusion for a moment before she caught on. “Oh! Uh… You know, there’s this ghost named Napstablook over there, he said he’s a big fan. I told him I’d ask for him.”

Alphys shot Mettaton a wide-eyed look and and Mettaton forced a smile.

“Y-Yes! Of course, always happy to see a fan, but I mean, I am a _very_ busy robot and—”

“Okay, whatever, Mettaton, just get your _Ghost-in-the-Shell-_reference butt over there, he’d love to see you,” Frisk said with a laugh.

“O… Okay…” he stammered. He seemed somewhat shocked, but nonetheless, he slid out of his chair and slipped out of the house.

“Uh… What?” Papyrus asked.

Alphys stared down at Frisk and her lip twitched up into an awkward smile.“You’ve… Y-You’ve seen _Ghost in the Shell_…? Really? Is is as g-good as they say?! I’ve heard it’s a c-classic! You gotta tell me! No wait, don’t tell me! Oooh but I want to know, I—”

“We’ll watch it together,” Frisk said brightly. “Once we get out. Actually. I’ll make a list. There’s a lot of stuff we need to watch.”

Alphys’s eyes lit up; she almost looked like she could cry. “You’re a good kid,” she sniffled. 

“Does it have fighting in it?!” Undyne demanded. “Or robots? Can I come?!”

“Well, it’s sort of more like a crime show with fighting robots,” Frisk said. “And then there’s movies too but they’re a bit different. But yeah, we can all watch it!”

“M-Maybe, uh… Would…? W-Would you guys maybe like to watch some anime now? I b-brought some,” Alphys said. “If… If we’re done with the b-big stuff, maybe we can r-relax a bit?”

She turned her eyes on Sans. He shrugged. 

“I’m for it!” Papyrus said. “Hey, how about I make us all some delicious spaghetti?”

“YEAH! I’m into it! I’ll help you out!” Undyne said.

Papyrus beamed, and then hopped over to Frisk, ruffling her hair. “Good job, Frisk, you barely cried at all this time.”

“All thanks to you,” Frisk said with a wink.

He cackled proudly. “Nyeh heh heh! My plan was a great success!”

As everyone began to rush around and the house became abustle, Sans sat, contemplative, at the table. Frisk quietly scooted up onto the chair next to his and reached out tentatively to hold his hand.

“Hm? Sup, kiddo?” he asked. “Nervous?”

She shook her head. “Just want you to be okay,” she said quietly.

“Welp. It’s new. Gotta admit, not super hyped, but we all gotta do stuff to help out, right?”

“I, um… I’m really grateful,” she said, lowering her voice. “For some reason, it feels… I dunno, somehow it feels like I’m being selfish.”

“You’re not,” he said. “This is important for everyone. Plus, you got my back, right?”

“Always,” she said.

He patted her hand and then got up. He stretched his spine and then wandered to the sofa to see what Alphys was putting on. Looked like the disk he had found for her a few days ago.

Frisk stayed where she was for a little while longer. She tried hard not to grimace and folded her arms against herself. She already had a bit of a plan— something she hadn’t mentioned to them. She didn’t even know how to broach it.

In the past, after the barrier had been shattered, Frisk returned to the flower patch she had tumbled into; her shining path to the underground. She wasn’t sure why she had expected to find Asriel there— maybe some residual memories from Chara, or energy imprinted on her from their battle— but indeed, there he was, waiting to disappear, trying to put on a brave face. He had told her that he and Chara had merged when she poisoned herself and gave up her soul. She was in his mind, and they shared control over their new, warped form. If there was any chance at all for shared control, there was no way in a million years she would ever let some random human soul touch her brother. That left only her.

Frisk slumped on the table; didn’t realize she had started crying until a breath in was ragged and felt like it dragged down her throat. Almost instantly, Papyrus put his hand on her back.

“Did the plan wear off that quickly?” he asked gently.

“It’s… It’s okay. Don’t worry.” She noticed rather quickly that everyone had their eyes on her, even as the pot of hot water was starting to boil over and the TV was sounding rather loud and explosive in Japanese. She wanted to just pull up her hood and shrink down under the table, but instead she slipped out of her seat and turned down the stove.

Undyne laughed and smacked herself in the forehead. “Right. Right, don’t burn the house down,” she said. “Kid, need a breather?”

Frisk shook her head. Alphys came over, looking a little bashful at first, but when Frisk took a moment to wipe her eyes, the lizard came closer.

“Aw,Frisk…” Alphys said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. “H-Hey, I know, it’s a big thing, huh? You o-okay?”

“Y… Yeah. Yeah. Sorry,” she said quietly. “I t-try to not freak out, but it still gets to me sometimes. Th-Thanks for your help.”

Alphys smiled and gave her a gentle hug. “You’re really b-brave. I… I know it must’ve been hard, but P-Papyrus is right. Coming back in time was the right th-thing to do.”

Frisk nodded and gave Alphys a quick smooch on the cheek. The lizard immediately turned red and grabbed her own face, cooing loudly. 

“K-K-Kawaii!” she squealed, so shrill it was hard to understand her.

Undyne burst out laughing. Alphys’s scales turned burgundy. 

There was a moment where the others were distracted and Alphys was being brought in on the pasta-making, and Frisk felt her soul grasped and she was gently whisked over to the sofa. Sans was sitting with his back against the arm, and he plopped her down in front of him carefully. The look on his face was inquisitive. She knew how well he could read her expressions, so he probably knew something else was upsetting her within a few seconds. He didn’t ask, though, he simply grabbed her and pulled her back into him and held her loosely with one arm as he turned up the volume on the TV with the other.

“Hey. You’re doin’ good. That look says you’re pretty worried, though. About tomorrow?”

“Y… Yeah,” she said. “Not because I think it’ll go bad or anything, just…”

“I get it. I’m fine,” he said.

“Mmkay.” She didn’t really believe him. “D-Don’t worry, I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

“Heh. Thanks,” he said.

She was a little surprised when he moved her closer and put his face next to her ear.

“Hey.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Do me a favour? Convince Paps not to come along, alright? I, uh… Whatever happens, I don’t want him to see me like that. Just in case”

“Okay. I will, I promise,” she said.

“Thanks a million.” He pulled back and the hug was more genuine and relieved.

Frisk smiled, wiped her eyes, and relaxed into him, cozy against his cushy jacket. He pawed around for the remote— she passed it to him and he turned down the volume to normal. 

As Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys all scrambled, crashing around the kitchen and shouting at vegetables, Sans and Frisk watched the show Alphys had put on. It was in Japanese with no subtitles, though. Frisk was mostly zoning out, distracted by her own thoughts on one hand and a sort of warm drowsiness setting in on the other. She wasn’t really snapped out of it until the characters on the TV shot into space and began riding gigantic dragon mechs at each other, jousting with swords the size of buildings.

“Um… Sans, are you following this?” she asked.

“No, not a bit. You?”

“I have no idea.”

“Ooh! Ooh, I think I know what might b-be…” Alphys leaned over the other arm of the couch to look, but couldn’t finish her sentence as her jaw dropped. “Omigosh we need to start this over.”

“Everyone! Spaghetti is done!” Papyrus announced. He bounded around the room, passing out large plates of pasta and sauce. 

At the same moment, the front door was shifted and Mettaton walked back in. It wasn’t clear if he had been wearing mascara before, but now his face clearly looked like some had been running down around his eyes.

“Just in time!” Papyrus said; he was about to hand over a plate when he took note and looked concerned. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Oh, yes, just had a bit of an emotional reunion,” he said, waving a hand dismissively. “I will take that, thank you, darling.” He took the dish daintily. 

Papyrus beamed and stuck both thumbs up before jumping back across the room. “More coming up!”

Mettaton looked around and then slid over to where Sans and Frisk sat, perching on the arm of the sofa and crossing one leg over the other. He tried the spaghetti, his face twisted for barely a second, but took another bite nonetheless before cutting his eyes at the lazy pair at the other end of the couch.

“Well, well, well, would you look at you two,” he said. “Getting a little snuggly, are we?”

“Of course. Frisk is my daughter, I made her in a lab experiment gone wrong ten years ago and that’s why I quit my job and stuff,” Sans said. “Obviously.”

Mettaton stared blankly. 

“S-S-Sans!!” Alphys said shrilly.

He grinned and Frisk snickered, and then gave Papyrus a grateful smile when he passed them their plates, too, before racing away to dole out more. She tried it hesitantly, and though the pasta itself was a little sticky, he seemed to have taken her advice on the sauce to heart. In fact, it was even better this time.

“Sans, what on earth does that mean?” Mettaton demanded.

“It’s a joke,” Frisk said. “Sans didn’t make me, he’s my big brother, duh. I still think she should put more secret skeleton magic powers in it, but I guess that’s up to her. Alphys just likes making AUs.”

“Oh, boy, does she ever!” He was suddenly grinning. “Ooh, one time, she wrote a story where I was a human, and she shipped me with—!”

“What? Human? Really?” Frisk laughed.

“Oh yes, she’s human-swapped everyone in her stories at least once! In fact—!”

“Noo, no no no, th-that’s not interesting,” Alphys said quickly, all but throwing herself onto him and putting a hand on his head. “H-How’s the pasta?!”

Frisk snickered and stuck her thumb up, and Sans nodded in agreement.

“Does… um…? D-Does monster food, um… Does that work for you?” Alphys asked.

“What d’you mean?” Frisk asked.

“You’re okay eating it?” she asked.

Frisk smiled and nodded. She looked thoughtful. “You know, I don’t think I’ve actually had any human food for over a year now.”

“Whoa, kid?! You can really take that much magic?!” Undyne demanded. “Man, that’s awesome, but totally not fair!”

“Not fair? Why?” Papyrus asked worriedly.

“Well, think about it, human food would do gross stuff to us! And humans have all that determination in them, which also does gross stuff to us,” Undyne said. “But magic, they can just deal with it. I’m kinda jealous, honestly. It’s like they’re just designed to screw us over.”

Frisk winced and immediately, Undyne’s eye went wide and she looked apologetic

“Oh, no, kid, sorry, I’m not blaming you or anything!” she said quickly. “It’s just, we’re so lucky you’re a cool human! You know? Because if you weren’t, you could totally mess us up! It’s good you’re you, right? You’re kind of the most important human ever, anyway.”

Frisk wasn’t sure what to say, but even so, Sans hugged her a little tighter as if to let her know it was alright.

“I’ve always wondered what i-it would feel like to be the friend of the c-cool hero in an an-anime,” Alphys added. “It’s s-sort of like that to know you, you know?”

“Oh no, guys,” Frisk protested quickly, spinning some spaghetti absently on her fork. “I’m not… I’m not even close to that cool.”

“Sure you are!” Undyne said. “You control time! That shit is awesome! I… I mean, stuff. That stuff is awesome.” She gulped down all the spaghetti on her plate, tossed it into the sink, and then ran over, flopping over the back of the sofa. “So! Tell us some cool stuff about the future!” Undyne said. “How’d I die?!”

Frisk felt like she had been punched in the gut.

“Shit, dude, don’t ask her that,” Sans said, smacking his face into his palm.

“What?! But, okay, fine, but it was cool, right?!” she insisted.

Sans glared at her. 

“Dude, I just thought, look, I’m not scared of it, okay? So if I’m not scared, Frisk, you shouldn’t be scared either, right?”

“I’m not sure it works like that,” Sans said. 

Undyne flexed her muscles. “She’s gotta get STRONG!”

“Not sure it works like that, either,” he said.

“You were brave,” Frisk said quietly. “But I, um… I don’t… I don’t think I can—”

“Okay, okay, okay,” Undyne said hurriedly, mostly triggered as Sans’s brow furrowed deeper and his eyes went black. “How about something happier? Some stuff from the future? Could you tell us about that?”

“I dunno what the point would be,” Frisk admitted. “It’s… It’s never gonna be like it was, and you guys, I wouldn’t want you to do something just because I said it happened one time.”

“Well, uh, Frisk, if it’s alright,” Papyrus said, “I am a little curious, too. Just—! Just because I’d really love to know where you came from. I mean, if you’re so cool and smart, and you like us so much, we must’ve been doing something right, right?”

Frisk laughed tiredly. She rubbed her head. “Well, I mean… if you have a question, I can try to answer.”

“Well, I have a question!” Mettaton said. “Why do I feel like I know all you hooligans all of a sudden?”

“Because you do. Or, you did,” Frisk said. “You will?”

“Did,” Sans said.

“Right. Don’t ask me how that works, though,” Frisk said. “I mean… when my magic didn’t work right away, I thought it wouldn’t at all, but you seem to kinda know something now, right?”

“All I know is that we’re friends. I like you quite a bit, actually. And you.” He pointed at Papyrus. “You’re new. But I know you somehow, and not just from your brothers incessant storytelling.” Then, he levelled his finger at Undyne and pursed his lips, looking slightly confused. “And I like you, too, even.”

“Weird,” Undyne said. “So, what, is that from the future, too?”

Frisk nodded, and Undyne dragged the piano bench over to plop onto it, pulling Alphys to sit beside her and almost spilling her pasta.

“Hey! Here’s something you can tell us about without crying, maybe?!” Undyne said. “How did we all settle in? What were we doing? We still got a Royal Guard out there?”

“Oh! Um, Royal Guard was basically the same except it was more like a cop you see on TV, I think,” Frisk said. “But you also were a gym teacher at the school my mom set up.”

“Hey! I kinda like the sound of that!” Undyne said brightly. “I’m into it! We’ll see what happens, but that’s probably gonna be the same again. How about Asgore?”

“He was the King Mayor. And did landscaping, I think it’s called?” she said. “He’s great. Like always.”

Alphys stuck her hand up tentatively, and then pointed to herself. Frisk smiled.

“Alphys, you, um… You were actually helping Mettaton a lot,” she said. “You set up a lab and were still doing science stuff and working on a new CORE thingy. The, um, SCORE, I think you called it. The lab was also a TV station. Mettaton, you kept doing the MTT channel, and it was actually catching on really well with humans, too. You and Napstablook were doing a lot of cool music stuff.”

“I knew it!” Mettaton’s eyes were all but sparkling. “I knew humans would love my shows! Alphie, you hear that?!”

“O-Oh. W-Wow, I was… helping with the sh-shows and stuff?” she stammered. “Th-That sounds like a… a lot of pressure.”

“Nah, dude, you’re great at all that technical junk, I’m sure you’re perfect for that kind of thing!” Undyne assured her. “I mean, hell, just look at Mettaton.”

“Yes, I am pretty fantastic, you have to admit,” he said.

“Ooh, ooh, me next!” Papyrus said. He ran over and hopped onto the sofa in front of Frisk and grabbed her hands. “Tell me! Am I. Finally. In the Royal Guard?”

“Well, I mean, not exactly. You… Well, you kinda did a lot like you did in Snowdin, but less looking for humans and more general helping,” she said. “You also helped mom a lot with a ton of stuff. And… And you’re kind of like a… magic medic, too.”

“A medic?” he repeated.

Frisk nodded. “Your healing powers are super strong. So… Yeah. You helped everyone. Someone had a bad accident on the road or something, they’d call an ambulance, but also you, too. You saved some people a couple times, y’know? Especially when winter started.”

“Wowie! Yes, okay that does sound like me,” he said. “What about Sans? I assume he continues sleeping quite a bit, yes? As he is right this second, in fact.”

Frisk looked behind her and noted that, in fact, he was out like a light. She snickered. “Well, duh, but mostly, for a job and stuff, other than helping you out, he’s a teacher.”

“A… teacher?” Undyne repeated. “Him?!”

Frisk nodded and grinned. “Yeah! He’s really good, actually!” she said. “He’s super smart and stuff, and there’s a university in the next closest town, and he teaches physics there! I go with him a lot. Or, I did.”

“Weird,” Undyne said.

“N-No, actually, that… th-that sounds just like him,” Alphys said with a fond smile. “Thanks, Frisk. Th-That was all pretty nice to hear. I hope that wasn’t too hard for you.”

“I’m, um…” Frisk paused. She frowned to herself. She felt heartsick, true, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been. She took a deep breath. “I’m… okay.” She smiled. “As long as I’m with you guys, it’s… it’s starting to feel normal again. Though I do really miss mom, and Asgore, and Kid. I’m sorry you guys don’t have those memories, though.”

“Me too,” Papyrus said gently, taking her hands again, “but! Never fear! We can make all new memories. We all care about each other just as much, it should be totally fine! Right?”

Frisk nodded. Alphys clapped her hands together.

“Hey, how about let’s try that a-anime again,” she suggested. “The back s-said it had subs and dubs, but I think subs should b-be okay, right?”

“SUBS OR BUST!” Undyne said loudly. “I mean, unless the dub is really good?”

Papyrus shrugged. Mettaton rolled his eyes, and then turned to look around the room. He pouted, and then held out his hand.

“Someone, phone,” he said.

Frisk had hers out first, and passed it to him. He took it cautiously.

“My god, look at this ancient brick,” he said. “Is the time on this right?”

“Think so,” Frisk said.

Mettaton frowned a little. “Ugh. Alphie, I hate to be a bother on such an important day, but I would _really_ love to have my casing done by tonight.”

“Oh! O-Oh, okay, I think I can… um… Oh!” Her eyes lit up. “I know! How about we watch m-maybe the first three or four episodes, s-see if we get into this, and then you and I can g-go to the lab and f-finish what we can. A-And Frisk! Lend me your phone?”

When Frisk nodded, Alphys held out her hand. Mettaton passed it over.

“W-Wow, this is really an antique,” she muttered.

“Where’d you get that hunk of junk, kid?” Undyne said. “Can you even text on that? Can you even connect to the UnderNet?”

“Nope,” Frisk said.

“O-Okay! So, first episodes, Mettaton, we’ll get your casing done, a-and Frisk, I’ll fix your phone up for you b-before this thing tomorrow. I can even get you an UnderNet account, it’ll b-be great!”

“Thanks a bunch,” Frisk said.

Since Frisk was sitting mostly on Sans, and Alphys was easily ferried around, everyone squeezed onto the sofa to watch the anime. Frisk felt herself drifting off almost right away, but it seemed to be about people and dragons who also happened to be robots fighting space robot dragons wars against each other for truth and justice. Undyne and Papyrus were super into it. Alphys seemed to just be happy that people were watching anime with her, even though her preference leaned a little more towards romances. 

Didn’t really matter how rowdy everyone around her was— Frisk drifted in and out by accident. Crying, or trying really hard not to, really tired her out. So did worrying. And, at this point, she was worrying almost constantly. But, Sans would be okay, wouldn’t he? He always did what he had to. He sacrificed himself over and over to save everyone from other anomalies. This wouldn’t be nearly that bad, would it? Couldn’t be.

She tried to concentrate her thoughts on that, but her mind wasn’t having it. She was settling into a haze. When she sat against Sans like this, ear against his ribcage, it was interesting to never quite hear a heartbeat, but instead a similar, very soft pulsing, almost musical sound of magic from that spot where the soul could glow most brightly. Slow notes that were almost indistinguishable under normal circumstances. One would have to be listening for it to hear it at all. Monsters were weird like that, but she guessed hearing a heartbeat from her must’ve been weird to them, too. Still, she liked that magic hum. It was comforting. Sans’s song was something she’d become very accustomed to.

She lost track of the show. The dragons were in space again. Fighting on a purple planet, with javelins made of light. She blinked slowly. Her eyelids were heavy. Something around her looked different. She heard Papyrus say something and she focussed to look at him as he got close to her face, affectionately patting her head. She wasn’t sure, but he said something about the lab. Going there, maybe? She was barely awake, but she smiled and nodded. He grinned and touched his brow gently to hers, magic glowing with warmth. Felt nice. Reminded her of home. Papyrus never changed a bit.

She wasn’t sure when she fell asleep again, but when her ears started to listen again, she thought she heard Undyne talking. Took her a moment to focus, but she missed most of the words. Something about humans, maybe. She felt a sort of weird, anxious energy. Took her a moment to remember she was resting against her brother— must’ve been him. The squeeze of his arms around her was nervous, the way one might squish a stuffed animal for comfort.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Sans was saying. 

She heard Undyne sigh. The rest of the house was quiet. Wasn’t sure where the others were; maybe they were outside. She couldn’t tell. Wasn’t sure if she cared, yet. Her brain was still a little foggy, but she snuggled a little closer against her brother’s ribcage. Undyne laughed.

“Look, see?” she said. “Kid’s basically just usin’ you as a pillow at this point. Which… is weird. That can’t be that comfortable, can it? I mean, no offence, but you’re all bones under there.”

“Yeah, I sorta been wonderin’ that, too,” he said with a quiet laugh.

“I guess just, what I’m saying is, the way you guys trust each other, it’s… really kind of nice,” she said. “I wouldn’t have thought you could trust a human, after that shit in the lab. I didn’t think I could, either. I’m actually super glad she proved me wrong.”

Sans laughed a little. “Yeah. It’s nice to be able to let my guard down. Haven’t really felt like this since… Well, I guess since before that. I try not to think about it.”

“Hah. Sorry for bringing it up. I don’t really like to, either.”

“No worries.”

“It’s just… Okay, sorry to go back a step,” she said, “but we… I mean, I didn’t know you before that. And not much until the last few years at all, really. And I guess, I… just wanted to thank you? I don’t think I ever did.”

“Thank me?” he repeated. “No one should thank me for that, dude.”

“It’s not so much that, it was just…” She sighed heavily. “Real talk? It _really_ messed me up. And I know what you did probably messed you up too, but because of you, I didn’t go totally nuts after. I felt like I could keep going, like I wouldn’t just fall down. Like I didn’t have to be scared to go outside, if that makes sense.”

“Oh. Heh. Didn’t know you felt that strong about it.”

“Yeah. Totally. Don’t, uh… Don’t tell the others, huh?”

“Yeah, absolutely,” Sans assured her.

They kept talking, and she felt Sans relax. Frisk couldn’t keep her focus, even if she wanted to.


	19. The First Plan Arc

“Don’t move, d-don’t move.” Alphys readjusted her grip on a screwdriver tipped with a glowing spark of magic. “Papyrus, just, uh… j-just hold that bit up?”

Papyrus adjusted a portion of pink chest plate as Mettaton held as still as he could on her workbench. Alphys quickly moved in to attach it tightly.

“And… the wires are… hang on.” She opened a panel in his back and he yelped.

“You are so sweaty!” he said.

“Ugh, f-fine, Papyrus can you just attach that red wire to the amp output?” she asked.

“But he doesn’t know what he’s doing!” Mettaton protested.

“Don’t be such a stick in the mud, Mettaton! It’s just like a puzzle, and I’m amazing at those, don’t you worry,” Papyrus said.

“Yeah! P-Plus he barely sweats at all,” Alphys said.

“Ugh, fine.” Mettaton pouted. “But don’t plug anything into the wrong spot!”

Papyrus leaned around and carefully took a red wire in his fingers. He reached in and Mettaton squeaked.

“I should have turned off, I should have just—”

“No, n-no, this is better,” Alphys insisted. “Live t-troubleshooting!”

“Here?” Papyrus asked.

“Yes, perfect!” Alphys said proudly. 

Papyrus hooked in the wire, there was a spark of magic and it fused tight. He pulled back and Alphys closed the panel and wiped her brow.

“T-Try it.”

Mettaton looked down at the speaker on his chest and it crackled to life. There was a sharp static sound for a moment before music blared loud— his own theme song in clear, crisp audio.

“Oh! OH! ALPHYS!” Mettaton hopped off the table and hugged her tightly as the music shut off. “Perfect! It’s just perfect!”

“Th… There’s bound to b-be a couple more issues,” she said as she wriggled free. “But w-we’ll keep an eye on you and I’m sure y-you’ll be all fine-tuned soon!”

Mettaton beamed. He grabbed Papyrus by the shoulders. “Thanks for the help, darling, bring me a poster sometime and I’ll sign it for you for sure!” He gave him a tight hug. 

Papyrus gawked. “Wowie!” The skeleton hugged him back. “I’m happy you’re so happy!”

Mettaton snickered, patted Papyrus on the shoulders, and then twirled away. Alphys tilted her head, analyzing his movements, but she smiled. 

“So, let’s, uh… let’s see, th-the built in phone should be okay, and, uhh… Come back here a s-sec?”

Mettaton strutted back over and Alphys stood on a stool to check the ports on the back of his neck, under his hair. 

“Let me j-just… Papyrus, can you bring me that blue cable over there?” She pointed across the room and Papyrus nodded and bounded off.

“Hey,” Mettaton said quietly. “I need to talk to you. Privately.”

“O-Oh. Um… O-Okay. What is it?” she asked.

“Not this second, maybe you can just send our new friend on a quick errand in a minute, though?”

Alphys frowned with confusion, but she nodded. Papyrus returned with a length of a blue cable in his hand.

“This?” he asked.

“P-Perfect!” Alphys said. “Now let’s just see if…” She connected it to Mettaton’s neck— he shivered— and then to her own phone. “You sh-should be able to download. What do you think, a-anything?”

“Ah! Yes! Yes, absolutely,” Mettaton said.“Thanks, Alphie, you’re a doll.”

She smiled bashfully as she unplugged him.

She looked at Papyrus and hoped her face hadn’t turned red. “Hey, um… P-Papyrus, can you do me a little f-favour? J-Just one more thing. Sorry. Th-There’s just some kind of heavy b-bags near the computer. S-Some groceries and dog food, d-do you think you could bring it into the elevator for me?”

“Of course! No trouble at all!” he assured her. “This is why I, the great Papyrus, came with you, after all! Be right back!”

Papyrus dashed off and Alphys wiped her brow. 

“What a sweetheart,” Mettaton said, and then whirled on Alphys with a worried expression. “So. Um. Frisk knows.”

“Huh?”

“She knows what I am. She knows _who_ I am,” he said. “Did you tell her?”

“Wh-What?! No! No, of course I didn’t,” Alphys said. “Never! It’s… I-It’s not great for either of us if it c-comes out, right?”

“But she clearly knows,” he insisted. “I mean… She even told me to go visit Blooky. Which I did, by the way.”

“H-How was that?” Alphys asked.

“Lovely, actually, really wonderful. Wish I’d done it sooner, to be honest,” he said. “Anyway! Didn’t you notice? She covered for you at every turn.”

“Y-You think?”

“Every time anyone asked you a question about you actually creating me, little Frisky diverted right away,” he said.

“Oh. G-Good, I wasn’t imagining it,” Alphys rubbed her brow. “I… I guess I’ll ask her about it at s-some point.”

Mettaton nodded emphatically. 

She sighed and went back to her workbench, pulling Frisk’s phone from her pocket. She looked at the old casing with the fanged chew-marks on it. 

“Hah, it’s a-almost a pity to work on th-this thing, it could g-go in a museum,” she said.

“Or the dump,” Mettaton said.

“H-Hah! Don’t be like that. Add your number?” She handed it to him and he did so, and then Alphys added hers. “Only three numbers,” she mused.

“Hmm?” Mettaton leaned over her shoulder.

“O-Oh! It’s just, she only had three numbers saved before,” Alphys said.

“Snooping, are we?” Mettaton said.

“N-No! It’s just there!” she said. “Mom, and Papyrus, and she didn’t label this one… I don’t recognize it. Oh! Maybe it’s Sans!”

“You could always call it,” he suggested.

“Wh-What, no, I can’t just call random numbers in someone else’s phone! A-Anyway…” She put it down on the workbench. “This’ll just take a few seconds.”

Mettaton sat on the corner of the table, crossing one leg over the other and folding his arms. Alphys got her tools and sparked her magic in her hand— there was a loud commotion for maybe five seconds, and then she pulled back, wiping her brow. It was a simple process she’d done dozens of times.

“And there we go,” she said, flipping the screen cover back down over the retooled tool. “D-Dimension box, good. Touch-screen. T-Texting. Camera. UnderNet, too. G-Great. S-So, I’m thinking I’ll head, um… d-downstairs for a few minutes, th-then we can head back?”

“Oh, Alphie, actually, I’ve got a show to put on tonight, I’ve been showing the poor people reruns all day,” Mettaton laughed. 

“Oh…” Alphys couldn’t contain her disappointment. “S-So… Okay.”

“Relax!” he said with a grin. “There is a human down here, after all, scheduling is going to be weird for a little while. I’ll pop in again soon.”

The lizard blushed a little and nodded.

Quite suddenly, the phone in her hand began to ring. She jumped, startled, and yelped, and fumbled with the it for a moment, until there was a beep.

“Hello?” a woman’s voice asked— the phone was on speaker.

Alphys froze. Mettaton looked at her with wide eyes.

“H… Hello? Is someone there?” the voice asked.

“Oh no!” Alphys squeaked. “Um… Uh… H-Hi…?”

“Hello? Who is this?” the woman asked.

“U-Um… Ummmm…” She covered the receiving end with her thumb. “What do I do?”

“Hang up!” Mettaton hissed.

“I c-can’t hang up, I—”

“Hello?” The voice was more insistent this time. “Is there someone there? Little one, can you hear me?”

As if on cue, Papyrus peeked at them from the escalator to their right, curiosity clear on his face. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Who’s that?”

Alphys and Mettaton froze.

“Uhhh…” Alphys said.

“There must be someone, I heard a voice,” the woman on the phone protested.

Papyrus’s face lit up. “Oh! Give it here.”

He rushed over and swiped the phone from Alphys before she could say a word. She froze in panic and Mettaton recoiled, eyes wide.

“Hello there! You’ve reached the phone of the little sister of the great Papyrus! She can’t come to answer right now. I am the great Papyrus, would you like to leave a message with me?”

There was silence on the other end, but the sound of room tone made it clear she had not hung up.

“Hello?” Papyrus repeated.

“Where…? Where is she?” the voice asked cooly. “The human child, where is she?”

“Oh! She’s at the house of Guard Captain Undyne, undoubtedly having a nice time with her and our brother,” Papyrus said. “We are just giving her phone a little upgrade right now, which is why I have it and she doesn’t.”

“Y-Your… brother.”

“Yes! Our older brother! Exactly,” he said.

“Oh… Oh.” The woman let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. Papyrus, you said?”

“Exactly!” he replied.

“You must be Sans’s brother. It is good to hear you, he’s told me all about you,” she said.

“He has?!” Papyrus said. “Oh! You must be the lady behind the door! Which also means you’re… Oh! You’re mom!”

“Mom?” she repeated.

“Yes! She always calls you mom, right?” he said. “It’s so nice to hear from you! Were you calling because you were worried?”

“Well, uh… Yes, my child, but—”

“Ah! That’s so nice of you! But! Never fear, mom, for I, the great Papyrus, am becoming a fully qualified big brother! I already had many of the same responsibilities looking after Sans, so one more addition to the skeleton family is really no trouble at all!” he assured her quickly. “You don’t need to worry about her one bit.”

“Well… Hah. Thank you, my child,” she said gently. “Who were those other voices I heard?”

Though Alphys and Mettaton emphatically waved their arms and shook their heads, Papyrus didn’t seem to notice.

“Oh! Not to worry. That’s just Doctor Alphys, and Mettaton, the famous television personality,” he said. “Alphys seems to be quite the mechanical genius, so she’s the one who did the phone upgrade!”

“Ah.” The woman laughed. “Yes, I suppose the one I gave her was a bit out of date, wasn’t it?”

“Well, it certainly looks like it’s from a century ago,” Papyrus said with a laugh. “I’m surprised it works as well as it does! Good thing, too, or else we couldn’t even have this conversation right now!”

Alphys made a face— tried to wave at him to get him to cut it short, but he didn’t seem to catch it. He waved back at her and then strode to the other end of the room with the phone. The woman said something they didn’t quite hear and Papyrus cackled. Alphys shot Mettaton a look, raising her brows high. He shrugged.

\- - -

When Frisk woke up, she was confused as to where she was until she saw a blue arm around her. She looked up and realized quickly that she was up against Undyne’s side, while she was reading what looked like a manga in one hand. Frisk looked at her for a while with a sense of worry building in her, especially as her conversation with Sans floated back into her memory. She hoped everything was okay, it had sounded pretty serious. 

Undyne must’ve noticed her movement; she looked over and smiled. “Hey, kiddo, good nap?” she asked. “You’re a lot like Sans, huh? You just pass the heck out!”

“Y… Yeah,” she said bashfully. “Sorry about that.”

“No no, don’t be sorry,” she said. “You’re just a little kid! And you’ve really been through the ringer. I mean, damn, that stuff you told us about? That’s nuts. Do what you need to to keep going, you know? And tomorrow’s a big day.”

Frisk nodded and looked around. “Where is everyone?”

“Paps and Alph are on their way back from the lab right now, actually,” Undyne said.

Frisk stared back blankly. Undyne laughed.

“Jeez, you don’t even remember, huh?” she said. “I told Papyrus you were half asleep. They took your phone to update it. Think they finished up Mettaton’s new stuff, too. And Sans said he, uh, forgot something? Not sure when he’ll be back, though.”

Frisk nodded. Undyne tilted her head curiously, her ear-fins drooping a little. 

“You okay, dude? You look like something’s bugging you?”

Frisk didn’t want to say. She shrugged and smiled weakly. “Just the usual.” She got up slowly and stretched. “I was thinking maybe I’d take a walk.”

“Oh, sure. Anyone gives you trouble out there…” Undyne punched her fist into her opposite palm and grinned. “Just tell them to take it up with me.”

\- - -

Frisk wasn’t sure why, but she needed some time to think in the quiet. Something about what Undyne and Sans had talked about worried her deeply, but she couldn’t quite place it. She shoved her hands in her pockets. It was still too quiet out in the caverns, though. She hoped things would relax soon, she hated the idea that she was scaring people.

She also tried to brace herself— even the idea of letting her soul go was strange and ridden with anxiety. She didn’t know how to tell Sans that was what she intended. He definitely wouldn’t be keen on wrecking her, would he? It was good that Undyne would be there, though. Maybe she could convince her to do just a quick stab or something like that. Frisk sighed to herself. How weird was it to be planning her own death like that?

She found herself wishing, despite her better judgement, that she could still talk to Chara. Her involvement had caused a lot of this mess, but she knew exactly what giving her soul would be like. She still had some of her memories, a lot of things about Asriel, but Chara had never shared that at all. Frisk hoped she could hold herself together long enough for her soul to be taken at all— jumping back in time when she was hurt was a knee-jerk reflex for her. If she couldn’t stay steady, the whole plan was worthless. 

As she wandered, she soon came upon a doorway cut into the wall. It took her a moment to remember, but she recalled that it was a shop. Her mind flickered over to crab-shaped apples, like she remembered an old monster sold down here. She sort of wanted one. She wondered if the owner was still hanging around— she certainly hoped so. She turned off into the dark hallway that lead deeper into a cavern until it opened up to a room glittering with crystals, pink and blue shining bright. 

Breaking up the glitter was a heavyset form resting on a seat of stone, arms folded and head bent. Beside him was a small counter that seemed to have almost had stalagmites growing up around it, as if it had been there forever.

As soon as she got close, the monster in the chair raised his head, eyes shining a curious yellow back at her. She remembered him. He was an old monster, certainly the oldest-looking one she had ever met, but she suspected her mom might have been just as old, if not older. Name was Gerson, if she remembered right. A retired old warrior who had actually had a chance to live above ground all those years ago. Frisk recalled that he was once called the Hammer of Justice. In the present, though, he looked much more benign— a large turtle with the build that alluded to his past, now he dressed the part of what one would see of an archeologist on TV, and gave her a friendly smile.

“Whoa there! Here to buy some junk?” he asked.

Frisk checked her pockets. She nodded. “Do you still have, um… crab apples?”

“I do indeed!” He tossed her one in exchange for some of the magic coin she had in her hoodie. “Where’re you off to all alone?”

“Taking a walk,” Frisk said. “Not really going anywhere, I guess. Maybe one of the caves where you can really see all those crystals on the ceiling. I love that stuff.”

“Huh. Nice to see for a young person like yourself taking some time to slow down.” He gave her a knowing look as she bit into the apple. “Not out to cause trouble, are you?”

“Nope!” she assured him quickly.

He tilted his and rubbed his beard. “S’not quite like a surface apple, I’ll tell you that!” he said. “Should do alright, huh?”

She smiled and nodded. “Haven’t had fruit in days,” she admitted. “So much pasta.”

He guffawed and slapped his knee, then leaned closer to her with a curious stare.

“So. What brings you to my neck of the falls?” Gerson asked.

She smiled and pointed to the apple. 

“Headin’ for our good old King?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I’d love to see him. But… not yet. Got some stuff I gotta do.”

“Very purposeful for such a little tyke!” he laughed. “If I had to guess, I’d say you’re… hmm… Maybe eight or nine, right?”

“Eleven,” she said.

He smiled. “Got plenty of time! Haven’t had another human down here since before you were born! About fifteen years ago, I’d say. Wasn’t quite so laid back as you, I’ll say that.”

“Oh… Yeah. My friend Undyne told me it was pretty bad,” Frisk said. “I figured that’s why monsters are so scared of me now, huh?”

When she met Gerson’s gaze, he couldn’t hide a look of shock. “You said Undyne’s friends with you?”

She nodded and, again, the old turtle burst out laughing. He grinned yellowed teeth back at her.

“That sounds like total nonsense,” he said, “but for some reason, I think you ain’t lying. That’s a nice surprise. Maybe she can finally mellow out a little, poor girl. Hope you don’t blame her for bein’ a bit on edge. Last human down here went on a rampage through Waterfall.” His tone was suddenly sullen. 

Frisk gulped. “She mentioned it was bad. Wh… What happened? Did Asgore have to stop them?”

“Some kid in the lab in Hotland took it out, as far as I recall,” Gersen said. “But, you’re not like that one, are you? Nah, you haven’t hurt anybody at all, have you?” He got to his feet— he was huge. He put a leathery hand on her shoulder, but it was surprisingly reassuring. “Do me a favour? Let me feel your soul. There’s something I’d like to check.”

Frisk frowned with confusion, but she nodded.

His magic pricked her, and she let her soul glow bright red. The old monster’s eyes went wide. He put a hand to his mouth. He stared her down for a few moments, then nodded, and her glow died down.

“Thanks, kid,” he said. He tossed her another apple. “On the house.”

“You sure?” she asked.

“Be careful out there,” he said. “You’re a nice kid, huh? We can wait a few more years. Stick with Undyne. You’ll be alright.”

Frisk understood. She smiled a little. “Thanks a bunch. I appreciate it!”

The kid left with more on her mind than before, and an apple in her pocket. She continued on eastwards, where the grass and mushroom lit up at her touch in the dark. She tried to rehearse what she might say to Sans in her head, but nothing sounded anything more than crazy or dumb.

There was a path far beyond, the way lit by shimmering crystals and scattered lanterns, where the river ran, clear and dark, and Echo Flowers bounced wishes around the tunnel walls. The ceiling was high, giving way to what were stars to a monster’s eyes. Caught up in her own thoughts, Frisk didn’t notice Sans was there, back to a wall, until she almost ran right into him in the dark.

“Oh! Hi!” she said.

He didn’t seem surprised to see her, but he was quiet for a second long enough that she was uncertain.

“Oh. Sorry. Am I interrupting? I can go.”

“Nah. Don’t worry.” He turned his eyes up on the glittering ceiling. “Guess we, uh, had the same idea.” 

Frisk nodded, then tilted her head up. “This was always one of my favourite places down here. It’s so pretty.”

“It’s nice,” Sans agreed.

“You come out here a lot?” she asked.

He shrugged. Frisk took that as a yes. He looked a little sullen. She wandered a little closer to him. Her voice caught in her throat for a moment. She gulped and tried again.

“Do you remember the stars?” she asked.

“Nope,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “But actually, I’m really excited for you guys, too. When you live up there, you kind of forget how amazing they are. I can’t wait for you to see them for the first time.”

“Huh. That’s, uh… That’s a pretty nice thought, actually,” Sans said.

“We called the new town Starhome, even,” she said, “because of the view near the mountain, and… Well, you’re gonna love it.” Her smile fell. She noticed his eyes had gone dark. “Hey. You okay? You want me to give you some space?”

He didn’t answer at first. Frisk couldn’t really blame him. She took a few steps back towards the path, but stayed to watch him for a moment, just in case.

“Hey.” His eyes focussed on her and they looked normal once more. “I guess, to be honest, I’m a little nervous.”

“Oh! Oh, okay. Yeah. I know. I mean, I figured.” She hurried over to stand beside him. “It’s not a normal thing. I mean, we’ve never done this before. At least, I haven’t, have you?”

“No. Never needed to,” he said. “Never even crossed my mind. Do you…? Uh… Do you know what happens? You saw the flower kid do it, right?”

“Well, you become a bit bigger and it does sorta change how you look,” she said, “and you might be able to fly. Definitely floating. And super powers.”

“But I’m not gonna stay like that, right?” he asked.

“No, of course not, I’ll pull us backwards the second we’re done. Or if anything goes weird. Which I don’t think it will, there isn’t really any reason for it to, right? I mean—”

“Kid, slow down,” Sans said with a tired laugh.

“Right. Right, yeah.” She took a deep breath. “Sorry.”

“I guess I… uh… I just wanna know I won’t hurt anybody,” he asked.

“Oh, no, of course not,” Frisk assured him. “It’s still you. The only reason Asriel went nuts was because he didn’t have a soul when he started and he wanted to hurt people. You’re not like that. You’ll be totally fine.”

“Oh. Okay,” he said. 

“Don’t even worry, it’s not like a weird anime rage form or something. You’re gonna do great!” Frisk insisted. “I know it’s a big deal, but I really don’t think you have too much to worry about.”

“Still can’t really believe it has to be me,” he said. “If it could be Paps, or Undyne… Alphys, even. Any of them, really. You know, uh, an actual hero type person?”

“Well, um…” Frisk rubbed the back of her head and smiled bashfully. “I dunno, _you’re_ kind of a hero type person.”

Sans grimaced. “Kid, I’m not… That’s not me. I don’t get it. I don’t get why you’re so…” He sighed and rubbed his brow. “Nothin’. Forget about it.”

“Sans…” Frisk’s heart thunked painfully.

He smiled, but his eyes had gone dark. “Heh. Sorry, kid, I guess you just confuse me sometimes. I’m nobody special. Might be hedgin’ your bets on the wrong guy, you know?” he said. “I mean… Heh. It’s kind of like a sick joke, ain’t it? You… You’re great, really. But here you are, the most powerful thing in the universe. And you’re forced to rely on a guy like me. Doesn’t seem fair, I bet.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and made to go back, but he was startled still when Frisk grabbed onto the back of his coat.

“S-Sans, wait. Don’t. Please don’t,” she said. “H-How can you think that? You’re the one who watched out for me when it would have been way easier not to. I was just some dumb lost kid, n-never meant a thing to anyone, you know? Y-You went so far outta your way for me. As far as you knew, I c-couldda been the worst, and still, you’ve always been nice. And you’re so smart. And your dumb jokes, I love them. I… I like everything about you.” Her grip on his coat tightened. She hiccoughed a tiny, weak laugh. “M-Maybe this sounds weird, b-but… but you were the first person in my whole life that… that I could really always c-count on, you know? Th-Through all this time travel whatever, it… it was… only you.” Her voice was breaking.

He flinched. “C’mon, kid, that’s not… That can’t be right.”

“I-It is! Without you, I’d n-never have… I’d go t-totally crazy. I… I’m just so sorry,” she said quietly. “When I thought I l-lost you, at the start of this? Like, if you didn’t ever remember me at all? I d-don’t know how I would’ve ever come back from that. Y-You’re, like, my b-best friend and…! A-And you’re my brother. I wanted you to be my brother, s-so bad. And I really love you, okay!? I th-think you’re r-really cool and I… I think you’re really brave. M-Maybe you don’t think you’re a h-hero guy, but for me you are. Isn’t that enough?”

He grimaced. He felt his voice catch. When he turned to look at her, she wiped her eyes on her hand, but the streaks of tears were clear on her cheeks. She stared back at him with such conviction, it was almost funny. He didn’t know what to say; she hugged him tightly without saying a word. His posture sagged a little and his hands were shaking when he put them on her shoulders. It took him a moment to regain himself, but then he knelt down to look her in the face and used his sleeve to wipe her tears.

“Kiddo?” he said. “Thanks. You know, I think we’re gonna be just fine.”

“Y-You sure?” she asked. “You’re okay?”

“Yup.”

She hugged him around the shoulders. He cautiously held her, but was startled still when she gave him a soft kiss on the cheekbone. His chest tightened, and he puffed out a sigh. He couldn’t help but hold her a little closer.

“I, uh… I didn’t know you felt like that,” he admitted.

“Pffft, of c-course I do. Sheesh…” She sniffled. “Ugh, I’m sorry for th-the trip to d-drama town, I just… I just needed you to know that.”

She took a deep breath and went limp in his arms for a moment. To his relief, he heard her let out a quiet, shaking laugh. She pulled back and stared at him straight in the eye with a weird sort of certainty about her.

“You’re never getting rid of me,” she said.

He ruffled her hair. “Good.” He grinned. “Gonna stop cryin’?”

She shook her head but smiled anyway, and he snickered and straightened up.

“Time to go back?” he asked.

“Time f-for me to dunk my head in the river, first,” she joked. “Or! H-Hey! We should make wishes!”

“Seriously?” he asked.

“We’re here, aren’t we?” she asked. “Got one?”

He turned his eyes on the ceiling, looking at the glittering crystals with a sort of calm about him. “You know, no real big ones anymore. Just want everyone to be happy. You?”

“Me too,” Frisk said. “But… this time, my wish is that you’ll see the stars tomorrow.”

He smiled. They were quiet for a while, the still of gently blurbling, distant water only broken by Frisk occasionally sniffling and wiping her face. When he looked at her again, she was smiling. He ruffled her hair, but more gently this time, his hand a little hesitant.

“Hey. Sorry about that,” he said. “That was all my problem. Nothin’ to do with you. Okay? Didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“Pfft, you didn’t make me cry,” she said, laughing and wiping her eyes.

“Sorry, did we just have a different five minutes?” he asked with a grin.

Frisk snickered and shook her head. “N-No, I just mean, you didn’t hurt my feelings or anything, if that’s what you meant.” She held his hand. 

He laughed. “You are a weird kid.”

“I’m weird? What about you?” she asked, grinning. “It’s not that strange, you know. Everyone likes you. Maybe you could try it a bit more sometime.”

“Get outta my head,” he joked.

She stuck her tongue out at him and blew a raspberry. He frowned; seemed to wrack his mind for an equivalent, then grinned, eyes going black, and simply walked a few paces away, leaving her with half his arm. She shrieked; he beamed.

“SANS!” she squawked.

“What, I thought you liked holdin’ people’s hands,” he said.

“Omigosh, put it back on, put it back on!!”

“Toss it. No, wait, don’t toss it, with my luck it’ll go straight in the water.”

He walked back over and rolled up his sleeve. She handed him his hand and forearm and she rubbed her forehead.

“I can’t believe you got me with that twice in the same day,” she grumbled.

He laughed and aligned the bones, then popped them back on at the elbow as if it were nothing. He flexed his fingers. “Y’know, I was holdin’ onto it for a while,” he said. “I was waitin’ to see if you’d ask me for a hand with somethin’. Got kinda impatient.”

“Oooh, my god, that would have been good, too!” she said. “I… I would’ve definitely screamed again, but—”

“But it’s pretty hilarious though, right?” he said.

“Bro, of course it is!” she said.

He grinned— quite brightly, too. He felt… He wasn’t sure how to describe it. Good? Was that too strong? The hum in his soul sped up, just a fraction of a beat. Maybe “good” was just right.

“Dunno if I ever mentioned this,” he said, “but I’m glad you’re here.”

Frisk beamed. “You did,” she said, “but thanks.”

“Good, because that would have been kinda crap of me if I hadn’t.” Took him a second to get the rest out, but she needed to hear it, didn’t she? “I, uh… I really missed you. When you were gone.”

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

“No, no, just…” He laughed and rubbed his brow. “You’re a part of this weird family, y’know?”

The kid’s face lit right up and her eyes shimmered. She wiped them on her hand quickly and snickered. “Thank you. Really. Thanks a million times,” she said quietly. “You’re just the best. Seriously.”

“Hey. Just… don’t put me on a pedestal, alright?” he said. “I’d hate to mess you up.”

“Hmm?” She looked confused. “What d’you mean?”

“I’m definitely not perfect,” he said with a shrug. “No one is. Well, except—”

“Papyrus,” Frisk said with a laugh— he grinned. “No, I… I know, bro. It’s… It’s not about that. It’s… I dunno how to say it. I just feel so safe with you. That’s all.”

“Safe? Heh. I’d question your judgement, but…” He laughed when she pouted and folded her arms tight. “Okay, okay. I mean, there are worse picks. I can’t think of one, but I’m sure they’re out there, uh, somewhere.”

“I picked you and I mean it,” Frisk said stubbornly. “Hey, I’m pretty messed up, too, you know!”

“Pfft, how?” he asked.

“You know what my name means, right?” she said. “Th-That doesn’t come from nowhere!”

“Oh no, deep tragic Frisk backstory,” Sans said dryly, and he grinned. “No worries, kid. Unless you’re a secret kleptomaniac.”

“I don’t even know with that means,” she said.

“Phew. We’re safe,” he said, shooting her a wink.

She snickered, folded her arms tight against her body, and took a deep breath. She wiped her eyes and laughed quietly at herself. Sans rubbed the back of his skull.

“Hey, uh, maybe don’t mention to Paps that I kinda had a moment out here, huh?” he said.

“Maybe don’t mention to him that I had one, too?” she said.

He grinned and turned his gaze up on those sparkling crystals that dotted the ceiling, and leaned back against the rock wall. Frisk plopped back with him. She held onto his arm again.

“We’re the worst,” she said.

“Definitely,” he agreed.

\- - - 

The short skeleton and the even shorter kid took their time wandering back to the house, for once. Undyne had her back to them, making tea, when they walked back in.

“Hey, we’re back!” Frisk said brightly.

“Makin’ tea again, you want?” she asked.

“Yup!” Frisk said.

Undyne grinned, turned back to the counter, and after a second, did her typical nonchalant teabag toss. Unfortunately for everyone involved, it went quite forcefully into Sans’s left eye socket. He froze; eyes went black and his bones rattled.

“Oh. Oh no. Ew. Um. Welp. This is the worst.”

Undyne turned, saw his face, and immediately ran over. “Oh! Shit, sorry! I’ll—! I’ll get it out!”

“Nope. No. No no no. It’s, uh…” He tried to put his hand in the socket; couldn’t seem to reach. “Oh. Crap. Uh… Kid, I hate to ask, but—”

“Sofa?” she asked. 

“I, uh, kinda don’t wanna move?”

Frisk nodded and ran over to the table to get the piano bench. She hopped up and then, very cautiously, reached into his skull. He was doing his very best not to recoil.

“Welp. This is… just great,” he said. “No. Nope. No. Kid. Go left.”

“Oh! Sorry,” she said.

“I am so sorry,” Undyne said again.

“It’s fine. It’s… fine.” He laughed tiredly.

“How deep is your head, dude?” Frisk asked.

“I dunno.” 

Quite abruptly, the broken door was pushed back, and Alphys and Papyrus walked back in, only to freeze at the sight in the room.

“Uh…” Alphys said.

“Oh my god, Sans, what did you do now!?” Papyrus demanded.

“It’s not his fault, it was me,” Undyne said. “Look. Do you want me to just like, shake you upside down or something?!”

“No. Nope. Super nope.”

“Got it!” Frisk pulled out the teabag and tossed it to the floor. “Ow! Hot!”

Sans and Undyne both sighed with relief. The skeleton quickly rubbed his face, then blinked hard and the light came back to his eyes. “This is just not my day,” he said with a laugh.

“Phew, good thing you don’t store anything in there,” Undyne said.

“Yeah, same to you,” Sans said with a grin.

She scowled, he grinned wider, and she slapped herself in the face.

“Okay. Okay. I deserved that,” she said. “Everyone shut up! Tea. Everyone gets some. I will not throw the stuff at Sans this time. Okay? Okay.”

“I’m not even going to ask,” Papyrus said decisively. He strode over to Frisk and lifted her up. “Guess who I talked to?”

She had no idea. She shrugged. He carried her over to the couch and plopped her down, handing her back her phone. She looked at it with interest. It was really similar to the one Alphys had given her in previous timelines: an older, metallic flip-phone casing with all the updated tech on the inside, though it looked a little more refined than she had become accustomed to. She liked it.

“Mom!” Papyrus said proudly.

Frisk was taken aback, distracted completely from the phone. “Mom?”

“Yes! Mom! She phoned while we were in Hotland. We had really good talk. Such a nice lady,” he said. “Terrible, terrible jokes, though. You should call her back! Okay?”

“Okay. Thanks. And, Alphys, thanks, too!” she said. “Phone looks great!”

“Oh! N-No problem!” she said. “I signed you up on UnderNet, too. Add everyone, okay?”

“Will do!” she said with a grin. “I’ll go call mom.”

Undyne pointed her to the bedroom and Frisk darted inside. 

“Hey!” the kid called from beyond the wall. “Asgore already sent me a request! Should I add him?”

“Do it!” Undyne said. “Just don’t tag yourself in any pictures. Nobody tag her, okay?! Only PMs!!” She poured more cups of tea, and very quickly, everyone’s phones went off. 

Papyrus checked his quickly. “Hey! A friend request from DisasterBlaster?!”

“That’s me, bro!” Frisk called.

“THEN I WILL ADD YOU BACK RIGHT AWAY!” he announced. “I’m CoolSkeleton95!”

“Dude, I know, I just added you!”

“GOOD!”

Toriel actually didn’t answer when Frisk called this time. She was a little disappointed, but it wasn’t too bad. She was probably just busy, and at least Papyrus had said hello. When she checked UnderNet again, she had a friendly welcome message from Asgore. Also, the friend requests of StrongFish98, ALPHYS, TheREALMettaton, and notsans— somehow— were accepted. She had also received some new ones from NAPSTABLOOK22 and 19115125414. Though she didn’t recognize the second one, she accepted them both, and thanked Asgore for his message.

In the main room, Sans was half-asleep against Papyrus’s shoulder, and Alphys was telling all of them, quite enthusiastically, about a recent forum post she had made about her favourite anime. Undyne seemed to be getting excited just because of how excited Alphys was. Papyrus was paying rapt attention and nodding along.

Frisk lurked over the arm of the sofa until she was done. “Hey, guys,” she said, “I just realized, I should probably go save again. Are you guys all okay to, like, not do anything important until this whole barrier thing is done? Just don’t want you to have to redo it.”

“I’m chill,” Undyne said.

Alphys nodded, too.

“Exciting!” Papyrus said brightly.

Frisk nodded and ran outside. 

“S-Seems like a lot of time to turn back, though,” Alphys admitted. “I’m a l-little nervous. Wh-What if…? Oh! I should warn Mettaton.” She started texting furiously.

“I’m sure it won’t be too bad. Right, Sans?” he asked.

Sans didn’t answer at first and he poked him.

“Hmm?” Sans said.

“What do you think? Anything to be worried about?” Undyne asked.

Sans shrugged. “For you guys, no.”

“You hyped yet?” Undyne asked.

“Nope.”

“Aw, c’mon, this’ll be awesome, you’re gonna be living a lot of monster’s dreams!” she insisted.

Sans shrugged. He settled back against his brother. Papyrus took the cue and the arm around him tightened a little.

\- - -

When Frisk got back, they watched a little more of the space dragon anime, but, once again, she was totally lost. They watched Mettaton live, though he was a box-like robot again on air, and was doing a show based on a game where he would tell several ridiculous-sounding stories and the guests had to guess which ones were true and which were not. They played along until it was over. 

As it started to get late, they agreed to meet back at Undyne’s around noon the next day, and the skeleton family went home. 

Frisk got ready for bed, but her thoughts were scattered and worried again as soon as she was alone with herself— namely, getting pyjamas in the large closet at the back of the bedroom. She still hadn't warned Sans. Had no idea how to. And still, that conversation between him and Undyne troubled her deeply. She tried to remember the words specifically. She had thanked him for something that seemed to be terrible. It bothered them both a lot. 

Something connected in her brain like a simple mathematical equation. She froze. Undyne said something about a thing that went down in the lab. A horrible thing. Gerson, in passing, had talked about a kid in the lab taking down the previous human, a murderer who had attacked monsters in Waterfall. Frisk felt a chill. Her heart beat a little too hard. Had Sans…? It wasn’t out of the question. 

She gulped; rubbed her forehead. She hoped like heck that she was totally wrong. But then again, he really did have the worst luck in the world, didn’t he? If that was true, no wonder he was so nervous about getting near those human souls. She tried to steady herself before she went out again. The bedroom was dark except for Papyrus’s computer. She slunk into the blankets and put her head in her hands. 

Felt like she sat like that forever before she felt Papyrus scoop her into his lap.

“Wow, Frisk, you’re having a pretty emotional day, aren’t you?” he asked. “Doing okay? Don’t worry! Your cool big brother Papyrus is right here to help out!”

“Th-Thanks, dude,” she said, though her voice came out much more quiet than she intended. “Aw, jeez. I… I guess I’m just worried about Sans.”

“Hmm? Is that why you cried earlier?” he asked.

“What? Aw, you noticed?” she asked.

“I always notice, I’m extremely perceptive,” he assured her.

“Heh. Yeah. True,” she said. She settled her back against him and looked up. “It’s just… I told him today that I thought he was really great, and he didn’t seem to understand. And then I felt really bad that he didn’t, because I guess I just think if… if you know, people knew how great their friends think they are, just… they’d feel better, right?”

“Oh wow. Okay,” Papyrus said. “Did you hug him?”

“A ton,” Frisk said.

“Good, keep doing that, that’s his favourite,” Papyrus assured her matter-of-factly. “As you may or may not know, skeletons are extremely cuddly. Being close is very important to us. If you couldn’t tell.”

She snickered. “I could tell.”

“Our brother is… Well. You know him, sometimes he gets a little low,” Papyrus said. “But! I assume that’s why I grew taller than him! So I can lift him up again. See, it’s like a double meaning. Clever, right?”

Frisk smiled. She nodded, but then she sighed. “You guys, you’re kinda… I mean, you’re kinda linked, somehow, right?” she said. “You always know when he’s doing a nightmare, right?”

“Yes, definitely, his energy goes all wonky,” Papyrus said. “Why?”

“Just… watch out tonight, it gets worse when he’s already worried, huh?” she said.

“Right, right, very true,” Papyrus said. “Those weird time dreams. I wish sometimes that I could see them, too.”

“I don’t think so, bro,” Frisk said quietly.

“I don’t know, they’re not all bad,” Papyrus said brightly. “I’m pretty sure he used to dream about you, too, you know.”

“M… Me?” she repeated.

“Well, of course, you’re an anomaly thing, too,” he said. “He’d have those dreams all the time! Of course he wouldn’t always tell me, but I could tell when they were less than fun. But I remember, a long way back, he woke up from one of the dreams and he was surprisingly not at all freaked out; said he saw a human we’d be friends with. A small human with a terrible sense of humour, who liked spaghetti and puzzles. Too good to be true, right?”

“You think it was me?” she asked.

“Of course it was,” he assured her. “I don’t remember exactly when. I mean. It was probably in a timeline that didn’t happen anymore? It’s hard to tell sometimes. But, he always told me that would be the last one. And if he ever got too low, he told me to remind him he saw the last one. And you are also the last one, so it has to have been.”

Frisk wasn’t sure why, but that made her feel a lot better.

“I didn’t realize you remembered that much,” she said.

“It is very inconsistent and strange and even I couldn’t really tell you why I remember or what, because some of it is confusing,” he admitted. “I think maybe because my soul and Sans’s are very similar. I remember… him. If that makes sense? Conversations? Though I couldn’t tell you when they happened. Hm. Now, it just occurred to me. Sans must’ve been in the same little bit of time for quite a while, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Probably way too long.”

“I am very relieved that at least I was always with him,” he said.

Frisk smiled and nodded. She leaned back and looked up and him quizzically. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Yes, of course,” he said.

“Were you around the last time a human came through?” she asked. “Not… Not another anomaly kid, I mean, before that.”

Papyrus looked thoughtful. “Umm… Well, technically I was. But I was very young, actually! Younger even than you are now! Fifteen years ago, I think, so I was… three? Yes. Just a little baby-bones at the time! I definitely don’t remember it.”

“Undyne said it was bad though, right?” she asked.

“Mmyes, I believe so,” he said. “Most monsters don’t like to talk about it.”

“Do you know, did Sans see it?” she asked.

“I can’t be sure,” he said. “I wouldn’t be completely surprised, though he might’ve just slept through it. I don’t actually know. Sorry, Frisk.”

She slumped back against him and sighed, pouting. “So that’s why everyone was so scared when I showed up. I’m sorry.” Her heart started to beat a little too hard and she bit her lip. “Sometimes… Sometimes I wonder… if you guys would be happier if all of this never happened. If there was no… time travel or anything.”

“What a strange thing to say,” he said. “But then we wouldn’t have you.”

“B-But there’d be no anomalies. You wouldn’t need me,” she said.

“Oh, Frisk, that’s ridiculous, we’ll always need you,” he said gently.

“But… I know you don’t remember, b-but I know Sans has been hurt so many times and—”

“Frisk! Come on, you know Sans,” he said. “He loves you as much as I do. There’s no way he’d ever give you up for anything! Once you came, we went from two to three, and nothing in the world will ever, ever change that. And that’s good! I promise.”

Frisk’s eyes welled up, and she nodded. Papyrus hugged her closer. He looked thoughtful for a moment.

“To be honest,” he said, lowering his voice a little, “if you want to know, even I was a little nervous the very first time. Sans has always kept me at least partially in the loop, you know? Except, you know how he hates details. And… And there are little pieces I remember from different, um, timelines I guess? Not too much that was very specific, but… enough. Enough that I know what can happen if the new human isn’t very nice.”

“R-Right,” Frisk said.

“When I saw you, that was in the back of my mind. But I’ve always believed, even the worst person can change and be nice. So I wasn’t too scared. If you were bad, I’d make you see that there was something else. And if something really bad happened, it would un-happen at some point. But then, you weren’t bad at all! You were the exact opposite of bad! You were the one Sans has always waited for.” 

He smiled to himself and she felt his magic seeping into her as the air around lit up faintly orange-gold. He just felt happy. “I really would like you to know that this time, even though I don’t remember everything… How to word this? When I saw you, I got overwhelmed. Maybe you recall, I actually lost my train of thought! Pretty out of character, wasn’t it? But it was because I did recognize you, in a way. I saw you and I knew you needed to come with me. I’d never even thought to want a little sister, but then it was like, that was all I wanted. Weird, right?”

“Jeez, Papyrus, you’re gonna make me cry again,” she joked.

He snickered. “It’s alright to cry. Even I, the great Papyrus, cry sometimes! But… mostly when I’m happy. Don’t tell anyone.”

She shook her head and giggled quietly. 

He grinned. His boney fingers stroked her head gently. “Your energy is still a little anxious. So I guess you’re worried about tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“When am I not?” Frisk joked. “Hey, um… Can you do me a favour?”

“What would that be?” he asked.

“Will you, um…? Will you stay behind? With Alphys?” she asked. “Tomorrow, I mean.”

“What?! You don’t want me to come? I thought for sure I should go see Sans take a soul!” he said.

“It’s not that we don’t want you to come,” she said quickly. “I just… We don’t want you to have to lie to Asgore.”

“Oh?” he asked.

“We might get in really big trouble,” she said. “And I dunno if I might get killed again or not. And also, there’s one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“Well, I mean, you’re kind of the best, right? I mean, at being a good friend. Making people feel better.”

“Well, yes, obviously, but thank you for saying so!” Papyrus said.

“Alphys isn’t feeling so well,” she said. “The way she talked when I tried to explain what was happening at first, she seemed really low. Being with Undyne again, that helps. But I think if you spent the day with her, she’d feel a lot better. I know it’ll end up being reset, but you guys all keep it now, so I think that’d be good. What do you think?”

“You make a convincing argument, Frisk,” he said. “Alright. I’ll do it. After all, you’re very right, I am the best at cheering people up!”

“Thank you so much.” 

She clung to his hands and tried to make herself relax. It wasn’t working and it was pretty clear that he could tell.

“I’m… I’m kind of scared,” she admitted.

“Why?” he asked. “This is a good thing, isn’t it? And… And Sans must be pretty excited, right? Every monster wonders what it must be like to take a human soul, at least a little bit.”

Frisk wasn’t so sure. She grimaced. “If I gave you mine, would you take it?”

“Wh… What?” He stared at her silently for a few, heavy seconds. “Frisk… No, of course I wouldn’t,” he said with a laugh. “I mean, then you wouldn’t be here! I wouldn’t want that! Not at all.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Of course! You’re much more important to me than a passing hypothetical interest in what having a human soul might feel like. Besides, you being even hypothetically gone makes me feel real-life awful.”

She bit her lip. She was worried Sans would be of the same mind on this. 

“Oh! Oh my god, I hope that hasn’t been at the back of your mind this whole time,” he said quickly, his eyes going wide. 

Frisk smiled and shook her head. He sighed with relief.

“Good!” he said. “I would hate for you to think any of us had ulterior motives for liking you. Because I certainly don’t! I love you very much!”

She laughed quietly, and then hugged him tight. “Bro, I love you, too! Of course.” 

“That’s why I need you.” He snuggled her gently. “Don’t ever believe otherwise, okay?”

“O-Okay. Okay.” Her fingers clenched tighter into his shirt. “I really need you, too. Like. A lot. That doesn’t seem like a big enough word, even.”

Papyrus snickered. He gently patted her head. She could feel his magic pulse happily and he lit up the room again, a glow like the embers of a cozy fire surrounding him. It felt like warm spring sunlight across her skin. 

“Everything will be just fine tomorrow, I promise,” he assured her.“And when has the great Papyrus ever been wrong about a thing like that?”


	20. The First Plan Arc

“You know what I hate?” Undyne crushed a cup in her hand, then grabbed a second one, filled it with water, and dumped it on her face. “Heat. I hate it.”

Undyne, Sans, and Frisk stood on a platform just past the welcome sign to Hotland, in the glow of magma on red rocks, beside what was the only relief from heat in the whole place— a single water-cooler. Undyne had already tied her hair back and her shirt had no sleeves, and still she didn’t seem to be able to get cool enough. They had barely been there five minutes.

“Ugh, Sans, how can you still be wearing that?” She gestured to his jacket with disdain as she filled her cup up again. “You’re makin’ me too hot just looking at you.” She tossed the water back.

When she looked at him again, he was grinning at her under his fur-lined hood. 

“NGAAAH!!” She lifted the jug right off its base and dumped the water over herself. “You are the worst.”

Frisk couldn’t keep in a laugh anymore and Sans grinned and shrugged, flipping his hood down. 

“The lab has air conditioning, you’ll be fine,” he said.

“Hate it,” Undyne grumbled. She wrung out her ponytail and they were on their way again. She left behind a trail of steam.

The plan was somewhat simple, considering what it was. There was a special key in Alphys’s lab that activated an elevator that could carry them straight to Asgore’s place. From there, Undyne was to distract him while Sans and Frisk got to the barrier. They were under the impression they would also need to find and steal a human’s soul, but Frisk knew better. She still hadn’t worked up the guts to tell Sans her idea. She had tried in the morning, but had lost her nerve and had just ended up hugging him instead. If he knew something extra was up with her, he definitely wasn’t letting on.

Compounding on that problem was Frisk’s growing suspicion that Sans’s worries weren’t just coming from the inevitable crossing the barrier. She was starting to think, from the bits of info she had, that he might’ve been the one who took out the human before her. Everyone had been saying they were a murderer. He must not’ve had a choice, right? But he would have been just a kid himself. If it were true, the fear of encountering that soul again probably weighed heavy on him. Sans might’ve been one not to seem worried— his words were always chill and his tone usually level— but Frisk knew him well enough to be sure he’d be scared. She hated the thought of it.

Without really thinking about it, she reached out and held his hand. He shot her an amused look. She pouted and clung tighter. 

Coming up on the lab, Undyne jogged ahead of them to the door, but ended up smacking straight into it and falling back. “What…? Oh, come on!!” She got up and tried pushing on it, but it wouldn’t budge. “Damn it, Alphys!”

“Locked us out, huh?” Sans said. 

“Hang on,” Undyne growled, pushing up her already short sleeve and clenching her fist. “I’ll punch it!”

“Chill,” Sans said. He let Frisk go and vanished before their eyes. 

Undyne gawked. “Wuh-wuh-WHAT?!”

Frisk shrugged. The door made a clicking sound and then opened; Sans waved them in. Undyne grinned.

“Damn, that’s useful!” she said, rushing inside. “AAH! It’s cool! Finally!”

Undyne shut the door quickly behind Frisk and let out a relieved breath. She turned on the lights and then made a beeline for Alphys’s desk. She scrounged around through empty noodle cups, checked in the drawer, and then looked under the keyboard. She rubbed the back of her head.

“Alphys said in her desk, right?” she asked.

“Think so,” Frisk said. “Lemme look!”

“Good luck.” Undyne sighed and pulled out her phone. “I’ll ask again.”

Frisk carefully picked through layers of junk — old notes on post-its, scribbles of writing almost illegible, anime figurines with pieces missing. Undyne paced behind her as the phone rang.

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon.” There was a click. “Alphys!”

“O-Oh, Undyne, h-hi!” Alphys said.

“Where’s the key?” Undyne said.

“Th-The what?”

“Elevator key!”

“It’s n-not in my desk?” she wondered.

“Can’t find it!” Frisk called.

“R-Really? It’s… I mean, it’s on a keychain, it should—”

“What’s on the keychain?” Undyne sighed.

Alphys said something softly and quickly. Sounded like Mew Mew Kissy Cutie.

“Cool. Thanks.” She hung up and shot Frisk a look. 

The kid shrugged. “Keep looking?”

“Guess we gotta,” Undyne said, and she looked around quickly. “SANS! WHERE YOU AT?”

“Upstairs,” he replied.

Undyne bounded up the nearest escalator despite the fact that it went the wrong way and Frisk kept looking. There wasn’t a thing that looked like keys. She decided to check under the desk, too, through cans and tossed, crumpled papers. There was also a trashcan beside the desk. She checked in there, too, and to her relief, found a pink keychain with a cat girl on it and set of keys attached.

“Guys!” she said brightly. “Think I found it!”

She didn’t hear an answer and began to head to the escalator on the other side of the room. She paused when her phone buzzed. She checked it. There was a text from an unfamiliar number that read, “_have a great day :)” _and nothing more. She didn’t know it, but she took a moment to quickly reply.

“_thanks! You too!”_

When she got upstairs, she saw Sans and Undyne from a distance. Undyne was leaning up against Alphys’s work table and Sans looked oddly closed off, his arms folded. They both seemed pretty serious and they talked with their voices lowered.

“Guys?” 

They turned to look at her and she held up the keys. 

“Found them.”

“Huh. Welp. Uh…” Sans grinned and held up an almost identical set of keys on a keychain that was the same except the cat girl was striking a victory pose. “Maybe an issue?”

Undyne rolled her eye and shook her head, and Frisk held out her hand. Sans tossed the keys over— she fumbled for a second, then put them both on the floor. She took a photo and sent it to Alphys, asking her which one it was. 

When she looked back at her friends, they seemed uncomfortable. “Oh. Um… Sorry, guys, did I interrupt something?” she asked.

Sans shrugged, and Undyne elbowed him. 

“C’mon, dude,” she said quietly.

“C’mon, what?” he asked. 

“If you’re doing a grown-up talk, I’ll go. I won’t spy, I promise,” she assured them quickly.

“No, no, it’s not that,” Undyne said quickly. She shot Sans a worried look. 

He shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed. She put a hand on his shoulder.

“Sans, I know it’ll totally suck, but you should just tell her,” Undyne said. “Because I swear, if we see that soul, I know I’m gonna freak, and you probably will, too. You want her left in the dark on that? She’s just a kid, she’ll think she did something wrong! You think she wants to see you freaking out and not know why? That’s gonna scare the crap outta her.”

“And this won’t?” Sans grumbled. He grimaced. He looked, for just a second, afraid.

Frisk’s heart broke. “You don’t h-have to,” she said quickly. “I… I, um, I think I already know? It’s… It’s about the human before me, right? Sans, um… You’re the one who stopped them, right?”

Sans looked like he’d been slapped. 

“Wh…? What?!” Undyne barked. “Seriously? What the hell?! How did you know that?!”

Sans smacked himself in the face with his palm. “You just told her, dude.”

“I heard you,” Frisk admitted quickly. “Last night? And… And I happened to talk to Gerson, he said a kid in Hotland had to be the one to, um… Anyway, I k-kind of guessed the rest.”

Sans looked at her blankly for a few seconds, then rubbed the back of his skull. “Jeez, kid. I, uh… I was kinda hopin’ maybe we already had this talk?”

She shook her head. He flinched and Undyne grimaced.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” she said. “I… I shouldn’t have brought it up!”

“No, don’t be, I was the one worried about it,” Sans muttered.

“Guys, it’s okay,” Frisk assured them. “We’re all already kind of going to freak-out town, if you don’t wanna talk about it, then—“

“No.” Sans looked reluctant even as he said it. “It’s, uh… it’s better if you hear it from me.”

He walked up to her with a sort of heaviness in his steps. His hand was hesitant now when he took her by the shoulder. “Just, lemme say this first. It… It wasn’t because they were a human. And I didn’t want their soul, either. It wasn’t about any of that crap. I hope you—” He grunted when she hugged him tight. “Oh. Okay? You’re… not scared, then.”

She shook her head. “No, never. Undyne already told me the last human who came here killed some monsters.”

“Oh.” His shoulders sagged and he hugged her in return. “So… we’re good?”

“We’re always good!” Frisk said. “Always.”

His relief was palpable. She pulled back and smiled sympathetically.

“Jeez, Sans, I still been huggin’ you all day,” she said. “Clue in, will ya? You’re my big brother. I love you. Okay?”

Sans’s face flushed blue. He ruffled her hair affectionately and Undyne started to laugh.

“God, you guys are such saps,” she said. “Look, we don’t have to go into this now. Frisk, all you gotta know is that Sans only did it because he didn’t have a choice. And I owe him big for it, honestly.”

“It’s okay,” Frisk said quickly. “I’ve seen what happens when a human goes nuts down here. I understand. Better than I want to. Bro, we can just drop it, I don’t mind, seriously.”

“Welp. Since we’re talkin’ about it anyway,” he said, “I’d rather just get it out.”

Frisk nodded, and he wandered down the room a little. He looked thoughtful.

“Guess I’ll just tell the whole thing, then,” he said. “I gotta admit, I don’t remember the whole day super well. Someone put out the alert for a human. It was the first time that had ever happened to us, so everyone was kinda freakin’ out. I think a bunch of people were hidin’ in here. We had already heard that some monsters got turned to dust, so everyone was pretty messed up.”

Frisk noticed Undyne flinching and her mind darted to what she had told her about her eye. She reached over and took her hand. The grip she returned was tight.

“Reports started sayin’ the human was in Waterfall. Then nothing. We thought it was safe,” Sans said. “We thought someone had stopped them. People started headin’ home. Business as usual, sort of. Huge mistake. Suddenly, Undyne comes rushin’ in, and she’s just oozing. Her eye’s gone. And she’s screamin’, but not about that.”

“I barely remember that,” she said quietly. “But, yeah. It was… Heh. I was just your age, you know, kid? Like, eleven, I guess. And my parents, they both…” She frowned deeply. “If it wasn’t for Sans, I… I don’t know what I wouldda done. You grabbed me, huh? Stopped me from doing something stupid.”

Sans nodded. “Yeah. But, in doin’ that, I, uh… lost track of Paps. Didn’t realize at first, because it was so hectic. And then the human came in. It was the first time I’d ever seen one. It didn’t seem too scary at first, just to look at, y’know? But then I realized it was covered in dust, and suddenly it was like the scariest thing in the world. We were hidin’ behind some machines or somethin’ when I realized Papyrus wasn’t with us.” The look on his face was melancholy and worried, like he was seeing it all again. “I freaked. Straight up, I was terrified. And there were the two of us, just hidin’, thinkin’ that this weird human would just walk on out, maybe run into some grown-ups who would stop it. But instead, it goes into the back. It starts lookin’ for somethin’. And at this point, I got no choice: I go after it because, shit, Papyrus was probably back there, too. And I’m too scared to even shout for him because I know I can’t take a hit. And then who would save my brother?”

He seemed far away for a moment. Frisk watched him worriedly. He rubbed his eye sockets tiredly. 

“I found it in a room with him. And, you know Paps, he’s basically a baby and he’s talkin’ to the damn thing, tryin’ to be so friendly, and it’s just lookin’ at him like it wants him to shut up. So I shout at it. I… tried to convince it to come with me. I tell it if it gets any closer to Paps, I’m gonna stop it, but if it comes with me, maybe the grown-ups could settle this, and no one else had to get hurt. I thought maybe its sense of self preservation would kick in. Instead, it takes another step towards him, and I just… blasted it.” Sans shook his head. “I can’t remember much after that. I guess someone came and took the soul back to Asgore. Next thing I know I’m in a sick bay or somethin’ and Asgore’s there trying to cheer me up, and Papyrus is huggin’ the heck out of me and… I can’t regret what I did. But I hate that it happened.”

“…C… Can’t catch a break, huh?” Frisk’s eyes were watering and her smile was forced.

Sans laughed tiredly and wandered back over towards her. “I’m… Heh. I’m nothin’ like you,” he said, putting his hand against his soul’s place in his chest. “I couldn’t talk ‘em down. It rips into you, y’know? But for my brother, I’d do it again. Kinda a bad person, huh?”

“Things aren’t just as straightforward as that,” Undyne said quietly.

“Y-You were just a kid, though,” Frisk said, wide-eyed. “You c-can’t really be thinking you’re bad j-just for trying to save Papyrus. You can’t.”

“And he didn’t just save Papyrus,” Undyne said. “He saved Hotland from goin’ through what Waterfall did. You don’t remember, maybe? But it was half an hour before a grown-up got to us, Sans. Imagine that little shit running around unchallenged for half an hour?”

Sans flinched. He must’ve known she was right, Frisk thought. He had to have.

Sans chuckled. “Hate bein’ so serious,” he said. “Sorry, kiddo. Not really who you thought I was, huh?”

“No. You’re exactly who I think you are.” Frisk hugged him tight. 

He looked down at her with surprise. “Kiddo. Come on.”

“You come on!” she protested. “Y-You don’t know… We’ve all seen really bad stuff, huh? Me too. I… I w-would have given anything to have you where I came from. I’m… I can’t imagine what you’re feeling but, I… I could never think worse of you for just protecting our brother and everyone else. Th-That’s what you always do.”

He stared at her with a blank, unmoving expression. He caught Undyne giving him a knowing look and a tired smile. He gave; grabbed Frisk tight. When he squished her close, his magic seeped through his hands and into her— gratefulness and relief sung out the strongest. Undyne bent down to join them and put her hand on Frisk’s shoulder when she drew back from Sans. 

“See, dude?” Undyne said gently. “I told you. Even she can see it.”

Sans smiled faintly. “I guess I owe you a drink.”

“Why?” Frisk said, eyes wide.

“He thought you’d be upset with him,” Undyne said, jerking her thumb at the skeleton.

“What?! Never,” Frisk squeaked.

“That’s not healthy,” Sans said half-jokingly.

“I don’t care.” Frisk folded her arms and pouted. “Super don’t care.”

Sans laughed tiredly and rubbed his head. Undyne scoffed and nudged him with her elbow, though even she looked relieved. 

“Hey, uh… I hope you don’t blame us too much for being so paranoid about humans,” Undyne added as she sat on the floor, her tone a little worried. “We… Ugh, as much as I hate to say it, we lived in fear of you guys! With enough hate in its heart, that last human killed more than ten monsters in one afternoon. It was like a nightmare. That’s part of why I trained to be so strong! And even then, Frisk, if someone like you wanted to—”

“Never, never, never!” The kid grabbed Undyne in a tight hug, too. “I love the heck out of you, too, Undyne, I’d never…”

Undyne laughed quietly; hugged her back. “I know, squirt, no worries.”

“I… I’m so sorry about your parents,” Frisk said quietly.

Undyne gently ruffled her hair. “Thanks. I think we all kinda know what it’s like to not have ‘em around, don’t we?”

Frisk nodded. “Rough,” she said quietly.

“Totally,” Undyne agreed. “So we stick together, now. Good, right?”

Frisk nodded. She took a deep breath and looked at Sans with determination in her eyes. “Bro,” she said, “don’t worry. I’ll make sure that soul doesn’t get anywhere near you.”

“Heh. ‘Preciate it,” he said. “Any news from Alphys?”

Frisk hurriedly pulled back and checked her phone. Her messages were marked as read but there was no reply. 

“Not yet,” she said. She wrote in a few question marks and sent it. 

She did have another message waiting— must’ve missed it. It was from Papyrus, a text for her and Sans wishing them luck and hugs, and a text drawing of a thumbs-up. She grinned and showed Sans, and his smile became more genuine. He held out his hand and she gave him her phone; he started texting back. 

Undyne took a deep breath and rubbed her hand through her hair. Frisk scooted over.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Hmm? Oh. Yeah. Yeah, of course, kid,” she said, and she grinned. “It’s painful, you know, but it’s good to talk about that kind of thing sometimes.”

“Well, I feel like I get you more, if that helps,” Frisk said.

“Absolutely,” Undyne said.

“Could I, um…?” Frisk looked embarrassed. She pointed at Undyne’s eyepatch. “I was wondering, could I… see it?”

“Oh! Sure, I just wear the thing ‘cause what’s left sometimes scares the kids,” she said with a laugh. “Plus it looks kinda badass, right?”

“Yeah, for sure,” Frisk said.

Undyne took off her eyepatch, revealing the rough, long scarring that had torn across her socket and the eyelid she now mostly kept closed. Frisk looked curiously, and Undyne pointed her thumb at it.

“Didn’t quite get to a healer on time. Basically nothin’ left in there! But I do okay.”

Frisk nodded and, to Undyne’s surprise, cupped her face and stood on her toes to touch their foreheads together affectionately. Undyne snickered and hugged her.

“Thanks, kiddo,” she said. “Hah! Papyrus did exactly the same thing when I showed him the first time.”

Frisk smiled and kissed Undyne’s cheek. Her scales darkened and she guffawed as she roughly mussed up Frisk’s hair.

“Oh. Hey. There we go,” Sans said. “Kiddo, trade you.”

She took her phone from him and gave him the sets of keys, which he began to pick through one by one. When she looked at the messages, Alphys had given him a description of the key itself rather than which keychain it was actually on. There was also a string of messages from Papyrus. Sans had apparently sent him a message that said, “_youre so cool bro”, _but only one letter at a time, and every time Papyrus tried to say something in between, Sans would reply with “_wait”_ before continuing. There was a bit of a pause right after the final “o” in _bro._

“_Thank you! But you can type more than one letter at a time Frisk!!!”_

_ “not frisk its sans surprise lol”_

_ “OMG SANS GIVE FRISK HER PHONE BACK I WANT TO SAY HI!!!1!!!1!”_

Frisk snickered. She typed back to him. “_hey bro it’s me now! hi!”_

_ “FRISK!!!! HOW GOES?” _he replied right away.

_ “still looking for keys but on our way soon I think!”_

_ “OK! Good luck!! OOOOOOOOOOO”_

Frisk looked surprised. _“oooo? ghost sounds? so spooky!” _she typed back.

_ “LOL! I laughed out loud!! No silly, those are hugs”_

Frisk grinned. “Sans, Papyrus sent like ten hugs!”

“That’s a lotta hugs.” Sans held up one of the keys. “This one I think?”

“Finally.” Undyne had just put her eyepatch back on and she got to her feet. “Let’s go.”

Frisk nodded, and then turned back to her phone quickly. “_thanks so much bro! love you! might not be able to anser for a while, so hope you have a good day with alphys!! <3”_

The elevator was down on the first floor, behind a door that masqueraded as a bathroom. It was a strange thing to disguise something as, seeing as monsters usually didn’t have a typical bathroom. 

“I’m kinda hyped,” Undyne admitted as they got inside.” She took the key from Sans and put it in a lock underneath the numbered buttons on the wall. “Ready?”

Sans shrugged and nodded, and Frisk stuck both thumbs up. Undyne returned the gesture and turned the key. The elevator dinged and then began to rise smoothly and quickly, and a gentle, jazzy tune began to play.

It was a long ride, and everyone was quiet. The anxious energy had begun to build. Frisk reached out and took her brother’s hand, and squeezed it. His reaction was minimal, but, after a few seconds, his finger bones tightened around hers. Undyne, on the other hand, looked totally fine. She tapped the toe of her boot against the floor and picked her teeth with the claw on her pinkie.

As soon as the lift clunked to a halt and the door made a ding and opened, Undyne bounded out and looked around. “Nobody here,” she said. 

Frisk took a deep breath and scampered out. They had arrived on a path situated high above New Home. Carved out of grey stone, the way forward gave them a clear view of most of the city— the high apartments and stores topped with castle-like ramparts and large, ornately-domed buildings lay below. 

Frisk peered over with wide eyes. They could see specks of monsters walking the streets. 

“New Home sure is huge, huh?” she said.

“It’s smaller than it looks at first,” Undyne said with a laugh. “You know it’s actually running out of housing?”

“Do you come here a lot?” Frisk asked.

“Not really,” Undyne said. “You, Sans?”

He shrugged. “Not in a while. Got the best place to eat back in Snowdin anyway. We ever bring you here, kiddo?”

Frisk shook her head. “No, not really! Maybe once everything is settled, we could explore a bit! I mean, before everyone moves out and the stores all close.”

“Sounds good to me,” Undyne said. “I guess rushin’ outside right away isn’t super realistic, huh?”

“Ooh. You guys haven’t seen this, I think,” she said, “but there’s an old city in the Ruins that looks just like this.”

“Huh. Cool,” Sans said. “Empty?”

“Mostly,” Frisk said with a nod. “There’s some monsters in there, but not many. Mostly frogs. Guess they still need a place to live. But the whole city looks abandoned. Super cool.”

“Cool?” Undyne repeated. “Heh. Wouldn’t mind checkin’ that out sometime, too! Let’s get going.” 

She took Frisk’s hand and they headed along the path until Asgore’s home loomed up in front of them. Large, but somehow quaint and cozy— it looked exactly like Toriel’s place, with the exception that the stone was a classic grey, instead of that dusky purple common in the Ruins. Undyne let the kid’s hand go and dashed ahead to check the door.

“ASGORE?” she shouted. “YO, ASGORE, YOU HOME?!” She held up her hand as if to tell them to wait, and pushed inside, slamming the door behind her. 

Frisk shot Sans a confused look, and he shrugged. The kid took a curious peek around the grounds, and then grinned. She ran to a spot in front of the door and put on a serious face.

“Here’s where it all happened,” she said.

“What, kiddo?” Sans asked, walking up to join her.

“This is where…” She let out a deep, dramatic sigh. “…Diane shot Susana.”

Sans grinned and began to laugh. He rubbed his head.“You got me.”

She snickered and edged a little closer to the door. She listened, but couldn’t hear a thing. “Think she’s okay in there?”

“Sure. Probably,” Sans said. “So, uh… got any idea of how this is gonna go down?”

“Well… it’ll be totally fine, for one,” Frisk said. “I… I think. And we’ll keep any killer souls way the heck away from you. Like, waaaaay the heck, not even close.”

“That’s good,” he said.

“C-Can I just say,” she said quietly, “you’re really brave to do this. A-And I, um… I—” She squeaked with surprise when the front door slammed open and Undyne poked her head back out.

“Alright, he’s not in here,” she said. “Move it, guys! Just let me go ahead first.”

Frisk hurried in after her. It was surreal to see Asgore’s house— it was almost a complete copy of Toriel’s house, though it lacked the colour. Right in front, there was a locked off set of stairs, but Undyne merely hopped over the chains that blocked the way. She lifted Frisk up and pulled her over, and Sans appeared alongside them in the blink of an eye. 

Downstairs was a tunnel, dark and winding, but Undyne seemed to know the way. She pulled out her cellphone and turned on a light on the screen. “So,” she said, “I actually did a little bit of research last night.”

“Oh yeah?” Sans said.

“Yeah. Asgore keeps the souls right near the barrier. Think they’re under the floor,” she said. “Sans, you might need your magic to raise up the capsules, okay?”

“Sure,” he said.

“But it’s tough, it might actually take both of us. Worst case scenario, I’ll have to fool Asgore into doing it for us, actually, but I think we might be okay. I figure he’s probably in his garden, now,” she said. “So, I’ll distract him. We’ll chat or something, then I’ll send him back to the house and I’ll help you pick which soul to use, okay?”

“Suddenly really not into this,” Sans admitted. 

“Dude, c’mon, it’s gonna be cool,” Undyne assured him.

Frisk grabbed his hand again. 

Normal light began to shine again as the tunnel opened up into another, lower overlook path. It was sure that any monsters in the windows of the tower-like buildings nearby would see the three of them taking a stroll to meet Asgore. Frisk knew what came up next, and she found herself clutching so tight to her brother’s fingers that there was no way he could move them. He held in a laugh. 

“Relax, kiddo, there’s no monster in the hallway,” he said.

Frisk nodded. “Y-Yeah. Yeah. You’re right. Totally normal.” She slowly loosened her grip. “Sorry.”

“Yeah, chill, Asgore’s not usually in there,” Undyne said. “Kid, you’re not scared of him, are you?”

“Oh. N-No, not really,” she said quickly.

“No worries, I’ll check ahead.” Undyne stuck her thumb up and then ran off, calling over her shoulder, “Be right back!”

Frisk let out a deep breath and rubbed her hands through her hair. Sans patted her shoulder.

“Ugh, I didn’t used to be like this,” she said with a tired laugh.

“Maybe this is, uh, sensitive, but when was the first time you saw it?” he asked.

“Umm… The bad one?” she asked. “I think it was a week or two after the barrier broke.”

“Who won?”

“You, probably fifty times, I lost count. Got dunked on super hard. Then me, once. Then I woke up and puked,” she said. “I didn’t tell anyone.”

“Holy shit,” he said. “Didn’t come to me about it?”

“You didn’t know. I didn’t either. I figured it was just someone else’s memories, like the others where I didn’t see you,” she said. “I think it only happened twice after we figured out. But I mean, I did totally go to you and cry like a baby. As usual.”

He looked thoughtful, and then took her by the hand. “I have an idea.”

In an instant, they were in the golden hallway. Undyne was all the way at the other end, and she waved when she saw them. Frisk waved back. Sans took her a few steps farther, counting the pillars, and then took her by the shoulders to stop her. 

“Okay. Stand here,” he said.

Confused, Frisk nodded. He vanished and reappeared in the blink of an eye a few columns down. He shoved his hands in his pockets and, to her surprise, his soul lit up pale blue through his t-shirt. Hers reciprocated red. Even his energy sounded lethargic.

“S-Sans, what are you—?”

“I’m gonna show you what a real fight— me and you— would look like,” he said. “Okay?”

“Huh?!” she yelped.

Frisk braced herself. Undyne strolled up behind Sans with a quizzical look on her face.

“Sans, the hell are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m showing the kid somethin’, just hang on,” he said, and then gave Frisk a grin. “You first.”

“I… I got nothing,” she said.

“Alright. Watch out. Here’s my attack.”

Two rows of bones appeared in midair and shot towards her, but she didn’t even have to move— they went beside her; missed her by a mile.

“Oh. Whoops, looks like I missed,” Sans said. “Here’s your chance for a counter. What do you think?”

“I think I’m good over here,” Frisk said.

“Welp. Here we go,” Sans said. 

More bones. All she had to do was take one step to the right as she was out of the way.

“Wow. This is, uh, real action-packed, huh?” he said. “Still not going?”

She shook her head again. He grinned.

“Alright. Third time’s the charm,” he said.

To her surprise, a bone materialized in front of her face and gently bonked her on the head.

“Ow.” She rubbed her head and laughed a little. “Okay, you got me.”

“Give up?” Sans asked. “I’m, uh, totally willing to show a little mercy, y’know.”

She nodded. “Mercy!”

“Cool,” he said. “Guess that was a thing.” He shrugged and the magic around him fizzled out. The glow of their souls went low.

He strode back up to her and patted her head gently. “See, the point of that is,” he said, “now we have a new fight here. I like this one better. What do you think?”

“Y… Yeah! Yeah. That’s way better,” she said.

“Also, side note: that’s as hard as I’d ever actually hit you,” he said. “My magic works better on someone who actually hurt someone else. That means against you, it sucks.”

“I… I didn’t know that,” she said.

“Does it? Dude, you serious?” Undyne asked with wide eyes. “That’s some advanced level shit. I mean stuff. Advanced level stuff.”

“It’s okay, Undyne, you can swear in front of me,” Frisk said with a laugh.

Sans grinned and shrugged.

“Jeez, you’re just like, made of weird secrets and junk, aren’t you?” Undyne joked. “I mean… That magic, that’s… specifically for takin’ out bad guys. Like, really bad guys. That’s intense. Always just took you for a huge slacker.”

“I am,” he said.

Undyne scoffed. “Alright. I’ll check ahead. I bet he’s in the garden. Sans, you can get you both around him, right?”

“Yup.”

She stuck her thumbs up and then sprinted for the door. Sans put a hand on Frisk’s shoulder and brought them up the last, grey hallway before the garden, just as Undyne was passing.

“That’s weird as shit!” she called.

Sans snickered and strolled up towards the doorway. Frisk scooted after him, sticking close, and they listened close.

“ASGORE!” Undyne shouted. “Hey, you big dork, good to see you!”

“Undyne! Howdy!” he said with a booming laugh. “Lovely to see you, too!”

“You busy?” Undyne asked.

“No, not at all,” he said, “would you care for some tea?”

“In a bit! Thanks! I have some really cool sh— stuff to tell you about! Got time to chat?”

“Yes, of course! I’d love to.”

Asgore’s large, soft footsteps crinkled in the grass. Sans took Frisk’s hand and they were gone— straight to the chamber where the barrier pulsed with cold, bright energy. Frisk took a deep breath. Sans went quiet and walked up to it. She followed him.

“This is it.” His eyes seemed to shimmer. “Haven’t been this close to this thing in a while.”

Frisk grimaced and reached out to touch it. It felt as solid as rock, but lighter, and a tingling passed through her body. It felt like magic, in a way, but not like any she had experienced before. She drew back and looked at her hand, then rubbed her fingers together as if to jar them out of sleep. 

“Thanks for doing this, Sans,” she said, and she took a deep breath. “You, um…? You ready to take my soul?”

“Uh… what was that, kid? Sorry, must not’ve heard you on account of not havin’ ears and all.”

“Don’t gimme that,” she said with a tired laugh. “I said I was gonna have your back, right?”

“This joke ain’t that funny, kid.” His brow furrowed. “We’re takin’ one of Asgore’s.”

“Can’t,” she said.

“Sure we can,” he said.

“Not gonna let you.” She smiled tiredly. “It’s not safe.”

He stared at her blankly. He tilted his head. He looked a little frustrated for a second and rubbed his forehead. He paced, then came back to her, frowning. “You get what you’re askin’, right?”

“Duh, yeah, obviously,” Frisk said. “I mean, it has to be you, so—”

“But why the hell does it have to be _you_?” he demanded.

Frisk took a deep breath and paused to gather her thoughts. His expression softened.

“Kid?” Sans asked.

“You know the story of Asriel and Chara, right?” she said. “The one where she was dying and asked to see the flowers of her hometown? And that’s how Az got killed, bringing her body there.”

“Y… Yeah?” he said. “Why?”

“That’s not how it went,” she said. “Chara killed herself so she could give her soul to Asriel. She wanted to kill humans. All of them. Az wasn’t down for it, he thought they were just going to get enough souls to break the barrier. He told me that when he took his sister’s soul, they both had control oftheir body, technically, but Chara overpowered him. They struggled for it when they finally confronted the humans. Az wouldn’t fight. That’s what got them killed.”

Sans stared back at her blankly. “That sounds real important, actually. Why would they lie about that?”

“They didn’t. No one knew,” Frisk said quickly. “Not even Asgore or mom. I only know ‘cause of what Chara let me see when she was in my head, and from what Az told me when we were friends. Guess the point of that story is, I don’t know those other souls. I don’t trust any of them with you. I could never risk you like that.”

“When were you, uh, plannin’ on lettin’ that one out?” he asked, eyes wide.

“Um… Around now,” she said. “Sorry. I tried before and… and I guess I just couldn’t figure out how to say it ’til now.”

Sans rubbed his face and went quiet for a while. “You’re crazy,” he grumbled.

She shrugged. “Yeah, maybe just a bit.”

He frowned. “You can’t… You can’t ask me to kill you, kiddo. I won’t.”

“I know. I’d never…” She shook her head. “No way. I wouldn’t ask you to do that. Especially not now. That’s kinda why we need Undyne, right?”

Sans grimaced. “This is _not _a conversation I want to be having right now. Or ever. At all.”

Frisk laughed tiredly. “Ready?”

“No.”

She stuck her thumb up. He rubbed his forehead.

Frisk was was trying hard not to let the apprehension stall her steps. She took a deep breath and reassured herself. Sans was her brother; she trusted him implicitly. Even if this didn’t work the way she hoped, he’d be okay. She peeked around the corner and saw Undyne’s back to her a little ways down the hall.

“Hey! We need you!” she called.

Undyne whirled with a wide eye and, only then, did Frisk see Asgore behind her, a little bit around a corner. She quelled a yelp and ducked back in.

“I might’ve just goofed,” Frisk said.

“Who was that?” she heard Asgore say.

“Oh? Ahah hah, oh, yeah, that’s just, um… my kid!” she said.

“You have a child?!” he gasped.

“Oh yeah, totally, I just, um… I mean, not quite but I’m, uh… Hang on! Wait here!” she said, her voice going a little shrill.

“C-Can I meet them?”

“LATER! I PROMISE! BE RIGHT BACK! ACTUALLY I’LL MEET YOU AT THE HOUSE, AAAAAAH, GIMME A MINUTE!!”

Undyne bounded into the room. “What?!” she demanded, lowering her voice. “I thought I needed to distract him.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Frisk said quickly. “I need you to do something weird.”

“What?” she asked.

“Stab the heck out of me.”

“Hah hah, good one, Frisk,” Undyne said. “Seriously, what do you need?”

“She’s serious,” Sans said reluctantly.

“Hah, no, that’s crazy stupid,” Undyne said. “Why would you…? Oh…” Undyne’s eye went wide, then she frowned. She put a hand on Frisk’s shoulder. “Your soul? You sure?”

“It’s kinda the only option,” she said.

“What, couldn’t break into Asgore’s stuff?” Undyne asked. “I’ll do it.”

“No, it’s not that,” she said. “It’s… I need to go with him. Will you trust me?”

Undyne frowned for a second and then stood. Her spear materialized in her hand. “You trust me enough to ask me to do this. How could I not trust you back? Let’s do this. Where do you want it?”

“Oh god,” Sans grumbled.

Frisk looked around. She shrugged, then lay down on the floor. “I’ll do my best not to go back right away,” she said. “Sans, you better frickin’ grab me, okay? Come at me, Undyne! Right in the heart, okay?”

“You sure you’ll be fine?” Undyne asked.

“Yes! I’m sure! Come on, before I start freaking out!” Frisk insisted. “If it doesn’t work, fine, we’ll all be back to yesterday. It’s okay! Promise.” She closed her eyes tightly. Her heart was racing. 

Undyne gulped, tightened her grip, and stabbed.


	21. The First Plan Goes Boom

When Undyne pulled the spear up, no one was comfortable with the blood on the tip. She took a deep breath. Sans’s eyes went dark.

“Welp. That, uh…” He rubbed his face and pinched his brow, shutting his eyes tight, wondering what the hell he had been thinking, agreeing to such a stupid plan. “Shit.”

“Get over here, will you?” Undyne said, her voice a little hoarse. “You need to tell me it worked.”

Sans’s legs didn’t really want to move, but he got a little closer. Frisk would have looked like she was asleep if not for the red on her shirt.

“Well?” Undyne asked shrilly. “Don’t you tell me I just stabbed her for nothing!”

Sans didn’t know what to say. He grimaced and rubbed his face. He braced to blink his eyes and be back in Undyne’s house, but nothing happened. When he looked, he was taken aback as the air above Frisk’s chest begin to glow a gentle red. His energy began to pulse, almost painfully, inside him as the glimmer grew brighter and brighter until Frisk’s precious soul raised up to meet him.

“Holy shit,” Undyne breathed.

“K… Kiddo?” he asked. Sans reached out and cupped his hands around it carefully and it drifted in closer to him. Before he could act any further, it shot forward into his ribcage. Knocked the wind out of him completely and pushed him to his knees. He cursed under his breath.

He felt that red energy press into his soul; sink right in and make itself at home. He felt strange. Tingling warm at first, and then deeply, deeply freezing. It was like he was stretching and he couldn’t see a thing. Like his body was building_. _He knew what dying felt like— how it was like every piece of you shaking and falling away into nothing— but this was the opposite. It felt good_. _His mind began to spin and, for a moment, he could process nothing more than a single thought: how determined he was to get back up.

Everything that was Frisk’s soul, all her memories, her feelings— every little hurt, every small victory, every cold night alone on the surface— every second she remembered poured into him. He was totally overwhelmed and tried to take it all in. Her hopes, her dreams, the love she felt for for Papyrus, Toriel, him— everyone. He understood it all more deeply than he thought was possible. He missed everyone so much it ached deep into his bones. He suddenly understood the kid as much as he understood himself.

He let out a breath that sounded like a low, rattling growl. It took him a solid few seconds of staring at larger, clawed hands to realize that he could see again.

“Uh… S… Sans?” 

His eyes flicked up to Undyne. She looked aghast; had hopped back against the wall, carrying Frisk’s body with her, but now was slowly raising her phone to point at them. There was a flash.

“Did… Did you just take a photo?” Sans’s voice went on its own. “…Do we look cool?”

He put a hand to his head and sat back, eyes wide. Like he could feel the sparks of impulses firing. Thoughts processing that weren’t him, and yet were all at once. He realized Frisk was awake the same instant she did. His relief was almost palpable.

“There you are,” he said quietly. “Thank god.”

_ “I was here the whole time!!” _she said brightly. “_Woah, this… this is… Dang, bro.” _

He didn’t need to ask. She felt all his soul, too. His head said it was too much for her to know, but he began to grin anyway. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. For some reason, it struck him with elation. He didn’t have to say a word. She laughed in their mind. It was like a hug. He suddenly felt a million times better.

“You’re huge,” Undyne said. “Are… Are you okay? I mean, is Frisk—?”

“We’re here,” he said. “It’s… fine. Huh. Didn’t think I’d say that.”

Undyne’s ear-fins drooped and her eye went wide. “Really?!”

“Yeah.” They stood up on clawed feet, unexpectedly towering over her, tall enough to reach a few heads more than even Asgore might have. “We’re okay.”

Undyne began to grin, backed up and turned. She took a selfie with them as they stood and rubbed their skull. They had a simultaneous moment of alarm as they felt the shape stretching back into horns.

“Oh my god. Dude, what the hell are we?” They patted their face down. Long snout. There was a jaw. It opened. Didn’t need to to talk, though. “What the hell.” They moved it up and down with their hand. “Seriously, what the hell.”

“Okay,” Undyne said, running over, “I think I got a good one.” 

She showed them the phone and instantly their face flushed blue and their eyes went wide. Their skull was like a dragon’s— looked a lot like Sans’s blasters, actually— with spikes and horns emerging seamlessly from the back, and Sans’s normally grinning face was stretched into a snout, teeth all pointed and fangs hanging a little longer. His jacket had somehow changed into something of a cloak that had mostly lost its sleeves, the faux-fur lined hood giving them the illusion of a mane around their neck and shoulders. Their t-shirt was marked with white heart in a black circle surrounded by an equally dark ring.

“Holy crap,” Sans said. “We’re… oh, god.” He started to panic and he felt, inside, like the kid was holding him tight, reassuring him. He took a deep breath. “We’re a…”

“A dragon!” Frisk said. “Oh my god, dude, we totally turned into a skeleton dragon.”

“Don’t dragons have wings?” he wondered, stunned.

“Who cares? Seriously! This is—”

“Crazy. Straight up nuts.”

“Totally, but it’s…! It’s…!” Their body rattled. Some of the arm bones shifted a little and the spine stretched out more, lengthening their tail seamlessly. 

Undyne looked worried for a second, but they began to laugh.

“Amazing. It’s… It’s actually amazing.”

“Oh! Great! Awesome!” Undyne said. “What should I tag it as? Sisk? Frans?”

“Neither, just Sans,” Frisk insisted quickly. “Just… Sans. We’re Sans.”

“Okay. _Sans and the kid fused into a big frickin’ dragon,_” she said as she typed. “Happy face. Anything else?”

“Yeah, change frickin’ to Friskin’,” Frisk added. “You know, ‘cause it’s like—”

“Ugh, even now your jokes are still terrible?” she asked.

“Uh…” Sans said, grinning. “You realize we both kinda have the same sense of humour, right?”

“Oh, my god, we’ve made a huge mistake,” Undyne said.

Sans laughed. Undyne couldn’t help but snicker as well and she sent out the photo. She took a deep breath and wiped under her eye with her fingertips.

“Gotta admit,” she said, “you guys freaked me out for a second. I hope that didn’t hurt too much, Frisk.”

“Nope, it was totally fine!” she said. “Don’t worry. It was super quick, didn’t even feel it.”

Undyne smiled and nodded. She grabbed one of their large hands to inspect it, and then held it cautiously. “How does it feel?”

“I dunno, fine?” Sans said. “Don’t get me wrong, weird as hell. But, it’s… fine. It’s, uh… a little warm?”

“That’s good. It’s kind of too bad you two aren’t gonna stay like this for longer,” she continued, “because one, looks awesome, and two, it’s super interesting. I bet Alphys would love to take a look at you.”

“Really? Why?” Frisk asked.

“When’s the last time this happened, right?” Undyne said. “I mean, shit, look at you! So, Sans, I guess…? Like, are you in charge, or how does this work? What are you?”

They shrugged. “We’re, um… the same? It’s hard to explain,” Frisk said. “He’s… No. We? We’re like… a ton of magic. A ton_._”

“Are you still yourselves in there?” Undyne asked with a frown.

“Yes. But, no,” Sans said. “Both?”

“So… who am I talking to?” she asked, tilting her head. “Both of you?”

“Also yes and no,” Frisk said, and she grinned. “This is Frisk right now, but we both know what I’m gonna say anyway, so really it doesn’t matter, it’s just the, um… the in… inflection? Inflection.”

They straightened up, their bones clacking strangely, and spikes at their shoulders extended slightly. They rolled their eyes, though Undyne gawked.

“We got the _point_, sheesh,” they grumbled.

Undyne’s phone beeped. She checked it quickly. “Uh oh,” she said. “You guys better hurry this up. Papyrus just replied with a bunch of shrieking and Alphys is already trying to set up an “AU” with “dragon exclamation mark Sans” and “fusion exclamation mark Sans X Frisk”, whatever that means? Mettaton says he’s “super jelly” though.”

They nodded and approached the barrier. Their souls started to vibrate. The energy was kind of invigorating. 

“This, uh… This is actually kinda exciting, huh?” Sans said.

“_I know, right?!”_

“Uh, guys?” Undyne said loudly. “You might wanna get moving? I hear Asgore coming. I just remembered that I have him on UnderNet and—”

“Dang, okay, we’ll see you soon,” Frisk said. They raised their hand to the barrier and Sans felt a deep sense of shock when it simply passed through. It felt like bubbles against their bones. 

“Sorry!” Undyne shouted.

“Chill out,” Sans said. Just two steps and they were through, almost like it was nothing. They turned to make sure Undyne was alright, but their eyes widened as they caught on Asgore. The King almost looked like he could faint.

“I can explain!” Undyne said. “Uhhh… GUYS, RUN OUTTA HERE!”

They took her advice.

The hall was dark and shockingly silent, but it wasn’t far at all until they broke out into the fresh air under the cover of night. The first thing that hit was the chill, and then the smells, like ozone, pine, and a heavy, wet earthiness.

Squinting, their eyes took a moment to readjust. Despite the night, the world above was shining and bright— they were under a starry, moonlit sky on a plateaux of Mount Ebott. Sans had to stop them. The glittering, twinkling rivers of light in the shifting, dark expanse made him suddenly feel tiny. How far they must’ve been, how large; how bright. There were so many bunched together in ribbons across the night that they looked like clouds. Their eyes went wide and Sans felt them start to tear up. Their bones rattled as they began to tremble.

“Oh my god,” he breathed.

Frisk began to smile. “_Surprise.”_

“Damn. It’s… uh… it’s pretty big,” he muttered. Had to keep it together. “…Our clocks are super wrong, dude.”

Frisk laughed. “_We’re gonna get here,”_ she assured him gently. “_For real. I promise.”_

They started to grin, genuine, awed— soul and heart pounding. 

“I guess…” He wiped their eyes. “I dunno. I guess I sort of gave up.” It was a weird feeling to find that determination and hope she felt inside of him, too. It was so sincere that he couldn’t help but believe her. 

They sat down on the stone. They had been here before, hadn’t they? Together then, too, sitting with their legs dangling off the mountainside, looking at the sunset. It took a little to process. 

Their memories absorbing, flowing together; different pieces of the same events, going farther backwards and forwards from this point than either had expected.It was weird, but, despite it all— despite their deaths, their losses, the changes, erasures, overlaps, everything— it was comfortable. Cozy, almost. Settling, somehow, they both felt safe.

They stared up at the stars for a long while, looking beyond every initial speck of distant light to find more and more, just beyond. It was mesmerizing. They pulled their knees up and put their arms around them, just taking in all that sky. They didn’t notice their head starting to feel heavy.

\- - -

Undyne was half-asleep, scrolling through UnderNet and smiling to herself over the selfies Alphys and Papyrus had been taking all day. Whoever had suggested he take her out while this was going on had had a good idea. 

She heard bedsprings creak and she cast her eye up and across the room. After passing out cold on the floor, Asgore was finally starting to move. She got out of her chair and walked over to him. 

“Yo. Asgore. You up? You okay?” she asked.

The huge monster’s eyes opened slowly, and he blinked quickly and looked around. He smiled when he saw her. “Oh. Undyne. Howdy. I’m sorry, my dear, I seem to have taken a bit of a fall.”

“No kidding,” she laughed. “Feelin’ alright?”

“I think so. Thank you.”

She smiled and nodded. He rubbed his head.

“You carried me?” he wondered.

“Of course I did! Lemme make you some tea,” she said.

She hurried out of the room even as he reached out a giant paw to stop her. He stared after her with confusion and, slowly, got up and out of bed.

When he emerged, having changed into a comfortable, multicoloured knitted sweater, Undyne was already boiling the water and had a teacup with a flower painted on it out for him.

“My child, this is very sweet,” he said. “But… what is this that I recall? A huge monster running _through _the barrier? I think that’s why I fainted? That wasn’t just a dream, was it?”

Undyne froze. Her mind raced. She turned to him and grinned wide. “Y-Yeah! Yeah, sorry about that! It was, um… It was just one of Alphys’s experiments!”

Asgore stared at her with wide eyes. “She’s made progress?!”

“Y… Yeah!” Undyne said. “You know Sans, right? He loves science stuff, so Alphys made a, um… soul-like thing, and he volunteered to, um… test it?”

“That was little Sans?” Asgore gawked. He looked bashful and rubbed his head. “Hah, I should not call him that, he’s grown now. I just remember him quite well as a child, and—! Listen to me, going on like an old grandpa!”

“Dude, it’s totally fine,” Undyne assured him.

He laughed, but his brow took on a concerned tilt. “Why didn’t any of you tell me?”

“It was supposed to be a surprise.” Undyne smiled apologetically. “S-Sorry about that! We’re still not even totally sure if it worked, so… We’ll see in a few hours! I’ll let you know!” She finished up with the tea and handed him the cup. 

He smiled brightly. “Thank you very much,” he said. “Sans will be okay, won’t he? I’m aware of his condition.”

“Think so,” Undyne said. “He’s tougher than he looks.”

Asgore went quiet and sipped his tea. His gaze drifted to some nostalgic place, a smile on his lips, like his thoughts were far away. Undyne tilted her head.

“This… This is good news,” he said. “If it works, we may finally have a chance to be free. Won’t that be nice?”

Undyne nodded. She leaned against the counter and folded her arms, and Asgore smiled reassuringly. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“You deserve to see the ocean,” he said. “It’s beautiful.”

Undyne looked up at him and he smiled brightly. She huffed and hugged him tightly. He held her close, his big, soft paws cozying her close.

“What’s bothering you?” he asked.

“N… Nothing. Never mind.” She laughed tiredly. “Still got a lot of work to do.”

“As always,” he said gently. “Don’t forget to take breaks. Have a nap. Read a book. Drink some tea. And come home to visit! You’re always welcome.”

“I know it!” Undyne thumped him on the shoulder and pulled back. “Got a couple things to do. Be back later?”

He nodded and stuck his thumb up.

Undyne quickly and quietly made her way back to the room where the barrier glimmered, and, though it made her feel a little sick, she scooted back over to where she had left Frisk’s body. It was strange, though: she wasn’t bleeding but she hadn’t gone completely cold either. She wondered if this was normal for humans. Then again, Frisk’s circumstances were probably weird enough that it wasn’t. She took a deep breath and sat down, resting her back against the wall. She didn’t know whether to expect them to come back or if it would just be a reset.

Undyne had almost nodded off when she heard a strange noise. It took her a moment for her to realize it was a phone, but not hers. Frisk’s. She leaned over the kid and gently went into her pocket.

“Sorry to mug you, squirt,” she said. When she looked at the screen, there was a bunch of texts from an unfamiliar number. Curious, Undyne opened up the messages only to see a bunch of scrambled text, distorted like the image was corrupted. She tilted her head.

She took a photo of the screen with her own phone and then sent it to Alphys. “_Yo this normal? Is the squirt’s phone borked?_” She sat back against the wall. 

After a minute, she got a text.

“_LOL snooping much? ;D_” Alphys replied.

Undyne sighed. “S_hes not here to answer, what if it was important? So is it something or not?_”

“_i’ll totes check. might be a code or something, see teh sequencing?_”

“N_o_”

“_lolol k ttys! might take a bit”_

Undyne took some earphones from her dimension box and put them on to listen to some music while she waited. Even through the persistent J-Pop, she heard Frisk’s phone go off again. There were more messages there when she checked, still totally illegible. Undyne decided to text back.

“_hey this is frisk’s friend, she cant come to the phone right now. sorry dude your messages are coming in all screwed up, cant read a damn thing. trying to get it fixed_”

There wasn’t another message for a few minutes, but when more came in, it was a few in quick succession. Whoever was on the other end of the line had used the distorted text to form out the shape of just _SRRY_, and then a smily face. 

Undyne put the phone down and sat back, closing her eye and letting the sound of what was essentially auditory cotton candy take her elsewhere. She’d go back to Asgore soon but, for now, she needed the reprieve.

\- - -

Cold wind howled like a distant beast from the mountain top. It reverberated deep through the bones of the large monster that lay on the rocks— they would have been completely content to ignore it if it hadn’t been followed by the crash of thunder. 

Their eyes snapped open and they peered around. A sense of confusion fogged their mind for just a moment before everything settled back in. They rubbed their skull and laughed groggily. 

“Welp. Paps called it.” 

They rubbed at an eye socket with their knuckle. “_No nightmares!”_ Frisk said brightly.

“Mhm.” Sans smiled. “Any idea how long we were out?”

“_If I could still see the moon, I could tell you_,” she said. “_So… nope!”_

Carefully, they sat up and tried to get their bearings. The sky was overcast now, grey and gloomy, and the wind was picking up. Still, it struck a sense of awe in them. Lightning sparked through the clouds overhead, illuminating the rocks and the trees, bending and bowing, below. Funny how just normal weather could do such a thing. 

Finally, they got back to their feet. Frisk hoped they might beat the rain. They took a step back and stretched to pop their spine.

Frisk’s memories flashed through their mind as she directed them— they could see the mountain, but from the base, in the rain. Sans could feel the cold wind, the damp through her clothes; the scrapes on her hands and knees as she clambered ever upwards on the pointed rocks. Wrapping lengths of bandages to protect the raw skin. That bit struck him as particularly weird— he didn’t even _have_ skin. 

They walked cautiously around the plateau and peeked over the edge. They were stuck with a sudden, nauseating sense of vertigo. 

“Oh, uh… that’s… that’s pretty high,” Sans said.

They snuck around to the other side and squinted into the distance. Frisk recognized something, not on the mountain, but in the forest below. It had been a year ago for her, but there was a jutting piece of rock, like a carved, weathered totem that stuck out above the treetops. The shape definitely wrung a bell.

It only took a moment of wondering how they were going to get there to kick their body into another change. It seemed to only take a second, but they were knocked onto all fours with a grunt as their limbs extended and, tearing through their modified jacket, wings of bone sprouted. Eyes wide, they looked at them and flapped them awkwardly. What might have otherwise been a membrane between bony fingers was an expanse of stars.

“Holy shit. I, uh… I wasn’t expecting that.”

“_No way! We’re a frickin’ space bone dragon! Where’s the phone?!”_

“Kid, I have no clue.”

“_Aw… dang. We need to get you a phone. Mine’s back in my pocket.” _She pouted.

“Did you seriously want to take a selfie? Now?” he asked.

“_Duh! Think we can fly?”_

“I guess?” He flapped their wings. “That’s weird. That is _really_ weird.”

“_No way, it’s awesome!” _Frisk cheered. “_C’mon, let’s try, what’s the worst that can happen?”_

“Uh. Falling,” he suggest.

“_C’mon Sans, it’s not that bad!” _she insisted. 

He lifted them up onto their feet again and went to the edge. The mountain was massive. Of course, it had to be— the entire underground was housed beneath. He gulped and, together, they jumped. Their left eye lit up blue on reflex and Sans put their hands over their face, half expecting to fall. Their wings caught the air like it was nothing. 

“We’re okay,” Frisk told him. “Don’t worry.”

It was weird to hear his own voice reassuring him like that. He felt Frisk smile and she gently took control. She shifted them slightly in place and then, together, they moved around a little, flapping their wings with surprising strength.They caught the air and chased it slowly until they felt comfortable gliding in a circle.

“_Good?”_ she asked.

“Yeah,” he replied. “How did you know how to do that?”

“_I didn’t, I just knew that Asriel kinda did the same thing when he had a bunch of souls in him. I figured, you know, it’s magic, shouldn’t think too much about it.”_

“Oh. Great,” Sans laughed.

They stumbled back onto solid ground and buckled, giddy laughter shaking their bones. “Oh my god.” They put their hand against their chest and breathed the night air in deeply. 

“I can’t believe it,” Sans said quietly.

“_This is kiiiinda great_,” Frisk agreed. “_Hey_, _think we can try going that way?” _She pointed out over the woods towards the tall stone pillar she recognized.

“No consequences for fallin’, huh?” Sans said, grinning. “Welp. Alright. Let’s give it a go.”

They spread their wings, flapped, and took a deep breath. They dove. Wind whistled through their skull and before long, they were swooping down into the forest. Trees whipped by and their eye lit up blue. Everything seem to slow, just enough that a tilt of a wing or an adjustment of their bones would get them by without getting nicked. They scanned the tops for a gap in the trees.

Dropping down to the ground, they stumbled and plopped into what amounted to a small clearing between tall, ancient trees. The feeling of grass against their bones was interesting. They’d felt the bunches of magic grass in Waterfall, but this was somehow different. The edges were more prickly, but overall, it was soft. The smell was refreshing. 

Looking up, the carving on the weathered tower looked a little like Asgore. They squinted past it up the mountain. Frisk’s memories flowed— it had been dark her first time here, too.

She flared their wings and the glow in their left eye brightened. She showed him what she remembered, but it was a little distorted. They hunkered down to try to get closer to Frisk’s normal eyeline. She remembered, now, that she had gone to the right, so that was where they started. They were about to start down a small, worn area of foliage that one could hesitantly call a path, but then stopped. They snickered. Walking? No way. They stepped back where the sky was clear of boughs and shot straight back up into the air.

Gliding through the night, eyes on the base of the mountain, was actually starting to feel fun. The cool, fresh air over their bones was exhilarating. 

“_I’m glad you’re happy_,” Frisk said brightly.

“Huh?”

“_You’re actually having a good time!” _Frisk laughed. “_I’m really glad.”_

“Yeah. It’s not bad, I guess,” he said. “Wouldn’t mind if this _drags on_ for a little.”

“_Yeah! It’s kind of like a little vacation. In a weird, kinda morbid sort of way, anyway,” _she said. “_Sheesh, this mountain is really huge, huh?”_

“Yeah, it’s almost like there’s a whole country under there,” he joked. “I can’t believe you actually thought climbin’ this was a good idea.”

“_It was a good idea! It was the best idea, shut up,”_ she said with a laugh.

“You’re right. It was,” he said. 

Their eyes caught on a spattering of rocks on the side of the cliff. Nothing in particular special about them, but the shape of one of them was familiar; a chipped, distinct wedge-shape, if that’s what one was looking for. They were fairly sure they recognized it. They dove in for a closer look, but faltered. The wings were still new, after all, and the cloudy sky was darkening. Awkwardly, they bonked into the rocks above and fumbled to cling to them in the dark. They brightened their eye. Frisk sighed with relief and snickered.

“Sheesh,” she said.

Carefully, they edged down to look at the rock, then circled around to check from below. It did jog a memory.

“This one,” Sans said. “Right?”

They carefully put a hand on it and got a little closer. There were some spots of discolouration. Frisk had stumbled; cut her knee on it. The rain hadn’t managed to erase the old blood. They could remember the sting of it.

“Damn, that is _weird_,” Sans muttered.

“_What, the having skin thing?” _she asked. “_Dude, I know! And now we got no skin.”_

“Everything is weird,” he said. “Alright. Right path, though. Oh. Wait.” He didn’t even need to say it as the thought entered their head. 

What about teleporting? Normally, he could go places he’d been to before. What about places Frisk had been? Maybe they wouldn’t have to find the hole at all.

“_Try it!”_ Frisk suggested.

They reached for the outside of the cave, but it seemed like there wasn’t quite enough to pull them there. Frisk had been almost completely blinded by the high winds and rain. There wasn’t enough context. Maybe a bit earlier. 

Their body shifted, but when they looked around to assess their position, they weren’t much higher up than they were before. In fact, they had only moved maybe five feet.

“_Good idea anyway_,” she said.

“Same rules as before, then,” he said. “Well. Whatever. No rush.” 

They kept looking, following any rock that they could match to a memory, until they came upon a large section of mountain with a clear view off to another peak in the far distance. This part stuck out. Before them was a relatively flat ridge running along the mountain, something that definitely would have looked like a path to a little kid. 

They followed the ridge, and it soon became clear why several humans had fallen the same way Frisk had. It was the path of least resistance. Maybe, a long time ago, it really had been a trail that lead to somewhere. If one was lost on the mountain in this area at all, maybe they thought they might find something this way.

Just as they began to suspect, a deep, dark patch soon stood out in the rocks along the path. Thunder rumbled above them again. Cool raindrops began to sprinkle their bones— they shuddered and looked up. More rain. Went right in their eye socket— the cold, wet feeling sloshed straight to the back of their head.

“Oh gross!” Frisk yelped.

Sans laughed. “Welcome to my life.” He tilted their head back again. “So… that’s rain. Huh.”

They were transfixed for a moment, watching the clouds churn overhead into a dark froth. It rained harder, but the cool drops across their bones were all but welcome. The puzzle of natural rain spun about in their mind, and the expanse of sky made them feel so small again. 

“Hey. Frisk,” Sans said.

“_Mhm?_”

“…Thanks.”

She laughed. “_You didn’t need to say it._”

“Kinda did.” He smiled. “I just… never thought it’d… Eh. It’s alright. You know.”

She was going to tell him she loved him, but she didn’t have to. For just a moment, they were overcome. Everything in their soul was humming, bi-coloured and warm, shining bright in the dark. All their energy was made of that feeling for a few long, cozy seconds. They laughed together as the glow dimmed. They were so happy. Sans almost couldn’t believe it. That was his instinct, at least, but facts won out. It wasn’t word he used often, but he didn’t have a choice— maybe he was a bit happy about that, too.

They moved a wing up to shield their face and continued up the mountain towards that darkness they had found. There was a shimmering, magic sheen flicker from within and they were sure it was the right spot. 

Folding their wings in tight against their sides, they cautiously slunk into the cave, but it was more than big enough for them. Inside was damp, but the rain didn’t reach and, before them, a huge hole opened like a gaping portal down into a field of golden flowers, shining to their eyes even from here. It was easy to see how someone might get stuck here, though. The inside didn’t match the same height as the outside, so the way one entered couldn’t easily be accessed again if that person was a child, especially a small one like Frisk.

They looked around and they pulled out a small alcove where Frisk had hidden for a while to get out of the cold. It was a strange moment of realization. Some of the blood from her scraped hands and knees still lingered here, brighter in this place unexposed to the elements. Frisk had huddled there, trying to stay warm for a long while, anxiety beating in her heart as she peered down into the hole. It was the only way to go on. A message, blurred, written in pen on her hand, pushed her forward. Though illegible now, once, before the scrapes and the sweat, it had read _get inside the mountin. _She had had to rewrite it a few times. She had forced herself to her feet, peered down, heart pounding and breath short, and jumped. It was like they could see it with their waking eyes. 

They sat back and rubbed their head. 

“_My bad,” _Frisk said quietly.

“No. No, that’s fine.” They got up. “We made it.”

They had a thought— should they try to get down there and back up? That would confirm if they could do that movement at all. They extrapolated— maybe they could already get down there on their own from just Frisk’s memories. They braced themselves and gave it a shot.

Their body shifted effortlessly, but not quite correctly— they were midair, halfway down into the cavern. They didn’t have time to right themselves before they landed, sprawled and dazed, in a field of golden flowers. They stared up at where they had come from, stunned.

“Welp. That sucked,” Sans grumbled.

“_Oof, tell me about it,”_ Frisk joked.

“Okay, so… still need to go places,” he said. “Alright. No problem.”

“_Sorry!”_

If he could have elbowed her, he would have. She laughed anyway.

Awkwardly, they heaved themselves upright into a sitting position, rubbing their skull. They started to get to their feet but froze as their eyes focussed on a shining speck of white at the edge of the cavern. Toriel. Looked like she had been running. She looked horrified. 

“Tori…?” Sans said quietly.

“You…” Her face was suddenly set in a frown, tears in her eyes, and she raised her hands up, fire swelling in her palms. “Don’t think I don’t know what you are. Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve done!!!”

Her magic came at them in an instant and they recoiled, shielding themselves with their wings. They took the hit; grunted. It wasn’t too bad.

“W-Wait a second!” Frisk shouted. “It’s not what you think!”

They weren’t sure if she recognized their voice or not, but she simply braced her paws on the ground and fired at them again. They jumped back, shot to the right, out of the way of another hit, but a wall of fire rose up to meet them. 

“Damn,” he growled.

“_Trust me?” _she said.

“Yeah.”

Frisk took them and dove headlong through the flames, rushing to meet Toriel, weaving through gaps in the encircling magic like it was second nature. Their wings pushed the fire back. Toriel yelped and stepped backwards, surprised, and they held their hands up as if to stop her.

“Wait, wait wait,” she said. “Sorry! It’s not what you think. Everything’s fine. This is just temporary.”

“Wh-What?” Toriel asked shrilly.

They took a cautious few steps towards her and, when she didn’t recoil, gently took her by the shoulders. It was weird to be so much taller than her.

“I’m really sorry to scare you. Didn’t mean to get you all _fired_ up,” she said.

“B-But…” Her voice trembled. “But are you not…?”

“Yeah. We are. But. Everyone’s safe. This won’t last forever. I’m… not sure that you’re gonna remember, but nobody died for this. Okay? It’ll all be fine. Please trust us.” They booped their snout gently against her forehead. “Everything is gonna be fine.”

Their form shifted out again and they were out on the mountainside, under the cool night sky. The rain clouds had parted partially and the moonlight gleamed off their bones. Sans sighed and rubbed their head.

“You almost sounded like me for a second there,” he said.

She laughed, but she was tired. They sat down and Sans was surprised to feel her retreating. He put a hand to their chest.

“You okay?” he asked.

“_Don’t want us to start crying_,” she joked. “_Hopefully she won’t remember much of that.”_

“Think we’re done?” he asked. “We got back here okay.”

“_Y… Yeah. Yeah. We’re good. Thanks, bro.”_

“Can we…? Can _you_, I mean, can you still reset?”

“_I’m sure I can,” _she said.

Sans smiled. His hand clutched their shirt a little tighter. He started to laugh. She snickered, too. 

“Can’t believe we did this,” he said.

“_Don’t need to tell me that! This was nice.”_

“Yup.”

“_I’ll get us home now. See you soon, Sans. Love you.”_

“Yeah, yeah. Love you, too.”

They closed their eyes and braced themselves.

\- - -

Sans blinked. He looked around. His back was against Papyrus’s side as they sat on the couch at Undyne’s place. Alphys gave him a worried look, but all of a sudden, her eyes went wide. She began to stammer, but couldn’t get words out. 

“Holy shit,” Undyne gasped; she turned her gaze on Sans. “DUDE?!”

“Wow! There’s the reset,” Papyrus said brightly, and he looked at his brother. “Did everything go okay?”

Sans stared back blankly. He didn’t answer; got to his feet and looked around. No Frisk. She was still outside. 

He shifted out front before he could help himself. His eyes scanned the dark for the kid. He heard rushing footsteps and picked her out quickly, she was sprinting right at him with a grin on her face. 

“Sans! Sans Sans Sans!” 

He felt himself start to grin, too. He bent and took her into his arms as she collided with him, hugging him as if she hadn’t seen him in months. He squished her tight, too. He couldn’t help it.

“That was crazy!” she exclaimed.

“Yup,” he said.

“And you were all like—”

“I know.”

“And I was—!”

“I know, kiddo.”

“You’re the coolest!” she said.

She laughed like she couldn’t stop herself and he caught her enthusiasm like a cough. His cheekbones flushed blue and he touched his brow to hers. The grin on his face had a genuine brightness that made her heart soar. He lifted her up under her arms and she squeaked and giggled. She was absolutely beaming. His eye started to glow, and, to their utter shock, she did too, her soul shining bright red and warm. 

“Uh… You guys need a minute?” Undyne asked.

They froze with surprise. The others watched them from the doorway. Undyne looked like she was trying not to laugh, Alphys’s face was red, and Papyrus was grinning proudly.

“Uh…” Sans said slowly. “Maybe?”

Frisk giggled. He gently let her down, but she bounced up on her toes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, which seemed to stun him still for a second. She held his hand and pulled him over to the others, beaming.

“Oh my god, we turned into a bone dragon! A-And we like… We were… Oh my god!!” She started to laugh again. “I can’t. I can’t. I gotta sit down.”

“Got you covered, kid,” Undyne said with a laugh, ushering her back inside. “Alphys! C’mon, let’s get some blankets and tea for these two, huh?!”

“R-Right!” Alphys stammered, scampering in after them.

Sans and Papyrus locked eyes, and immediately Papyrus had him in his arms.

“How are you? How was it? Oh my god,” he said. “I saw the photo a-and—”

“Scare you?” Sans asked.

“NO! No, not one bit, you looked so freaking cool!” he said. He touched his brow to his brother’s gently and their eyes lit up in sync. 

Sans smiled tiredly. “I’m good,” he said. “It… It was… Heh. Can’t really describe it. Glad to be back, but glad we did it, too.”

“Wow, that’s a change of heart if I’ve ever heard one,” Papyrus said. “So… it ended up being Frisk, didn’t it?”

“She insisted. Honestly? Freaked me the hell out at first, but turned out it was a good idea.”

“Really?!” he said shrilly.

“Sure. Saved a lot of time by sharin’ her brain,” he said. “And… I mean, it’s Frisk. How bad could it possibly be, right?”

Frisk was giving Undyne a tight hug when they went back in, thanking her profusely, and Alphys was pulling her phone out as it blew up with text messages rather suddenly.

“O-Oh no, Mettaton didn’t listen when I told him w-we were gonna… He’s whining he’s gotta redo a whole set!”

“Pfft, shouldda listened, then!!” Undyne said, and she cupped Frisk’s face. “Holy shit, kiddo, you are brave little punk! Bet you’re tired, huh? Tea, right?”

The kid snickered and nodded.

Papyrus bounded over and snatched up Frisk the moment Undyne let her go, and he snuggled her close. “FRISK! I can’t believe you actually—! Oh my god!” he said shrilly. “I didn’t know you were going to do that! Was that your secret plan?!”

Frisk nodded and Papyrus gasped and hopped onto the sofa with her. He squished her cheeks.

“You are crazy! You are completely crazy! Wasn’t that scary?” he demanded.

She shook her head and grinned. “Nope!”

“Really? Looked pretty nervous to me,” Undyne said.

“The lead-up was scary, because I was worried about Sans,” Frisk agreed, “but once he grabbed me, it was all just… I dunno, it was pretty fun, actually.”

“Y-Yeah?” Alphys squeaked, edging in closer. “So… So, you guys, y-you…? You actually crossed the b-b-barrier, r-right?”

“Yeah!” Frisk said brightly. “Oh my god, you should have seen it! And Sans was…! We were…! Oh man.” She started snickering again without meaning to.

Alphys got another message on her phone. She looked at it quickly and then put it back in her pocket. “O-Oh, god, t-time travel is weird,” she muttered. “Oh well… A-At least I don’t have to delete a fanfic I didn’t write yet.”

“What was that?” Sans asked as he slipped onto the sofa beside Frisk.

“N-Nothing! Nothing,” Alphys said quickly.

Sans grinned knowingly, and her scales went red. He shrugged and waved Frisk over and she quickly sat against his chest, where he put his arms around her comfortably.

“Sorry, that was your first big one, huh?” Frisk said. “Did you guys have a good day anyway?”

“Oh no, F-Frisk, what you and Sans and Undyne were d-doing, that’s…! A-Anyway, there’s no way o-our day would… I mean, n-no way would you want to hear about that.”

“Yes I would!” she said.

“Ah! Doctor Alphys took us to the MTT resort for lunch!” Papyrus said brightly. “And then we spent much of the day in New Home, actually! And then we came back and Alphys showed me some really fantastic anime about cool warriors and a princess with a giant sword, and then I made us some dinner, annnnd I had quite a lot of fun. Doctor?”

Her face flushed. She nodded. “A-Actually, I did, too.”

Undyne guffawed. “Sounds like a nice date!”

“Yes! A very nice platonic date,” Papyrus said, proudly, even as Alphys slunk downwards and looked like she wanted to hide under the couch. “Of course, I only hugged her under ten times. Very reasonable I believe!”

Undyne laughed loudly and picked Alphys up under her arm as she brought Sans and Frisk some tea. She dumped the lizard onto the couch as she took the armrest, looking at them all with an amused grin on her face.

“Clingy much?” she asked.

“We were the same person for a few hours, this is, uh, gonna take just a little readjustin’?” Sans suggested with a grin. 

“That’s just nuts,” Undyne said. “How do you even…? Like… I can’t even imagine.”

“Are… A-Are your, um…?” Alphys looked suddenly worried. “Are your m-minds okay?”

“Would we know if they weren’t?” Frisk joked. She sipped her tea. “I dunno, I think I’m okay. You, bro?”

“Dunno. I’m feelin’ kinda weird,” he said. “Kinda like, oh, what’s the word for it? Good? Yeah. Think that’s it.”

Frisk giggled and Papyrus snuck in on their hug— something they didn’t mind in the least.

“So, you guys are in such a good mood, I’m assuming you did what you wanted,” Undyne said. 

“Yup,” Sans said. “Found the way in on the outside.”

“We also did some teleport experiments!” Frisk said. “But now we’re pretty sure Sans can get back to that hole I fell through. Once that barrier’s gone and stuff.”

“What about right into the Ruins from here, then?” Undyne said.

“Hm. I don’t think so,” he said. “But hang on a sec.” Sans froze for a moment. A sort of dark shimmer flickered across his bones for just a fraction of a second. He flinched and shook his head. “No good. Barrier’s blockin’ it. Oh well, guess it’s fine, we don’t need in until it’s down anyway.”

“Th-That’s okay! That’s a decent step t-towards actually putting a s-soul into your friend, right?” Alphys said. “That’s…! That’s g-great!”

Frisk nodded enthusiastically. “Thanks for your help! All of you. Seriously.”

“SANS! Dude, you gotta to tell us what it was like!” Undyne insisted. “What was it like to fuse with a human soul?! To have all that POWER?!”

Sans shrugged. “Nice.”

“Nice?!” Undyne said. “That’s it? NICE?!”

“Yeah. I mean, it was just Frisk, and she’s nice, so… It was nice.”

Frisk grinned, but Alphys’s scales went pale in her cheeks.

“So, here’s where I am, hmm, perplexed?” Papyrus said. “I thought you were going to borrow a soul from Asgore. Was there a plan malfunction?”

“Well…” Undyne shrugged and grinned sideways. “Plans change? Hey, actually, why did plans change, exactly?”

“Didn’t I say?” Frisk asked worriedly.

“We were kinda in a rush,” Undyne said with a shrug. “Wasn’t really clear. Just kinda trusted you.”

“Aw, thank you!” Frisk said. “Okay, so here’s the thing. The human soul can have control of whatever happens, you know? Undyne, you saw us, when we were one thing. How we were both… I dunno, there? It would have been like that even if it wasn’t me. And there was no way in heck I was ever gonna let any weird random soul touch Sans.”

“My hero,” Sans joked.

Frisk giggled. “Your my big bro! I don’t want anything bad to happen to you! Duh!”

“Well, it ain’t exactly a blast to see your little sis’s soul come right outta her,” he said, “but, y’know, this turned out pretty okay.”

Undyne frowned thoughtfully. She drummed her fingers on the couch and then pointed at the kid. “You knew. The whole time, you knew that.”

Frisk nodded.

“WHAT?! It was wasn’t just bad and-slash-or good luck?! FRISK!!! You should have told us!!” Papyrus said shrilly. “Imagine, you going that whole way, knowing you’d have to—! Never mind, I refuse to imagine it, it is too awful!”

“It’s not that bad!” she said. “Sans, tell him, it wasn’t.”

“Wasn’t,” he repeated with a nod. “Couldda mentioned. But I get why you didn’t.”

“Sorry,” she said.

“I know,” he said with a shrug. “Like I said, I get it.”

“Well, I don’t!” Papyrus insisted with wide, worried eyes.

“Listen, guys, imagine if I had said from the start,” she said. “Not only would it have been almost impossible to convince you guys to go through with it, even if you’d been okay with me giving my soul, then it would be you guys who would’ve had to worry about it the whole time leading up to it! Sheesh, I just didn’t want anyone to freak out any more than they had to.”

“Okay, sure, that makes sense and all, but don’t do it again,” Undyne said sternly. “Lookit me, you think I can’t deal? We’re grown-ups here, mostly, we can deal, squirt. Just let us in. No more secrets like that, got it?”

Frisk nodded, smiled, and put up her hands. “You got it, no more secrets. Sans knows literally everything I know, now.”

“True,” he said. 

“Isn’t that weird, though?” Undyne wondered.

“No,” they answered together. Frisk snickered and Sans scoffed and squeezed her tighter.

“We gotta not do that, it’s gonna get annoyin’ real fast,” he said.

“Hundred percent true,” she said. “I mean, unless…” She leaned back to whisper close to his head and he grinned and nodded.

“What? What? Are you making new secrets?” Papyrus demanded.

“No, of course not, bro, no secrets at all!” they answered in unison.

“GAH!” Papyrus shrieked.

Sans and Frisk high-fived. Undyne snickered, but Alphys’s giggle was much more forced.

“We can have maybe one or two though, right?” Frisk said. “I mean. Just harmless ones?”

“I’m sure it’ll happen,” Sans said.

“Chips,” she said.

“Oh. Right. That’s a thing,” he agreed.

“Um, F-Frisk?” Alphys asked. “Can I t-talk t-to you in, um…? In p-private? S-Sorry.”

“Oh! Sure.” Frisk took a swig of tea, then passed the cup back to Sans as she got to her feet.

Frisk followed Alphys outside so they could get some privacy, though she wasn’t quite sure what she wanted. She wasn’t really worried, anyway, though— she was still giddy. They kept walking until they were out of the house’s alcove, though Alphys was still quiet.

She looked out at the river for a little bit, trying to gather her thoughts. Frisk snuck up beside her.

“Frisk, uh… I’m just a little w-worried about wh-what happened,” Alphys said. “You g-gave your soul to S-Sans, right? That means y-you h-had to die.”

“Yeah,” she said.

Alphys looked nervous. “Did _he—?”_

_ “_Oh, no, there’s no way I—! No, no, I asked Undyne to do it. It was fine. Undyne stabs me all the time.” She smiled bashfully, but she looked a little sad. “I learned about what he had to do to a human when he was a kid. A-And… And now I saw it, too. There’s no way I could have asked him to kill me. Never ever.”

Alphys looked like she wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or not. “And… A-And the determination, it didn’t…? It d-didn’t hurt him?”

Frisk shook her head. “I think he’s naturally kinda resistant,” she said, and she frowned to herself. “I think. Um… I mean, he has time powers, that’s where those come from. Kind of? It’s hard to explain.”

“Oh… O-Okay,” Alphys said quietly. “U-Um… Y-You know, Sans u-used to work in the l-lab, b-before the—”

“Alphys, we had the same brain,” Frisk said with a smile. “I mean, not literally, he just is magic and no actual brain, which is what we were when we… Yeah. You get the idea, though, right?”

“Oh, uh… and… A-And he’s… okay, then?” she said.

“He’s… better,” Frisk said. “Better than he’s been in a long time, anyway. Once this is all over, he’s gonna pick right up. You’ll see. He should get his healing magic back, if that helps?”

“Th-That’s… That’s good,” Alphys said, and she smiled. “That’s really, _really_ good. Th-Thank you, Frisk.”

The kid stuck her thumbs up and Alphys let out a long, shaking sigh. She laughed and rubbed her forehead.

Frisk tilted her head and then, much to Alphys’s surprise, gave her a tight hug. She shook a little, but she hugged her back and let out another warbling laugh.

“Th-Thanks,” she said as the kid let her go. “Um… Could… Could I ask you one more thing? A-About this whole thing?”

“Yeah, of course,” Frisk said.

“S-So… Wh-What was it like from your p-perspective? I m-mean, it was your soul that g-got taken!” she said. “This is… unheard of. N-No one’s ever been able to ask the human what it was like. Were you conscious?”

“Oh, that… That means awake, right? Yeah,” she said. “I lost it for a few seconds and then I kinda felt like I was floating. Then I sorta remember Sans getting me, and it was this big relief, and then suddenly we were like, a big skeleton dragon thing?” She rubbed her head, frowning to herself as she tried to gather her thoughts. 

Alphys gently held her shoulder.

“It’s like… we were still ourselves, but we were kind of… one thing, also? It’s hard to explain, because I can’t really compare it to anything. No skin. That was weird. But it was okay, too? And it’s like… right away, you sort of know everything the other person knows in the same way they know it. So we had all each other’s memories kind of there. I could show him something specific if I needed to, but really, he already had it, he just wouldn’t know to look for it. Because it’s kinda out of… um… What’s the phrase, out of contecks? Does that make sense?”

“Context. I… I think I understand,” Alphys said. “So… if I asked you… wh-what I said to Sans when h-he told me he was at the Ruins’s door a few days ago…?”

“You…” Frisk frowned and thought back. “Oh! You said it was a-door-able! Heh, that’s a good one! ‘Cause he was doing the knock knock jokes with mom.”

Alphys’s jaw dropped. “S-So you can just… _remember_ anything of his?!”

“Kind of?” Frisk said. “Now that we’re separate, older stuff isn’t totally clear. I mean, jeez, he’s a lot older than me, plus there’s extra timeline junk, and the stuff other anomalies tried to erase— it’s super confusing. If you wanna ask him about my brain things at all, he’s probably got it a lot more clear since I have less to give.”

“Y-You wouldn’t mind, would you?” Alphys asked. “I’d r-really love to record what you two w-went through, if I’m totally honest. M-Maybe once things are settled? O-Oh, jeez, I j-just realized, isn’t that weird that someone e-else could just look through _all_ your memories? A-And then t-talk about them?!” Her face flushed red. She tented her fingers. “N-Now I’m r-really glad it wasn’t me.”

Frisk snickered. “I don’t mind if you talk to him about it. And don’t worry, I wouldn’t say anything he wouldn’t be okay with you knowing. And I… need to go hug him again, hang on!”

Frisk dashed back inside and Alphys followed. Sans was still sitting on the sofa with Papyrus, laughing about something. The kid rushed up and latched onto him right away. He snickered and hugged her close.

“This might be a problem, huh?” he joked.

“Nope. Nuh-uh,” she said. “One million hugs.”

“Nyeh heh heh, so, you’re saying nothing has really changed, then?” Papyrus said, ruffling her hair. “Heh! Sans! Look at you!”

“Hmm?” Sans didn’t seem to notice that he was glowing until his brother gently tapped his skull and he held up a hand to see the blue shine reflected off his finger bones. “Oh. Heh. Yeah, I… I guess I’m feeling pretty okay, actually.”

Papyrus cackled and hugged them both. 

“Th-That’s a big relief, Sans,” Alphys said. “I’m s-so glad you’re both okay.”

“So, d’you get all my secrets from the kid?” he asked with a wink.

“N-No, I—!” 

“I told her all the secrets! Every one of them!” Frisk said. “Especially the most dramatic drama ones! And where the chips are!”

“Oh shit.”

They laughed.

“But seriously don’t tell people where the chips are,” Sans said.

“Not a word,” she assured him.

“Good kid.”

She snickered. 

“Wh-Why? What’s s-so important about where the chips are?” Alphys wondered.

“It’s a secret!” Frisk insisted.


	22. The Reprieve

Conferring, Papyrus and Undyne quickly decided that serious talk was overrated, especially for the night. The successful operation was more than enough to warrant celebration and a stay on planning and info gathering— a little bit to Alphys’s chagrin— was put in place. After all, it was the first time a monster and human had successfully become one being and then returned from that relatively unscathed. It was a big deal, and they all knew it.

Papyrus made “special spaghetti”, though what was different about it other than it now had cheese on top was a mystery to everyone. It really was improving, though. To Frisk, it was like every time he made a new batch— which was quite frequently— he subconsciously recalled something that he had learned over the missing year’s worth of practice. It seemed like, eventually, he might even get to the point where the noodles didn’t stick like glue anymore.

Undyne dusted off an ancient game system, one that Frisk had never seen before, that looked somewhat like a solid box, so they could take turns playing a cartoonish fighting game. The whole thing was in Japanese, so no one really knew what was going on, but it was fun anyway. Undyne was obviously the best, and was very loud about it. Alphys was quick to learn, though, and was surprisingly adept at the controls after just a few rounds. Frisk was starting to fall asleep and could barely keep up, while Papyrus was over-excited and kept accidentally jumping off platforms instead of fighting at first. Sans probably never landed a hit, but despite being what looked like half asleep himself, he could often keep matches going for way too long by exploiting the dodge mechanics, all the while grinning as his opponent’s face grew twisted with frustration. 

Frisk and Sans were still having a little bit of an issue— Frisk refused to be apart from her brother for more than a few minutes, and he was more than happy to enable her. And she absolutely needed to be touching him if he was within arm’s reach. It definitely wasn’t helped by the fact that the kid was getting increasingly achey and tired, as if what they had done was somehow catching up to her physically. She fell asleep cozied up under his arm.

As the night drifted onwards and Sans actually fell asleep right in the middle of a battle with him, Papyrus made the decision that the night was done. He had a mysterious idea for a surprise, however, so he rushed off on his own, confident Sans could get both himself and Frisk back to the house when he eventually woke up. 

When Sans did finally open his eyes, he found himself with his back to Undyne’s couch where she slept, a controller dangling precariously from her hand and Alphys draped, rather cat-like, over top of her. The TV was still on, showing Undyne’s latest victory screen. He went to rub his eyes and paused as he noticed a post-it stuck to his palm. It was from the kid.

_Dreams got weerd, went to the river, no big deal just need a little air, see you soon?_

_ Love, Frisk_

Sans got to his feet slowly, stretched, and took the sticky note off his hand. He turned off the TV and covered his sofa friends with one of the many blankets before heading out.

He found Frisk at the river crossing, dangling bare feet into the water. She watched trails of sparkling ripples drift away from her on the lethargic current.

“How is it?” he asked.

“Kinda warm,” she said.

He watched her for a moment, then took off his slippers and copied her. She smiled at him, but her eyelids were already looking heavy. 

“How long you been here?” he asked.

“Didn’t get the need to hug super bad yet. So, only maybe five minutes,” she said, shrugging.

“Bad dreams?” he asked.

“No. Just strange,” she said. “Weird smiley guy and a lot of dark, then a lot of bright lights and some weird sci-fi machine adventures that made no sense and were upside down, I think.”

“So just a normal weird one, then,” he said.

She smiled and nodded.

They sat quietly and comfortably for a little. She was dozing off again almost right away, leaning lazily against him to support her head. Sans stifled a laugh and put an arm around her shoulders.

“Doin’ okay?” he asked.

She nodded and rubbed her eyes. “Sorry. I’m…” She yawned. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.”

“Hope you don’t have to deal with too much of my garbage,” he said.

She shook her head. “Don’t worry. You got my stuff too, so…”

“Not really a fair trade, buddy. Just, y’know, in terms of volume. Don’t mean to downplay yours though,” he said. “I mean… Damn.”

“Hah, sorry,” she said.

“No, no.” He shook his head. “It’s… I’m just… surprised.”

“Oh yeah? About what?” she asked.

“That you’re so normal,” he said. “Hope the added bullshit of a jerk like me doesn’t mess you up.”

Frisk snickered. “Naw, I already saw most of the worst ones anyway. And you’re not a jerk!”

“It’s up for interpretation,” he joked.

“Well I int… Inter… Interpret! That you are. Not a jerk. And are also super nice and great.”

“Welp. I’d settle for a lot less,” he said.

She snickered and elbowed him gently. “You should’ve told me how much you like pie. When all this is done, you gotta make some with mom and me.”

“Guess so. Tori is kinda the pie queen, huh?”

“Her royal pie-ness?” Frisk suggested.

“Nice,” he said with a snicker. “Dude, mind if I steal that?”

“Take it,” she said. “I stole it from you.”

“Oh, right.” He laughed. “Wow. Pretty sure you just paradoxed a joke.”

“Useless paradox is best paradox,” she said. “And… And, dude. You’re… You’re so smart. Like. The time machine thing? Dang, bro. Why didn’t you say?”

“Heh. What would I say?” he asked.

“…I dunno,” she said. “But you’re so cool.”

“Nah. But thanks for thinkin’ that,” he said with a smile.

She went quiet for a while and Sans thought for sure that she had fallen asleep, but when he was about to move her, she poked him gently in the side to get his attention.

“Sans?” she asked. 

“Sup?” he said.

“Thanks for letting me stay.”

“Kiddo, that’s not something you need to thank me for,” he said with a laugh.

“I… I know, but after all those other anomalies—”

“Forget ‘em,” he said.

She smiled, relieved, and nodded. He sighed.

“Sheesh, kid, you shouldn’t be worryin’ about crap like that,” he said. “We’re family and that’s it. You gotta know that by now.”

“Mhm,” she said.

“You, uh, know you can trust us, huh?” he said. “It won’t be like it was up there. Ever. Got it?”

“Mmhm.” She was sagging against him. Her blinks were slow and heavy.

“You are basically unconscious, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Mmmhm.”

Sans smiled fondly and held in a laugh. Little sis looked like she could sleep for a week. 

“Let’s get you to bed, you weirdo.”

“W… Wait. Wait,” she said, forcing her eyes open. “Grillby’s.”

“Seriously?” he laughed. 

She nodded.

“Can you even walk?” he asked.

“Y… Yeah. Probably?” she said.

He got to his feet and helped her up. She blinked groggily, but then gave him a smile. She hugged onto him, clinging more tightly than he would’ve expected from such a sleepy little kid.

“Love you, bro,” she said.

He laughed quietly and mussed up her hair, but his blue magic tingled through her warmly. “Yeah, yeah, love you, too, kiddo. Don’t forget your shoes.”

“Thanks, mom.”

“Shuddup.”

\- - -

Grillby’s was a little emptier than usual by the time they got there, about ten seconds later. The jukebox played faintly, and some of the regulars still hogged the booths. Sans brought them to their regular spot at the bar, but as soon as the tired kid sat down, a whoopee cushion farted. She put her face in her hands and laughed quietly. Sans grinned.

“Oh, yeah, watch out for those, some weirdo’s been puttin’ em around, I dunno,” he said. 

“Yeah, some weirdo,” she agreed, gently nudging him with her elbow. 

He snickered and gave Grillby a lazy wave from across the bar. 

The fire man wandered over and gave him a nod, and then turned his eyes on Frisk and raised a brow. Frisk waved sleepily, too. 

“Hey, Grillbs. Us again,” Sans said.

Grillby bent down to look Frisk in the face. He looked at Sans curiously. As if he had just noticed something very interesting about his newest regular. Sans grinned.

“Heh. You guessed it,” he said. “Don’t worry. She’s with me.”

The man cautiously extended a hand to Frisk, inviting her to give him hers. She did so without hesitation. His eyebrows went up and Sans rested his cheek on his fist, giving him a knowing look. Grillby gently shook Frisk’s hand and she smiled at him.

“We’ll be seeing a lot of each other, I think,” she said.

He smiled and drew back. The skeleton grinned and, beside him, Frisk stifled a yawn and leaned her head onto her hand.

“Scuse me,” she said quietly.

Grillby glided over to Sans and raised one brow.

“Oh, right. Can we get, uh…” Sans looked at the half-asleep kid. “Two orders of fries. And a milkshake.”

Grillby adjusted his glasses. Sans smiled.

“Yeah, I know, been orderin’ a lot of them. They’re kind of the kid’s comfort food,” he said.

Grillby shrugged slightly, but he seemed happy. He walked off to start preparing their food. Frisk’s eyelids drooped, but she was smiling faintly.

“What’s that face for?” he asked.

“Nothin’. I’m just happy,” she said quietly.

He nodded. He folded his arms on the counter and put his chin on them. “I didn’t think it would be like that,” he admitted. “Thought it’d be more on the, uh, traumatizin’ end.”

“Yeah, I know, right?” She snickered. “Hey, look, something went right for once.”

“Yup,” he said. “Hey. Can I see somethin’?” He held out his hand. 

She gave him hers. He turned it over to look at her palm and his fingertips gently prodded her skin. Mostly, he picked out the faint scars on her hands, remnants of climbing the mountain that had healed up before Toriel’s magic had gotten to her.

“Weird how much scrapin’ that hurt,” he said. “And that sweatshirt, it’s warm enough, right? You’ve been, uh… eatin’ enough, right?”

She nodded and smiled. “Worried all of a sudden?”

“I didn’t realize how actually _cold_ you get,” he admitted. “And scars like that, that’s weird to me.”

“You’ve seen them, though,” she said.

“Never knew how it felt.” He laughed to himself and let her go. “Mostly little things, y’know?”

She giggled. “No body,” she said, pointing at herself with her thumb. “I didn’t mind. I could be a skeleton. I’d be okay with that.”

He chuckled.

Grillby returned with their food and a bottle of ketchup. Sans offered it to her, but she shook her head and picked up a fry. With tired fingers, she struggled with the lid on the milkshake cup, and then dipped the fry straight into the ice cream and ate it.

“Oh weird,” Sans said.

“This is weird?” Frisk asked, grinning. She nudged it towards him. 

He shrugged and tried it. “Oh. Yeah. Okay. I see your point.”

The kid moved like she was in slow motion, definitely falling asleep as she ate her fries. Even when the door burst open with a cold woosh of air and the barking of many dogs, she didn’t move a muscle to react. 

“Hey! Hey, it’s Sans! And that cute weird puppy!” Dogaressa called. 

Dogs in armour swarmed them quickly. Sans grinned. 

“Hey guys, here for some chow?” he asked. “You’re definitely barkin’ up the right tree. Grillbs is on the ball today.”

“Ball?!” Dogamy asked shrilly.

“Just an expression,” Sans said apologetically.

“But c-could there be a ball somewhere?!” Doggo wondered, his frantic eyes darting around wildly.

“Eh. _Paw-sibly_,” Sans said with a wink.

Greater Dog stuck his face in Frisk’s and booped her nose with his. She giggled sleepily and grabbed his fluffy cheeks and squished them, then stroked his head. Instantly, every other dog was crowded around her. She laughed and pet all of them as Lesser Dog leaned onto her shoulder and Greater Dog snuffled in her hair. 

“Wow! Such petting!” Dogaressa cooed.

Dogamy pet Frisk on the head, too, and very soon, Frisk found herself being pet by most of them as well.

“Okay okay, down, guys, the kid’s had a long day,” Sans said with a laugh.

He raised his hand and magic bones materialized— the dogs went nuts, snatching them out of the air and clutching them tight in their paws and jaws, with the exception of Lesser Dog, who stood in front of Frisk, eyes wide, wagging his tail. She smiled, took one more fry, and then passed the plate to him.

“Here, take these,” she said.

His tail wagged so fast it became a blur— he licked her cheek before dashing off with it to a table littered with playing cards. Sans snickered.

“Popular,” he said. 

She smiled and shrugged, then rested her cheek on her fist again. Sans pushed his plate towards her, but she shook her head. He shrugged and dumped ketchup all over them. She nudged the milkshake closer to him.

“You sure? It’s gonna get ketchup in it,” he warned.

“No worries,” she said.

Sans stared at the milkshake. He then poured that over his fries, too. Frisk made a grossed-out sound but began to laugh nonetheless. 

Dogamy took the stool beside Frisk after a moment, and his wife quickly sat beside him, too. “Thanks for throwing us a bone,” he said.

“Yeah. We love bones,” Dogaressa added.

Sans grinned. “Hey, no problem, I got at least two hundred and six of ‘em, and that’s only the ones I need.”

“Wow! So many?!” Dogamy asked.

“Oh yeah, I keep ‘em on me at all times,” Sans replied, winking.

“Wow!” the dogs said in tandem.

“Hey, did you hear?” Dogaressa asked. “About the scare in Waterfall?

“The human scare,” Dogamy elaborated.

“Kinda?” Sans said. “Why?”

“I’m not so sure, I think ifthere was a human coming through, we definitely would have seen it,” Doggo said as he leaned onto the counter beside them. “Especially if it was moving!”

“Anyway, there was rumours a human was all over Waterfall!” Dogamy said. “But then a ghost went around telling people it was just a mistake. Hope they were right!”

Before Sans could say anything, Frisk stuck a finger up.

“My fault,” she said quietly.

“What? Really? They thought you were a human?” Dogaressa said, and she laughed. “They must have no dogs in Waterfall!”

“How could they mistake such a cute puppy for a human? How weird!” Dogamy added.

Doggo nodded and then pounded his fist on the counter. “Grillby! The bits with the gravy! Please. Preferably in a small dish. With the bone-shaped cookies on the side. Thank you.”

Grillby nodded and was about to move off, but he went back over to Sans and Frisk first. He knelt down, tilted his head a little, and then pointed at the kid.

“Hey, he’s right, she looks pretty tired,” Dogamy said.

Sans put his hand on her head and leaned over to look her in the face. She was out like a light.

“Heh. Yeah. Guess I should take my kid home,” he said. 

“Ooh. Your kid? We didn’t know the cute puppy was your kid, Sans,” Dogaressa said quietly. 

“I would have thought she would be a lot more made of skeleton and less of a puppy,” Dogamy added.

“Oh. No, uh…” Sans’s face flushed blue. “I didn’t make her, I just found her.”

“Wow! Lucky! Did you know,” Dogaressa said, “that she discovered that dogs can _pet_ other dogs?”

“I did not know that,” Sans said.

“It’s true!” Dogamy said. “You’ve got a really good puppy, there, Sans.”

After saying goodbye to everyone, Sans put his coat around Frisk and lifted her up to carry her home. Streets still had some monsters. Wasn’t a big deal, though. It wasn’t a long walk.

When he lugged her in, most of the lights were out and he guessed Papyrus was getting some rest. He carefully put her on the couch and she slumped into his jacket like it was a blanket. She looked far too cozy for him to even try to move her again. He gently propped her up with her head on a pillow and carefully brushed some stray hair away from her face. He straightened up and rubbed his eye sockets, then paused as he heard footsteps behind him. 

He turned around; before he could say a word, Papyrus hugged him tight. His fingers tingled with a comforting magic against the back of his skull. Sans slumped. 

“Thanks, Paps,” he said quietly.

“Well, I figured it must’ve been a pretty rough day,” Papyrus said. “Exciting, though! Seeing the surface, fusing with a human soul, all that. I mean, usually your day involves barely leaving house and pretending to work, so…”

Sans laughed. “It wasn’t so bad,” he said, pulling away and giving his brother a tired smile. “The kid got the worst of it, anyway.”

“Did she? Is she okay?” Papyrus asked worriedly.

“Fine, bro, don’t worry, she just needs some sleep,” he said. He jerked his thumb at her.

Papyrus looked at her curiously, then grinned. “You actually let her use your coat?That’s so sweet!”

Sans shrugged. Papyrus snickered to himself and, quickly, bounded up the stairs. 

He returned with a cozy blanket to drape over her. He paused, squatted beside her, and watched her quietly for a few moments. He tucked her in and put a hand on her forehead, gently pressing magic into her. She smiled faintly and nestled down into her brother’s coat. Papyrus grinned and straightened up to face Sans.

“I’d love to hear more about your adventure,” he said brightly. “If… If that’s alright. I know sometimes you don’t really want to talk about weird things like that, but—”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Sans said.

They went upstairs and, lazing about in Papyrus’s room, Sans explained what had happened from the time he fused with Frisk’s soul to the point where she turned time backwards again. He was tired as hell, but he didn’t mind at all giving his brother the details this time. Saying it all out loud, it struck him how surreal it was. They had really been outside the barrier just a few hours ago. And all the questions he’d ever had about his kid sister, answered. 

Papyrus was fascinated, eyes bright, clinging to a pillow tightly. “I can’t believe you could fly! That’s fantastic! Nyeh heh, I’m a little jealous. I want to see these _star _things you mentioned, they sound really amazing!”

“Yeah. You’ll love it,” Sans said.

“You think we can go together once we get out?” he asked. “All three of us?”

“Yeah, of course,” Sans said, grinning. “As soon as we get out, bro. All we gotta do is wait on the mountain. We’ll see it.”

“That’s really fantastic,” Papyrus said brightly. “And… And rain, was that good, too?”

“Weird,” he said. “Like some places in Waterfall, but you can see these _cloud_ things build up first, and it comes from that. Snow out there does that, too.”

“Oh my god, you saw snow, too?!” Papyrus demanded. “Real snow?!”

“No. I… Heh. No, it’s just in Frisk’s head,” he said. “She’s seen some cool stuff out there. We’ll see it too, once this is done.”

“What’s that like, really?” Papyrus wondered. “You have… _all_ her memories, then?”

He shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, basically.”

Papyrus tilted his head. “And she has yours?”

Sans nodded again.

“Does it…? Does it feel weird? I tried to imagine but I’m not sure even I can quite figure that out!”

“Can’t really explain it,” Sans said with a shrug. “But it’s fine.”

“Hmmmm…” Papyrus mused. “Can I ask you something that she might know the answer to? It’s important but maybe a little private, so if you don’t think she’d want you to say, that’s perfectly okay!”

“Uh… Okay, bro, shoot,” Sans said.

“So do you know,” Papyrus said suspiciously, “how she knew how to make that fantastic tomato sauce?!”

Sans laughed and rubbed his eye sockets. “That’s what you want to know?”

“Well, it was just so thoughtful of her to show me!” he said. “I thought for sure it would be me teaching her to cook, but it was really amazing that she ended up teaching me something!”

“She practiced a lot,” Sans said. “It was important to her to cook with you.”

Papyrus smiled, but then suddenly looked embarrassed. “Could you maybe tell me one more thing?” he asked. “I’ve been curious, but I was worried it might bring up bad memories for her so I never asked. What happened to her real family?”

“We’re her real family, bro,” Sans said with a shrug. “Frisk never had anyone else.”

Papyrus looked sad. “What about her brothers?” he asked quietly.

“That’s us,” he said.

“I mean, on the surface,” Papyrus pressed.

“Still us,” he said. “She was talkin’ about what happened when the town was attacked when she told you that.”

Papyrus frowned. “Really? No one before that?”

“Nope,” Sans said, “no one.”

“Oh thank god, but…” Papyrus knitted his fingers and put his hands to his mouth for a second, frowning, thoughtful. “How can that be?”

Sans shrugged. Papyrus looked troubled for a moment, but then began to grin.

“Oh! Well I’m really happy that we’re all together now! And, also, I’m relieved, because that means we never ever have to give her back to anyone, because, full disclosure, I could never do it,” he said. “Because I love her. Like she’s always been here with us. Is that strange?”

“Nah.” Sans smiled. “Same here.”

Papyrus snickered. “That actually makes me really happy to hear you say all that, Sans” He clutched a little tighter to his pillow. “I know sometimes you don’t like to tell me things. Maybe because you don’t want me to worry?But I noticed that you’ve been feeling quite low, and it’s… just, it’s nice. It’s been nice to see you glowing more again and not just staring at walls and pretending you’re not miserable.”

“Oh. Uh…” Sans’s face flushed faintly blue and he smiled sideways. “…Thanks?”

“I mean, you’ve been breaking down when you’re just walking around sometimes, or when you’re just sitting and not working, and sometimes when you’re eating, and not to mention those horrible dreams, and that time you nearly blasted through the wall because it was so bad that—”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” Sans rubbed his head. “Guess I have been kind of a mess, huh?”

“If it helps, you’re my most favourite mess,” Papyrus said. “I love you very much and you can always come to me when you need help. You know that, right?”

“Yeah.” Sans chuckled. “Thanks, bro. Love you, too.”

Papyrus smiled bright and hopped off the bed to scoop him into a hug. Sans let himself go limp and clung to his brother’s shoulders, puffing out a deep breath.

“Think you’re going to be okay?” Papyrus asked him gently.

“I… Heh. Yeah,” Sans replied.

“Good,” Papyrus assured him. “Me too.”

Their eyes lit up in sync and neither of them could stop from laughing. Papyrus gently touched his forehead to his brother’s. 

“You look better,” he said.

Sans rubbed his eyes with a groggy smile. 

“Actually, never mind, you look horrible. Totally exhausted. I never thought I’d say this, but you, Sans, need to get some rest!”

Sans snickered. “Yeah,” he said. “Guess I should hit the sack.”

“I’ve got you covered, brother!” Papyrus announced. 

By the time he had carried Sans to his bedroom, he was dead asleep. Papyrus tucked him in, patted his head, and, and turned out the lights.

Then, he went down to check on Frisk. Normally, he would have brought her upstairs, but she looked so cozy where she was that he didn’t want to risk waking her. He sat down in front of the sofa to watch over her instead.

\- - -

Huffing, out of breath, Alphys slumped over Undyne’s shoulder as they paused under the refreshing waterfall spray. Undyne stretched her calves and tapped her toes more solidly into her boots. The hour couldn’t be anywhere before 6:00 am, and Undyne was wide awake and alert. Alphys, on the other hand, had been out of it before they started out to exercise, and now was even more so.

“You didn’t have to come,” Undyne laughed.

“N-No. No. It’s okay. I w-wanted to.” She heaved in some air. “I c-could… I could g-get better at jogging.”

“Yo, I don’t mind if you don’t.” Undyne turned her head and kissed Alphys’s cheek. 

The little lizard’s scales flushed red right away. She cautiously checked her phone. “It’s still r-really early,” she said. “B-But, do you think anyone else is up y-yet? Should w-we call them?”

“Could text Papyrus, he’ll be up,” Undyne said. “But Sans and the kid, well…”

“Y-You think they’ll be out for a while?” Alphys asked worriedly. 

Undyne put Alphys down gently and then rolled her shoulders back. She rubbed her head. “Look,” she said, “what I saw… What they went through? I don’t really care how cool it was, it can’t have been totally easy, y’ know? You know what they say in the stories, right? Unfathomable power, I think that’s the words?”

Alphys nodded.

“So I’m thinkin’,” Undyne continued, “they had that much power. And then they gave it up. And Frisk, you know, a human isn’t supposed to come back from that. It’s not like any of these other souls had time powers, right? So that’s gotta be weird as hell.”

“C-Can I be honest?” Alphys asked quietly. “I’m w-worried about all that determination. And S-Sans. Do you, um… Do you know about his condition?”

“A little,” Undyne said. “Papyrus always said he’s the weakest monster. Hey, you okay to walk on?”

Alphys nodded and they started back towards the house. The lizard folded her arms and took a deep breath. “T-Too much determination c-can do really bad things to a monster body,” she said quietly. “Frisk’s s-soul is supposed to be p-pure determination. S-So… So how could he withstand that?”

“Dunno. Maybe the back-in-time travel stuff undid anything like that,” Undyne suggested. “He seemed okay to me. They were… I dunno, when they turned into that dragon thing, they seemed pretty happy. You can always ask.”

“I… I’m n-not sure that he’d n-notice something wrong,” she admitted. “I’ll h-have to check him, if h-he’ll let me. I should g-get back to the lab for a bit soon a-anyway, I have to feed, umm…” Her eyes went wide. 

Undyne looked down at her with her brow raised. “The basement guys, right?”

Alphys slumped. She nodded. “S-So… You remember that…?”

Undyne shrugged and nodded. Alphys put her head in her hands.

“Ugh, I’m the w-worst,” she said.

Undyne shrugged again, shook her head, and smiled. “Nah. You’re takin’ good care of them,” she said. “You were tryin’ to cure them from falling down. That’s no easy job, you know? Fixing that kind of thing. That you even got them up is kind of a miracle.” She reached down and held Alphys’s hand.

She blushed and rubbed her head spikes. “M… Maybe you’re right. Hey, um… w-will you walk me back later? I m-mean, if you’re not b-busy, and—”

“You don’t need to ask!” Undyne said with a loud laugh.

When they got home, Alphys rushed inside to shower while Undyne stayed out for an extra few minutes to do some cool down stretches. Near the window, she noticed there was something written on the rock with dirt. It said, “not as good as mom’s”. Undyne wasn’t sure, but it was weird enough that she thought it must have to do with Frisk. When she finished up, she took a photo and sent it off to her with a couple question marks. 

She got a text back after a few seconds. “_ur rock has dirt on it_” Then a pause. “_so is sweeping rock floors tuff or no because i think mybe i take it for granite_”

She rolled her eye. “_Sans give the kid her phone back!_”

“_ya ok this is frisk and not sans u shud come ovr 4 hugs and pie l8r_”

“_Sans_”

“_b sure 2 luv ur friends and stay determined lol_”

“_I’m telling her you said that._”

“_lol oh no_”

Undyne sighed and laughed quietly. She kicked the dirt to scatter it back into the crevices between rocks. “_You need to get your own phone!_” she sent.

“_no thx _”

“_SANS_”

“_ok cya_”

Undyne smiled to herself and went back inside. She started to pick up some of the blankets off the floor and threw them all onto one end of the couch. She was starting to make tea by the time Alphys came out of the back of the bedroom, followed by a cloud of steam. 

“Whoa, your shower is r-really good,” Alphys said. “I sh-should get one like that.”

Undyne passed her a sugar-loaded mug of tea and Alphys sipped it and smiled gratefully.

“Th-Thanks.” She rubbed her head spikes. “U-Undyne. Um… Thank you f-for everything.”

“Huh?” Undyne asked. “Something up?”

“N-No! No. I… You know, in the shower, y-you just think about s-stuffbecause you z-zone out and…” She blushed. “I d-dunno, I’m just… happy.”

“Hey! Me too!” Undyne said with a grin.

Alphys’s cheeks deepened in colour and chugged the tea down quickly. “Everything i-is gonna change, isn’t it?”

“Well, not _everything_ everything,” Undyne said, and she grinned. “But yeah. Gettin’ kinda hyped. You?”

“Just a l-little freaked out,” Alphys admitted. “B-But… It’s exciting, too, isn’t it?”

“Definitely! Hey.” She jerked her thumb at the bedroom. “I’m thinkin’ I’ll walk you home, then do some wellness checks around here. Then we can meet up again in a few hours. Just need to get my armour. Cool?”

“T-Totally,” Alphys said. “I… I should really get to work on building those e-energy models f-for maybe a new s-soul. Got a l-lot of calculations to do.”

Undyne tossed back her scalding tea and then bounded away into the back room. The water ran loud in the shower for maybe five seconds, Undyne roared, there was some crashing, and she emerged in her gleaming armour. Alphys’s eyes were all-but sparkling.

“S-Sugoi…” she breathed.

Undyne stuck her thumb up. She lifted Alphys right off her feet and, though her cheeks flushed, she gave her a quick, gentle kiss. The lizard turned red and became like a puddle.

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod.” She began to beam. “I l-love you.”

“Thanks! I love you, too!” Undyne said, grinning bright. “Let’s get out there!”

She clunked on her helmet and, with Alphys over her shoulder, she burst through her already broken door, leaving scattered wood and splinterous debris in their wake.

\- - -

There was that ceiling crack again. Sans was left puzzled. Confused, for a moment, when he opened his eyes. Where was the sky? Where was the kid?

He sat up quicker than he should have, got dizzy, and plopped back. Then, he remembered. He laughed at himself and rubbed his eye sockets. He lay back in his blankets for a little, enjoying the warmth and some of the memories that Frisk had left behind: things from the future that, despite everything, he was becoming more confident they might reach. Felt that affectionate warmth she shared. It seemed a little unreal, still, but it was good. 

He hadn’t realized that she loved him as much as he loved her. Maybe he should’ve. Maybe it was just that pessimistic side of him that hadn’t allowed it. Didn’t know. Didn’t care. His sister was home for good, now. It was about time he afforded himself a little hope.

He noticed Frisk’s phone was in his hand. Wasn’t sure if he had taken it or she had given it. Guess it didn’t really matter. He looked it over. Seemed he had sleep-texted Undyne maybe an hour ago. He read the messages and grinned wide. Satisfied that he was hilarious, he got up more slowly this time and put his slippers on. Just as he was getting his hoodie, the phone buzzed in his hand again. Alphys, this time. 

“_hey please tell Sans to come over to the lab as soon as you get this! thx! <3_”

He put on his hoodie and shifted himself to the lab right away, appearing behind Alphys, who was still peering down at her own phone. She had what looked like a bunch of medical equipment set up near her computers and giant monitor.

“Sup?” he asked.

Alphys yelped and jumped back, turning to look at him with wide, frightened eyes. He grinned.

“Did I scare you?”

She took a deep breath and put her hand to her chest. “Th-That’s nuts! You just show up?!”

“You invited me, right?” he asked.

“Y-Yeah, but—!” She took a deep breath. “I d-didn’t expect you so soon?”

“Sorry, thought we spent a bit establishin’ I can teleport?” he said. “Was kinda the crux of the reason I was the one who had to go through the barrier.”

“Y-Yeah! It, uh… I guess it j-just hasn’t sunk in yet.” She smiled. “It’s… It is pretty c-cool though.”

He shrugged. “So, uh, what did you want?”

“Sit down on the, um… o-on the t-table and take your shirt off.”

“Uh…” He tilted his head. “Didn’t realize I had an appointment, Doc.”

“J-Just do it, okay? I n-need to check you,” she insisted. 

He shrugged again and did as she asked, and she attached some nodes to the front of his ribcage and the side of his neck, and hooked a cable to his left arm and down his fingers with surprising efficiency. Almost instantly, numbers and what looked like waveforms began to fluctuate on screen of her computer.

“Okay… O-Okay, your hum looks good,” Alphys muttered. “Pulsing is normal. Phew.”

“Don’t think there was ever anything wrong with those,” he said. 

“Mmhm. And, let’s see… HP is still calculated at one,” she said, frowning worriedly. “But… B-But your original base was five, right? How are you feeling?”

He shrugged. “Fine. This about yesterday?”

“I j-just want to make sure y-you’re determination levels are f-fine,” she said and she swapped through moving charts and more waveforms. “S-Stable, you know?”

“Alphys, I’m not gonna melt,” he said.

She bit her lip. “Triple digits over one. Not bad.”

“I get a lot of rest,” he said with a wink.

“No k-kidding,” Alphys said. 

She went quiet, typing, clicking, and Sans had almost dozed off when she let out a gasp that snapped him out of it.

“S-S-Sans, are you _sure_ you feel okay?!” she asked shrilly.

“Mhm.”

“B-B-But l-look!” She turned the monitor towards him. “Your d-determination is…! It’s _way_ past th-the threshold and—”

“Huh. No. That looks normal,” he said. “No worries.”

“Wh… What?” she asked blankly.

“Welp. Haven’t had any readings done since I was a kid, but that looks about the same as always,” he said.

Alphys stared. She looked between him and her screen. He shrugged. She pinched and rubbed her brow. She went over to him and took the wrist of the arm she had hooked up.

“Light it up?” she said.

He let some magic glow in his palm, his left eye brightening in sync. Inside his ribcage, his soul spot lit up more brightly, too, blue and unwavering. Alphys watched him, and then the screen intently.

“Hold it for a bit?” she asked.

“Sure.” 

Alphys smiled a little. “How’s your head?”

“Pretty round, mostly smooth I think,” he said. “Got a couple holes in it, though.”

“Y-You know what I mean,” she said with a laugh.

“Actually, pretty good,” he said. “You already grilled Frisk, huh?”

“D-Did she tell you?” she asked.

“Nope.” He grinned when her face flushed. “It’s fine. My answers would be mostly the same.”

“B-But, I m-mean… You, um… You were the base, right? I mean, it was your body,” she said, “wh-which is why I guess I’m s-so worried, actually.”

“It wasn’t as separate as that,” Sans said. “We were built from her energy too, I think. Why we looked like that, though, hell if I know. You, uh, almost done? My arm’s fallin’ asleep.”

“Oh! R-Right.” She checked the monitor. “Oh. Hey. Th-That’s not so bad, actually.”

“Been usin’ it more than usual recently,” he said.

Alphys nodded and looked thoughtful. She pulled a chair over and got up to look him in the eyes, shining a light into the blackness of his right eye socket— it was like a void in there.

“Ow.” 

“Sorry! H-Has it always been this way?” she asked. “S-Sorry, I barely ever see you use magic like that, h-honestly.”

“Yup, that’s, uh, just my face,” he said with a grin.

She pulled back, went to the monitor, and checked over the data. “Okay, y-you’re good. I’ll… I’ll just s-save this,” she said, and he let the blue magic flicker out. “P-Please, you have to l-let me know if you feel weird at a-all. More energy, l-less energy, any changes. Please.”

“Alright, alright.” He looked like he was trying not to laugh. “Dude, chill, I’m okay.”

She sighed and nodded. “O-Okay. I… I guess that’s it.”

She unhooked him and he went back on the floor; put his shirt and hoodie back on, and tapped his toes back into the slippers that had been desperately wanting to slide off his feet. Alphys sighed, and then, to his surprise, hugged him tight. He patted her back. She huffed and, after a few moments, pulled away and wiped her brow.

“I’ll… I’ll look into doing some calculations today,” she said quietly. “Y-You and Frisk, you just relax, o-okay? Y-You said no rush, right?”

“Right,” he said.

“K-Keep in touch,” she said. “S-See you later?”

He nodded and stuck his thumb up.

\- - -

Papyrus was still sitting near the sofa when Sans got back. That didn’t surprise him, but the fact that he was still awake did. 

“Hey, bro,” he said.

Papyrus jumped and turned quickly. “WHAT?! Oh. Sans. Ahem!!!” He puffed out his chest, but kept his voice down as best he could. “Yes, brother, what do you need?”

“You, uh, alright over there?” he asked.

“Oh, yes, very much so, just perfect!” Papyrus assured him. “Why?”

“You sleep at all?” he asked.

“Sleep? Pfft, what for? And besides, what if Frisk woke up and she needed a drink and she was too tired to get it? Or what if she was too cold? Or too hot? Or—”

“Bro,” Sans said, holding in a laugh, “don’t worry so much, huh?”

“Worry?! I’m not worried,” he said, “I’m just… concerned.”

Sans smiled fondly. He put a hand on Papyrus’s shoulder. “Dude, you’re great. But go get some rest, I’ll hang out.”

“You will just fall asleep again!” Papyrus protested.

“Trust me,” Sans said.

His brother pouted. “I do! I do. It’s just that so much has happened so quickly, and—” He stopped with surprise when Sans hugged him. “Oh. You’re hugging me.”

“Problem?”

“No! No.” He snickered and squished him close. “You actually are feeling a little better, aren’t you?”

“Yup,” Sans said. He started to glow affectionately and grinned when his brother mimicked him. 

“Okay. Okay, maybe I will rest. But only for an hour! And only because you’ll be here, just in case, right?”

“Of course, bro,” Sans said. 

Papyrus pulled back and rubbed his eye sockets with his palms. Sans sat beside him and stretched his arms, and was immediately blinking groggily. Papyrus cut his eyes at him, then patted him on the skull. He reached into his pocket, then took his brother’s hand a put something in it. Sans looked curiously. It was a small, moulded, bone figure like the skull of the form he and Frisk had taken. He looked at his brother with surprise.

“Dude,” he said.

“I was just working off the one picture, in a memory of a timeline that got undone, so I hope it’s accurate,” he said. “But! Seeing as that was an important thing that you actually didn’t hate, I thought maybe you would like a little memento. Pretty good, I think!”

Sans smiled fondly. “Bro. It’s perfect. Thank you.”

Papyrus grinned. He got to his feet and stretched his spine. “Alright. I have decided. We are taking a day off from all this worrying stressful adventure stuff. I’ll alert everyone! Today is for not that.”

“Fine with me, dude,” Sans said.

“Yes. I know.” Papyrus smiled. “You love doing nothing. It’s might as well be your favourite pastime!”

“Guilty,” Sans said. “Sleep well, bro.”

\- - -

Frisk’s dreams were strange, again. Not unpleasant, though, but hard to place. Wasn’t sure if they were entirely lucid, either. She thought she saw Asriel, but he didn’t seem to notice her. He sat in his father’s garden. She also saw a man, in a robe so dark it was almost dizzying to look at, with a smiling white face. They watched her brothers playing in the snow, a strange distortion of some of Sans’s old memories. It was sort of calming, in a weird way, but she felt like there was something she needed to do.

She awoke, warm and cozy, staring up at a ceiling that confused her for a moment until she caught a glimpse of the back of their green sofa out of the corner of her eye. Her muscles ached but, even so, she was happy.

She heard a low voice humming. She frowned to herself, trying to wrap her brain around it. She knew that voice. She sat up from her warm cocoon and rubbed her eyes. “S… Sans?” she asked.

The humming stopped. Her brother stepped casually out of the kitchen. It looked like there was flour on his hoodie.

“Hey, kiddo, good morning,” he said. “Or, uh, afternoon, I guess.”

She waved sleepily, only then noticing that she was wearing his coat when the blue sleeve flopped over her hand. She snickered, scampered over to him to give him a hug, and right away he lifted her up into his arms. She beamed and grabbed him around him shoulders and cuddled close. He started to glow, warm and contented. It felt a lot like the way Papyrus might do it. 

After a few moments, he gently let her down and ruffled her hair. “Welcome back. How did twelve hours help?”

“Can I have like twelve more?” she joked, wiping her eyes. “I’m okay. How about you?”

He nodded. “Just fine, kid, no worries.”

She looked at him suspiciously. He grinned and laughed.

“What’s that face for?” he asked. “Seriously. Totally fine.”

“Really? Do you still remember all the stuff?” she asked.

“Yeah, mostly. You?” he asked.

She nodded. His brow furrowed for just a second, but she started to smile.

“What?” he asked.

“I was worried about you,” she admitted. “I thought there wouldn’t be a lot of happy in there. But there really is, you know?”

“Huh. You think?” he asked.

“Yeah!” she said. “It’s no wonder you and Papyrus are so close. You really are a great big brother. I’m… I’m just so happy you decided to keep me.”

He stared back at her blankly for a few seconds. He face flushed blue. She was taken aback when his eyes started watering. Before she could say a word, he hugged her again.

“I, uh… Shit.” He laughed tiredly. “Sorry. Maybe I do need more sleep.”

“Are you okay?” she asked. 

He nodded. “I’m just… happy. I think. Yeah. Pretty sure.” He pulled back and wiped his eyes, then chuckled. “Pffft. Think I spent a bit too much time in your head, buddy.”

“Hah! I’m sorry,” she said gently.

He had to wipe his face again and he squatted down before her to match her eyeline as best he could. “You understand now, huh? You know how long I waited to find you?”

“Um…” She tilted her head. “Too dang long?”

“Damn straight,” he said seriously. He started to grin and ruffled her hair. “You waited a long time too, huh?”

“Only my whole life,” she joked.

His soul pulsed bright blue and hers lit up, too, much to their surprise. Frisk put a hand over it with curiosity and her brother snickered and mimicked her.

“Guess you’re more like a monster than we thought,” he said.

“Wow,” she said. “That’s new, though! Hah! Weird. I like it.”

He tilted his head. Began to reach out, but then hesitated. She didn’t when she put a hand out and touched the light from his chest. A tingle ran up and down her spine.

“Oh! Oh. I… Hah! I can still feel it,” she said. She took his hand and put it above her heart.

He stared back at her and then laughed. “Me too. You’re sure you’re not a skeleton, huh?”

“Just on the inside,” she said.

She hugged him around the shoulders and rested quite happily in his arms for a little. When she pulled back, she gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Love you, bro, seriously,” she said.

Their glow started to fade. She put her hand over her soul and he watched it curiously. Then, she gasped dramatically. 

“Oh my god, wait, this means I haven’t hugged Papyrus in a whole twelve hours?!”

“Guess so,” he said.

“No good!” she said.

“Totally agree,” he said.

She squeaked with dismay and dashed off. “Papyrrrusssss!” 

“Oh, Frisk, you’re awake!” he called.

“Hugs! Here, yes, hugs please, ‘kay thanks.”

“EEEEEEE!” Papyrus shrieked. He rushed into the room with Frisk in his arms, eyes alight. “SANS, LOOK RIGHT NOW! Loooook look look!” He jerked his thumb at his chest— the spot of his soul had lit up through his shirt.

Frisk’s had too. Sans grinned.

“Would you look at that,” he said. 

“Usually this only shines in a battle!! Or with you!” Papyrus announced. “But look, now! She’s just like us! Isn’t this fantastic?! How did you learn that, Frisk?!”

“Dunno!” she said. “It just started up.”

“I love it!” Papyrus said.

“By the way, kiddo.” Sans held out her phone. “Message from Undyne.”

“Ooh!” she said.

Papyrus put her down and Frisk scampered over to take it. She scrolled through the messages, looked at Sans and started to laugh.

“Well, you do need your own phone so I can text you!” she said.

He shrugged. “I dunno, kid, we’re usually not more than twenty feet apart.”

“Yeah, but what if I’m downstairs and you’re upstairs and I need to tell you something super funny.”

“Point taken,” he said.

She looked at the picture Undyne sent. She grinned. “He ate the pie!”

“That’s what you got out of that?” Sans asked with a laugh.

Frisk smiled. She texted back a thank you and saved Undyne’s number while she was at it. When she swiped back, she noticed there were a bunch more messages from the number she didn’t recognize. She was about to look at them when Papyrus scooped her up again.

“Frisk!! While you were asleep, I formulated some new puzzles! And since I am insisting we take a day off from all this stressful adventuring, how would you like the privilege of testing them out?!”

“Bro, point me their way!” she said brightly. “Sans, come too!”

“Be right there, I’m just, uh, in the middle of somethin’,” he said.

“Hmmm, what are you doing in there, brother?” Papyrus leaned around him to look in the kitchen and began to scowl instantly. “MAKING A GIANT MESS?!”

“Primary goal, yup. Secondary, well…” Sans grinned. “Think of it like an experiment.”

It was immediately clear to Frisk that he was trying to make a pie. He had a pot of filling cooling a little on the stove. Frisk grinned. 

“Oh wow,” she said. “That actually takes effort!”

“I know, right?” he said, winking. “I figured, if you can do it, it can’t be too bad.”

“That’s true,” she said. “Okay! Let me know if you— Oh! Wait, never mind, you know the same junk I do!”

“Might ask for help later anyway,” he said with a wink.

Frisk beamed. 

“Ugh, I am going to have to clean that all up, aren’t I?” Papyrus whined.

“What’s the matter, bro? You love cleanin’,” Sans said, grinning.

“I do but not with flour in every single…! HOW DID YOU GET IT ON THE CEILING!?”

“It’s, uh, self-risin’,” Sans said.

“UGH!!” Papyrus stormed off and Frisk waved over his shoulder. “ONE OF THESE DAYS, SANS!!”

“Love you, Papyrus!” he called after him.

“I LOVE YOU, TOO! NYEH!” Papyrus shouted back in a huff.

Sans grinned to himself and went back to the kitchen. After just a few minutes, he heard footsteps running back down the stairs and Frisk popped up behind him.

“Hey! Sorry, I forgot I had this!” She took his jacket off and held it out to him. “Thanks again!”

“No problem,” he assured her. 

She stood there for a moment and, before he could ask her what was up, she hugged him again, and then quickly ran off.


	23. The Reprieve

Papyrus seemed to have been sincerely hard at work. He had new graph-paper puzzles all over the floors, and Frisk was happy to go through every one of them. Sans came to join them when they were about halfway through, but promptly fell asleep slumped a quarter off his brother’s bed. They liked having his company anyway.

Together, Frisk and Papyrus solved every puzzle, made changes where they thought it might be more fun, and Papyrus even tried to show her how to do the Rubick’s cube, purposefully going slowly. Frisk didn’t follow at all but watching him go through it was sort of mesmerizing. Relaxing, even. She caught herself nodding off and forced her eyes open, blinking hard. He turned the final colour into place and held out the cube proudly.

“And that, Frisk, is how you solve it!” he said brightly. “And that method should help from any of the approximately forty-three quintillion options that may crop up! Any questions?”

“Can you solve it again?” Sans asked groggily. 

“Yes, of course!” Papyrus asserted. “You can even mix it up, if you’d like?”

Sans put a hand out and his brother tossed it over. He started to, and then almost immediately looked bored and threw it to Frisk. She hurriedly mixed up the colours and then passed it back to Papyrus. He turned the cube over in his hands and few times and then began to twist the colour rows.

“Frisk, you really must give this a try at some point, it is a good puzzle!” he said. “This is from the surface, isn’t it? That must mean humans love puzzles as well. Do you think I can keep setting them up once we make our new town?”

Frisk nodded. Sans leaned his cheek on his fist.

“Where did you get that, anyway? Dump?” he asked.

“Frisk gave it to me! And there we go!” Papyrus held out the finished cube proudly. “Got it!”

Frisk gawked. “When did you get so good at that?!” she demanded.

“It came rather naturally, of course!” he said. “Okay! We did what I wanted. Now you, Frisk, your turn to pick.”

“Umm…” She smiled embarrassedly. “_Under Ground Hearts?”_

“Nyeh heh heh heh! Well, I guess there are worse things to like ironically! Sans?”

“What, bro?”

“You set it up.”

Sans groaned, but he vanished nonetheless. Papyrus shook his head.

“So lazy,” he said. “Oh!! I almost forgot! For you.”

Papyrus grabbed her hand, then took something out of his pocket and put it in her palm. When she looked, she saw a small, bone dragon skull. Frisk’s eyes went wide. She grinned, and before Papyrus could even begin to explain, she got to her feet and hugged him around the neck. He gladly hugged her in return.

“So I take it you like it, then?” he said.

“Of course! Thank you so much!”

“Hey, Frisk,” he said. “We didn’t really talk about it. Are you okay? After what happened?”

“Uh-huh, I’m fine,” she said. “But I feel like… How to explain it… umm…”

“Is your head okay, though?” Papyrus pulled back a little but put a hand on top of her head. “I know you and Sans had weird mind things happen, and I know he has seen a lot of terrible nonsense, so…”

“No, no, that’s all fine,” she assured him. “But I’m achey. Like… you ever just fall off something and kinda get an ache that goes all the way down into your bones?”

“Well, yes, absolutely, once or twice,” he said. “Never fear! I’ll help you out! I’m not entirely sure how you know the achey bone feeling but… Oh! Through Sans?”

“No, I have bones too!” she said with a laugh.

Papyrus stared back at her blankly. He tilted his head. “You have… bones?”

“Yeah!” Frisk said. “You never noticed?”

He just kept staring at her. She snickered and held out her hand. 

He took it cautiously and his fingers searched out the matching bones. His eyes went wide. He quickly raised her arm up and probed for the radius and ulna. It seemed to sink in rather abruptly. “Oh. My. GOD.”

Frisk laughed. Papyrus scooped her up and bounded back down.

“SAAAAAAANSSSS!” he yelled.

He stumbled to a stop in front of Sans, who was already lazing on the couch with the remote beside him.

“Took you long enough,” he said. “What’s that face for, bro?”

“FRISK HAS BONES.”

“Yeeeeah.” He grinned sideways. “That’s, uh, not new, dude.”

Frisk shrugged. Papyrus started to grin.

“You really WERE a skeleton the whole time!” he said.

“Told you, bro!” Frisk said brightly.

\- - -

It was starting to get late by the time the skeleton family was done doing anything but relaxing, watching terrible TV, and eating a sloppy but nonetheless delicious pie. 

The last episode of the season for _Under Ground Hearts_ was starting to wind down. There was actually very little drama so far, but everything was being played up by the score to make it seem much more important. A dropped hat, a misspoken word, a harmless secret, all now the most horrific events in the season finale.

As one of the several new Mettaton characters, this one in a police hat, began to monologue about something unimportant, Frisk got a text from Alphys. Miss-sent, which was obvious fairly quickly.

_“hey so how powerful is that broadcast blaster anyway?”_

_ “think this might be for someone else!” _Frisk replied.

_“SORRY LOL! <3 very tired. how are you Frisk, holding up? let me know if anything at all is wrong!!! <3 <3 <3one of those hearts is from Undyne lol” _

Frisk grinned_. “good thanks! watchin some stuff! still tired but really good actualy, sans made pie”_

“_LOL! good news. just gonna be doing some work for a bit but we’ll talk to you guys 2morro ok? <3”_

_ “ok! cya! say hi to Undyne!”_

She noticed a message above that. She nudged Sans with her elbow. “You get this?” she asked, pointing to the earlier invite to the lab.

He nodded. “Done.”

“What’d she want?” she asked.

“Make sure I’m not melting,” he said.

“Oh.”

“Why the heck would you be melting?” Papyrus asked.

“Determination,” Sans said with a shrug. “No worries.”

“Well, I have no idea what that means, but as long as everything is okay, perfect!” Papyrus said. “Oh! Oh look, the ending music is starting. Ready, Frisk?”

They counted down together from fifteen. Diane got shot. Frisk threw her hands up and squawked, Sans gasped, and Papyrus started laughing.

“SHE WASN’T EVEN IN THIS EPISODE!” Frisk yelled.

“Aw, shit,” Sans said, “I forgot about this. Gotta hold out for season two.”

Credits rolled with no answers on whether the dramatic Diane would survive. Frisk put her face in her hands and Sans snickered.

“Worst,” she said, and then looked up. “Sans, you ever ask Mettaton why this is so bad?”

“He thinks it's great,” Sans said with a grin. “It’s, uh, art? I think.”

“GASP. No,” Papyrus said in disbelief. “He can’t. Can he?”

Sans shrugged. Frisk abruptly gave up trying to understand, shook her head, and then flopped dramatically onto her brother’s lap.

“Done?” he asked.

“So done,” she said.

“Brother, I have a question!” Papyrus said. “How do you know Mettaton, anyway?”

“He’s Alphys’s friend,” he said.

“Right. Okay. But how do you know Doctor Alphys?” he said. “I’ve followed her on UnderNet for a while, and I know we’re friends from the mystery year, but I’ve never seen her come around or anything.”

“Yeah, she’s a bit of a recluse,” he said. “You knew her when you were a kid. Back in the lab. Remember when we used to spend a lot of time there? I used to work with her.”

“Oooh. Right. That makes sense. She’s really nice, though. I enjoyed spending the day with her. Very dorky though. Overly self-deprecating to the point where I wanted to pick her up and shake her and demand that she love herself and stop hiding in trash cans. But we should definitely invite her over!”

“Fine with me, bro, just a matter of bringin’ her,” he said. “It’s a long walk.”

“You ever tried teleporting?” Frisk asked.

“Uh… Nope. Why would I?” he asked.

“Well… take a quick look through my memories,” she said. “The last day. You teleported me and Papyrus.”

“You and Papyrus? That doesn’t make sense, I can’t…” His eyes went wide and he looked down at her and started to grin. “Dude.”

“I know, right?” she said. “I didn’t know you could, either. Until right then, anyway.”

“Remind me to look through that,” he said. “All of that.”

“Uh…?” Papyrus tilted his head. “What?”

“Don’t worry, bro, I’ll tell you when I get it sorted,” he said. “So, if I start cryin’ like a baby, I’m just in Frisk’s residual emotions, no biggie.”

“Oh, come on,” she protested. “I didn’t even cry there that much!”

“Because you were in shock,” Sans pointed out.

“What’s that mean?” she asked. “I guess I was pretty freaked out…”

“It’s a bit worse than that,” he said. “I’ll need to check the whole day kinda slowly.”

“Can you do that?” Frisk asked with surprise, sitting up quickly. “Like… just watching it?”

“Kinda. Had a lot of practice,” he said with a wink. “Hopefully you’re as perceptive as you seem. And maybe I can figure this junk out, while I’m at it.” He squished her cheeks. 

She laughed and flailed. Papyrus snickered.

“What’s there to figure out? It’s weird memory magic, right?” he said. 

“I wanna know how it got there,” he said. “How it works. And why sometimes it likes to be my colour and sometimes yours.”

Papyrus shrugged. Sans lit up his magic and Frisk’s markings brightened, too. He matched the pattern with his hand and winced as a few scattered hours of a lazy summer’s day filled in his side of a day he had from Frisk. She tilted her head.

“Does it hurt?” she asked. “Undyne said it stings a bit.”

“Just a little,” he said. “Weird. It’s like I take somethin’ back every time.” He pulled his hand away and looked thoughtful. 

Frisk bit her lip. “A-Anything important?”

He shook his head. “Not really. Summer day. Takin’ a nap. As usual.”

“Oh good, such valuable information,” Papyrus joked. 

“It’s not like I can pick,” Sans laughed. “I’d grab the last week, at least, if I could. Did you get any of that, bro?”

“Noooo, I got… not too much, I think, it’s kind of foggy,” he admitted. “I remember… a forest. I think we went for a hike, Frisk.”

Frisk smiled a little. “Yeah, that was pretty soon after we got out, before we even had a new house.”

“It was nice,” Papyrus said. “Though… I do wish I had the rest. I’m sorry.”

The kid shook her head. She smiled meekly. “A-Actually. I mean… I’d love for that, too, but… Sans was really right, it’s more about how everyone feels, I think.”

Sans looked at her with wide eyes. “Wait. Wait a sec,” he said. “You’re… sayin’ you’re okay?” 

She shrugged, nodded, and settled back into the cushions. “I miss mom, and Asgore, and Kid, mostly,” she said, “but you guys, of course you’re exactly the same. It feels just like before with us, even if some of the stuff we did is gone. I mean, sheesh, Paps, you even started using my name all the time, and if this were really just a normal reset at all, that’d take you like another three months!”

Papyrus’s face flushed. “Aw, Frisk! I’m so happy to hear that! You have been a little more upbeat! I’m glad things finally feel better for you.”

Frisk’s soul lit up. She snickered and put her hand over it. “Actually… it feels even better than before, some of it.”

Sans started to grin brightly. “Get over here, you nerd.” He pulled her into his arms and his soul shone warmly along with hers. 

She snickered and hugged him tight.

“Told you,” he said. “You’re home. You’ve been home the whole time.”

“Yeah, but I get it now,” she said with a laugh. “Sorry it took so long. Thank you. Thanks, both of you.”

Papyrus looked like he could cry. He scooped them both up and his glow seemed to brighten the whole room. 

“Hey,” Sans said, “I guess you might even say—”

“Oh no, Sans, don’t,” Papyrus protested.

“—that Frisk finally realized—”

“Don’t you ruin this.”

“—that it’s great _tibia_ home.”

“Sigh. You ruined it.”

“What?” Sans grinned wide. “I think this might be a good reason for a little _skele_-bration.”

“Un. Be. Lievable.”

\- - -

The smell of tomatoes and herbs soon filled the house as Papyrus and Frisk cooked dinner. When they had gotten the things to make the pie, they had also picked up a few new ingredients, and Papyrus was incredibly eager to smash them into the sauce.

Sans lay flat on the couch, MTT on in the background, and was messing around on Frisk’s phone. Alphys was occasionally posting vague, _omg, so much work lol_ type of comments on the UnderNet. Also, some blurry photos of a bowl of ramen with a blue smudge in the background he was fairly sure was Undyne, and her trash can with her keyboard placed in it for comedic effect. Asgore sent her a nice message telling her not to work too hard.

He was considering sending her something as a joke, but when he entered the texting window, he noticed something strange. There were messages in a corrupted font that was basically illegible. He frowned and felt a sense of odd discomfort deep down, but he wasn’t sure why. He promptly decided he didn’t care.

He put his arm over his eyes tiredly. Didn’t realize he had drifted off until Papyrus grabbed him under the arms and sat him up gently, and held out a plate of new spaghetti.

“Oh. Thanks, bro,” he said groggily.

“You’re very welcome! A new concoction from master chef Papyrus and excellent assistant, Frisk!” He beamed, and then raced back into the kitchen. “I really think we are getting the hang of this! Don’t you think so, Frisk?!”

“We didn’t set anything on fire!” she said brightly.

“Great,” Sans said. 

He tried the pasta. It was actually pretty good. When Frisk came out to sit with him, he tossed her the phone.

“Call Tori later, huh?” he said. “And I think it might be a little broken.”

“Oh yeah?” she said.

“Yeah, unless you’re getting weird creepypasta spam or somethin’.”

“What?! My pasta isn’t creepy!” Papyrus called.

Sans looked like he’d been splashed with cold water. He started to grin very wide. “But we’re skeletons, bro.”

“I don’t get it!” Papyrus said.

Frisk snickered quietly. Sans grinned and shrugged. He nudged Frisk with his elbow.

“Also, go save after this, you nerd,” he said.

“Oh! Sheesh, yeah, absolutely,” she agreed. She shoved a forkful of pasta in her mouth. “Paps, we are getting super close on this.”

“Fantastic!” he said.

\- - -

Frisk stepped out after dinner and Papyrus began the clear-up quite enthusiastically. Sans fell asleep again, but by the time he woke up, the house was quiet. 

He sat up from the couch groggily and popped upstairs. Papyrus had taken his old clothes and was folding them. He put them in the closet, in a cardboard box labeled with Frisk’s name. She, however, wasn’t there.

“Hey, bro, where’s the kid at, she go back out?” he asked.

“Huh?” He turned around and his brows rose. “Oh! I thought she was with you?”

Sans felt a ping of shock. He rubbed the back of his skull. 

He checked his room. It was empty. He came back in a blink. “I, uh, don’t think she’s in the house.”

Papyrus’s eyes went wide. “What?! That’s no good!!!” He folded his arms, frowned, but then stuck a finger in midair. “That doesn’t make sense that she’d be out so long alone. Well!! This is a job for the great Papyrus, master detective!! Did she leave any clues?!”

“Uh…”

“Or! Maybe that doesn't matter! Hmm…” He cupped his chin. “If I were a tiny human child, where would I go? HMMM.”

“Could you, uh, just phone her?” Sans asked.

“Oh!! Fantastic plan, brother, let me just…” 

Papyrus whipped out his cellphone and called Frisk. He tapped his foot impatiently. He paced, then looked at the phone. Sans supported the wall, frowning a little. Papyrus tried again and waited a painful five seconds.

“Ah! Frisk!!! Where are—? Oh. Hey, you sound a little… Oh, okay. Don’t worry! Sans’ll be there in just a second!!” He turned to look at Sans, who perked up just a little. 

“She’s at the Ruins door,” he said in a loud whisper. 

Sans didn’t waste a second and shifted himself out into the snow where those ancient, dusky doors loomed. Frisk was there, huddled up against them, shivering under a pitch-coloured blanket, struggling to hang up the phone with trembling fingers.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said.

“H-H-Hey!” she said, smiling. “Um… S-Sorry, I g-goofed, I think.” She started to get up, but she slipped back down into the snow. 

Sans sighed and squatted down in front of her. “What’re you doin’?” He put his coat around her. “C’mere.” He lifted her up and held her out of the snow.

She sighed with relief and gripped to his shoulders with weak hands. She was shaking so hard that it made his bones rattle. Kid felt like the warmth had been leeched from her. 

“Oh. Great. You’re frozen,” he said. 

“M-Mom d-didn’t answer h-her phone, I thought I c-could just check if she w-was here,” she said.

“And you decided to take a nap? I mean, sheesh, I know you were in my head, but—”

“Hah! N-No, she d-didn’t answer s-so I was about to come home b-but… um…” She frowned. “I’m not sure.”

“You faint?” he asked.

“Dunno, m-maybe?” she said. “I… I can’t remember.”

“Hmm. Hang on.”

He whisked them back into Papyrus’s room. The tall skeleton jumped and he looked at them with surprise.

“Oh!! There you are!! …Oh. Frisk, are you okay?” he asked.

“Kid got stuck in the snow,” Sans plopped her into the closet. “You can stand, right? Get changed.”

She nodded and he closed the door on her.

“Uh, Sans, what’s going on?” Papyrus asked.

He shrugged. “Nothin’, she’s just cold. Humans feel it more than we do,” he said, and he knocked on the door. “Kiddo, you got it? Want some hot chocolate?”

“Th-That’d be g-g-great!” she said.

Sans straightened up. “Cool. Okay. Paps, keep her warm?”

Papyrus stuck his thumb up and Sans vanished again.

“Downstairs is not that far, Sans!!!” Papyrus shouted.

Frisk came out after a couple seconds in pyjamas and a sweatshirt that was too big with holes in the pockets, trembling, holding Sans’s coat to her chest. Papyrus knelt down, tilted his head, and before she could even stutter out a word, he took the coat from her and picked her up. 

“Never fear, Frisk, I have an excellent plan,” he said.

He ran her downstairs, planted her on the couch and draped the coat over her, putting the hood up for her, and then disappeared into Sans’s room. Her hands were still shaking and, when she breathed out, it felt too cold. She wrapped her arms around herself and scooted into the corner. Sans brought her some hot chocolate after a moment and sat with her, and she scooted up against his ribs and held the hot mug contentedly in her hands for a while before even taking a sip.

“So, you dunno how long you were there?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“Who gave you that, uh…? Blanket? Was it a…? Huh.” He stared blankly, then frowned. “It was a blanket, right?”

“A blanket? What blanket?” she asked.

“What d’you mean? Who said blanket?” he asked.

“You did,” she said.

“I did?” He frowned again. “Huh. Why did I…?”

“You asked who gave me a blanket?” she said. “I think.”

“I did. Okay.”

He reached over into his jacket’s pocket and pulled out a pen, then took one of her hands and wrote the word _blanket_ on it.

“Why?” she asked with a laugh.

“So I don’t forget. You don’t forget, either,” he said. “Mystery blanket.”

“I don’t e-even know w-what you’re t-talking about, dude,” she said. 

“Me neither, that’s why it’s important,” he said.

Frisk just looked back at him quietly for a few moments, then shrugged and sipped her cocoa.

There was a mild commotion upstairs and Papyrus barrelled back down, arms full of quilts and a duvet or two. 

“Sans, I wrestled with that weird orb?! Ball… thing?! Whatever. It is like a dimension hole of blankets in there.” He lifted Frisk, sat down to hold her in his lap, and bundled a cozy blanket around her shoulders, then tossed the rest around the sofa, mostly over Sans. “Better?! That’s cozy, right? Is that okay? Please don’t stay out so long, next time!”

“S-Sorry!” she said.

“Now, I understand you aren’t really scared of getting hurt, but you still shouldn’t be reckless,” Papyrus said. “Because what the heck am I going to do with a Frisksicle?”

“You sound like mom,” Sans said from somewhere under the blankets.

“Then mom must be very sensible, despite her terrible sense of humour,” Papyrus said.

Frisk snickered.

Sans emerged from the blanket pile and took her hand again, adding _= monster_ after the word _blanket._

“What d-does that mean?” she asked with a laugh.

He shrugged. Papyrus looked confused.

“Did a weird mystery happen while I was upstairs?” he asked.

“Possibly,” Sans said. He flopped back into the covers and vanished except for the top of his skull.

“Sans, you just woke up,” Papyrus said.

“Shouldn’t have brought so many blankets then,” Sans mumbled.

\- - -

MTT was looping old episodes again: a cooking show that Papyrus could basically recite verbatim and a few game shows with musical segments. It was clear Frisk was getting tired again, but at least she had stopped shivering. Papyrus was happy to hold her basically indefinitely anyway.

Eventually, though, Sans rolled off the couch and lay on his back on the floor for a moment.

“You okay?” Frisk asked with a laugh.

He stuck his thumbs up. Took him a moment, but he got up and took her empty mug from her and then vanished into the kitchen.

When he came back, he had an armful of papers that he dumped onto the table against the wall and pulled a chair over.

“Kiddo, what’d I write on you again?” Sans asked.

“Sans, you can’t just use Frisk as a notepad!!!” Papyrus protested as Frisk squinted at the scribbling handwriting on her palm. “Write on yourself!”

“You ever tried writing on your hand, dude?” Sans said with a grin.

“Well, no, but—“

“It says_ blanket equals monster_. I think,” Frisk said. 

Sans looked thoughtful. He wrote something on his papers. “Weird. Okay. We’ll deal with that later.”

“What’re you doing?” Frisk asked.

“Was thinkin’ I’d go through some memories, before tomorrow happens and I lose all motivation,” he said.

“Ooh.”

“Sans, you’ve been so good though, you should try to keep it up!” Papyrus said. “I think you’re up to caring about maybe four things a day now! That’s pretty good, right? But I think you can do better!”

“Thanks for the support, bro,” he said with a grin. “Just, uh, this might take me a bit. Might be a bit zoned out. So, if the house explodes or somethin’, just grab me.”

Sans set up with his papers and sorted through old notes and bad doodles for a blank page. He was used to keeping logs at one point— used to do it with the anomalies at the start, before he decided it was pointless. He closed his eyes and tried to focus, pulling on Frisk’s memories, dragging them up backwards from her time in the Ruins just a few days ago.

He was lucky that whole day had been full of things that were emotionally strong for Frisk. The memories were still clear, attached feelings still powerful. Following them would sometimes trail a tangent that gave him a little more. That day started with lucid dreaming. Frisk’s dreams had been more active leading up to it, showing her Asriel more often than not. Sometimes as a building-sized monster. She had asked him about it, but his responses had been vague. Shit. Made a note to try not to do that so much anymore.

That day had been a good one otherwise, until what felt like an earthquake started. He tried to focus on himself, tried to see if he had done anything strange at all in the lead up.

Frisk didn’t find anything blatantly unusual until things started to go wrong, but Sans pulled out something weird. He heard himself take some time to explain the skeleton’s general magic for transferring emotions in a way that sort of surprised him. Toriel had asked— usually, he would have expected to tell her he’d explain later, or just brush it off as a skeleton thing, but instead he had, in fact, proceeded to use it on Alphys and Undyne as well. He made a note of it. 

He searched the day for more magic, anything that might be a hint. He picked up himself faintly doing some sort of magic around Asgore, something Frisk had all but blown off, but he marked that down, too.

He began to go through the attack. Her fear made his breath short. He rested his cheek on his fist and tried to relax, but the farther he went, the more the blizzard churned and the ground rumbled, the more he understood why she kept breaking down over it. 

He saw himself and Papyrus, felt the drag through time and space when he teleported the three of them. Watched himself put his hand on the kid’s cheek and send her off. He had made sure to tell her they loved her. Small comfort, but at least he was sure he had tried to reassure her in what might’ve been their last moments. There, though, he felt his magic seep into her. Her thoughts were elsewhere, but he could see it now as if from afar.

Just as he thought. It had been pretty clear to him that whatever had happened, it was his magic imprinted on her, but this just confirmed it. And it definitely hadn’t been a mistake.

He opened his eyes and tried to focus back on what was real. He took note of Frisk beside him. She’d ditched the coat and extra sweatshirt. She must’ve pulled up a chair at some point, but now she was asleep on the table, head on her arms. He pushed back his chair and scooped her up. Wasn’t shivering at all. She went totally limp and he held her, thinking, for a long while. 

He reviewed his notes. It now looked, to him, like he had been planning for this. Readying some sort of magical failsafe for Frisk, maybe? That’s how it seemed to be working, anyway. If he knew what was going to happen ahead of time, though, he hadn’t mentioned a thing to the kid. He wondered why.

He walked her over to the sofa, now absent of blankets, and sat her on it, and then gently shook her and squatted down. “Kid,” he said. “Hey. Kiddo. Can we talk for a second?”

She flinched, then blinked heavily. “Mmhmm,” she asked groggily. “Wassup?”

“Why wouldn’t I tell you something?” he asked.

“…Huh?”

“Is there a reason I wouldn’t tell you something?”

“Because you’re pretty vague sometimes?” she said with a tired smile.

“Heh. No. I mean an actual reason,” he said. “Think about it, you know me. Gimme an outside analysis. Why would Sans not tell his kid sister Frisk somethin’ really important?”

“Oh. Um…” Frisk seemed to wrack her brain. “Maybe because you thought it would scare—? No, you don’t baby me like that. Umm… because you didn’t…? Uh…” She folded her arms and looked thoughtful. She frowned. “Maybe… um…” She suddenly looked much more alert. “Oh! I know!!! Because you don’t want me to do something dumb or crazy.”

“Yeah?” he said.

“Yeah! Because that’s the reason I wouldn’t tell you something, because I was planning to do something dumb or crazy,” she said. “You know, like the barrier thing? So I think that’s it.”

Sans dropped onto down to sit on the floor, rubbing his the back of his skull. “Shit.”

“What?” she asked.

“You’re right,” he said.

She slipped off the couch to sit beside him, giving him a curious frown.. 

“Sorry. I screwed up. Again,” he said.

“How?” she said.

“I think I mightta known this was coming,” he said. “Or, you know, probably not, uh, exactly? But I knew somethin’ was up. Somehow. Maybe I didn’t tell you ‘cause I was scared of a reset or some crap like that, but what I do know is that I spent the day you came back messin’ around with weird magic junk and then I put that mark on you.”

Frisk stared at him blankly. “W… Wait, what?! You did…? How do you…? What is it? How did you do it? Are you sure?”

“I did, I saw it, I dunno, still dunno, and yeah I’m sure,” he said. “You really didn’t pick up on that?

“Wow. Dang.” She shook her head and unwittingly put a hand against her cheek. “What makes you think you were scared of a reset?”

“Why else would I not talk about, uh, impendin’ danger with you?” he said. “Maybe I thought I could get us around it. Maybe time ran out. I don’t know. That’s not in your head. My fault. And we got a reset anyway, so… good job, Sans. Frickin’ bonehead, I’ll tell you what.”

Frisk pouted. She grabbed his arm. “Stop it,” she said, her tone surprisingly stern.

“Uh, stop what?” he asked.

“Whatever you did, whatever you chose, I trust you,” she said. “Even if it was a bad idea, you did it ‘cause you thought it was right.”

He shrugged. “What’s that phrase? The road to hell is paved with good intentions?”

“It’s not that bad,” she said with a laugh.

“No?”

She shook her head. “Everyone’s alive.”

“Good point,” he said.

“And!” Her cheeks flushed. “We, um… we never wouldda gotten to be a cool dragon together if we didn’t come back.”

Sans went quiet for a few seconds, but he smiled and affectionately ruffled her hair. “Guess that’s true. That, uh… That is a big deal. You’re right.”

She grinned. He got up slowly and lifted her up, too. 

“C’mon, I wanna show you something.”

They went upstairs to Papyrus’s room, where he was sitting on the bed, reading a puzzle book and absently solving and scrambling the Rubick’s cube without really even looking at it, the clicking of the plastic and his hard finger bones rather constant.

“Yo, Paps, you like lookin’ at yourself, right? You got a mirror somewhere?” Sans said.

“Yes, of course, in the closet!” Papyrus said. “Whhyyy?”

“Wanna show Frisk her face glow junk,” he said.

The mirror was on the back of the closet’s door, and he put Frisk in front of it and then lit up his magic near her. The markings on her face responded, and her iris went blue. She stared back, gawking for a second, and she darted in close, looking at it.

“Woah, that’s super weird close up!” she said as she held her eyelid open to look at the shining blue. 

“Let me show you something even weirder.” He moved closer and his magic flared brighter. 

The lines filled out into a full hand-print, clearly that of a skeleton. Frisk gawked.

“That’s totally your hand mark!” she exclaimed. “Holy crap!”

The clicking stopped. Papyrus snuck over to look.

“Sans, you did that?” he asked, eyes wide. “Why?!”

“Welp. Memories, I guess,” he said. “I dunno.”

“You can’t just imprint skeleton magic onto people’s faces!” Papyrus said. “C… Can you?”

Sans shrugged. He let his magic die down and, mirroring him, the marks on Frisk dimmed too. 

“Why doesn’t it shine like that every time, then?” Papyrus asked. “And why is it sometimes different colours? And how come sometimes it’s just lines and sometimes it’s more than that?! And how did you get it there?”

Sans shrugged again. Papyrus sighed.

“Are you just not telling me or do you actually not know?” he asked.

“Dunno, dude. I must’ve learned a new trick or two on the surface, somehow. I got nothin’.”

Papyrus tilted his head. He curiously reached out, letting energy crackle off his fingertips. It was Frisk’s opposite eye that brightened amber, but different lines shone through her skin.

“Oh, weird!” Frisk squeaked. 

Sans tilted his head. He took Papyrus’s hand and put it on top of her head. The stripes were a bit lower, but matched the natural position of his fingers, maybe if his hand had been resting lazily. Papyrus stared, then jerked back, eyes wide.

“Wait, I did that!?!” he said shrilly. “How?! That makes even less sense!!” He pulled back and let Frisk stop glowing. He looked at his hands and frowned, and then folded his arms. 

Frisk plopped down beside him and yawned, rubbing her eyes. Papyrus snickered and patted her head.

“Nyeh heh heh! You’re really not bothered by unusual things, are you?” he said.

Frisk smiled. “Well, it’s weird but, if it’s just magic from you guys, nothin’ to worry about.” She looked at Sans. “See anything else interesting?”

“Lotsa stuff that day.” He sat down, too, rubbing the back of his skull. “Rough.”

“Mhm,” Frisk agreed. 

They both went quiet; kind of melancholy. Papyrus looked between them, then put an arm around each of them and pulled them close.

“What matters now is that everyone is safe and we are all together!” he said. “No amount of weird time travel or angry soulless plant children or exploding cities can change that! If we just keep striving for what we need, I’m sure everything will work out!”

“I hope so,” Frisk said.

“I know so, Frisk! Hey, listen.” He grinned and jabbed his thumb at his chest. “If you ever are feeling low, like you’re not so sure if you can do this, just believe in me, who believes in you more than anything! That should give you some confidence!”

“Is that from something?” Sans wondered.

“You too, Sans,” he said. “I’m positive I have enough will to pull through for all of us, even if you two start feeling down! This is how we’ve always done it, right, brother?! Just rely on me. No problem at all.”

Frisk smiled and hugged him. He grinned and Sans snickered.

“You’re so cool, bro,” he said.

“I know!” Papyrus asserted proudly.

\- - -

Papyrus had barely slept at all in over a day, so when Sans sat them all down to read for the night, he clocked out pretty quickly. Frisk tried, sincerely, to read along, but was long gone by the time Sans even got them through to chapter three of the _Trident of Vengeance_. He noticed a little too late and realized he had read four pages with no one to listen. 

He tossed the book across the room to turn off the light— missed. He moped for a second and then took one of his slippers and tried again. The light clicked off and he grinned to himself and settled in. 

He noticed Frisk’s soul was shining softly. He wasn’t sure why, but for some reason it made him happy.

\- - - 

By the glow of her monitors, Alphys squinted at her hotplate, wondering why the water in the pot was taking so long to boil. She fiddled with the temperature dial. She hoped it wasn’t broken again. 

She felt like she was close to a breakthrough. The numbers were starting to add up, if she was doing her calculations right. The determination percentages were still a little finicky though, and she had to account, now, for if Sans would contribute to the soul at all. Even in the tiny amounts she was working in so no one would feel any negative consequences, Sans’s determination levels could throw things a little. The rest she could consider within a margin of error.

As she cooked her ramen, she leaned back in her chair and thought about her fanfiction, daydreaming about all the cute scenes she could write, until she realized her noodles were done. She quickly finished them off and then started to eat, blowing on each bite carefully. 

She heard a strange clicking sound.

“Oops.” That was Sans’s voice. “Doc, you up?”

She turned, noodles hanging out of her mouth, and saw him in the dark near the door when she leaned back around a pile of junk on another chair. She slurped and waved.“K-Kinda early, huh?”

“Hm.” He shrugged “Had some stuff on my mind. How’s it goin’?”

“O-Oh, um… J-Just taking a food break,” she said.

“So do you just not sleep, or…?” He walked over and Alphys noticed it was his one bare foot making that sound. 

She smiled and rubbed her headspines. “I w-was on a roll. N-No worries,” she said. “I think I’m g-getting somewhere. But… w-well…”

“Something off?” he asked.

“Th-There’s some technicals I don’t know,” she admitted. “B-But… But I’m sure th-there might b-be… Well… I h-have some old computers with s-some old n-notes about d-determination and e-everything, I think, I just need t-to look into it soon.”

“Cool.” Sans tilted his head. “We’re not workin’ you too hard, huh?”

“N-No! No, not at all, I… I’ve j-just barely started, d-don’t worry,” she said. “I can do this. I p-promise. It’s…! It’s actually good. You know? The soul v-vessel thing was one of the biggest p-problems originally, anyway. So, Asriel actually being alive without a soul, um… I mean, aside from, um, all the bad stuff? It’s kind of p-perfect for this? Umm… Wow, that s-sounds pretty bad, but… uhh…”

Sans looked thoughtfully at her. Her brow got sweaty right away.

“W… What?” she asked.

He pointed at the monitor. “You record on this thing?”

She let out a relieved sigh and slid her chair closer to her computer. “Mmhm.” She accessed a folder full of clips. “Only for about a week a-at a time. What, um…? What are you l-looking for?”

“Ruins, this afternoon. Somethin’ happened to Frisk.”

“Wh-What?!” Alphys barked. “What happened?! Why didn’t you s-say so?!”

“She’s fine,” Sans said. “Can we take a look?”

Alphys looked puzzled and worried, but she nodded and queued up the video. She skimmed through it until she saw Frisk come into view, then stopped it and played at normal speed.

They watched as Frisk, looking a little chilly already, walked up to the Ruins. She knocked on the door, then stood back. She waited for a few moments, then knocked again and pressed her ear up against the frosty stone. When she drew back, she looked dejected; her lip quivered.

“Oh, n-no, don’t c-cry, don’t cry,” Alphys whispered. She looked immediately, desperately invested. 

Sans tried not to laugh, but he had to admit, he really didn’t like that sad look on the kid’s face either.

She quickly wiped her eyes on her sleeve and then turned to head back home. However, she didn’t get very far when she stopped and looked surprised. Confusion was clear for a moment, but then she started to grin. She waved, and took only a few quick steps forward when the camera’s vision became overcome with distortion.

Alphys jumped, yelped, and recoiled, eyes wide. Sans frowned.

“Creepy,” he said.

“Ooohhh my god it’s like a horror movie,” Alphys whispered.

“Can you go through this?” he said.

“D-Did you ask her who sh-she saw?!” Alphys said.

“She didn’t say. Couldn’t remember,” he said. “Why are you whisperin’?”

“I dunno!!!” She bit her lip and fast forwarded through the video. “She’s okay though, right? You said she’s okay?”

“Yeah, fine,” he repeated.

The strange visual errors lasted for a long time. Alphys started sweating, pressing down harder on the fast-forward button as if that would somehow make it go faster. The recording lasted for about an hour. When the picture finally came back, Frisk was sitting up against the door with a thin black blanket over her. Sans’s eyes went wide. There had been a blanket. Why had he forgotten? But, at least whoever had been there had cared enough to bring her something warm. 

Within a few seconds, they saw her stir and answer her phone. Just a minute later, Sans appeared and picked her up.

“Aww,” Alphys cooed.

“So, how long was that, Doc?” Sans asked. “An hour?”

“An hour and s-seven, I think,” she said quickly. “She doesn’t remember a-any of that?”

Sans shook his head. 

“Th-Think it was Asriel?” Alphys wondered quietly.

Sans looked thoughtful, but kept his eyes on the screen. “Nah.”

“R-Really?” she said.

“Yeah,” he said. “Tell me something. Where do you think that blanket came from?”

“What blanket?” Alphys asked with a frown. 

Sans’s brow furrowed slightly. “Right. Gimme some paper. Pen, too. Probably can’t look away from this for long.”

Alphys looked confused, but did as he asked. He waved a hand at her and she passed him a book and put her chair behind him. He sat and folded one leg so he could put the book on it as a makeshift table. He never looked away from the screen, and then began to draw.

It wasn’t good, not by anyone’s standards, but he marked out the scene— circled the blanket and wrote beside it, “_there is a blanket, black. you won’t remember ever seeing it. it means someone gave it to Frisk in her missing time.”_

Alphys looked down, frowned, and then looked back up at the screen. “B-But… I could’ve sworn there wasn’t—“

“I know. When we look away, we’ll forget it,” he said.

“E-Even y-you?” she said. 

He nodded. He sighed and then finally broke his gaze away from the screen. He looked down at his picture and frowned. “So this is what I saw. Okay.”

“I-I d-don’t want to s-stop looking,” she muttered.

“At what?” he asked.

“Y-You said, i-if I stop looking a-at the blanket, I’ll forget it,” she said. “I mean, it’s just a d-dumb blanket, for god’s sake, b-but the thought of that really freaks me out.”

“What blanket?” he asked.

“St-Stop joking, this is freaky!” she said.

Sans tilted his head. He added a note onto his sheet. “_Doc has it on video if i need more ref.” _He put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. “It’s fine. I wrote it down. Save this clip, huh?”

Alphys flinched, but she looked away and took a breath. She rubbed her forehead. “Wait, what was I worried about?”

Sans showed her his sheet. She squinted at it.

“No way,” she muttered.

“Just trust me,” he said. “Not the first time I’ve seen junk like this.”

Alphys rubbed her eyelids and groaned with confusion.

“D-Do you just d-deal with this stuff all the time?” she asked.

He shrugged. She sighed and turned the video off. She held back for a moment, but then gave him a tight hug. He patted her back. She was shaking. She took a deep breath, then pulled away. 

“I, um… Th-Thanks,” she said.

He grinned and shrugged. She smiled tiredly, and puffed out another sigh. 

“O-Okay. Okay. W-We’ll… We’ll figure th-this out, t-too. Y-You really don’t think it’s Asriel?”

“Welp. He’s a pain in the _grass_, but I’d put him closer to a _forget-me-not_, actually,” he said with a wink.

“Oh m-my god.” Alphys laughed quietly. “Were you saving that one?”

“Nah. Got a million of ‘em,” he said. “It’s waitin’ to use them that’s the most _pun_-ishing.”

“Pffft. That’s terrible,” Alphys said, but she smiled anyway. “S-So, um… I’m, um, outta ideas.”

“Same.” He shrugged. “Oh well. We’ll deal. Hey. Also. Papyrus says you should come over, though. So, uh, grab Undyne later and come over?”

“Oh! O-Oh yeah, s-sure!” she said. “H-Hey, um, since you’re here, do, um…? Do you think we c-could maybe, um…? G-Go through s-some of what Frisk saw?”

“Mind if we do it later?” he asked. “Suddenly I really need a nap.”

“Oh. Oh r-right, of course,” Alphys said quickly. “I’ll, um… I’ll see you l-later, then. When it’s a b-bit later. I mean… Ugh. You know what I m-mean.”

“Cool,” he said. “See ya.”

He vanished before her eyes. She stared blankly for a few seconds and was about to go back to her ramen, only to have him reappear.

“Sorry. Forgot,” he said. “I got in my head that, for those dudes in the basement, you had to teach a few of ‘em to read again?”

“Um… Uh, y-y-yeah?” she stammered.

“You got some books or somethin’ about that I can borrow?”

Alphys frowned slightly, but she nodded. She wandered upstairs to get them, but when she turned back from her bookshelf, he was already behind her. She yelped. He grinned apologetically, and she handed him a few, thin books, obviously designed for young children.

“Thanks a million,” he said.

He disappeared before she could ask what they were for. She pouted and checked her phone for the time. Six-something. Forget the ramen. Time for bed.


	24. The Reprieve

Sans could hear Papyrus muttering to himself. Wasn’t sure where he was for a moment. Supposed that wasn’t totally unusual. He opened his eyes slowly. Didn’t expect to see sky this time, that was good. 

He was on the sofa. Of course he was. He blinked groggily as he saw Papyrus putting on his boots near the door. He was wearing that battle body outfit again. Looked pretty cool. 

“Bro, what’re you doin’?” he asked groggily. 

“Good morning, lazybones!” he said. “I am going out to recalibrate my puzzles!”

“…Why?”

“Well, I was chatting with Undyne on the UnderNet,” he said, “and she suggested, maybe I should attempt to make some of them for a certain grumpy flower!”

“Why?” he asked again.

“Well, it would be a good challenge, for one! As you know, I am always up for anything new and interesting like that,” he said. “And good practice, for another. Maybe even for both of us! Who knows, he may even enjoy them if he gets involved. I mean, who can resist a good switch-and-spikes puzzle?!”

“Fair point,” Sans said groggily. “Have a good time, bro.”

Papyrus grinned and stuck his thumb up. “Try not to nap too long, brother. I will be back before you know it!”

Sans tried hard to keep his eyes open. Couldn’t really. Felt something shift, suddenly realized he couldn’t really move one of his arms. When he looked, he realized Frisk had cuddled up to his chest at some point. She was out like a light. His soul glowed gently through his t-shirt along with hers. It was kind of nice. Reminded him a lot of when Papyrus was a kid. Hanging out on lazy days when that little ball of energy finally tired out and crashed into his arms to rest. Something about that made him happy. He hugged her gently and went back to sleep.

When he finally got up and made himself sit upright, Frisk was clinging and he was forced to bring her with him. She flopped over onto his legs almost right away when he let her go. He snickered. He put her in the corner of the sofa with a pillow behind her and she stayed up, mostly. He rubbed his eye sockets and then got up to make some tea.

By the time he got back, Frisk was awake, blinking hard as if her eyelids were sticky.

“Hey, kid,” he said. “Sleep okay?”

She nodded. He backed up into the kitchen and made her a mug of cocoa. 

“Weird dreams again,” she said.

“Should write ‘em down,” he said.

“Really? Why?” she asked.

“When I was your age,” he said, coming back to sit with her and give her the mug, “I started havin’ dreams that seemed like weird crazy crap, until some of ‘em started comin’ true. Part of the determination thing, I think.”

“Ooh, right. Okay,” she said. “Sure. I’ll try to remember that.”

“Good kid.” He sipped his tea. “Might be nothin’, though, you never know.”

She nodded, drank some hot chocolate, and looked thoughtful.

“Oh. Right. Speakin’ of weird memory crap,” he said, “you remember who met you yesterday at the Ruins yet?”

Frisk looked back at him blankly. “Met me? No one met me. The only person I saw there was you.” She frowned worriedly. “Why, you found something out?”

“Checked in with Alphys,” he said. “She said she records all the junk on the camera systems. So, since you basically passed out or somethin’, I figured there must be somethin’ weird. And then there was that blanket. You won’t remember it. I don’t either, I just made notes about it, but there was a blanket there that you forget as soon as you’re not looking at it.”

“What?” Frisk laughed. “That’s weird! And so… pointless. Why?”

“Dunno. Anyway, we watched the stuff, but here’s the weird thing,” he said, “we see you turn away from the door, then kinda look like you see someone you know, maybe. You wave, then the footage messes up. Stays like that for about an hour before I show up.”

Frisk frowned. “I… w-waved at someone? I don’t remember that at all.”

“Alphys thought it might be Asriel,” he said.

Frisk shook her head. “No, no, he’s never had powers like that.”

“Yeah, that’s what I figured. Anyway. Let me know if anything comes back to you.”

She nodded, and she laughed a little. “Freaky.”

“Dude, I know, it was like one of those found-footage horror movies when we watched it,” he said, though he was grinning a little. “Maybe you got a ghost followin’ you.”

“Maybe,” she said, snickering a little. “Oh well. As long as it’s not gonna mess with getting Az a soul, then I guess I’ll just deal?”

“As long as you don’t keep faintin’ in the snow,” he said.

\- - -

Moving the final switch into place, Papyrus stepped back and observed his handiwork with pride. He had put up some new snow piles and flipped some spikes, and all in all, the thought his newest puzzle was pretty clever. It was like one he had showed Frisk in the prototype, but she had suggested a few changes and he implemented them gladly. 

He thought he heard his name being called and he turned to look over his shoulder. His face lit up at the sight of Sans and Frisk, who seemed to have come from nowhere to join him. His little sister looked so much better than she had the day before. He beamed when Frisk ran up to him and wrapped her in his arms right away.

“I’m so happy to see you both! Check this out! Another masterfully crafted puzzle by the great Papyrus.”

“Lookin’ good, bro,” Sans said.

“Now— I know, I know— it compels you to solve it, but we need to leave it, just in case,” he insisted.

“Dang,” Frisk said.

“I know! I’m so sorry! I know how much you love my puzzles,” he said. “But! I hope you will take comfort in knowing that you helped design this one!”

“That’s so great!” Frisk said brightly. “Hey, can I come with you next time you set some up?”

“Oh. My. God. Yes,” he said.

“So, news,” Sans said. “Paps, I told Alph you wanted her to come over, so she is, with Undyne and stuff.”

“Ooh! Exciting!” he said. “Wait, you decided to have another break day?!”

“Welp. Seems like Alphys didn’t take one,” he said. “Made some progress yesterday, though, so…”

“Frisk, is that okay? Can we do that?” Papyrus asked.

“Alphys is the maths person,” she said. “And I bet she was up all night working to get us somewhere. So it’d be nice for her, I think.”

“Then it’s okay with me, too!” he asserted. 

  * \- -

Hotland was a long way from Snowdin, and Sans was definitely not confident trying to teleport anyone other than Frisk. Alphys decided, instead, to opt for the boat of the riverperson that ventured all throughout the underground and seemed to turn up whenever they were needed. Undyne got word and was heading over too, but straight from Waterfall.

In his room, wanting to impress, Papyrus laid out some of the clothes he decided were the absolute coolest. He cupped his chin and frowned thoughtfully, and then ran off and snatched Frisk from whatever she was doing and put her in front of the bed.

“Quick, Frisk, you must assist me!” he said. “Which of these screams cool the most loudly? And I mean, very loudly, so much so that it makes your skull rattle, that is how loud it must scream to you.”

“Bro, it’s all cool,” she said, clearly trying not to laugh.

“Yes, obviously, but since everything I pick is cool, it all appears equally cool to me. You, as an outside not-Papyrus, who happens to be in semi-unique position of having judgement I trust almost as much as my own, could absolutely tell me which one you think looks the coolest!” He said brightly. “Sooo…What do you think?”

Frisk looked thoughtful. She stood on her toes to look at all the things he had neatly spread out over the bed. She handed him his skull and crossbones t-shirt and some grey slacks, and then hurried to the closet and pulled out a faded, zip up brown sweatshirt that had a patch on one of the elbows.

“Really?! That?” he asked. “It’s so old, though.”

“It’s cool!” she said. “And also if you go to pick Alphys up in just a t-shirt, she’s gonna freak out because of how cold it is here. And then you’re gonna have to have that whole talk about how temperatures don’t bother skeletons as much, especially the cold, and blah blah blah.”

“Right, right, she’s from Hotland. Land of the awful puzzles and ground that is literally melting,” he said. “And such sweat, ugh! Okay! I will trust you! Thank you, Frisk!”

She stuck her thumb up and then went back downstairs to resume doing absolutely nothing on the sofa with Sans. When Papyrus came down, he jumped in front of the TV and swung his scarf around his neck and stood up tall, puffing his chest out.

“So?! Cool?!”

“So cool, bro,” Sans said.

Frisk stuck both thumbs up. Papyrus grinned, and then picked Sans up off the couch.

“Yooou are coming with me to get Alphys, yes?”

“For real?” he said.

“Yes. That riverperson really creeps me out,” he said.

“Really? Why?” Frisk asked.

“Because sometimes their boat is a boat and sometimes it is a cat and it is freakish because cats don’t even like water!” he said.

“I thought it was a dog,” Frisk said.

“What’s the difference?!” Papyrus squawked.

“Alright, alright,” Sans said. “Kiddo, you, uh, wanna wait for Undyne?”

“Gotcha,” she said.

They left pretty quickly, and suddenly the house was dead silent. Frisk lay down and stretched. She actually felt pretty cozy. The silence didn’t really ring in her ears so much. She took her phone out of her pocket and held it up. She called Toriel. Once more, there was no answer. She pouted.

She put her arm over her eyes and relaxed a little. The second her mind wandered, it walked straight into Sans’s memories. Just scattered little bits of feelings, some sort of old frustration as he worked on some equations under ugly bright lights, the feeling of cool wind through his bones that he sort of enjoyed. Unfocussed. Stream of consciousness, maybe. Felt like her own, in a way.

She heard a heavy knock on the door— snapped her out of it. She hurriedly got up and opened it to find Undyne grinning back at her. No coat, but a backpack over one shoulder. 

“Hey, squirt!” she said. “Good to see you! How you feelin’?”

“Great!” Frisk said, and she hugged her tight. “How about you?”

Undyne beamed and lifted her right up and squished her. “Dude, everything is… It’s great. I’m super hyped,” she said, coming in and kicking the door closed. “Kid, I gotta thank you!”

“Thank me?” Frisk repeated.

“Yeah! I mean… You went super nuts getting me these memories, right?” she said. “I know it wasn’t easy. But now I got all you guys back! And Alphys, dude, it’s… It’s been really nice.”

Frisk beamed. “I’m so happy to hear that!”

Undyne plopped Frisk down onto the floor. “Now where are those other dudes?”

“Picking up Alphys,” she said. “I don’t think she’s ever actually been to our house in any time she’d remember.”

“Gotcha. Hey, these guys been taking care of you okay?” Undyne said. “At least you got a change of clothes, that’s good. Lazy Bones. Sans’s right?”

“Yeah!” she said.

“They’re not keeping you in the garage, though, right?!” Undyne said.

Frisk grinned, and then pointed at Papyrus’s door. “Papyrus said we could share.”

“Hah! Last time I was here I—” Undyne’s eye went wide and her grin turned embarrassed. “Oh right. Sorry, squirt.”

“No problem,” Frisk said with a laugh. “I set myself up for the last two of those anyway.”

“Pffft, good job, you dork,” she said. “But, hey! I actually brought something that I think you might appreciate!”

Frisk tilted her head and Undyne stuck her arm in her bag. 

“This is one thing those other guys won’t understand,” she said, “but here!”

She held out a brush— dark purple, and in pretty good shape. Frisk took it with surprise.

“Wow, thanks!” she said. 

Undyne stuck her thumb up and Frisk tried, a bit awkwardly, to run the brush through her hair. The big monster snickered and picked her up.

“Hang on, let me,” she said. She took the couch and plopped the girl in her lap, and then started to brush her hair for her. 

Frisk instantly understood the appeal. 

“So, you’re likin’ it here?” Undyne asked.

“Yeah, a ton,” she said. “After the barrier went down, we actually stayed here mostly until our stuff on the outside was built. I got really used to it. It’s kind of nice being back.”

“That’s good.” Undyne nodded. “So, just livin’ with monsters, you’re all good with it.”

“Mhmm!” 

“That’s good, too,” she said. “Hey, tell me something. How’d you end up with Sans and Papyrus anyway?”

“Oh! Well, my first time here, Sans was the first monster I met after I came outta the Ruins, and he started helping me and stuff, and I just thought he was great,” she said. “And then Papyrus, he was trying super hard to catch me but really he wanted to be friends, that was pretty obvious pretty fast. And me, I was… I was kind of… lonely. Really lonely, actually. So when Papyrus invited me to stay, I really wanted to, and… I’m not sure, it just kinda happened.”

“Hah. Wow,” Undyne said. “So, was that the first time?”

Frisk nodded.

“But Papyrus wouldn’t have remembered the other times, right?” she asked.

“He didn’t really, but he knew… something. I’m not sure,” she said. “But as soon as we started hanging out again, it was like nothing had changed. We were all just a family, it was super nice.”

“And Sans?” Undyne asked. “Was that weird that he knew?”

“No, he told me about the time travel thing the first time, so whenever it got to be a little too much for me, I could go talk to him.” Frisk smiled to herself. She looked a little thoughtful. “He didn’t show it, but he was a bit iffy at first, you know, ‘cause of what he’d been through. But I kinda wore him down, and he really pulled through for me when things got bad at the end, before I did my first big reset. He told me that this was my home now. It really meant a lot to me. The first time he actually introduced me to someone as _his_ kid… I just totally lost it, it was super embarrassing.” She laughed. “I didn’t have anyone before, but with him and Papyrus, I liked them so much, and they actually felt the same way? It was like the best thing in the world. And then when we got my mom to come stay with us, too, it was perfect.”

“Hah! Wow, you’re such a sap,” Undyne said, grinning widely. “That’s really nice! I’m happy for you, kiddo. But, weird, though, right? I mean, they don’t really know a lot about humans, do they?”

“Yeah,” Frisk said with a snicker. “That’s okay.”

“Y’know, I think somewhere between all of us, we got enough know-how to help a human kid like you out,” Undyne said “Skeletons are good for emotional support, I can help make you buff and deal with you hair; Alphys can totally help with any nerd stuff you gotta do. And, uh, your mom, right? She can do all the mom stuff! Got it covered!”

“Thanks,” she said. Her shoulders were starting to sag. “That’s really nice of you”

“Dunno if it totally replaces human help, but… Well, actually, you actually never mentioned any human people, did you?”

“Nope, probably not, ‘cause I don’t know many,” Frisk said with a laugh.

“So the truth is, you’re pretty clueless about humans, too?” Undyne asked with a laugh. “Sheesh, kid. What were you, a hermit or somethin’?”

“Heh, yeah, kinda,” Frisk said.

Undyne gently held the kid’s head still as she brushed, then smoothed the hair with her hand a little. “Hm.”

“Something wrong?” Frisk asked.

“Hm? Oh, no no. Just, your hair. It’s not totally what I expected. It’s nice, though,” she said. “Different.”

“Really? How?” she asked curiously.

“Take a look.” Undyne stopped brushing and let down her own hair, and then leaned closer. “Feel.”

Frisk did, and was surprised. Undyne’s was smoother; seemed to catch the light in the same way her scales sometimes did, but wasn't as soft as human hair, and the strands were a little thicker.

“Wow, cool,” Frisk said.

Undyne nodded, swooped her hair from her face with her claws, and then went back to brushing. 

Frisk was almost falling asleep when Undyne let out a loud squawking noise.

“What, what?!” Frisk squeaked.

“Kid, what the hell is this on your back?!” she asked.

Frisk looked back over her shoulder with confusion. Before she could say a word, Undyne pulled the loose collar of her shirt to expose her shoulder. She was surprisingly gentle when Frisk felt her fingers on her skin near her right shoulder blade.

“My god, how’d you do this?” she asked.

“Do what?” Frisk asked.

“You have a huge fresh scar back here,” Undyne said. 

“I do?” Frisk couldn’t help the look of surprise on her face. “Seriously?”

Undyne nodded and grimaced, and then pressed her fingers in a little more firmly. Frisk felt a numbing tingle and energy enter her body. 

“Is that okay? That doesn’t hurt, does it?” Undyne demanded.

“No, it’s fine,” she said.

Undyne gritted her teeth. She was quiet for what felt like quite a while until she threw up her hands and growled. “I suck,” she announced. “Sorry, kid, my healing ain’t that good. Ugh.”

“Um… That’s okay,” she said. “If it’s a scar, it’s just kinda there, I think.” She turned and showed her hands. 

Undyne looked confused, ear-fins pinning back, and took the kid’s tiny hands to look.Her palms were accented by faint lines.

“See, those marks, right?” Frisk said. “They closed up just a day, maybe, before my mom got to me to heal the ones that hadn’t yet. And she’s a boss monster, even.”

Undyne rubbed her thumbs over the kid’s palms gently, and then turned her hands around. The backs weren’t as bad, but there were little scuffs there, too. Most were almost invisible, except the one that crept over the side her right hand that had, for some reason, healed a little lighter than her warm, brown skin tone. 

“Okay, but,” Undyne leaned sideways as if to look over the kid’s shoulder skeptically, “how did you get that one?”

Frisk shrugged. “What’s it look like?” she asked. “Maybe it’s older than it looks?”

“It’s just a circle,” Undyne said.

Frisk frowned and _hmmed_ to herself, but she couldn’t recall where she might have gotten something like that. She shrugged again. Undyne snorted and rubbed her head.

“Well. Okay. If you’re not worried, I won’t worry either!” she said. “But! You should probably let Sans check it.”

Frisk stuck her thumbs up. Undyne affectionately mussed up her hair, but then laughed to herself.

“Undid it.” She ran the brush through Frisk’s hair a few more times, and then handed it to her. “You can keep it!”

“Oh, wow, thank you! That’s super nice of you.” Frisk grinned wide. “You’re really just a big softie, aren’t you?”

“HAH! Don’t you go spreadin’ that around,” Undyne said, “OR I’M DUNKIN’ YOU RIGHT IN THE RIVER!”

“I won’t say a thing!” Frisk said quickly.

\- - -

When the others came back with a burst of cold air, Papyrus was carrying some brown takeout bags and Sans and Alphys both had their arms full of cups.

“Oh, hey guys!” Undyne was immediately up to take the cups from Alphys to put on the table. “Fooood?”

“Absolutely, but you may find it completely awful,” Papyrus warned as he plopped the bags down with a strong hint of distain.

“No way, it’s great,” Sans said. “Kiddo, I got you… uh…” He opened the lid of one cups, and then handed her the other one when she came to meet him.

“Ooh, thanks!” she said, and she grinned. “You put ketchup in the other one, didn’t you?”

He grinned and shrugged

“W-Wait a second, you KEPT the one with the ketchup in it?!” Alphys asked shrilly. “I thought that was a joke!”

“Why would that be a joke? Ketchup is delicious,” he said.

“W-Well, yeah, on an omurice or something, but n-not in i-ice cream!!” Alphys protested.

Sans grinned. “Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it,” he said, offering to to her.

She recoiled. He laughed.

They sat around to eat— except Papyrus, who seemed perfectly comfortable with that— and talk turned to anime. Someone mentioned _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie_, didn’t really matter who, because Alphys could talk about it for hours and hours. Dark circles under her eyes told that she hadn’t slept a lot, but she seemed as alert as ever as soon as she got going. The second she mentioned her figurines, Papyrus absolutely lit up and dragged her upstairs to show her his collection.

Undyne snickered to herself and chomped down the third of the four burgers they had brought for her. “This is damn good. Remind me to come back here. Dig these burgs!”

“Mmhm, it’s my favourite!” Frisk said brightly.

“Thatta kid,” Sans said.

“By the way, Sans, the squirt’s got a big scar thing on her back,” Undyne said. “Might be new. Not sure. You wanna take a look?”

“It might be old,” Frisk said, “I can’t see it. I got a couple big ones back there, no biggie.”

“Mmkay.” He put his food down, wiped his hands on his jacket and then turned her back to him. “What am I lookin’ at?”

Undyne came over, shifted the kid’s loose shirt and pointed out the mark. Sans’s eyes went wide.

“Oh. Jeez. Nope. That’s new,” he said. “Kid, I’mma poke around it, okay?”

“Sure,” she said. 

She shivered when his cool finger bones, still frosty from the milkshake cup, touched her, and he laughed.

“Yeah, that’s mostly why I warned ya,” he said. “Hm. Weird. Definitely new, though.”

“And it’s just a circle?” Frisk asked with a confused frown.

“It’s, uh… Huh.” He traced it with the tip of his finger and then drew back, rubbing the back of his skull. He shot Undyne an embarrassed grin. “I, uh, don’t actually have a lotta experience with skin injuries?”

“I mean, it can’t be that bad, though, right?” Frisk said. “It doesn’t hurt.”

“Don’t you know anything?” Undyne asked, frowning at Sans. “Dude, you were in her head, right? And she’s a human, so—”

“She’s eleven.”

“Wassat mean?” Frisk said.

“You’re, uh, not exactly a medical expert, is all,” Sans said. “Doesn’t look like a cut. Doesn’t look like when you burned your hand either.”

“It’s a magic burn!”

They looked over to the stairs, where Alphys and Papyrus were just coming down, and Alphys hurriedly scampered over and squinted, adjusted her glasses, and nodded. 

“Y-Yeah! It’s a magic burn. Look, see?” She rolled up her sleeve to show a sort of half-moon scar on her upper arm. “I have a few a l-lot like it. It’s a bad reaction t-to strong magic. I got this during an experiment that I m-messed up a little. What happened, Frisk?”

Frisk shrugged. Papyrus gasped and hurriedly ran over and lifted her into his lap as he sat on the sofa, pressing his fingers and magic into her skin around the mark.

“I’ve got you covered, Frisk! But why didn’t you say anything?!”

“Didn’t notice, sorry!” she said.

“How?!” he yelped.

She shrugged. Sans frowned to himself and looked thoughtful, and then cast an inquisitive glance at Alphys.

“Missing time?” he suggested. 

Alphys’s eyes went wide. “Ooh, maybe, yeah! That d-disturbance could’ve been—!”

“What’re you nerds talkin’ about?” Undyne said.

“I’ll sh-show you, um… I’ll show you b-back at the lab,” Alphys said. “But are…? Are you sure it’s new?”

“Didn’t have it before we did the dragon thing,” Sans said with a shrug.

“Why isn’t it healing?” Papyrus asked shrilly, and he made his magic glow more insistently. “U-Usually this works. Maybe if I just—!”

“It’s a scar, bro, chill,” Sans said. “We’re not good at patchin’ those.”

“Maybe no one else is, but I’m positive that I c-can—!”

“Guys,” Frisk said. She turned to look at them, readjusted her sleeve over her shoulder and smiled. “Thanks for worrying. You guys are the best but, um, this isn’t a big deal. It’s not my first big scar. It might be kinda weird, but it doesn’t even hurt or anything. And if we just have you guys poke my back for an hour, I’m totally gonna fall right back to sleep.”

“Fair enough,” Sans said.

“But! B-But!!!” Papyrus pouted and grabbed her shoulders. “I don’t want you to have big scars! I should be able to fix it! I should be strong enough to fix it!! Right?!”

“Uhhh…” Alphys looked at Sans for help. “W-Well, um, P-Papyrus, sometimes things—”

“HEY!” Undyne shouted loudly, punching the wall. “I KNOW! Papyrus!!! Don’t worry, dude, I know EXACTLY what’ll cheer you up!”

Papyrus moped. “What?”

“TRAINING!” Undyne yelled.

The skeleton stared at her for a moment, but then as she started to grin, he did too. Papyrus put a hand to his chest. “Yes! Of course! No matter what, I still can’t shirk my training! That’ll make my magic stronger for sure! Thank you, Undyne!”

“Yeeeah, c’mon, dweeb!” She grabbed his hands and raced right out the door. 

Frisk grinned. “Let’s go watch!”

“B-But it’s so cold!!” Alphys stammered.

Sans shrugged, but he tossed his jacket over her. Her eyes went wide.

“Wh-What about you?!” she demanded.

“This is fine,” he said. 

Alphys blushed and bundled herself up.

Outside, they shoved together a small mound of snow, like a bench, to sit on to watch as Undyne and Papyrus squared off in the bluster of the wind and cold flakes. Alphys had to hide her hands in the sleeves, and she shivered under the fuzzy hood. Sans, on the other hand, picked up some old hoodie and seemed content to sit there, holding Frisk, without even zipping the thing up.

“Okay, so, building on last time,” Undyne was saying as she tied her hair back, “the key to a good offence is SMASHING EVERYTHING IN YOUR PATH!!! Got it? It’s a lot like tomato sauce. You know those vegetables in the pan?!”

“Yes, very well!” Papyrus said.

“YOU GOTTA SMASH ‘EM TO PULP!” she said. “And that’s a good offence. SO! What we’re going to do today is ICE BOULDERS. And maybe some REAL BOULDERS!!! Uh, if I can find one.”

Papyrus’s eyes seemed to shine. “Wowie!” He grinned and frowned with determination. “Alright, Captain, just tell me when!”

Undyne grinned. She stooped to pick up an armful of snow and crushed it so hard in her arms that, somehow, it crystallized. “READY?! NGGAAAAAAH HERE IT COMES!”

They watched as Undyne hurled the first boulder, then the second, and the third. Papyrus’s magic struck them back; pummelled them to glittering powder. Undyne nodded approvingly and began again.

“W-Wow! P-Papyrus is r-really good,” Alphys said, excited despite her shivering. “I wonder why she said h-he couldn’t be a guard…”

“Too friendly,” Frisk said with a grin. She clapped when Papyrus batted one of the boulders into the air and shattered it high above them, making little bits fall like snow.

Frisk thought she heard footsteps— she turned to look over her shoulder and saw Kid coming up the road around their house. Her face lit up.“Kid! Heya!”

“Frisk!” He ran up with a grin and she slipped out of Sans’s lap to give him a hug. “How you been? What’s going on over here?”

“Bro’s just doing a training thing,” she said. “Wanna watch?”

“Well, I was just kinda sneaking to Waterfall to see…” His words stalled as Frisk grinned and jerked her thumb over her shoulder. Kid followed the line of her finger and he gawked. “W-Wait. Oh my god, is that… Undyne?!”

“Yeah! You wanna meet her after?” Frisk asked.

Kid’s eyes glimmered bright. His jaw dropped and he nodded. Frisk grinned and she waved him over to sit with them.

She scootched back on Sans’s lap and Kid, at Frisk’s insistence, slipped in between them and Alphys.

“H-Hello,” Alphys said bashfully.

“Hi!” he said.

“Kid, this is Alphys,” Frisk said.

Kid’s eyes went wide. “Oh man, no way!!!” he said. “You’re Alphys!? I follow you on UnderNet! Your posts are the best!”

Alphys’s cheeks flushed right away. “O-Oh r-really? W-Wow, thank you. Wh-What’s your username?”

“TridentKid01,” he said.

“Oh! I know y-you!” Alphys said with a smile. “Th-Thanks for liking my posts.”

“TridentKid01?” Frisk repeated, pulling out her phone. “Ooh, can we add each other? I’m DisasterBlaster.”

“Yeah!!” Kid took his phone from his pocket with one foot and then typed in it quickly with the other. He jumped when there was a huge crash and they looked up to see Papyrus shattering another ice boulder with a wave of magic bones. Kid gawked. “Wait, so that’s your brother?!”

“Yup! That’s Papyrus!” she said.

“Whoa…” Kid began to grin. “He’s so cool.”

“I like this kid,” Sans said.

Papyrus was really perking up, gaining confidence with every boulder he smashed. Undyne built up speed and eventually switched to a relentless barrage of smaller snowballs, which went on for almost an hour before Papyrus slipped up and was half buried in an avalanche of lightning fast snow.

“Alright, good hustle!” Undyne said, clapping her hands. “Let’s call it. Paps, you did great.”

Papyrus stuck his thumb up from the snow pile. Frisk bounded over right away and grabbed his arms to help him up. He let out a loud _phew_ and bonked the side of his skull to knock some snow out of his eye socket. 

“Oof! I think one of those had a twig in it! Frisk, if you wouldn’t mind?” He leaned down and Frisk plucked it out for him right away. He hugged her tightly. “Nyeh heh heh! Thank you so much!”

“Of course, bro!” she said.

“Hah! Sorry!” Undyne said. “I gotta stop getting junk stuck in your heads.”

“Yeah. Look, there’s a list,” Sans said, counting on his fingers. “Songs, dumb ideas, and lunch plans are good. Sticks, ice, and hot teabags, bad.”

“Okay, okay, okay!” Undyne laughed. She grabbed Papyrus by the scruff of his sweatshirt and pulled him to his feet. 

“Thank you, Undyne!” he said brightly. “That was really quite fun. So how’d I do? Excellent, right?”

“Dude.” She smacked his shoulder, hard. “Super great. And you can only get better from here. What’d I tell ya, you’re my best student!”

Papyrus made a pleased, high-pitched squealing noise and his cheekbones flushed. 

Alphys snickered and clapped, and Undyne wandered over, grinning, and stretched her arms out as Frisk and the skeletons started getting into some snowball-related shenanigans behind her. Only then did she notice the monster kid that was essentially a quivering, watery-eyed mess behind the snow bench. She raised an eyebrow and nodded at him.

“What’s with that kid?” she asked.

“Oh! Th-That’s Kid, he c-came to watch,” Alphys said brightly, and she looked back over her shoulder at him. “You’re Frisk’s friend, right?”

Kid nodded. Undyne smiled.

“Oh! Cool!” She peeked over and her eye went wide. “Heeeyyyy, I know you!! You were the kid on the boardwalks! Hah! Oh jeez, sorry to scare you back there, squirt!”

Kid gawked. “Ohmigosh. Ohmigosh. Um… H-Hi! Um… Th-That’s fine! Um…” His scales went bright red. “I can’t believe you’re talking to me, oh my god.”

Undyne smiled awkwardly. “Hey, it’s no big deal.”

“UNDYNE! He’s your biggest fan!” Frisk called from farther down the road, before she got knocked over by what amounted to an armful of snow hurled by Sans’s magic.

“My… biggest fan?” Undyne repeated.

Kid looked like he could just about melt, and Undyne grinned and laughed.

“That’s hilarious, dude!” she said, and she lifted him up to put him back on the snow bench. “Squirt, you don’t need to be so shy! If you’re Frisk’s pal, you’re my pal, too, okay?!”

“R-R-Really?!” he squeaked shrilly.

“Yeah! To be honest,” Undyne said, grinning even wider, “I actually think you’re pretty cool!”

“Me…?” Kid’s eyes practically bulged out of his face. “Me?!”

“Well, yeah!” she said. “Look, if you really think I’m so cool, that must’ve been super hard to stand up to me, huh? Back there on the bridge? And I mean, I was totally wrong, too, but hell, I’m still the Captain of the Guard, right? So for a little kid like you to decide to stick up for your friend against me? That’s REALLY cool, honestly.”

Kid gawked. 

“Wow, th-that’s true?” Alphys said. “That is really b-brave! St-Standing up to your h-hero like that?! You’re really s-something. I d-don’t think I could do something like that.”

Kid blushed. Undyne ruffled his headspines and grinned. 

“Hey! If you want, add me on UnderNet, alright? StrongFish98! Got it?”

“Y-Yeah! Wow… Wow!” He went to take out his phone again, but it rang almost immediately.

Frisk staggered up, covered in snow powder, and flopped over the bench beside him. He quickly answered his phone.

“Hello! Oh! Y-Yeah, okay, sorry, I’ll…! Oh man, you won’t believe who I—! Okay. Okay, I’ll be there in just a minute.” He smiled bashfully after he hung up. “S-Sorry, that’s my mom, I gotta go.”

“Aw,” Frisk said. “Well, come hang out again sometime!”

“Yeah!” Undyne said brightly. “Hey, you ever lookin’ to get buff, just hit me up!”

“Okay! Yeah, I will!” 

Frisk sat up and gave him a hug before he left.

“Heh. Nice kid,” Undyne said, and she grinned and ruffled Frisk’s hair. “Dude, you got wrecked.”

“I know, right?!” she said. Her soul seized with blue and she yelped and was whisked back down the road.

“What, you think I’m done with you?” Sans asked.

“You’re cheating!” she protested.

“What else is new?”

“Sans!! You can’t just keep magicking Frisk around, or else—!” He was cut off as Sans tossed Frisk at him and he yelped and caught her, though fell onto his back. “SANS! FRISK IS NOT A SNOWBALL.”

Sans grinned and shrugged. Frisk scrambled up and tackled him into a snowbank. The two of them all but disappeared in a pomf of powdered snow. Papyrus jumped to his feet and raced over, but as soon as he looked down for them, he scowled and put his hands on his hips.

“You two, I swear!!! Sans you can’t nap there!!!”

“Why not?”

“I do not want to have to dethaw the two of you, now let’s go back in!!! Frisk, you must be freezing!!!” He scooped one of them up over each shoulder and marched back towards the house.

“Come on, Doctor, Undyne, let’s go!” he said brightly. “Inside!” 

“Oof, gladly,” Alphys said quickly.

\- - -

Frisk took over the kitchen to make hot chocolate for everyone as they warmed up, especially Alphys. She stole a quick peek out the window, wondering if Asriel was checking in. She didn’t see any sign of him, but she made him some, too, just in case. Used the same white mug with the red heart on it that she and Papyrus had fixed and snuck it out beside the mailboxes.

When she came back in, she saw that Alphys was sitting with Undyne, cozied in her lap, still smothered in Sans’s warm coat, drinking deeply from the tall mug of hot chocolate. Sans was nowhere to be seen, but she could hear Papyrus rushing around his room upstairs.

“F-Frisk! This was a good idea!” Alphys said. “H-Hey, could you come here for a s-sec?”

Frisk nodded and scampered over, and Alphys pointed to her cheek bashfully.

“C-Could I…?”

Frisk nodded and Alphys gently touched her skin where those markings lit up. She closed her eyes, and Undyne leaned around her shoulder.

“Gettin’ a memory hit?”

“Mm… Um. S-Sort of.” Alphys frowned slightly. “B-But… that’s not the p-point, um… Hmm.” She pulled back her hand and looked at it, rubbing her fingers together gently. She frowned a little deeper.

“That magic feels… familiar, somehow,” she said. “I think it’s Sans’s.”

“What?! Serious?!” Undyne yelped.

“Yeah, he thinks so, too,” Frisk said.

“Whaaaaaat?! How how how?!” Undyne demanded.

“We dunno,” Frisk said with a shrug.

“Hey, um, Frisk,” Alphys said. “H-How much control do you h-have over it?”

“Um… Doesn’t seem like a lot, really, it mostly kind of reacts to people,” she admitted. “But it seems like… I mean, whatever happened to Mettaton makes me think that just being around it might do something with memories. And some other people, too! L-Like my mom. And Kid, even. But of the people like that, I think Mettaton definitely felt it the most. I dunno why though.”

Alphys looked thoughtful, but she nodded. “Okay, that’s good to know. W-Will you do me a favour? Text me any time something unexpected h-happens with it, okay?”

Frisk nodded. 

Undyne’s eye went wide. “Oh! Right! Alph, you ever figure out what was up with that code stuff on Frisk’s phone?”

“Oh! U-Um… N-No, sorry, I ran out of, um… I ran out of time,” she said. “I didn’t, um—”

“What code?” Frisk asked.

“There was some weird, kinda creepy junk on there before, but it’s probably gone now,” Undyne said, shrugging as Frisk began to scroll through her messages. “I mean, that happened in the stuff you reset, so—”

“Did… Did you send a message back?” Frisk asked, frowning with confusion. She held out the phone.

Undyne took it— she was immediately gawking as she saw the exact message she herself had sent to the unknown person with the corrupted font.

“No way. No frickin’ way,” she said. “That… That got undone! I sent that while you and Sans were a goddamn dragon thing!!!”

“And… And it’s… Oh wow, that’s completely messed up,” Alphys said, taking the phone from her. “It’s… a code? A… a message in… what is that? It’s like just a bunch of messed up pixels or s-something.”

“What d’you mean?” Frisk hopped up on the sofa beside them and frowned at the messages. “No it’s not.”

“What?” Undyne said. “You’re not telling me you can read that. You’re not. Are you?”

“Well, uh, I mean, look, up here is just…” Frisk scrolled up. “…whoever this is telling me to have a good day, then… see, here it just says to be careful in the cold, think I missed that one though. And then a bunch of numbers.”

“Numbers?” Undyne looked at Alphys with a frown, and then back at Frisk. “You… see numbers in that?”

Frisk shrugged and nodded. “Math stuff. Maybe someone accidentally texted me their algebra homework? I’m not sure what it means, but—”

“C-Could you write it a-all out for me?” Alphys asked. “If… If you’re really seeing math in that, then… well, I’d l-love to see it.”

“Yeah, sure,” Frisk said.

She stole some papers from under the sofa and went to copy the stuff out. As Undyne and Alphys muttered quietly to each other, Sans showed up from nowhere and leaned lazily over Frisk’s shoulders.

“Sup?” he asked.

“More mysteries!” she said.

“Oh good.”

“Yeah, love it,” she said with a laugh. “Where’d you go?”

“Upstairs, no biggie,” he said.

“Oh, sorry, did we get snow in your head again?” she asked.

“_Ice _of you to ask, but it’s _snow_ problem,” he said.

Undyne groaned from across the room. He grinned. 

“H-Hey, Sans,” Alphys said, “is your brother okay?”

“Probably.” He picked a twig out of Frisk’s hair and flicked it away.

Frisk finished with her papers and ran them back to Alphys. She looked at them, readjusted her glasses, and then gave the girl a skeptical look.

“This is what y-you read?” she asked.

“Yup, that’s all of it!” she said.

“B-But that looks like…” Alphys shook her head. “Can I k-keep this? A-And, could you, um…? Could you send me those texts?”

“Sure thing!” Frisk said.

Alphys smiled and got up to put it in her handbag, and made as if to take off Sans’s coat.

“Keep it for now, you’re still a little blue,” he joked.

“Th-Thanks,” she said.

“FRIIIISK!!!” Papyrus’s voice suddenly echoed from upstairs. “FRISK CAN YOU COME HERE?!”

“I have been summoned!” Frisk said dramatically, and tossed her phone at Sans. “Can you do the thing?”

Sans stuck his thumb up and flopped over the arm of the sofa.

Frisk scampered upstairs and into the bedroom and found Papyrus standing stiffly near the closet and mirror. “What’s up, Paps?” she asked.

“Erm… I was wondering if you could help me for just a moment?” he asked.

“Of course. Anything,” Frisk said quickly.

He looked embarrassed. He pulled his scarf up to his mouth for a moment, and then sighed. He sat on the bed and then waved her over. “Could you just, um… check my neck? The back of it. D-Don’t tell Sans?”

“Why, what’s wrong?” Frisk asked. 

“Oh, it’s just, I have a bone that slips a little sometimes,” he said as Frisk clambered up onto the bed beside him. “It’s from an accident when I was just a very tiny Papyrus. I just… I know we said no more secrets, but I just don’t want to worry him.” 

He bent forward over his knees and she got in close to take a look.

“False alarm,” she said. She used her thumb to brush out a small sliver of stone, wedged loosely between two of the vertebrae in his neck. “Just a rock!”

He relaxed almost instantly. “OH! Oh! Well, that’s no big deal at all, then!!!” he exclaimed. “You could tell him all about that, not that he’d be interested. Good thing I called you anyway, though. You have such teeny little fingers.”

“I know, right?” she said. “Don’t worry, I gotcha covered!”

Downstairs, Alphys and Sans were discussing something math-sounding that Undyne, slumping half off the sofa, seemed utterly bored by. 

“Hey, punks!” she said. “Come interrupt this, it’s making me dizzy.”

“S-Sorry,” Alphys said with a laugh. “S-Sans, later?”

He stuck his thumbs up and slumped down on the sofa to the point where it looked almost like he might disappear into the back cushions. 

“Oh, come on, brother, you can’t fall asleep right now!!!” Papyrus lifted him up under his arms. “We have guests! We should be good hosts!!!”

Sans shrugged. “Grillby’s, anyone?”

“You just ate!!!” Papyrus protested.

“W-Well, umm…” Alphys stuck her hand up. “I have… m-maybe a thing I’d l-like to try?”

“What?” Undyne asked. “Got more anime?”

“Oh. U-Um, I d-do, actually, but I w-was thinking something else?” she said. “It’s… It’s a… a human thing! L-Like a game, I think, that th-they play at human parties?”

“Is this a party?” Sans said.

Alphys looked at Frisk like she wanted her to fill in the blanks. Instead, the girl’s face remained fairly blank and she shrugged. 

“W-Well, okay, let me just, uh…” She grabbed Undyne’s arm and moved her to a spot on the floor and pointed. “Okay, you sit here, a-and then…”

She put everyone in a circle on the floor. and then sat between Undyne and Papyrus herself. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked a little nervous.

“So, uh, what is this?” Sans asked. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, sittin’ down, great game already, but…”

“It’s a h-human g-game I heard of,” she said. “I’ve r-read about it in, um… s-stories, online? L-Like in fanfictions and stuff? S-Sometimes the author uses it to g-get characters to, um… smooch?”

“Well, tell us about it! How does it work?! Do I gotta smash anything?” Undyne demanded. “I’m totally gonna beat you chowderheads, just sayin’. But smoochin’, I dunno.”

“I’ll smooch everybody!” Frisk said with a laugh.

“I think you already smooched everybody,” Sans said.

“W-Well, it’s not really about that, it’s… I _think_ it’s more about… W-W-Well, it’s called Truths or Dares, I th-think. Frisk, do you know th-this one?” 

Frisk shook her head. Alphys smiled nervously.

“Whew, I h-hope I get it right,” she said. “H-How it works is, w-we all s-sit in a circle, l-like this, and w-we, um… We ask someone else if they w-want to tell the truth or d-do a dare. They pick, and then the a-asker needs to come up with a q-question or a dare. And then it’s the m-monster who got asked’s t-turn. You guys in? Sh-Should we start?”

Sans shrugged. Frisk stuck her thumbs up.

“Well, I think it sounds fun-ish, possibly,” Papyrus said. “Sure.”

“Yeah, whatever you want, Alph, I’m down,” Undyne said.

Alphys smiled shyly. “O-Okay! I’ll go f-first. Umm… Hmm.” She looked around the group. “Umm… S-Sans? T-Truth or dare?”

“Uh… Truth I guess?” He shrugged. 

Alphys’s cheeks flushed. “Oh, um… Um. Okay. Sans. Haaave yooou e-ever, um, had a crush on anyone?”

Sans grinned and waved a hand dismissively. “Nah, I’m a strong, independent skeleton who don’t need no _body_.”

Frisk snickered and Papyrus put his face in his hands.

“Seriously?” Undyne asked.

“What? No one said I can’t answer with jokes,” he said. “As long as it’s the truth, right?”

“I… I g-guess…?” Alphys said. “Okay. S-So it’s your turn to ask, now.”

Sans grinned a bit wider. “Kid?” he asked.

“Umm… Truth!” she said brightly.

“I was hopin’ for dare,” he said.

“Nuh-uh, you’ll just ask me to pull your finger and then your hand’ll come off again,” she protested.

He grinned. “You know me too well,” he said. “Fine. Hmm. What’s the worst thing you’ve ever put in your face?”

“Dumpster fruit!” Frisk answered right away. “And not the magic kind either.”

Everyone _eewwwed_ or laughed a little, and Frisk snickered and shrugged.

“I wouldda picked the three day old pasta frozen to a table, probably,” Sans said.

“Why would you eat that?!” Undyne asked. “Either of that?!”

Frisk shrugged again and smiled sheepishly. “My turn, right? Okay! Umm… Undyne!” 

“DARE!” Undyne shouted.

“I dare you to pick up as many of us as you can at once!” Frisk said.

“HAH! WATCH THIS!!” Within about three seconds, Undyne had everyone on top of her biceps as she flexed. “GOOD ENOUGH?!”

“That is truly amazing!” Papyrus said.

Frisk clapped and Undyne plopped them all back to the floor and stretched her arms. The circle was ruined, but no one seemed to mind.

“No big deal.” She grinned. “Alphys!”

“O-Oh, um… Uhh…” Alphys started to sweat almost instantly. “Dare…? No, n-no, truth, truth!!”

“BEST OTP!”

Alphys’s face went red. She put her face in her hands and mumbled something. 

“Sorry, Doc, didn’t quite hear you,” Sans said with a grin.

“M… Me and U-U-Undyne,” Alphys stuttered softly.

Frisk and Papyrus both cooed and Undyne beamed, guffawed, and grabbed her into a tight hug. 

“Mine too,” Undyne said brightly, kissing her on the cheek. “Hey, look, you got us to smooch!”

Alphys turned red and all but melted in her arms. Alphys waved away her turn, and pointed to Papyrus. Papyrus beamed.

“Okay! Frisk!” he said.

“Truth!” Frisk said again.

“Okay! Who is your favourite cool tall skeleton?” he demanded.

“You, bro!” she said.

“Wowie! That’s so sweet! Your turn!” he said.

“I pick you!” she said.

“Me?! Okay! I pick truth, too!” he said.

“Do you ever want to try to make a spaghetti sauce that isn’t tomato?” she asked.

His eyes went wide. “THAT EXISTS?!” he shouted shrilly. “YES ABSOLUTELY! UNDYNE?!”

“Oh, uh… DARE!” she yelled.

“I dare youuuu to eat a plate of the delicious spaghetti we made last night! OR ACTUALLY! I will get plates for everyone, hang on just a second.”

Papyrus ran off in a blur, red scarf trailing. Sans looked like he was trying really hard not to laugh. Undyne grinned to herself.

“I don’t think he quite gets it,” she said.

“I think Frisk just made him hungry,” Sans said, nudging her with his elbow.

Frisk snickered and shrugged. 

Papyrus returned balancing many plates of spaghetti and cutlery, enough for everyone to take some. Undyne all but swallowed hers whole, then wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. 

“My turn, right?!” she said. “Sans.”

“Me again? Sheesh. Alright. Uh… What the heck, dare,” he said.

Undyne beamed. “Dare you to fight me.”

The room went dead silent. Frisk put her hands to her mouth and Papyrus gawked.

“…Seriously?” Sans asked.

“YEAH. YOU GOTTA FIGHT ME!” Undyne said loudly. “That’s the rules, right? He’s gotta do it, right?”

“Ummm, Undyne are you s-sure that’s—” Papyrus began, but Undyne immediately jumped to her feet and looked incredibly determined.

“YEAH! It’ll be great!!” she said, and then pointed at Sans. “Look, I don’t wanna hurt you, you don’t wanna hurt me, so it’ll be mostly safe, I just really, REALLY want to fight you. I want to see your magic. And don’t hold back. C’mon, it’s gonna be frickin’ cool!!!”

Sans went quiet for a few moments. He grinned apologetically. “You are not gonna like this.”

“YES!!!” Undyne shouted, punching the air. “LET’S GO!!!”

They bundled up and bounded outside, spaghetti and all, and Undyne raced just a bit up the path towards Waterfall and turned, spear crackling into existence in her outstretched hand. Sans wandered up to face her, hands in his pockets. She grinned wide. 

“I’m not gonna go easy,” she said. “I saw what you could do.”

He shrugged, but then cast a look over his shoulder. Papyrus and Alphys were sitting on the snow pile from earlier in the day, but Frisk was nowhere to be seen. He frowned a little, but she was back within a few seconds, running to join them and sticking her thumbs up.

“Just saved,” she said.

Papyrus grabbed her and put her on his lap. She looked kind of excited. Sans grinned and cut his eyes at Undyne.

“Just don’t throw me into the river, alright?” he said.

“Hah! Yeah, okay.” She spun her spear and pointed it at him, bracing herself in an attack position. “Ready?” Her soul brightened through her t-shirt. 

His reciprocated. Something akin to music shocked the frigid air. Something new. Kind of bombastic.

Papyrus clung to Frisk nervously, but she grinned. 

“This is gonna be so awesome,” she said quietly, and then shouted, “BRO, FOR SERIOUS, SHOW HER THE COOL STUFF!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said, but he grinned and his left eye brightened blue. “You start.”

Undyne didn’t need prompting. With a roar, she lunged, spear thrusting, magic zinging in over her shoulders right at him. Papyrus covered his eyes and Alphys was only watching between her fingers, but it didn’t matter because Sans was out of the way of each attack with minimum movement right before it happened. Alphys gasped.

“N-No way,” she breathed.

Frisk beamed.

Sans slid back and his turn started, waves of bones zipping at her from above and below, though he made no movement to even hint he had summoned them. She whooped, dodging masterfully, vaulting over the rushing ones meant to trip her up and rolling under speeding, airborne femurs that shot at her head level.

Frisk grabbed Papyrus’s hands away from his face and held them. “Trust him,” she said gently.

Papyrus gulped and nodded.

Undyne came at him again, but just as before, he slipped just barely from hits. She backflipped to gain a little space and swiped the air, shooting a green pulse that struck his soul and pinned it.

“Gotcha.” She readied an electric blue spear and grinned. “No more dodging.”

He shrugged and seized her soul with magic that glowed blue— the first time he even bothered to take his hand out of his pocket. 

“What the—?!” She yelled out as he tossed her backwards and up, and then pinned her to the ground. “Oh come on!!!”

“Hey, don’t get _down_ about it,” he said, “I’m still _stickin’ around._”

She grunted and forced herself to her feet, brushing the snow from her face with her forearm, and ran at him, hurling spears. He tossed her high again and her magic swelled and pulsed from her body in all directions. He raised a wall of bones to block, then on either side, and behind him, too, as her magic attempted to pen him in.

“How did you—?!” she demanded.

“Change it up a bit, you used that same pattern on Frisk,” he said.

She grimaced, but then roared, lunging again, but his defences were good, forcing her to keep her distance, and when he attacked with another wave of bones, she dove and tumbled through them. Her spears came quick, but none of that seemed to matter to the skeleton who seemed to have no problems whatsoever being stuck to one spot.

Undyne roared and leapt, her strength defying that heavy gravity in the blue magic, plunging downwards with her spear, but he caught her in midair, where she hung frozen for a moment, before he tossed her back into the snow. Finally, the green melted away from him and he sighed, wiping his brow.

“Gettin’ a little tired,” he admitted. “You’re really somethin’.”

“You too!” she said, jumping up to her feet. “But I could go all day!”

He grinned and shrugged. “Welp. I would rather not. So…” His eye flickered with gold. “Let’s see where this goes.”

Before she could retort, two large, beast-like skulls blinked into existence, catching her in an X-shaped blast of lasers. She tumbled back, leaping out of the way of another blast, but a third of four more forced her to roll for cover in a small gap in between them, only to take another straight to the face.

When they disappeared, she plopped onto her back in the snow, surrounded by a field of misplaced bones and spears that stuck the ground like a glowing, barren forest. “Wow,” she breathed.

“You good?” Sans asked. 

“Holy shit,” she said. “Yeah. I’m good.”

“Good, ‘cause I’m about to pass out.”

The light of their souls flickered out, the remnants of magic around them drifting off into sparkling dust. He walked over to offer her a hand. She took it but, when she got to her feet, she beamed and hugged him tight.

“I knew it!!!” she said. “That was so damn cool, dude!!!”

“Uh… Thanks?” he said.

Before she could continue, there was sort of a high-pitched shrieking sound and Papyrus ran up and grabbed them both into a vice-like hug. 

“THAT WAS AMAZING!!!” he said. “Truly, absolutely one-hundred-percent fantastic amazing. Oh. My. God.”

It was only they that they noticed they had drawn a crowd. Seemed like a quarter of town had come over to watch. Sans’s face flushed a bit blue.

“Undyne!! Those aggressive moves, all that power, it was so over the top and cool!!” Papyrus said. “And brother! I didn’t know you could even still do the Blasters like that! And it was spectacular! I’m so proud of you! Who won?”

They pointed to each other.

“A draw, then!” Papyrus announced.

The crowd clapped and cheered, and then, mostly, began to disperse. 

Sans picked out Frisk from the group. She was absolutely beaming. She jogged over and gave him a tight hug.

“I’m super proud, bro,” she said quietly.

“Nah, it was nothin’,” he said. Totally a lie and they both knew it. He hadn’t had that much fun using magic in years. 

She pulled back, patted him affectionately on the shoulder, and then raced to Undyne. “UNDYNE! You’re so frickin’ cool I can’t stand it!” She hugged her, too.

Alphys ran past, giving him an affectionate pat on the back before squealing and running straight into Undyne’s arms. Sans felt kind of weird. What was that sensation? Self-satisfaction? It took him off-guard. 

Sans felt a tap on his shoulder. A devilish looking monster smiled back at him sheepishly and held out a printed photo of Undyne and a pen.

“I heard Captain Undyne was fighting here, so I came to watch,” she said, “but I had no idea she’d be battling someone so… so cool. W-Would you sign this, too? If you don’t mind? Never hurts to ask, right?”

Sans stared back blankly for a few seconds. He took the pen and signed his name. The monster grinned back at him brightly.

“Thank you so much,” she said, and then scurried off towards Undyne, probably to ask her the same thing.

Sans was flummoxed. He didn’t really even move at all until Papyrus came back to join him, resting an arm on his head.

“So! You look… shellshocked,” he said. “But! You looked like you were having fun! I’m really happy for you! You need to let me take a good look at those Blasters, honestly, brother! Who would have thought?! You’re feeling alright, though, yes? No wobbles or rattles or anything? She didn’t hit you at all, did she?”

“Nah, I’m good,” he said.

Papyrus beamed. “You actually looked really cool out there! Basically two thirds as cool as I do on a normal day, I think. What do you think?”

“Thanks, dude, that’s sweet of you,” he said.

“So what the heck is that face for?” he asked.

“Someone just asked me for my autograph.” He didn’t sound like he believed his own words at all.

Papyrus stared at him blankly, then began to grin and burst out laughing. He thumped him on the back affectionately. Sans’s cheekbones flushed.

Taking him off-guard, Frisk jumped him again, hugging onto his arm with a huge grin on her face. “Guess you’re getting to be a bit of a… _Sans-sation_?”

He beamed. Papyrus smacked his own face and groaned. The kid snickered.

“You didn’t start big this time,” she said.

“Yeah, didn’t bother,” he said with a wink. “Wasn’t tryin’ to drive her nuts or anything.”

“What do you mean _this time_?” Papyrus asked curiously. “Sans is far too lazy to pull that magic out regularly at all, and not to mention that he’s the weakest monster. When would you have even seen it?”

“Um… I saw it in his memories!” she said, grinning embarrassedly, and she nudged him with her elbow. “P-Pretty cool, right?”

“Well, for the weakest monster or whatever,” Undyne said, strutting up as she let her hair down to brush chunks of ice from it, “your technique is phenomenal, dude.”

“Cool,” Sans said. “So, it’s my turn, right?”

“Huh?” Undyne asked.

“You dared me last, so that means my turn, right?”

“Y-Yep, that should be how it goes,” Alphys said. “I… I f-forgot we were doing that, actually…”

“But you set it up,” Frisk said with a snicker.

“Okay. Cool. Paps,” Sans said. “Pick a thing.”

“Ummm… Wowie. Okay. I’ll pick dare this time,” he said.

Sans started to grin and Papyrus’s face dropped.

“Wait wait wait, no, I take it back, I—“

“No way, bro, no takes-backsies. I dare you to come to Grillby’s with me.”

“WHAT!? Can I refuse?!” He folded his arms; Sans grinned wider. “Ugh! Why must you be like this?”

“C’mon, it’ll be good, I’ll buy you a milkshake,” he said, winking. “It’s good for your bones.”

“…UGH! Fine. As long as I don’t have to spend a single gold and ONLY a plain milkshake is to be had, then I suppose—!”

“YES!” Frisk cheered; she grabbed Papyrus’s hand, and Sans’s too. “Let’s go! Right now! This is gonna be great!”


	25. The Reprieve

Papyrus didn’t hate the milkshake.

\- - - 

On the way home from Grillby’s, Frisk hung back behind the rest of the group as they headed inside. She snuck back behind the mailboxes, but the mug was still there, still filled with what was now a chocolatey slush. Frisk frowned and pouted a little, and then picked it up. She looked around, just in case.

“Asriel?” she asked. 

She waited for almost a minute before letting out a sigh and heading for the door. It opened right before she got there.

“Oh. There you are,” Sans said. “Thought you mightta taken another snow nap.”

“Hah, nooo,” she said.

He took note of the mug in her hands and didn’t need to ask any more.

In the main room, papers scattered across the one table, Alphys hovered, pen in hand, staring at mathematical equations intently. Frisk darted back to the kitchen to try to deal with the slush. Undyne paced the room with a big grin on her face, staring at her phone. She ran over to Sans and showed him UnderNet. She was scrolling too fast, but there seemed to be photos she was interested in showing him.

“Look, dude! We’re making waves!” she said brightly.

“…Huh?” he asked blankly.

“Our fight! Dudes were taking photos and crap!” she said. “Someone took a video, even.”

“Oh good.”

“I KNOW, IT’S GREAT!” Undyne said loudly.

“Can I see?” Frisk asked. 

Undyne tossed the phone at her, and the kid’s face lit up when she scrolled through the images.

“So cool,” she said.

“Dude. Why didn’t you ever apply for the Guard?” Undyne asked.

“Didn’t appeal to me.” He grinned. “Can you imagine me tryin’ to patrol in full armour? I’d look like a garbage can. Who am I gonna intimidate?”

“Um,” Frisk said with a laugh, “college students?”

He snickered. 

“Well, I don’t get that reference,” Undyne said, “but you know what I think?” She poked him in the shoulder and grinned. “Nice guys are the ones who are scariest when they get mad.”

“Well, by that logic, Papyrus should be downright horrifyin’,” he said with a laugh.

“Hah! He’s the exception, Papyrus doesn’t get mad,” Undyne said with a laugh. 

“Hey, my auditory meatus is burning, someone must be talking about me!” Papyrus said as he bounded down the stairs. “What are you guys doing? Sans, did you know, you’re all over the UnderNet!”

“I heard,” he said.

“You should take a look! There’s at least a dozen posts, you know,” Papyrus said.

“Sounds exhaustin’, dude,” he said.

Papyrus smiled bright. He hopped over to Alphys and leaned over her shoulders.

“What on earth are you doing, Doctor Alphys?” he said. “Shouldn’t you be relaxing?”

Alphys started to sweat. Papyrus _tsked_ and picked her up to move her away from the table.

“H-Hey!” she protested. “N-No, wait, I—”

“Come on, now, Doctor, this no work day was specifically for you!” he said. 

“B-But I…” She flopped in his arms. “Okay.”

When Papyrus turned back, intending to plop Alphys onto the couch, he saw Sans was already napping there. Frisk, too, was pretty clearly done with being awake. She had already settled in close to their brother, holding onto his arm. Though Papyrus’s first reaction was to wake them, he held back, scoffed, and then tossed Alphys to Undyne. Undyne laughed and put her phone away. 

“Hey! Alph, you bring that dragon robot anime?” she asked.

“I did!” she said. “O-Oh, but… they’re asleep? I w-wouldn’t wanna—”

“Don’t you worry, Doctor, Sans sleeps like a very lazy log. Frisk, too!” Papyrus said.

“Well! W-Well, okay!”

Papyrus brought down one of his puzzle planning books as they put on the DVD. It was explosive and still in Japanese, and Undyne was trying to keep her cheering low-key. She and Alphys had some cushions and sat on the floor in front of the couch— Undyne keeping one arm casually around the little lizard, whose cheeks still went red just at the proximity. Papyrus was quite glad to see them both so happy.

He was about to set up behind them when he noticed there was a little bit of a blue glow through his brother’s t-shirt. Curious, he tilted his head and knelt down. He felt his own soul resonate and smiled as Sans’s soul did a little pulse as if in response. He felt a sting of confusion, though, when he saw a faint glimmer of red under his arm. He frowned and gently readjusted Sans. His eyes went wide and he put his hands to his mouth.

“Oooh my god,” he said quietly.

“What?” Undyne asked.

He just pointed. Undyne leaned over and looked. She stared too, and quickly nudged Alphys.

“Dude, is that normal?” she asked.

Papyrus didn’t answer, but he started beaming. Alphys got up check what he was looking at and her jaw dropped.

Frisk’s soul was lit up, too. Like a skeleton’s might be. In sync with Sans’s, it looked like. Alphys gawked; babbled something mostly incoherent. Undyne couldn’t help a laugh. 

“So I guess it’s not normal,” she said.

“O-Of course it’s n-not! She’s a human!” Alphys said, whispering loudly. “Okay. O-Okay, b-breathe, Alphys.” She put her hands up as if to steady herself and sat back down with Undyne.“I’ll ask him when he wakes up.”

“It’s getting a bit late,” Undyne pointed out. “Hey, Paps, should we get out of your, uh…? Hair? …Skull? No, that doesn’t work.”

“Nyeh heh heh, no, no, don’t worry about it,” he said, still grinning. “This show is fun, I’d like to keep watching it with you two, if that’s alright!”

“Definitely,” Undyne agreed.

He carefully snuck up onto the sofa with his siblings and could feel his own soul start to mimic theirs. He put his hand to his ribcage and smiled fondly. He disregarded his puzzle book; put his arm around them instead and cozied in to watch as space robot dragons sped at light speed towards glowing planets that were also giant robots. He really had no idea what was going on, but he was quite content anyhow.

\- - -

The streets of Snowdin were uncomfortably quiet. Old memories told Sans this was a bad one. He didn’t see anyone around, not even when he peeked into the store run out of the inn. He checked around behind the counter, just in case there was someone hidden there. The till was open; empty.

“Great,” he grumbled.

Out on the street, he was reluctant to proceed forward. He rested his back against the building and closed his eyes. He tried something a little different. He reached out his energy for Frisk. He could feel her there, somewhere, but she wasn’t within view. Wasn’t super sure how to find her, either.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned off the building to keep going towards home. He took a look inside. It was quiet in a way that made his bones ache. Weird feeling. He thought he felt a spark of magic and he turned quickly. Nothing within view, though. A note of panic hit him as he realized: the dream might be forcing Frisk to fight Papyrus. 

With hurried steps, Sans went out into the blowing snow that masked the path towards Waterfall. He could hear something. A faint commotion. He went a little faster. He kept to the tree line towards the south and peered through the distorting white. He soon picked out red. Papyrus’s scarf. Then his boots and gloves, standing out brightly against the snow. Papyrus was standing in front of a faint, kid-sized shape. It was more of a shadow than anything, but it hadn’t taken a proper form. He hadn’t seen that before. 

Even so, the memory of his brother must have acted out that fight. He was huffing. A little shaky. Arms held open in the offering of a hug. The shadow seeped closer to him. Sans winced. His left eye began to blaze, and he braced himself to attack.

“Sorry, kiddo,” he muttered.

Before he could make a move, though, something strange happened— like a shift in the air. The shadowy shape that might’ve become one of those kids became solidly, and unequivocally, Frisk, with what looked like a knife in her hand. She yelped loudly and the Papyrus that stood before her drew back and yelped, too, as if her cry had legitimately startled him. 

The kid threw the knife to the ground almost immediately. Began cursing and kicked it through the snow as Papyrus watched in puzzlement. Sans started to grin. 

“No way.”

“Get! Get out of here!” Frisk kicked the knife with a stumbling, desperate fervour until it splooshed into the river. “Like, who does that?! Crap!!” She took a deep breath and put her head in her hands for a second to try to steady herself. 

“Um… Are you okay?” Papyrus asked worriedly.

Frisk perked up and whirled on him, eyes wide. “Ohmigosh. Papyrus. I didn’t…?! We didn’t…? I didn’t hurt you, did I?! Are you okay?!”

“Pfffft! Of course I’m perfectly fine! As always!” he replied brightly. “Though I’m not exactly sure what we are doing out here, Frisk.”

“Um…” Frisk stared back at him blankly. “…What d’you mean? We weren’t… fighting?”

“Mmno, I don’t think so,” he said. “That would definitely be very weird, I’m sure I’d remember that. And. Also. I’m not even sure why I’m outside, actually. I must’ve completely lost my train of thought! Very out of character! I could’ve sworn I was just inside on the sofa, wasn’t I?”

“Wh-What?” Frisk said shrilly. 

“Hmm! And also! Why is the air so quiet? And why is the water so quiet? And why is the cold not very cold at all? And why on earth did you have a weird knife?” he wondered. “This is all very confusing, I must be missing something, give me just one moment, because I’m sure there is something a bit amiss here!”

“B-But—!”

“Not to worry, Frisk, leave it to the great detective Papyrus!” Papyrus paced and doubled back up the road towards Waterfall, muttering to himself very quickly. 

Frisk could do little more but stare in shock as the blizzard faded.

“Hey.” Sans appeared over her shoulder, but she was too busy watching Papyrus to even feel surprised. “So, uh. You broke it again, huh?”

“Uh-huh.” She pointed down the road. “Dude. Um. I think, uh… I think that might be Papyrus?”

“Well, yeah, obviously,” Sans said. “Why, what’re you seein’?”

“No, no no, I mean, like, _real_ Papyrus,” she said. “Not memory Papyrus.”

“Oh. Oh!” Sans’s eyes went wide. “No kiddin’?”

“How? How is that possible? Please tell me you know how that’s possible?” she asked quickly.

He watched Papyrus wander up and down, taking off his mitts and testing the snow and the water with curious fingers. 

“Well. Uh…” He scratched the back of his skull. “Maybe? I mean. Okay. I’m linked to him. Now me and you, we’re linked in a different way than before. So maybe that means you’re linked to him too, and that does… this? Whatever this is?”

“M-Maybe?” she said. “Oh my god, Sans, I don’t want this dream thing to make me hurt him. I don’t want him to feel that.”

“I, uh… I don’t think it will,” he said. “I thought maybe you just broke the hallway, but I think you might’ve just broken, uh, all of it?”

“Y-You really think so?!” she asked, her eyes wide.

“You didn’t get in another anomaly’s head this time, right?” 

She shook her head. 

“It started in a bad memory, sure, but when I came to things about to go down between you two, all I saw was a stand-in until normal you popped in. And then you assaulted a knife and drowned it in the river, no big deal.”

“Pfft. Hah. Okay.” Frisk took a deep breath and rubbed her head. “Okay. Okay, okay. Let’s just… Oh man.”

She jogged down the road towards Papyrus, passing a confused looking vision of Asriel beside a repaired mug on the way. Her brother was still carefully inspecting everything around him.

“Paps?” she asked. 

“Yes Frisk, what do you need?” he asked, whirling on her. “Something the great Papyrus can do for you?”

“Y-Yeah. Um. Are you asleep right now?” she asked. “Did you fall asleep?”

“Fall asleep?! Nyeh heh, how could I have?! That show with the dragon robots was so action-packed!” he said brightly, but then he frowned to himself and cupped his chin. “But then again, I was feeling quite warm and snuggly, and…! Oh! Did you know? Your soul and Sans’s, you were glowing together just like he and I do! It was very adorable.”

“Y-Yeah?” Frisk asked. “So… Um. Papyrus. Can I tell you something weird?”

“Of course, Frisk, you can tell me anything!” he assured her.

“This is a dream,” she said. “I mean. I’m real. Sans is real. You’re real. But the rest of this isn’t. I, um… I think.”

He stared back at her blankly for a long few seconds. He leaned to look over her shoulder, where Sans waved at him from farther down the road. He frowned skeptically for a few seconds and then his eyes went wide. “Oooooh, that explains why I just completely lost a full day and ended up standing in the snow like a goofball in the middle of the afternoon with no recollection of how I got there! Well, that’s weird! Isn’t it?”

“Y-Yeah!” she said, and she whirled and waved to Sans. “It’s totally him, dude!”

Sans appeared closer and looked up at Papyrus, grinning a bit. “Welp. Hi. This is, uh… different.”

“Yes, absolutely! I don’t think I’ve ever dreamt this lucidly before, not to mention literally seeing the both of you here,” he said. “Now… Hm. I wonder, can I…?” He picked Frisk up. He tilted his head. He pulled her in close to hug her, and she snickered and clung tight to him. “Oh wow. You feel very real actually.” He put her down and looked thoughtful. “Brother, is this how you normally dream?”

“Pretty much,” he said, shrugging.

“No wonder you are always so tired!!” Papyrus said shrilly. 

“Nah, I’m just lazy,” Sans said with a wink. “This is actually not that bad.”

Frisk nodded. Sans patted her shoulder.

“Holdin’ up?” he asked.

“Y-Yeah. Yeah, I feel… normal,” she said. “Honestly? I don’t know what the heck is going on with this anymore.”

“Heh. Yeah,” he said.

“So, what do we do here exactly?” Papyrus asked. “Should we… wake up? Can we do that? I’d much rather just see you both in real life, honestly.”

“I’m with you there, bro,” Sans said. “But, uh… Sometimes it’s hard unless the memory kinda plays out.”

“Ooh, right, like those ones you get stuck in, right?” Papyrus said. “Hmm… Well, this is a pickle, because usually I’m outside to pull you out, aren’t I?”

“I think I know,” Frisk said brightly.

“I’m not blastin’ you,” Sans said.

“Hah. That’s okay, I got a different idea,” she said. “I’ll wake you two up?”

“Sure,” Sans said.

Frisk stuck her thumbs up and then ran over to the river. She looked into the water, and it went black before her eyes. It began to stretch out into an ocean. She gulped. She heard snow shifting and, for some reason, Asriel popped up beside her. He tilted his head.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked.

She gulped, took a few steps back, and then ran and jumped into the water.

It was freezing. She felt like all the air left her lungs. Then, suddenly, she was looking at the TV. It was stopped on a DVD’s menu loop for that dragon robot anime. Undyne was snoring.

She was sort leaning on Sans, holding his hand, and she noticed also that Papyrus had his arm around both of them and had drifted off with his head resting on top of his brother’s. She thought it was kind of adorable. 

She blinked hard and rubbed her eyes. She squirmed to get her phone out of her pocket and checked the time. It was actually almost ten at night. She shifted herself, grabbed Sans’s shoulders, and shook him gently.“Hey, bro,” she said. “Wake up, dude.”

He didn’t seem to want to, but when she shook him again, he opened his eyes. “Oh. Hey. Nice job,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said.

Sans’s eyes darted over to Papyrus and he grinned to himself. He nudged him gently with his elbow. “Papyrus. Dude. Get up.”

“Nyeh… Nyeh!” Papyrus jerked, waking up quickly and looking around frantically. “Where—?! Wh-What?! Nyeh!”

“Welcome back,” Sans joked. “Doin’ okay?”

“Y-Yes! Yes of course!” The tall skeleton put a hand to his chest. “That was certainly jarring. You both go through that a lot? Together?”

Frisk nodded. Papyrus smiled.

“Well! Strange and weird as it might be, I’m happy to come along!” he said brightly.

“Seriously?” Sans said.

“Well, yes!” he said brightly. “You two will do much better with me there! I mean, who doesn’t want to dream of the great Papyrus?”

Frisk snickered. Sans nodded.

“True.” He didn’t seem to notice, but his eye lit up blue. 

Papyrus chuckled and hugged him close. “That’s a good look on you,” he joked.

Sans grinned and slumped comfortably.

“Sans! Don’t just fall asleep again!” Papyrus insisted, holding him back by the shoulders.

“Then don’t be so cozy, bro,” he said.

“Impossible!”

“Well then.”

Papyrus got up and stood on the sofa very abruptly— Sans flopped awkwardly back and Frisk caught him and tried not to laugh. Papyrus cast his gaze around the room. He looked at Alphys and Undyne and _hmmed_ for a while.

“What’re you doin’?” Sans asked.

“Well, we can’t just let our guests sleep on the floor!!!” he said. “Should I prepare the guest room?”

“Not the garage,” Frisk laughed. “It’s too cold.”

“Ah. Right you are, Frisk,” Papyrus said. “Hmm. Alright!” He squatted down and leaned over Undyne’s head and poked her on the forehead. “Captain Undyne,” he said. “Captain? Would you maybe prefer to—?”

Before he could finish, Undyne grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him straight off the couch, over her head, and slammed him to the floor in front of her. Alphys yelped and rolled away, fumbling to put her glasses back on. They all stared at Undyne in shocked silence until Papyrus started clapping.

“That. Was. Amazing,” he said.

Undyne blinked down at him groggily, seemed to take a second to realize what she had done, and her cheeks went dark. “Oh. Shit. Sorry, dude. Didn’t mean to, like, almost press slam you.”

“No no, that’s fine!” he said. “Nyeh heh heh! Sorry to startle you.”

Sans started laughing. Undyne rubbed her head and puffed out a sigh. She let her hair down. Alphys’s face went red. 

“Phew,” she said. “Sorry to pass out. Think those fights kinda tired me out a little more than I thought. Might go home and clock out.”

“Oh! I was just going to suggest that we have a sleepover!” Papyrus said brightly, quickly sitting up and turning to face her. “Sans has what seems to be a never ending, bottomless and confusing supply of blankets, I was thinking if you wanted to stay… Maybe you could see my puzzle routine in the morning! I’m confident you’ll be very impressed.”

Undyne tilted her head. Her ear-fins perked. “I’d, uh… You know, I’d kinda like that, dude. Alright! If that’s okay?” She turned to look at Sans. 

He shrugged. “Whatever you want, doesn’t bother me a bit.”

“Great!” Undyne said.

“Ooh!” Papyrus grabbed both her hands and jumped to his feet, pulling her up with him. “Let me show you the plans Frisk and I have been working on! They’re really going to be something fantastic, I promise.” He was grinning; so enthusiastic that Undyne couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, alright,” she said. 

“Frisk, come too, these puzzles are at least a third yours,” Papyrus insisted.

Frisk beamed and Papyrus scooped her up and raced the three of them upstairs. 

“SANS, DOCTOR ALPHYS, COME TOO IF YOU WANT!” he shouted.

Sans, instead, flopped on his back on the couch. Alphys edged up to look at him.

“Y-You okay?” she asked.

“Hm?” He looked at her with a brow raised and then smiled. “Yeah, just fine.” He rolled off the couch onto his face, stayed there for a few seconds longer than seemed to make sense, and then got up. 

Alphys smiled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his skull and ambled upstairs. She followed him, and before he reached Papyrus’s door, she took him by the shoulder to stop him.

“Could we, um…? C-Could we talk?” Alphys asked quietly.

Sans already looked half asleep. “About what?”

“Um… W-Well…” She tented her fingers. “T-Time travel stuff?”

“Oh. Really?” He put his hands in his pockets and leaned back against the wall. “Professional or personal?”

“I… I’m… I just want t-to know. I mean…” She sighed. “You were right. Your theories, your m-models, everything was right. The anomalies. All of it.”

“Close. Not quite,” he said with a wink.

“W-Well… Yeah, n-no one could’ve guessed that they were p-people, you know?” she said. “I never expected that. S-Some of them were so r-random and destructive that it never e-even occurred to me.”

“Yeah, I hear that,” he agreed. He moved forward off the wall and wandered towards the stairs.

“Where’re you g-going?” she asked, her voice cracking.

“Welp. Not gonna stand longer than I have to,” he said. “C’mon.”

Her eyes lit up and she scurried after him. He headed for the kitchen. He strained to reach up for an ancient percolator on one of their shelves and clunked it down on the counter. 

“Want some?” he asked as he fished some coffee grounds out from the back of another cabinet.

“You drink coffee?” she asked, eyes wide.

“Nah, can’t stand it,” he said. “Feel like I might kinda need it for this, though.”

“…Oh. Okay. Y-Yeah, sure, I’ll take some,” she said.

He held his hand out towards the table and she nodded and hurried over to sit down

He joined her after a few minutes and slid a cup of coffee filled with sugar towards her. She nodded gratefully and took a sip. She shuddered.

“Not great,” Sans concluded.

She laughed. “That’s okay. Th-Thank you.”

She took a deep breath and drummed her fingers on the table. She was trying to gather her thoughts. Sans also took a quick sip of the unfortunate beverage and blinked hard.

“There, um… there was one thing, first?” Alphys said.

“Mhm?”

“While you were a-asleep, your soul w-was, um… It was glowing?” she said.

“Oh. Yeah. That’s a skeleton thing,” he said. “Or. I mean. At least it’s a me-and-Papyrus thing.”

“But F-Frisk was glowing with you,” she said.

“Right.” He smiled. “Started doin’ that the other day after the whole barrier thing.”

“B-But she’s human,” she said softly.

Sans grinned and shrugged.

Upstairs, the bedroom door banged and Frisk came out, looking over the from the second floor. “You guys coming?” she asked.

“A bit later, kiddo,” Sans said.

“Can I steal some blankets from your room?” she asked.

“Go ahead.”

“Thanks!”

“S-So, um…” Alphys said, lowering her voice as Frisk began to run back and forth between the rooms, “S-Sans. So. Um. I g-guess I just want to know a little more a-about the other t-timelines, m-maybe?”

“Uh. Okay. Sure,” he said. 

“I r-remember three v-variations before now,” she said. “But… th-the way you talked, and from our, um… Our o-old models, there were so many m-more, weren’t there?”

“Yup.” 

“S-So why don’t we r-remember those, if you do?” she wondered.

“I’m, uh, pretty weird like that,” he said. “Don’t worry about those.”

“B-But—”

“Listen, you wouldn’t wanna remember that crap anyway,” he said. 

Alphys was about to protest, but she shut her mouth tight as Frisk scampered down the stairs.

The kid looked between them and and smiled bashfully. “Oh, whoops, sorry, serious time?”

“O-Oh, um, w-well…” Alphys stammered, and she looked at Sans for help. “W-We were just, uhh—”

“Just takin’ about some time travel junk,” Sans said. “No big deal. What you’re doin’ is probably way more interestin’.”

“You need any help?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Nah. Have fun.” He grinned. “Hey, look at me, being responsible or somethin’. My favourite.”

She snickered. She stood up on her toes and gave him a quick smooch on the cheek. “You’re good at it sometimes!”

“Heh. That’s what you think,” he said. He ruffled her hair.

She grinned. She hugged him, and then hugged Alphys, too, before going back upstairs to Papyrus’s room.

Sans had a dopey grin on his face longer than he realized. Alphys smiled, and then took a deep breath and a sip of the somehow bitter coffee.

“She’s s-sweet,” she said.

“Yeah, she’s a good kid,” he said.

“H-Have you ever…? I mean… This soul stuff? It’s new, right?” she asked.

“What, the thing with the flower kid?” he asked.“Yup. Never tried it this way before.”

“D-Do you think he m-might… help us?” she wondered. “I mean, if it’s a-all for him?”

“Wouldn’t trust anythin’ to do with me in a million years,” he said. “And you don’t want him close to you while he’s like this. Trust me.”

“Wh-Why wouldn’t he trust you?” she asked.

“Aside from the fact that he’s just kinda generally a hateful little punk? The fact that I remember makes me a royal pain in the ass for him,” he said. “He held the timeline before Frisk did. So, jumpin’ back in time was a thing he could do, too. Say if he got in a fight he couldn’t win. You see where I’m goin’ with this, right?”

Alphys nodded. “So… So it really has been going on for a long time, huh?”

“Sorta,” he said, shrugging.

“Was that why you quit?” she asked.

“Nah,” he said. “So, what did you want to know?” 

“I want… W-Well, is it too much to say I w-want to know everything?” she said, and she laughed quietly. “I… I want to know m-more about Frisk. I w-want to know more about wh-what happened to you. Y-You’ve been living with t-time travel stuff for so long.” She looked sad. She traced circles on the table with her finger. “M-Maybe I just feel, um…? I j-just feel guilty. L-Like…” She sighed. “Like I should’ve b-been there for you. I knew s-something went down in the CORE. I… I sh-should’ve followed up. B-But I… I was s-so caught up in m-my own garbage that… I don’t know. I d-didn’t realize how bad it was. I’m s-sorry, I’m a t-terrible friend.”

Sans leaned his cheek on his fist, looking amused. “Dude, that was like ten years ago. Forget it.”

“B-But what if I could’ve helped?!” she asked.

“Helped with what?” he asked.

“Any of it!” she insisted. “J-Just… been someone to t-talk to, even. E-Even if I didn’t feel it, you know I’d believe you, r-right?”

Sans smiled. “Thanks. But, to be honest, it wasn’t too bad until the Prince. And then those things before Frisk, that’s where it really went nuts. But I guess, if I try to force myself to, uh, think in a linear way about that? The worst of it hasn’t actually been goin’ on all that long.”

“…A-About, um… About Asriel, um…” she stammered.

“You brought him back?” His smile turned sympathetic when her face dropped with horror. “I know. Frisk found out in your lab.”

“Oh my god.” She put her face in her hands. “I’m so sorry… I d-didn’t know this would happen, I—”

“I know, dude, I know. Chill out. No one couldda guessed that.”

“S-So…? So h-how many were there, exactly?” she asked. “B… Before Frisk?”

“Oof. Um…” He grinned embarrassedly. “No clue. Honestly, couldn’t tell ya. Too many? Waited for that kid for what felt like forever.”

“But that was bad,” Alphys said. “Before her, it was… b-bad, though, r-right?”

“Mostly, yeah,” he said. “I mean, there were a handful in there that weren’t the worst ever, but there were a lot of them that just wanted to burn the world down. Dunno why. Don’t care. And then some of ‘em would come in like Frisk, all cute and nice and shit, and then reset and start stabbin’ people. That was almost worse.”

“H-Holy c-c-crap… Why?” she said. “Wh… Why would a-anyone d-d-do that?”

“I have no clue, dude. It’s like… I dunno, killin’ us makes humans stronger or something. It’s kinda like they just see it all as a game, sometimes, I dunno. All I knew was I was stuck with ‘em and most of the time they were too incompetent to even try to erase my memories right when they hopped off the world— however the hell they do that— if they didn’t decide to kill everyone. So even when I ended up back where it started, they looped in my head. Never figured that bit out.”

“Th-They… They could erase y-your memories?” she asked softly. “H-How?”

“I guess it’s just the backtracking. And if you can backtrack everything, stands to reason you can backtrack someone’s memories,” he said. “But, I guess they weren’t super focussing on me most of the time. So, even if they almost got it, I’d remember their bullshit eventually. And if they did get it, welp, guess I wouldn’t remember, would I?”

“But Frisk s-stopped them,” she mused. “Y-You called her an _anchor_, right? She’ll h-hold the world steady. Th-That’s what you said, r-right?”

He nodded. She frowned.

“Wh-What does that mean, exactly?” she asked.

“What it sounds like,” he said. “Frisk’s…. Well, she’s good. She’s… ours. She’s not gonna leave us. That’s what being an anchor means. Being the last anomaly a timeline gets and blockin’ any chance of other ones.”

“B-Big responsibility for a l-little kid,” she said quietly. “I’m… Okay, n-now that I know that, I’m… I’m k-kind of even more c-confused at how you started to t-trust Frisk. If she’s a time anomaly, l-like you said, then…”

Sans tilted his head. “She’s… She’s not just that. Kinda hate to admit it, but that’s where my mind was when I first met her, but… nah. No. She’s… Heh. She’s my kid sister. Might as well always have been.”

“R-Really?” Alphys asked, eyes wide. “I m-mean… I got that you two were close, but… Wow. Th-That’s a big deal.”

He shrugged. “Kinda started with Paps, honestly. The way she is with him. Really won me over.”

“O-Oh yeah? Th-They… They are r-really cute t-together,” she said with a bashful smile, and then quickly raised her hands. “P-Platonically! Totally platonically.”

Sans snickered. “So, I mean, she just fit in real well with us is all. And we all kinda ended up needin’ each other, so it was good she stuck around. Do you remember the red line?”

“What, in the s-simulations? Yeah. W-Why?”

“That’s her,” he said.

Alphys rubbed her headspines shyly. She took a breath. “I th-think I get it,” she said quietly. “And… A-And that must’ve been nice for you, huh? I mean… She’s such a good k-kid. And… And sh-she understands a-all this time travel stuff, huh?”

“Maybe it sounds weird, but she was actually the only one I could talk to about most of this crap,” Sans said. “I mean, I kept it minimal. I didn’t want her to deal with all my bullshit. Guess there’s no choice now, but, uh… I dunno. Don’t get me wrong, Paps was great, too, but he never actually had to go through this, thank god. But with Frisk, since I remembered her timelines, she’d come to me when she had problems and I could relate. Turns out, for some reason, she ended up legit kinda likin’ me?”

“Aw, c’mon, Sans, y-you’re a great friend,” Alphys assured him. “She was l-lucky to have you. F-From everything I’ve seen, y-you’re a great older brother! I mean, you always h-have been. T-To like, everyone around you. S-Sure, you might be asleep half the time, but y-you’re still always there for everyone!”

His cheekbones flushed and he shrugged. Alphys smiled and patted his shoulder reassuringly.

“Um… One… One thing, though, th-that I’m confused by is the first time F-Frisk showed up,” she said. “Th-The barrier didn’t break that time. And… A-And Asgore, he… he died.And she vanished from the u-underground, right? What happened in that version? And how did she get back? How d-does one of these time travellers redo things? And why d-did she come back, I thought m-maybe she wanted to go to the surface, right?”

“That’s complicated,” he said. “Maybe don’t tell her I told you, huh? It’s… It’s not that she’d mind, it’s just that she hates thinkin’ about it.”

“O-Oh… Poor Frisk,” she said. “B-But, still, you know the most. I’d be interested in knowing.”

Sans looked thoughtful. He nodded and began to explain.

\- - - 

He prefaced the story by explaining his dreams— how they worked to the best of his knowledge. Reliving the anomalies, seeing them out of order, even predicting some. He had seen Frisk, too, long before he ever met her. 

He saw a kid that greeted him with a hug at the bridge near the Ruins— a babbling thank you for saving them. A kid who made pasta with Papyrus and dumb skeleton puns. One who napped under his arm as he read his brother’s favourite storybook aloud to the two of them; who sat with him on the edge of a cliff in the light of a real sunset. He didn’t know why, but he felt like, whoever that human was, they were the key to ending this. The world’s anchor. He passed it off as wishful thinking at the time, but the more things degraded, the tighter he held to that one little glimmer of something until he couldn’t bear it anymore. He let that hope turn to dust.

At the start of Frisk’s time, Sans remembered waking up in a new timeline and realizing where he was with a mix of relief and dread. He’d died in the one before. World might have ended. Wasn’t really a fan.

Waiting for the new anomaly, waiting to see who’d come through that door— it was always one of the worst parts. Honestly, they all looked like kids. And they were all kind of cute at first, unless they came out covered in dust. And this one, it didn’t show up right away. Left him on edge for about two weeks before that door cracked open.

His plan was the same as all the other times. Be friendly, treat the human well, and hope that they weren’t a psycho as he kept an eye on them. That they didn’t want the power that came with hurting others — and that the ghost of a kid in the Ruins that so often lead them astray hadn’t sunken her claws in. And even if they were a bit messed up, maybe seeing how friendly monsters really were would make them happy, maybe change their mind. It was the only thing he could do. Attacking one just caused a temporary reset or his own removal from the story. And these anomalies, they could go backwards indefinitely. There was no point in trying to stop them. He had learned that the hard way. Wait it out, wait for the reset— for them to wreck everything, or get bored, or get what they wanted— hope the next one wasn’t as bad. That was the cycle.

When Frisk came out of the Ruins, she was shy, at first. Didn’t talk much, but after he had introduced himself, every time he popped in to check on her, she greeted him with a hug. Her eyes would light up when she saw him. She actually seemed excited. Definitely strange.

Papyrus brought her home after he had failed at “capturing” her, but she hadn’t really wanted to leave. In fact, rather quickly, Papyrus insisted she come to live with them. Sans couldn’t explain why, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn her away. Maybe it was how happy she made Papyrus. He absolutely adored her, and she seemed to love him right away, too. Sans guessed both of them really needed a friend. The first time Frisk had slipped up and called Papyrus “bro”— probably mimicking him, if he were honest— Papyrus had cried like a baby and didn’t stop carrying her around for hours.

She had stayed for a few days the first time, and despite logic advising him against it, he was getting attached. That was the thing about monsters: that trust and want to bond was in their nature. In his head, Sans knew better, but this kid was gently but surely tapping away at his guard. She always wanted to hold someone’s hand, or watch them do what was just regular stuff, or try to help out around the house. Kid didn’t seem to have a mean bone in her body. It was a first for him. He started to think that maybe, with someone like her holding onto their timeline, everything would be okay. And yet, still, she wanted to meet Asgore.

He had watched her time travel. Seen everything she tried. Some of these kids, he’d seen them kill someone just to see what would happen before darting backwards in time. Frisk never did. Her resets were sparing as she got the hang of them. She did it almost exclusively when she was the one who wouldn’t make it. She never even raised her hand. For the most part, didn’t even carry anything to defend herself with, either.

When he met her in that golden hallway on her way to the castle, he had tried to convince her to turn around. Had asked her if it was all really worth it. She had insisted she just wanted to make all the monsters happy. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but a few hours later, Asgore and all the souls were gone, and so was their kid. She couldn’t have done that, could she? It didn’t seem possible. It had to have been someone else. Asriel was the first one who came to mind. But there they were, stuck again with no human souls, and the kid he had actually liked was nowhere to be found. He didn’t know what to think.

Toriel had emerged from the Ruins and took leadership, seemingly from nowhere, but she seemed melancholy all the time. He didn’t need to ask why. Everyone seemed to miss the kid. He knew Papyrus did— kept asking when she was coming home. Started counting the days; crying to himself a little when he thought no one was watching. Sans didn’t know what to do. Even Undyne started asking about her. Something about that kid stuck with them in a way that had never happened before. He’d called a few times, but her phone seemed to be out of service.

The day he finally got through on Papyrus’s phone, he didn’t want to admit how happy he was to hear that she was out there, somewhere. Things didn’t usually go like this. Things didn’t usually end with almost everyone alive.

Even thinking about it put him right back there.

\- - -

He had been hanging out in the garden in the throne room at the time, as the others chatted to the kid on the phone, and somehow, he expected that to be the end of it for now. Instead, Papyrus had appeared through the doorway, cellphone in hand, a sort of bashful smile on his face.

“Hey, Sans?” Papyrus walked up through the flower patch and held the phone out. “It’s the human! She’d like to talk to you again, if that’s alright?”

“Uh, sure, no problem,” he said.

Papyrus smiled and nodded, but the expression on his face was a little strange. Like there was something worrying him that he couldn’t quite place. Sans took the phone and put it near his head as he began to slowly wander.

“Hey, kiddo, what’s up?” he asked.

She didn’t answer, at first. Instead, all he heard was strained breathing and a weird choking sound.

“Uh… Kid?” he asked. “You still there?”

“I… I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry.”

“Whoa, kid, uh,” Sans said, eyes widening, “what’s wrong?”

She whimpered. Couldn’t get words out. A sinking feeling struck him.

“Hey. Hey, don’t cry,” he said quickly, lowering his voice. “Kid, don’t cry, you’re okay, right? You’re out, aren’t you? That’s what you wanted.”

“N… No it wasn’t! It wasn’t…” she said. “I n-never wanted… I w-wanted to… I wanted to stay.”

Sans felt the cold sting of shock. He took a quick look around. Papyrus had already left, but he could hear chatter just beyond the doorway. Quickly, he shifted himself to the quiet of the golden Judgement Hall.

“Kid, what are you talkin’ about?” he asked. “You… didn’t want to get out?”

“N-No…” she said softly.

“Then how the heck are you outside?” he asked.

“I… I d-don’t know what h-happened, I j-just… I w-woke up outside a-and I d-don’t know,” she stammered. “I’m so s-sorry, I didn’t… N-Nothing I did h-helped anyone and now A-Asgore is… oh my god. I t-tried… I couldn’t give him my soul. I just… I couldn’t, it wouldn’t w-work, and… and that flower, he… he took them all, and… and…!” She choked, coughed, and he could hear her trying really hard to hold it together. 

He put his back to one of the columns. He didn’t know what to say. “…Kiddo—?”

“I’m so sorry. You counted on me and I couldn’t… I… I didn’t w-want to die.” Her voice was weak and cracking. “B-But I j-just… I thought… I’m only one kid. M-Maybe I could help everyone if I just—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said. “You…? You’re sayin’ you tried to let Asgore kill you?”

“Y-You guys, you were all s-so nice to me, and I love you all so much, but… you’d be happier o-out here, huh?” she said. “M-Me, I’m not important. B-But… in the end, th-the souls are gone, Asgore is d-d-dead, I… I’m so… so sorry.”

“Kid,” Sans said, rubbing his eye sockets. “No. No, you can’t think like that. Sure, we wanted to get out, but… if I’m totally honest, I think most of us would have rather just had you stick around, you know? Wait for the next one.”

She sniffled. “What? Y-You mean it…?”

“Yeah, of course,” he said. “You know, you made a lot of monsters real happy, right? That’s not nothin’.”

“…Oh. B-But… But…”

“Kid, listen, I haven’t seen my little brother smile that big in years,” he said. “He loves you to death, y’know? Means a lot to me, too.”

“Oh… Oh, man, I…!” She sniffled; her voice went shrill. “I l-love him, too. S-So much!”

Made him stall to hear that. Felt a weird twinge through his bones. He took a deep breath. “C’mon, kid, look on the bright side, you got a whole world out there for you, huh?”

“B-But I don’t want that!” she insisted. “I… I just want to c-come back! I just want to be with you, and Papyrus, and mom, and… and—!” She broke down. The kid was full-out bawling.

Sans cringed, and his eyes watered in sympathy. He didn’t know what to say. Took him a while to gather his thoughts as the kid on the other end of the line sobbed and heaved for breath.

“Kiddo,” he said quietly, brushing his eye sockets with his thumb. “C’mon. Kiddo, talk to me. Hey. There has to be something worth it out there, huh? You’re young. You got everything ahead of you.”

“…N-No. E-Even if there was, I’m n-never going to make it,” she said. “I’m st-still on the mountain. I… I have nowhere to g-go… Sans, I-I’m s-so scared. I… I just wanna come home.”

It took him a moment to realize what home meant to her. He was struck with this weird feeling. Like his heart broke. Hadn’t felt like that in a long time. And, all of sudden, it was like a light had flicked on. He could see what had been right in front of his face. The kid wasn’t just some anomaly disrupting the timeline. Not even close.

He put a hand to his mouth for a moment and felt a tear slip down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away. “Then… Then come home.”

“I d-don’t think I can climb anymore. I don’t even know where the d-door is.” She sniffed, hard, trying to catch her breath. “…I’m gonna die out here, aren’t I?”

“No. Kiddo. Listen,” he said.

He wasn’t sure what he was thinking. But there wasn’t any other way, was there? Maybe this was a terrible idea. Maybe this was the best he could do for their world. But the more he listened to her, the less he could stand the thought of her stuck out there. If they had to be trapped underground, as long as she held the timeline, it couldn’t be so bad, could it? 

“You can go back,” he said.

“I’m… I’m so tired. I c-can… I can barely walk, dude.”

“Not like that,” he said. “Look. Kid. I know what you can do, alright? I know you can go backwards.”

“You…?! Oh!! Oh my g-god. I knew it!” That was the first time she’d sounded like she was smiling since he’d picked up the phone. “I… I thought you d-did, I just didn’t wanna ask just in case…”

“I, uh… Look. We can talk about it later,” he said. “What I need you to do is just focus, and go back to that last star, okay?”

“The last…?! Oh… I tried. I tried, I can’t, it’s not…” She gulped. “The flower, he… h-he did something. I can’t… I can’t.”

Sans grimaced. “Alright. Fine. Then, do this for me. Focus real hard and go backwards as far as you can, okay?”

“Wh… What?” she squeaked.

“Go back to the start of all this mess,” he said. “See your mom. And… And then come find me, okay? We’ll figure something out. You and me, and Papyrus, and Toriel, alright?”

She went quiet for a while, but he could still hear her trying to catch her breath.

“Kid?” he asked.

“I… I’m here,” she said. “You r-really think I can?”

“Yeah. C’mon. Stay determined,” he insisted. “And… And then, come home. It’s… Heh. It won’t be perfect. Hell, not even close, but I’ll do my best to keep an eye socket out for you, alright?”

“S-Sans, I… I d-dunno what to say,” she said. “Th… Thank you. That’s o-one of the nicest things anyone’s e-ever said to me.”

“That’s pretty bad, kiddo,” he joked, smiling tiredly. “Hey. Just occurred to me. Never actually got your name.”

“Oh! O-Oh, you didn’t—?” She actually started to laugh quietly. “I’m sorry. M-My bad. I’m Frisk.”

“Frisk,” he repeated. “Cool. Alright, Frisk, what d’you say? Come home, we’ll go to Grillby’s, get some milkshakes or somethin’. It’ll be good.”

“…Okay. Okay, I’m going to try,” she said softly. “W-Will, um…? Will you stay on the phone with me?”

“Yeah. Sure thing,” he said.

“Thank you so much. You’re the best, S-Sans, really. I hope I see you soon.”

“You will.”

\- - -

The next thing Sans knew, he was staring groggily up at his ceiling. He heard Papyrus calling him from downstairs. It was one of the few times he’d gotten out of bed at a reset and not felt a thump of worry deep in his bones.

Things went quiet for just a little while, enough for him to get a feeling of uneasiness settling down on him. He checked the sealed door to the Ruins, but all was silent for four days. On the fifth, early in the morning, those ancient double doors rumbled open and a kid stepped out into the snowy world beyond. Sans saw from afar and appeared behind her, walking slowly and cautiously as she proceeded rather determinedly ahead down the path towards town. 

He hoped it was her. After all that, she wouldn’t ditch, right? It had to be.

She slowed as she neared the bridge. She cautiously stepped over a branch in the path and then started glancing around. Sans shifted to the tree line when she turned to look back down the path the way she’d come. She doubled back just a little, and then continued on her way east. The scrawny build and brownish skin seemed right. He hoped.

As she reached the bridge, she cast another glance around. She was definitely looking for something. He plucked up his courage and got closer.

“Hey, kid,” he said.

She spun around at the sound of his voice, eyes wide. She looked so familiar. Had to be Frisk. She began to grin immediately. He recognized that way her eyes sparkled.

“Sans!” she exclaimed— yup, he’d know that voice anywhere. She threw her arms around him tightly. 

He froze, shocked. Tried not to show it. But there she was.

“Oh my god, I’m so happy to see you!” She was talking real fast. “I…! I missed you so much! I’m so glad you’re here! And… A-And oh my god, thank you! You were super right! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You saved me. I love you so much, dude, thank you!!”

Sans’s body went ridged. The déjà vu hit him like a truck. There was a sort of ache in his chest when she pulled back to wipe her eyes on her sleeve. He had seen this before. Seen it exactly, word for word. Had seen what came next, too; knew exactly who this girl was. It all clunked into place abruptly.

He must’ve started making some sort of face, because the kid looked worried and got a little closer.

“S-Sans, are you okay?” she asked.

He tried to grin, couldn’t do it, and his vision blurred with tears. His bones started to rattle and his knees gave. He huffed, and couldn’t help but curl up as his shoulders started to shake. It was like every bit of pressure that had been forcing him upright crumbled. His mind raced. He couldn’t believe it, but he knew to the core of his being that it was true. It was finally done. He’d found his anchor. Or rather, his anchor’d found him.

He heard the snow crunching and, after a moment, he was taken aback when that tiny kid gently slipped in close to him, putting one arm around his shoulders and holding the back of his skull with the other hand. She didn’t say a word, just rubbed his head gently. He lost it; grabbed her to him, a quaking mess, and hid his face against her shoulder. 

“I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?” she asked quietly.

He started laughing through the tears— couldn’t believe what he had heard. Kid was a comedian. “No.” He huffed. “No. Heh. Definitely no.”

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, but when he finally managed to sit up and catch his breath, the kid gently let him go and gave him a concerned, but understanding, smile.

“Better?” she asked.

“Much,” he assured her. “Heh. Whew. Didn’t expect to just go down like that. Sorry, kid.”

She shook her head. “Don’t worry. Everyone needs to sometimes, I think. Can I ask? What happened? Did you have a bad morning?”

He smiled. “Nah, actually, I had a pretty good one,” he said. “It’s just… something was freakin’ me out for a long time. But now that you’re here, it went away.”

“It did?” she asked with surprise.

He nodded. “Yup. You scared it off. Maybe I’ll tell you more about it sometime.”

She looked puzzled, but she smiled anyway. “Well, I’m not sure what that means, but I’m glad you’re happier, now!” she said brightly. “S-So, um, you remember me, right? M-My mom, she didn’t, but we’re, um, we’re still friends, right? You remember who I am?”

“Course I do,” he said. “And… if it’s up to me, I think we’ll always be friends. That is, if that’s what you want, too, kiddo.”

Frisk beamed. She hugged him again and he held her close. 

He touched his brow against the top of her head and was quiet for a long time. She didn’t seem to mind at all. She cozied into his jacket and he felt the hum in his soul speed. It was strange: a feeling that had been reserved, exclusively, for Papyrus. It struck him, then, that this must be the right path. This kid, she was all alone, wasn’t she? Maybe she needed them as much as they needed her. Maybe that was the way this all had to play out. The more he rolled it around in his mind, the more snugly it fit.

“Look, uh, Frisk…? The others, they won’t remember you,” he said quietly. “But Papyrus still loves you to death, okay? You wanna just play along? Then we can go home.”

She nodded. He patted the kid’s head gently. More words stuck for a moment, heavy in his mind but, to be honest, he was too tired to bother trying to play it off.

“Love you, too,” he said.

“Y-You do?!” she squeaked.

“…Yeah.” He pulled back and gave her a bashful smile. “Hope that’s not weird.”

She emphatically shook her head and the smile on her face made him grin a bit wider.

“I… I still want to help,” she said. “Maybe I-I can figure out the barrier. A different way.”

“Hey. Kiddo. Whatever you do,” he said, “it’s fine by me.”

“Y-Yeah? So, um, w-would, um…? O-Okay, maybe it’s… Maybe it’s weird to ask, but, um… Would it be o-okay if I… stayed?” she asked. “E-Even if we do get outside? I, um…” She took a deep breath, eyes flitting down uncertainly. 

Sans tilted his head.

“I don’t… I don’t really have anywhere else to go,” she said.

“Nobody’s waitin’ for you up top?” he asked, puzzled.

She shook her head quickly, wincing. He felt instantly bad that he was overwhelmingly relieved to know that.

“Dude, of course. Don’t have to ask,” he said.

“I can? Really?” she said, eyes going wide.

“Like I said,” Sans assured her, “you’re home now. Alright?”

The kid gritted her teeth. She threw her arms around his shoulders again, clinging tightly. “Ohmigod, I love you,” she squeaked. “Dude, I-I love you so much, thank you. Thank you for e-everything.”

“Kiddo. C’mon, you’re gonna get icicles all over your face,” he joked.

“H-Hah! Speak for yourself!” she said with a snicker.

He finally managed to get to his feet, and she stood up with him, wiping her eyes. He grinned and patted her head, and then cast a glance back towards the old bridge.

“Hey. Got a weird-ass lamp with your name on it,” he said. “What d’you say? Mess with Paps a little? Do some puzzles? That alright with you?”

“Y-Yeah!” She grinned. “Oh man, I can’t wait to see him again!”

“He’ll be happy, too. Hey.” He ruffled her hair gently. “Welcome back, huh?”

He felt strange. Whole. This was the kid who made the universe right. And she was warm, and funny, and she loved his brother; she loved _him_. He almost couldn’t believe it. They were safe. Everyone was safe. And this kid… Everything else didn’t matter. She was the anchor. She was perfect.

\- - -

After that, Frisk had a new sense of confidence about her. Once Papyrus knew her again, the three of them had really been like a real family. Something inside his brother seemed to know how important she was to him— it was quickly like they had never even been apart. It hadn’t been for very long, but it felt like normal almost immediately. 

Papyrus was “bro” again within a day, and she, tentatively at first, began to call him that, too. He liked it. It became quickly irrelevant to him if she could break the barrier or not. She was the one who could keep everyone safe, and aside from that, he loved her as if she had always been there; had always been family. A new little sibling, plunked right into his life as if he’d brought her up himself. He’d never expected that.

Even when the kid had to reset to the start for what they had planned for to be the last time— what had been intended to be the time the barrier was destroyed and they saved Asriel, too— they had worked together as best they could. It had barely felt like a reset at all, even though saving Asriel, ultimately, hadn’t worked.

\-- - 

He tented his fingers and stared at the table. Alphys bit her lip and wiped her eyes under her glasses. She put a hand on his shoulder.

“That… That all sounds like it was so hard for you,” he said.

“Actually,” Sans said, grinning, “it’s kinda the happiest I’ve been in years.”

“R-Really?” Alphys said shrilly. “B-But—!”

“Think about it,” he said. “I’m there expecting someone to come screw with the timeline again and start killin’ people, instead I get Frisk. And we get to keep Frisk.”

Alphys smiled. “That’s a g-good point. You got a l-little sister, huh? She must’ve been so h-happy.”

“Yup. Once Paps took her in again, didn’t see that kid without a big grin on her face for quite a while,” he said. “It was weird to me. I thought for sure that when I found the anchor, it would be a big thing to convince them to stay to keep the world steady. Instead, this kid basically just jumps me and begs me to _let_ her stay. As if it were even up to me. Heh. I guess it was always meant to be her.”

He somewhat unconsciously put his hand over his soul spot. “When we… When we fused. There wasn’t ever a moment where our energies fought each other. It was perfect,” he said. “It was like… she was… made for that? That sounds creepy. But our souls match in that way. Maybe because we both time travel. I dunno. I’m not big into believin’ in destiny or whatever, but whatever happened, I feel like she was meant to be here.”

“Mhm. Maybe not destiny, but like… L-Like… Like a puzzle piece,” Alphys said quietly, and she smiled. “Like she always belonged. She was just missing f-for a little while. Thanks f-for t-telling me all that. That was… r-really personal.”

He shrugged and grinned a little. “If I’ve learned anything recently, it’s that it’s actually good to talk it out sometimes,” he said. “I’m just usually way too lazy. But, since you asked…”

“Thanks f-for trusting me,” she said with a smile.

“Course. We’ve known each how long?” he said with a grin. “At a certain point, you’re, uh, basically family, y’know? Don’t sweat it.”

Alphys blushed instantly, but she smiled wide. “Th-Thanks, Sans. Th-That means a lot. I’m… st-still a little surprised about all that stuff with Frisk, though.”

“Which part?” Sans asked.

“W-Well… Well. I guess, m-mostly why she was so upset to b-be outside at all. I mean, b-before you adopted h-her. P-Poor thing…”

Sans paused to consider his words carefully. He could see the whole thing from her perspective now. It was much worse than he had thought. She had hurt herself pretty badly looking for the way back. Upset wasn’t quite the word for it. When she found herself out there, alone, he couldn’t describe her aching feeling of loss and horror. In the underground, for the first time, she had felt like she had a family, and to have it all torn away so quickly— there weren’t words for it. Not to mention the feeling that lingered of being ripped apart by Asriel, over and over, severed from the starlight that was her gateway through time, even if it had only been for a little while. She had nightmares for weeks. That wasn’t something he needed to share out loud.

“She never wanted out,” he said. “There was this human ghost in her head. Tried to guide her to Asgore. She honestly thought it would be better for everyone if she gave up her soul to him.”

“W-What?! No way,” Alphys said. “You told her no, right?! You told her we all t-totally love her, right?!”

“Obviously,” he said.

“G… Good,” she said. “I w-wouldn’t… I wouldn’t want t-to be free if i-it meant F-Frisk had to die. I c-couldn’t stand it.”

“Like I said, she couldn’t die even when she tried. But I tried to stomp out that whole self-sacrifice junk real fast, or else the guilt’d drive her up the wall. And to be honest, I stopped givin’ two shits about the surface a long time ago,” Sans said. “With all these overlappin’ timelines, memories, garbage, I figured it’s more important to be with people you care about than where you are, you know? Maybe that’s, uh, sappy, or crap, or selfish or whatever, but it works for me, I guess. Better than goin’ crazy.”

Alphys gave him a tired smile. “I’m s-sorry you had to go through all this alone until now.”

“Well, what can you do?” he said with a grin.

“W-Well… _you_ knew what to do, right? In the future. That’s… I mean, that’s obviously your magic on Frisk. The stuff that h-helped the rest of us remember. I’ve never even seen anything l-like it.”

“Me neither,” he agreed. “I guess future me isn’t a total bonehead. But I have no idea how I did that.”

Alphys nodded. She looked troubled, and after a moment, she got up and grabbed him into a hug. 

“Alphys, I’m okay,” he assured her. “Thanks, though.”

“H-Hah! Okay like I’m okay, or actually okay?” she asked.

“Somewhere in the middle, I think,” he said.

She smiled and nodded, and pulled back slowly to wipe her eyes again. “Y-You really think all this’ll work?”

“It has to, right?” he said. “Frisk’s not gonna stop until she fixes the kid. I don’t think we have a choice, here. He doesn’t get a soul and we all lose everything again. You heard her. Everyone dies.”

“U-Um… Unless… S-Someone stops him?” she said quietly, taking her seat again. “W-Was there really nothing that could be done? I-I mean, Frisk’s smart, b-but she’s still just a kid. She was p-probably terrified. You know what she saw, d-don’t you?”

Sans frowned. He looked thoughtful.

“In her memories,” Sans said, “I saw a giant plant monster wreckin’ a city and takin’ tons of human souls. Way more than seven. I think he was tryin’ to get the timeline, but… I guess the determination wasn’t enough to overcome Frisk’s. Huh. It’s… weird to see myself from the outside like that. She saw… oh.” He rubbed his skull. “It gets real bad.”

Alphys put her hand on his reassuringly. “Please?”

“You and Mettaton tried to help, but Undyne gets killed. Then she somehow rebuilds herself and keeps fightin’, but even that isn’t close to enough,” he said quietly.

Alphys’s eyes were wide. Her scales were a little pale. She took a deep breath and put her face in her hands. “Okay. S-So I guess we really do need to do this.” She sighed and forced a smile. “A-Alright. I m-might have an idea. I need to think about th-this a little, though. J-Just let me finish with the math, and… A-And I think I know our next steps.”

Sans nodded. He looked up at the sound of a door cracking open. Frisk wandered downstairs, half asleep, eyes barely open at all, and headed for the sink. She bumped into the counter instead.

“Crap,” she mumbled.

Sans took her carefully in his magic and lifted her up. 

“Oh. Thanks, dude,” she said. She pawed around for a glass and got some water before he let her down.

“Need some stilts?” he asked.

“Maybe Mettaton will let me borrow his legs,” she joked, rubbing her eyes. “Isn’t it pretty late?”

“Sure is, I’m practically asleep already,” Sans said. 

“W-We were just talking a little, that’s all,” Alphys said. “We’ll, um… We’ll come up soon.”

“Oh. Well… While you guys were doing important talks, we made a blanket fort upstairs,” she said. “So it’s cozy. If you want to come hang out. Everyone’s asleep though.”

“Blanket fort?” Sans repeated. “That might be literally the best thing thing I’ve ever heard.”

Papyrus’s room was only lit by the slightly golden glow of a small desk lamp— the colour distorted as it shone through some of the thinner, blue, or pink, or white sheets that were draped over chairs and piled up to make what was essentially a tent over almost a third of the room. Frisk pulled back one of the sheets to reveal that the floor was covered in pillows, duvets, and a patchwork of more sheets and quilts. Undyne was somewhat upright in a pile of pillows, but was clearly asleep, and Papyrus was slumped near her, cozy under even more blankets.

Sans’s eyes were all but glittering. “Oh my god.” He started to beam. “Yup. This is perfect.”

“I know, right?” Frisk said.

Alphys looked a little awkward, but Frisk ushered her inside. She wrung her hands hesitantly, and the kid gently pushed her towards Undyne. “B-But she’s asleep!” she whispered shrilly.

“Yeah, totally get cozy!” Frisk insisted.

Hesitantly, Alphys tiptoed over to Undyne and, with an awkward expression, sat beside her. When she shifted a little closer, one of Undyne’s arms dropped onto her and her scales turned bright red. She slumped and relaxed, and Undyne’s eye opened just a crack. She grinned to herself and hugged Alphys close.

Sans had already flopped down next to Papyrus. The two were a little like magnets. Even though Papyrus was dead asleep, he latched onto his brother right away. Sans was absolutely aglow. He took Frisk in his magic and whisked her over to cozy her between them. She snickered as she pulled up the duvet, and snuggled into his arms.

“You okay there? Get comfy because I’m gonna be asleep in like ten seconds,” Sans said.

“Totally great,” Frisk assured him— her voice was soft as if she was already gone. 

He was actually out in six. She was out in twenty.


	26. The Lab

Sans was awake. Or, at least, he was pretty sure he was. He wasn’t sure what the heck he was seeing, though. Some sort of pale and blurry mess. When he finally got the will to sit up, he heard the flap of paper in the air and realized someone had left a note on his face. At the top was a message from Alphys— she had gone back to the lab to take care of some “chores”.She asked him to meet her there with Frisk whenever they were ready. Below that was another message, as dictated by Papyrus, but written by Frisk, judging by the lopsided handwriting and the spelling mistakes. They said that they and Undyne were out in the puzzle areas. To meet them there if he felt like it. Frisk also added that there was a ketchup-hotdog sandwich in the fridge for him if he wanted. He did.

Took him a while to convince himself to get out of the blanket fort. He read the comics in the newspaper while eating what was essentially just a hotdog swimming in ketchup that Frisk had left for him. Wasn’t too bad.

He actually remembered to change his clothes today. Grabbed a regular t-shirt that Papyrus had written “SKELETON 2” on. If he noticed, it would probably trigger him to make Frisk a shirt with “SKELETON 3” on it. They were ordered by height, after all. That would really make the kid’s day, he was sure of it.

He grabbed his coat and headed out. He checked the normal puzzle spots. No one at the two closest to town; there was nothing but footprints there. Farther back towards the west, near what was once Papyrus’s simplest switch trap, he found them.

Papyrus had set up some new switches, and Undyne was racing around, trying to solve them and turn the X’s to O’s. There was one she kept accidentally pushing into the third phase, the triangle, though. Frisk was stationed, squatting, by the reset switch. Strangely appropriate, he thought. They seemed to be having a lot of fun. 

When Undyne finally solved it, she whooped loudly and punched the air. Papyrus clapped and she grabbed him and noogied him. Frisk snickered and clapped, but then noticed Sans pretty quickly. She got up quickly and ran to him and hugged him tight.

“Sans!! Good morning!” she said brightly. “Had a good sleep, right?”

“Yup.” He ruffled her hair. “Good idea, kid.”

She beamed.

“Ah! Look who has finally heaved himself out of the overwhelming coziness of the Great Papyrus Blanket Megafort,” Papyrus said as he sauntered over. “You are very lucky Frisk was there, brother, or I would have dragged you right out into the cold with us!”

“Hm. That’s alright, bro, snow’s kinda like a pillow, too,” Sans said.

“Hey, Sans,” Undyne said. “Jeez, I have never seen a person so happy to be asleep before.”

He grinned and shrugged.

“Did you get Alph’s message?” she asked.

“Yup.”

“Cool.” She nodded and grinned. “Guys, this was fun, we should do it again sometime. I’m gonna head home and do a quick patrol. See you at the lab?”

“Absolutely we will!” Papyrus said. He suddenly looked bashful. “Um. C-Captain? I was wondering… since Sans can take Frisk and teleport, I’ll be a bit behind them anyway, so I was hoping. Maybe. You might have room in your patrol for one more? Skeleton? Named Papyrus?”

Frisk tried not to coo. Undyne tilted her head; her ear-fins perked up. 

“Yeah, sure, why not?” she said. 

Papyrus squealed and Frisk clapped for him. “Thank you, Captain! I won’t let you down!!” he announced.

Papyrus hugged his siblings goodbye before marching off quite quickly with Undyne. Sans was glowing with pride. He turned to Frisk.

“Hungry?”

“Heck yes,” she said.

“Alright.” He took her hand and they were in front of Grillby’s in a blink.

Most of the dog guards and a handful of regulars were already inside the place, and they all greeted each other happily. They took their seats and Frisk was soon munching another burger while Sans sipped ketchup.

“You think Alphys has any stuff yet?” Frisk wondered.

“Maybe,” he said.

“I hope so,” she said. “It’ll probably take a lot of monsters, huh?”

“Probably.” Sans shrugged. “Still gotta bind it. Maybe that can be me. I dunno.”

“Why you?” she asked. “I could do it.”

“Maybe,” he said, “but you don’t know how to project your soul, huh?”

“I could learn!” she said.

“I dunno, buddy,” he said. “You know any wizards? Human ones.”

“Wizards?” she repeated. “No. Is that still even a thing?”

Sans shrugged again. “Then I dunno what to tell ya. Guess maybe my soul could handle it since I—”

“I don’t want you to,” Frisk said quickly. “You’ve been through enough. I’ll figure it out. There’s no way that’s the only way to do it. I just really hope we can get enough monsters to go along with this.”

“Hm.” Sans looked thoughtful and nodded at Grillby. “Yo. Grillbs. Say you had to give up just a tiny bit of your soul, but it would save the world, would you do it?”

Grillby shrugged and nodded before he moved off to start cleaning more glass mugs.

“One down,” Sans said.

Frisk laughed.

“Maybe Mettaton can help,” she said brightly. “He’s kinda the one guy on TV, right? I bet he could help.”

“Hm. Not bad,” he agreed. “Guy’s connected, I'll give ‘im that.” He finished his drink and rubbed the back of his skull. He cut his eyes at her and smiled. “Guess you had to get pretty good at dancin’, huh?”

“Huh? Oh! Hah! Yeah,” she said. She finished her burger and reached into her pocket and put some gold on the counter.

“Kid, I have a tab,” he said.

“Yeah, but that’s okay, some of those kids with the ice hats did that thing where they jumped me and then ended up giving me money. What else am I gonna spend it on?” She waved at Grillby and he waved back. “Okay, done?”

“Yup.”

Frisk quickly texted Alphys to let her know they were on their way, and as soon as they were outside and the coast was clear, Sans took her hand again and they appeared in Alphys’s lab. She didn't seem to be around.

“Doc?” Sans asked.

Silence.Frisk checked her phone. Also nothing. She looked at him with a furrowed brow and he shrugged. 

“Oh. Actually. I think I forgot somethin’,” he said. “Be right back?”

“For real?” she asked with a laugh.

“Absolutely.” He winked. “Won’t be long.” He disappeared.

Frisk yawned and leaned up against Alphys’s desk for a minute. Then, got on her rolling chair and spun around a little. She noticed Alphys’s phone was on her desk. The text notification was still on the screen. Frisk pouted. She got up and looked around once more.

“Alphys?” she called. Nothing. Maybe she was downstairs?

Frisk got off the chair and headed for the back of the lab, through an unassuming door near the east exit. It was, in fact, the door to an elevator. Frisk rode it underground into the what was really the bulk of the lab. 

It clunked down and, when the doors opened, she was surprised to come face to face with a pale creature that looked a lot like a tall bird with one giant eye in the middle of its head. 

“Oh! Hello!” she said.

The monster tilted its head so far that its long neck allowed it to go completely upside down. “Do… you have… food?” Its voice was layered with many, a bit more male than female, and slow. “Can we… have some…?”

“Oh! Well, I don’t, but I can get you some chips,” she said.

“Ooh… Y… Yes. Good. Yes good…” 

Frisk knew this creature, a little bit, at least. In the lab, here, lived monsters that Alphys had injected with determination in attempts to help them after they had prematurely “fallen down”. Frisk had found out all about it in notes Alphys had left all over the lab on her second trip through the underground. Though the initial results had been good, the monsters that had seemingly been cured soon lost the ability to hold their forms. Many of them had melded together and formed new bodies. The monster before her now was one of them— they could have once been six or seven monsters, or maybe even more.

She lead the amalgamate back down the hallway and found a vending machine beside another set of elevator doors. She popped in a few coins and was rewarded with a bag of chips. She opened them for the monster and gave it to them. They immediately stuck their beak in the bag. Frisk smiled.

“You haven't seen Alphys around at all, have you?” she asked.

“…Doctor. Yes. Mmm. Follow.” They waved a wing and strode on long, somewhat noodle-like legs down the hallway to the right.

Frisk could hear her voice after a little while, but she was too far to make out what exactly she was saying. Something also sounded like quite a lot of dogs. “Alphys?” she called.

Alphys stumbled into view at the end of the hallway heaving a huge bag of kibble along with her. “F-Frisk?!” she yelped. She immediately tripped and the bag tipped.

Kibble spilled out all over the floor and before either of them could move, Alphys was knocked back by a massive creature like a white dog with too many legs and a hole where the face should have been. Just then, that hole was acting an awful lot like a vacuum. The bird-like monster didn’t seem to have a care in the world and wandered off, and, as soon as they were done with the kibble, the dog creature bounded to Frisk. 

She grinned and grabbed what would have been the dog’s fluffy cheeks and rubbed her hands through the fur that had the faint texture of putty. 

“Hey, big guy!” she said brightly— the hole that was the face began to ooze a black goo and she laughed. “Hah, gross! You look pretty happy, huh?”

The tail wagged so hard the sound it made against the walls was like a heavy drum. She pet their head and almost instantly, they started to lean into her until she had to sit down. They collapsed, too, and she pet their neck and what she could reach of their side.

“Oh… Oh m-my god.” Alphys let out a huge sigh. “I… I forgot you knew.” 

“No worries!” Frisk said. “Sorry to surprise you. I tried to text you but you left your phone upstairs.”

“My…” She checked her pockets and her cheeks flushed red. “Oh. Y-You’re right.” She shoved the kibble bag across the room and poured it out into a large, green dish. 

The giant mash of dogs rolled off Frisk and bounded, tail wagging, for the food. 

Alphys took a few steps back and wiped her brow. She smiled bashfully at Frisk. “Um, wh-where’s Sans, did he—?”

“He’s coming. I think. He just forgot something,” Frisk said.

“Uh. Okay. Cool,” Alphys said, nodding. “Should we go up? I’d, um… I’d like to a-ask you… uhhh... Well, come with me?”

They went upstairs together and Alphys sat her on the chair again and began to set up a table and some wires and some other things that looked somewhat medical. She turned to Frisk with a nervous, bashful smile. “C-Could, uh… Um. Can I…? Um… C-Can I try to analyze you?”

“Me? Sure, I guess so!” Frisk said.

Alphys nodded, took a deep breath, and then edged closer with some of the apparatuses connected to her computer. She tilted her head. She brushed some of Frisk’s hair away from her neck and hesitantly pressed a sensor against her. 

“A-Actually. I.... I don’t know if this’ll, uhh, even w-work on you,” she said quietly. “I’m… not sure where t-to… Oh!” She handed Frisk one of the cables, and then rolled up the kid's sleeve and hooked it up another to her wrist and hand. “Now, if you can j-just, um, hold that near y-your soul, and… th-that should be…” She headed to her computer and brought up a screen of visualized data. “…Good. I think?”

“So, just hold it?”

“Yeah.”

Frisk shrugged and lit her soul up. The computer immediately crashed. Alphys yelped.

“Oh! Sorry!” Frisk said.

“Oh. Oh, it… Hah!” Alphys started to laugh. “It probably couldn’t handle the determination. Th-That’s okay, I’ll… I’ll just have to f-fiddle with it. S-Sorry about that.” She hurried back over and took the wires back. She rubbed her headspines. 

“D-Do you, uhh...? Do you know what th-those numbers you gave me were, Frisk?” she asked.

Frisk shook her head.

“Ah.” She looked confused, but she smiled. “W-Well… It’s weird. It’s like… s-someone must’ve overheard us at s-some point? A-And maybe wanted to keep is secret?”

“What d’you mean?” she asked.

“It… It w-was an explanation of a determination variable I didn’t quite get,” she said. “S-So… So if you could… tell them thanks?”

“Oh! Yeah, sure! That’s great,” Frisk said. “That’s really weird, though, but that’s good, right?”

“Y-Yes! Yes definitely,” Alphys said. “I’m… I’m actually getting pretty confident about this.”

“That's good,” Frisk said.

“N-Now, I’m actually supposed to meet with Mettaton a bit later today, but I was hoping maybe we… we c-could finish collecting data tomorrow,” she said. “I… I’ll probably need your help. And probably Sans’s, too.”

“Oh! Okay, how can I help?” Frisk asked.

“Thing is,” Alphys said, “there’s actually a lot of old computers and books downstairs. I-In some of the r-rooms I never really used since I moved here. I heard rumours that they’re from the old Royal Scientist. The one b-before me.”

“Ooh. Who was it? Can we go talk to them?” Frisk asked.

Alphys shook her head. “No one really knows. B-But I mean, there had to be someone, right? I wasn’t always the Royal Scientist. B-But the thing is, there’s… There’s n-no records. Nothing.” She looked a little nervous. “Asgore’s a-always been interested in t-trying to find a w-way out of the underground w-without killing anyone, you know? S-So… So maybe... maybe on those old computers? There might be something? I just need some help looking. S-So if maybe you and Sans could? Since he knows the p-place, and you do too? I could keep working while you do that.”

“Okay, no problem!” she said. “Hey, do you think Sans knows the old guy?”

“Umm… N-No, I don’t think so, w-we worked here for a-about the same amount of time,” she said. “I never met them. I asked Asgore a-about it, once, a long time ago. H-He just said he could’t remember, s-so… I’m n-not sure, maybe they weren’t here very long? I really c-couldn’t say.”

“So mysterious,” Frisk said with a laugh. “Alright. No problem, I'll help out.”

“Thanks.”

Alphys’s computer finally finished booting up. The screen flickered oddly for a moment, but then settled on Alphys’s desktop, which had a background of a screen grab from an episode of _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie_ where the anime girls were having fun on a beach. Alphys took a moment to restart whatever programs she needed, checked the security cameras for the outside, and then paused for a moment, drumming her fingers on the desk. She looked at Frisk with a somewhat serious expression.

“Frisk, wh-what you’re doing, it’s r-really important, actually,” Alphys said. “Whatever happens, we really d-do need to make sure we break the b-barrier, alright?”

“Yeah, of course,” Frisk said. 

Alphys nodded. She looked a bit sad; a bit worried, too. Frisk slid off the chair and edged closer.

“Alphys?” she asked.

“Oh! Uh. Um… Well.” She sighed. “Do you know, um…? Do you know a-about when monsters falls?”

“A little.” Frisk frowned worriedly. “Isn’t…? Isn’t that when they’re going to turn to dust soon?”

“Mhmm.” Alphys nodded. “You know about m-my work, right? What happened? Those… monsters, downstairs?”

Frisk nodded. Alphys sighed again. She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

“See, b-back before we were trapped down here, um, this w-wasn’t really a problem, you know?” she said. “A m-monster used t-to only fall when their time n-naturally ran out, u-usually after having k-kids at some point. But… But now, it’s… It’s like people are just giving up, more and more. The d-determination balance is very very important in a monster’s soul. T-Too much and… well… You know. B-But too l-little or none at all…” She shook her head. “The longer we’re here, the more monsters fall. They j-just… They can’t handle it.”

Frisk gulped and put her hand on Alphys’s arm. She smiled a little and held the kid’s hand. She took a deep breath and put her glasses back on.

“Frisk, th-thank you,” she said. “Once this is over, y-you’ll have done what I couldn’t. What n-no one could do.”

“It’s not just me,” Frisk said quickly. “But I’m gonna do my best. Thing is, I think down here is totally great, but it’s not fair that you’re all stuck here with no choice. We’ll get out.”

Alphys smiled. “You really a-are a good kid. Just, umm… well… I just wanted you to know h-how important this all is.”

Frisk nodded. Alphys smiled a little wider.

“It’s… It’s really good to have you around again, Frisk,” she said.

Frisk grinned. “Thanks, I’m happy to be here, too.”

Alphys blushed a little. Gently, she wrapped the kid in a hug. “…I hope you d-don’t mind. S-Sans… told me. About how he figured out you were the anchor. W-We’re so lucky to have you.”

“Oh! Oh man,” Frisk said with a laugh. “He tell you about how I cried like a huge baby?”

“Um… U-Um, more about how he fell over in the snow and started, um… what did he say? _Leaking like a goddamn w-waterfall_, I think is what he said.”

Frisk laughed. “He was so tired. He didn’t actually cry that much, he was mostly just shaking like crazy. He was super burnt out by then, just trying to keep everyone safe. I was glad it was my turn.”

“I g-guess he must’ve b-been,” she said. “He… d-didn’t tell me about keeping people safe, though?”

Frisk laughed again and pulled back to rub her face. “Of course he wouldn’t,” she said, mostly to herself. “Did he tell you how these anomalies, the other ones, a bunch of them tried to end the world? Did he tell you about the ghost?”

“The ghost? Y-Yeah, kinda,” Alphys said. “What do you mean, though?”

“Chara. The ghost. She’s been through all these timelines, too. Taking anomalies along a bad path. Trying to end the world by killing everyone and getting enough power to… well… I’m not really sure how it works. But it’s bad. Sans’s seen it a bunch,” she said. “What he’d do, at the end… after everyone was gone and it was just him and that _thing_ left, he was amazing.”

“Wh-What did he do?” Alphys asked a little nervously.

Frisk smiled, looking a little proud. “He’d fight them. And he’s good. Really good,” she said. “His magic, it hurts people more for how much they’ve hurt people. And he’d remember these guys with their resets. He’d make it just so frustrating for them that most of them would actually just hop off the world or reset or whatever. It was too hard to beat him. Some did, but… b-but that number’s pretty low in the big scheme of things.”

Alphys gawked. “H-He did all that!? Wh-Why didn’t he t-tell me THAT?!”

“It takes a lot of pushing to get him to talk about himself,” Frisk said with a smile and a shrug. “And… it’s not a thing he likes to talk about. Once it’s done, it’s done, that’s the way he sees it. Doesn’t matter what happened in the past. Those anomalies are gone forever, y’know? So. It’s really just like a bad dream.”

Alphys suddenly yelped. Frisk felt a hand on her shoulder.

“H-H-Holy crap, Sans!” Alphys said shrilly.

“Heh. Sorry,” he said. “Just had to get some stuff.”

“Hey, just gave Alphys the run-down on how you’re a freakin’ cool world-saving guy and stuff,” the kid said.

“Oh no.” He laughed. “But then she’ll expect more from me.”

“Um, S-Sans,” Alphys said. “I… Okay, I… w-won’t push it, but… Thanks f-for what you did, even though w-we won’t r-remember.”

“Hey. No problem,” he said, and he winked. “Took literally no effort this time around, so, no big deal.”

Alphys rubbed her forehead, and Frisk snickered.

“Hey, do you know who the old scientist guy was?” Frisk asked, tilting her head back to look at him.

“Old scientist guy?” he repeated.

“Yeah, like, the scientist who ran this place before Alphys did?”

“Uh. No. Nope,” he said. “Hm. Kinda weird now that I think about it. Never met ‘em. Must’ve booked it when they quit.” He shrugged. 

Frisk shrugged, too. He slumped lazily on her shoulders and rested his chin on her head.

“So, what’s up?”

“I almost blew up Alphys’s computer,” Frisk said.

“Huh. Better back up your fanfics, Doc,” Sans said.

“Hah hah,” she said, but then stole a hesitant glance at the computer. “Oh… A-Actually…”

He snickered. “So what happened?”

“Oh, it uhh… It just c-couldn’t handle whatever her d-determination reading was, I think,” Alphys said. “S-Sans, would you mind if I check you again?”

“Oh.” He straightened up. “So that’s what this is about.”

“J-Just want to compare,” Alphys said. “D-Do you mind?”

“Guess not.”

He sat up on the table and ditched his jacket and shirt. There was a pillow in his ribcage.

“Whoops.” He pulled it out and tossed it over his shoulder. “Forgot about that.”

Alphys laughed nervously; Frisk’s snicker was genuinely amused. She cautiously edged up and poked one of his ribs.

“Dude,” he said.

“Sorry.” She smiled bashfully. “You are way smaller without your sweatshirt.”

“Yup. All bones under there,” he said with a wink. “Alphys, better hurry this up, this kid is gonna start xylophonin’ me, I can see it in her eyes.”

“Not even one time?” Frisk asked.

“Don’t you do it,” he warned.

“Oookaaay.” She sighed dramatically. “Fine, fine, I won’t.”

“Xylophoning? D-Do I want to know?” Alphys asked as she moved in to hook him up.

“Ooh!” Frisk said. “It’s just when you take a pen or something and—”

“Dude, don’t tell her, then she’s gonna do it,” Sans protested.

“Okay, okay, sorry,” Frisk laughed. “Tickles, huh?”

“It doesn’t even make a good noise,” Sans said.

“How would you know?” she asked suspiciously.

Sans smiled sideways and shrugged. Frisk put her face in her hand and laughed.

“What? What?” Alphys asked.

“He did it to Papyrus,” Frisk said.

“Hey, what can I say,” he said. “I gotta bit of a _funny bone_.”

“Oh my g-god,” Alphys said.

She finished with attaching the probes and wires up his arm, and then brought a weird, half-moon shaped metal clamp and more wires over.

“Um… It’s o-okay if you s-say no, but, I was wondering if I c-could get this in near the working eye?”

“Which one?” he asked.

“I mean the one that lights up.”

“Oh. Uh. Sure?” 

“Th-Thanks,” she said brightly, getting up on a chair to match him on the table. 

Alphys was very careful with him. The metal, which was partially padded, seemed to fit quite snugly in his eye socket, along the ridge of the bone. 

“I j-just figured, since skeletons seem to do a lot of eye channelling, the readings there would k-kinda help, you know?” she said.

“Fair enough.” He tapped it gently with his fingertip and then looked at Frisk with a grin. “Startin’ to look like a cyborg, huh?”

She snickered. “Just a bit.”

Alphys hopped off the chair and dragged it back to the computer, where she took a look at the measurements and moving waveforms carefully. Frisk edged closer to peer at them curiously. 

“Hmm… Still about the same,” Alphys said. “Light it up?”

“You’re the boss,” Sans said, and he let his magic flare bright.

Alphys tapped her foot. Frisk watched the visualization of his hum speed just a little. She tilted her head. 

“Sans, is that your song?” she asked.

“O-Oh! We t-typically call that a hum, Frisk,” Alphys said, smiling. “It’s l-like a magical resonance. F-From our souls. It’s a p-part of who we are.”

Frisk smiled and nodded. “It’s cool.”

“Y-Yeah! I think so t-too,” she said. “I spent a l-lot of time studying them. A-Are you familiar?”

“It’s the sound you can hear if you listen really close, right?” Frisk said. “And it goes nuts and kinda becomes a song when you guys use a lot of magic, right?”

“Exactly,” Alphys said with a smile. “Th-That’s good, Sans, thanks. You can stop now.”

When his glow stopped, the hum slowed. Frisk watched as Alphys typed in some variables and cycled through some more visualizations of data. She bit her lip and compared a heart-shaped symbol to another one that seemed to be identical. She let out a breath of relief.

“No change in determination,” she said. “Th-Thank god.”

“I told you,” Sans said. “No problem.”

“Okay. Okay, I g-get it.” She laughed a little and wiped her brow. “Okay. Y-You’re done.”

“Oh good.” He began to unhook himself, and Frisk clambered up onto the table beside him to gently help him get the metal out of his eye socket.

“Why, was something wrong?” Frisk asked.

“Nope,” Sans said.

“Oh y-yeah, nothing,” Alphys said, her tone lightly sarcastic, “just that the amount of determination in Sans is enough to cause a monster to not hold their form.”

“Oh. Ooh.” Frisk frowned. “I think he’s always been like that though. Since you were born even, right, bro?”

“Pretty sure, yeah,” Sans said.

“Who the heck were your parents?” Alphys asked, wide eyed.

Sans shrugged. She sighed and rubbed her temples.

“Okay. Okay, that’s fine,” she said. “As long are you’re s-stable, it’s fine.” She switched the page again to more charts and, very suddenly, gasped.

“Sans. Sans. Sans Sans Sans, oh my god ohmigodohmigod.” She squealed.

Before either Frisk or Sans could ask, she grabbed him off the table and hugged him tight. 

“Uhh…” He smiled awkwardly. “Didn’t think it was that big a deal.”

“T-T-Two!!!” she said.

“What?” he asked.

Alphys started laughing. Her eyes watered. She pulled back and pointed at the screen. “Two. It went up. To two.”

Sans’s eyes went wide. He looked at Frisk. She put her hands to her mouth. His cheekbones flushed icy blue and his iris shone likewise. He started to grin quite brightly. 

“Wow. Uh. Didn’t see that comin’,” he said. “You sure?”

“Y-Yeah! Yeah, I mean, it’s… Yeah, it’s definitely two,” Alphys said. “Oh my god, Sans, that’s…! That’s fantastic!”

He looked almost embarrassed. But he was happy. Really happy. It shone from him as clearly as if he had said it. 

Frisk beamed. She jumped off the table and gave him a hug around his boney shoulders. He froze for a second, as if she had surprised him, but then wilted and squeezed her gently.

“Congrats, bro,” she said. “This is really good, huh?”

“Mhm.” He grinned. “This is… new. I dig it. Thanks, Doc.”

“O-Oh! D-Don’t thank me,” she said quickly. “I'm... I'm n-not totally sure, but I’m, um, leaning t-towards thinking we might need to b-be thanking Undyne.”

“Undyne,” he repeated. “Huh.”

Frisk let him go and ran around him in a circle, inspecting him. “You don’t look any different.”

He was about to answer when he froze at the all too familiar feeling of a pen going down his ribs.

He whirled on Frisk and she cackled and ran away. His eyes went dark and he grabbed his shirt. “Oh, you are gonna get it.”

She squealed. He gave her a few second’s head start, but then appeared in front of her. She turned to run the other way, but he was there, too.

Alphys watched with wide eyes, hesitant to interrupt what had quickly become a baffling game of tag. The kid was kind of wiry, but was still much faster than she looked. Didn’t really matter, though, because Sans could teleport. Seemed to know where she’d be anyway. 

The second she wavered, he snatched her soul in his blue magic and lifted her off her feet.

“Aw man,” she said. 

“What do you have to say for yourself?” he asked.

“Okay, okay, hear me out,” she said. “What about? Those narrow cow-bell kinda things?”

“Cow-bell?” he repeated. 

“Or, um... claves! That’d make a good sound, right?”

“…Huh.” He tilted his head. “Not bad.”

“Yeah?!” She looked hopeful.

“Okay, okay.” He let her down and caught her in his arms. “S’good.”

She giggled and grabbed him tight around the shoulders. 

Alphys’s face went red. She wasn’t entirely sure what she had just watched, and also didn't have time to ask when she heard the elevator ding. She didn’t even have time to feel the shock as several colourless forms swarmed out of the elevator and glommed onto Sans.

“AAAH! G-G-Guys!!!” Alphys rushed over and pulled a creature with huge teeth and the bird-like amalgamate up and off. “O-Oh my g-god. Oh my god.”

“Welp. That was new,” Sans said.

Alphys whirled to find him and Frisk behind her, but almost immediately, the huge mess of dogs knocked them down, tail wagging. Frisk started to laugh. Alphys tried not to wheeze and she gently shoved the two that she had grabbed back towards the elevator, even as the bird strained their neck back towards Sans. Ambling past them, though, was a droopy mess of monsters that had taken a form like a shaggy, owl-like snow dragon. 

“Ex... cuse me…?” she asked.

“J-Just one second, sorry!” Alphys said. “C’mon, you guys, you n-need to g-go back downstairs, okay?”

“UNFAIR,” the toothy monster said. “UNFAIR UNFAIR.”

“I know, I know, b-but you c-can’t just…” Alphys sighed. “I’ll t-talk to you later, okay?” She put them both on the elevator and sent it back down.

When she returned to the other room, she was shocked and relieved to find Sans, sitting on the floor, using magic to toss a bone around for the giant dog creature. The other was sitting with Frisk, laughing very slowly. 

“Okay, okay, what about this one?” Frisk was saying. “Where does a snowdrake go to dance?”

“…Where…?”

“A snow ball!”

Sans snickered. The amalgamate wheezed a little. She seemed to like it. 

“Mrs. Snowdrake, are you alright?” Alphys asked gently.

Mrs. Snowdrake nodded slowly. There was a smile on her lopsided beak and the monsters that made up what might have once been eyes smiled too.

“Can you tell me, wh-what made you all come up here?” she asked.

“…Energy’s… strong…” she said quietly.

Alphys’s eyes went wide. Frisk pointed at herself.

“Me?” she asked. 

Mrs. Snowdrake looked at her and seemed thoughtful for a few seconds. She raised her limbs slowly. “Like a... fire… work…”

“Oh. Whoops. That’d be me then,” Sans said. “Sorry about that, lady.”

“Nice… young... man…” she said. She got up slowly and gently patted him on both shoulders before waddling over to Alphys. “Home... now? Sno… wy?”

Alphys gulped. She put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Soon. S-Soon, I promise,” she said. “C’mon, l-let's get you back d-downstairs, huh? We’ll get you s-some tea, what d’you say?”

Mrs. Snowdrake hummed gently. She let Alphys guide her away. She whistled and the huge dog bounded after her, their face-hole full of magic bones.

“S-Sans, do you need these back?” Alphys called.

“Nope.” 

Sans flopped onto his back. “Well, that was… interesting.”

“No more teleport tag I guess,” Frisk said. 

“Mhm.” He put his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. “She’s doing a good job with ‘em.”

Frisk plopped down beside him and took out her phone. She texted a quick thank you to her mystery friend. She got a reply almost right away: a smily-face and a heart. Made her smile, too. “I’m gonna tell Papyrus to get his butt over here.”

“He doesn’t have a butt.”

“Non-literal butt,” she said. “You wanna tell him about it?”

“Yeah, I guess,” he said.

She sent him a message, told him to come to the lab whenever he and Undyne were done; that there was exciting news. Almost as soon as she hit send, the phone rang. She jumped. She thought it was him, but the caller ID showed her, instead, that it was Toriel.

“Oh my god, it’s mom!!” she squealed. She got up and answered. “Mom?! Oh! Are you okay? I tried to… Oh… Oh!” She started to laugh, and pointed towards the up escalator; Sans waved and she headed upstairs. “So a dog took your—? Oh! Oh man, that’s a huge relief, I'm glad everything’s fine! How are you?”

Her words faded as she left, or maybe Sans was just falling asleep. He opened his eyes again when he heard Alphys’s voice. She was staring down at him with a concerned smile.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Oh. Yeah. Absolutely,” he said. He sat up and rubbed the back of his skull. “So they looked alright. All things considering.”

“Y-Yeah? They’ve… They’re a-adjusting,” she said. “I’m t-trying to m-make it right. I j-just… I, uhh, I dunno.”

Sans got up and patted her shoulder. She sighed and held his hand. She mumbled something into her chest.

“Doc, c’mon,” he said.

“I… I s-sometimes wish I’d n-n-never even applied f-for this,” she said. “Y-You wouldn’t have m-m-messed up like this. N-No one else w-would’ve and—”

“Really? You don’t think anyone else would have tried to save those monster’s lives?” he asked.

“W-Well... I'm s-sure they would've, b-but—”

“So you don’t think determination research would’ve taken off.”

“O-Of course it would’ve, b-but—!!”

Sans smiled tiredly. “So the chances of this crap happenin’, it’s actually pretty high, huh?”

Alphys gulped. Her scales flushed. 

“I think they’re lucky to have someone who’d take care of ‘em, you know?” Sans said. “Gotta admit, even I think it’s kinda freaky. Most people could probably understand if you just took off and never came back. But here you are, huh?”

Alphys bit her lip. Her eyes welled up and she gave him a hug. He patted her head reassuringly. Gave her a little glow of blue through his fingertips and felt her shoulders slump. 

“You're doin’ the right thing,” he said.

“H-H-Hope so.” She pulled back and laughed tiredly. “I g-guess you've s-seen, uhh... Seen all the outcomes, huh?”

He shrugged. She rubbed her headspines. 

“I g-guess maybe keep the teleporting a b-bit limited in here for a while,” she said.

“Yeah, I figured,” he said.

Sans went to the pillow he had tossed and pulled the books she had lent him out of the pillowcase and handed them to her.

“Hey. Thanks again. Weren’t really what I was lookin’ for though.”

“Oh! N-No problem.” She took them back and tilted her head curiously. “What were they for?”

“Welp. Think about it for a second and you’ll probably guess.”

Alphys looked confused. Then her eyes went wide. “Wait, so you mean—?!” 

“Not so loud, huh?” he said.

Alphys clammed up and nodded. “Is, uh…? S-So, I mean, sh-she can’t…?”

“Not well.” He shrugged. “No big deal.”

“B-But she’s so well-spoken for a kid…” Alphys mused. “I never would've guessed.”

“Keep it that way, huh?” he said with a grin.

Alphys nodded hurriedly.

They heard Frisk starting to come down the escalator and Alphys hurriedly threw the books into a pile of garbage beside the garbage can, and kicked some candy wrappers overtop. 

“So, how’s Tori?” Sans asked.

“She’s good! Some dog stole her phone before.” Frisk hopped the banister and rode it down until she reached the floor. “But yeah, she’s fine. She sounded happy. She asked about you. I told her you were good.”

“Oof, kiddo, don’t lie to your mom,” he joked.

She lightly punched his arm. “Oh, stop it, you are good,” she said with a laugh. 

He snickered. 

Frisk turned to Alphys. She tilted her head. “You okay?” she asked.

“Oh! Oh, y-yeah. I’m okay,” she assured her.

Frisk didn't look entirely convinced. She gave Alphys a tight hug regardless. “C’mon, Alphys, it’s gonna be okay!” she said, and she smiled bright. “You’re gonna save the world.”

“Oh... O-Oh, F-Frisk, I.... Th-That's not…”

“Trust me,” Frisk said. She hopped up and kissed her cheek, and Alphys immediately turned red. “Hey! So show me the creepy video!”

“Wh-What?” Alphys squeaked. “Oh! Okay, sure.”

Alphys took a minute to queue up the recording. Frisk watched it quietly all the way until the end.

“Sans, you’re right,” she said. “Does look like a horror movie thing.”

“Absolutely. Any ideas?” he said.

She shook her head. “No, I… I only remember up until turning away from the door, then everything after that… Nothing. Weird seeing myself there,” she said. “Oh well.”

“Oh well?” Alphys repeated.

Frisk shrugged and nodded. “I dunno if I have the energy to worry about that yet,” she said with a laugh. 

“I get that,” Sans said. “Okay. We done?”

“I guess?” Alphys said. “I m-mean until everyone else g-gets here.”

“Great.” Sans plopped down on the floor onto the pillow he had dropped and put his arms behind his head again. “Can’t wait.”

Frisk snickered. Alphys smiled and returned to her computer.

Frisk curiously peeked over to watch as Alphys brought up Sans’s data again. She didn’t really understand a lot of it, but it was interesting to her anyway. 

“Ooh. Hey. Do all souls have a hum?” she asked. “Does mine?”

“Uhhh… Um…” Alphys looked embarrassed. “I… I don’t think so, Frisk. N-Not like ours.”

“Aw. It doesn’t make any sound?”

“Old b-books say maybe a wizard might have a soul’s sound like we could recognize,” Alphys said. “B-But, I’ve, um… I’ve a-actually r-read that, um… a human’s sound is…” She suddenly looked nervous. Almost ashamed. 

Frisk frowned quizzically. Alphys rubbed her brow.

“It’s… It’s w-war drums, I heard it was l-like w-war drums,” she said quickly.

“War drums?” Frisk repeated. “Oh…”

“Oh! Oh n-no, I’m sorry, don’t b-be sad!” Alphys said hurriedly. “It m-might not even be t-true, it’s just wh-what some dumb old history books said. It’s n-not like I’ve e-ever actually b-been able to analyze a human before. It m-might turn out that you do have one, once I c-can get this old hunk of j-junk to take your determination input without shutting down.”

“Oh! Okay, cool,” Frisk said brightly. “Monster hums are really cool.”

“I g-guess you must’ve heard a lot of them by now,” Alphys mused. “I guess th-that must’ve been a big surprise, huh?”

“It really was,” Frisk said. “But it’s great! Undyne’s used to make me panic like crazy, though.”

“Pfft. I bet,” Sans said.

Frisk smiled. She sat down on the floor and put her chin on her hand. She looked thoughtful. Sans cut his eyes at her. 

“What?” he asked.

She shrugged and then flopped over him lazily. “Blarg, human war drums!”

He snickered. “Oh no, what’s that? A human army in the distance? Welp. This is the worst.”

Frisk laughed and sat up. “It’s not that bad, is it?”

“Honestly? I, uh, don’t really hear it, pal.” He sat up and stretched his arms. “Felt a bit of a rumble, though. Think it might be Captain Stabsalot.”

As if on cue, the front door of the lab was kicked open with a thunderous bang, and Undyne, decked out in full armour, ran in. She took her hemet off and hurriedly brushed a hand through her hair. She was sweating profusely. 

“It is TOO DAMN HOT!” she yelled.

“Did you, uh, not read the sign?” Sans asked. “The one giant sign. That says Hotland. It glows. Kinda hard to miss.”

“Shut it,” she said.

She stomped over to Alphys, picked up the dazzled little lizard, and gave her a kiss.

“Yo, I’mma use your shower, okay, babe?” She headed straight back towards the elevator. “Sheesh, I’m dyin’ over here.” 

“U-U-Undyne, wait!” Alphys said.

“Don't worry, I know the melty guys, I’m sure we’ll get along fine,” Undyne said. “Be right back!”

Undyne disappeared and Alphys looked like she could just puddle right onto the floor. Sans tried not to laugh, but Frisk did no such thing.

“Ohh…” Alphys rubbed her face. “I… I sh-should go m-make sure sh-she finds it and--! Undyne, w-wait up!!” She raced after her and all but fell into the elevator. 

They heard Undyne guffaw before the sound of the door sliding shut. 

“Hilarious,” Sans said.

Frisk nodded and grinned. “I’m happy for them,” she said, and she got to her feet. “I’m gonna go check for Papyrus.”

She headed for the front door that was still ajar and, sure enough, saw Papyrus coming up the road. He waved at her. She was actually a little surprised to see that he wasn’t in his battle outfit, but was instead still in the brown hoodie and slacks from earlier in the morning. She guessed Undyne must’ve rushed him straight to Waterfall. He was huffing a little when he got to her, but that certainly didn't stop him from dropping down to give her a hug. 

“Greetings, little sister! Ooh! You must’ve missed me!” he said.

“Sure did! You have a good time?” she asked.

“Really fantastic! I've never been on official patrol before. It was very exciting. And I, being as great and cool as I am, have certainly made a good impression!” he said.

“Awesome, bro!” she said brightly. “Come in!”

“Ooh! Right. There was news? Exciting news?”

“Sans’s exciting news,” Frisk said brightly.

She pointed to Sans, who was just getting to his feet and stretching sleepily. Papyrus rolled his eyes and walked up to him and put his hands on his hips.

“Saaaans, were you even napping through your own exciting news?!” he demanded.

“Nah, bro, totally awake this time,” he said.

“So what is it?”

“Okay, so. Alphys did a thing,” Sans said.

“Yes?” Papyrus said.

“And she took a look at my soul and whatever.”

“Yeess?”

“And all my energy stuff.”

“Yeeeeesss?”

“Health ratings and all that.”

“Yeeeeeeesssss?”

Sans smiled groggily and stretched again. Papyrus tapped his foot.

“So what is this exciting news?!” he demanded.

Sans held up two fingers. “Went up.”

Papyrus stared for a moment. Started to gawk. “You mean…?!”

Sans nodded. 

His brother grabbed him tight and lifted him right off his feet and into his arms. He was beaming “OH MY GOD.”

“Pretty good, right?” Sans said.

“Oh my god, forget everything else, this is the best possible timeline,” Papyrus said quickly. “This. Is. Amazing. BROTHER! Do you realize what this means?!”

“Uh… I’m slightly less of a mess?”

“No, Sans, you are still fully a mess. You’re still by far the weakest of all monsters. I mean, even babies are probably less of a mess than you are. BUT!!! I will not have to worry about you every millisecond of the day, simply every other millisecond.” He smiled bright and touched his brow to Sans’s, and their eyes shone together, little, shimmering tears pooling at the edge of Papyrus’s sockets. “I really am thrilled.”

He gently let his brother’s feet back on the ground and wiped his eyes on the back of his mitt. He took a deep breath, put his hands on his hips, and grinned brightly. “Yes. I, the great Papyrus, have decided. This is the best timeline.”

“Oh yeah, you think so?” Frisk rolled up on Alphys’s chair. “I thought it was the most confusing one.”

“Not at all! It is fantastic! I get to be cool as always with a new little sister and do exciting future things, Undyne and Alphys get to smooch each other, you and Sans got to be a dragon, Sans gets to not be as horribly dismal and gets to have his magic actually starting to be functional and you, Frisk, you get to spend all your time with us! Your super cool, great big brother Papyrus and your not quite as big brother Sans. Good, right? I think it’s very good. Best timeline. I have decided.”

Frisk smiled. “When you put it that way…”

“Nyeh heh heh! I knew you’d agree!” he announced brightly.

They heard the elevator ding and Alphys stumbled back into the room, brushing what looked like crumbs from her coat. 

“Those guys, I s-swear,” she mumbled. “Oh! Hi, P-Papyrus!”

“Hello, Doctor!” he said brightly. “How goes?”

“Oh! It’s… I-It’s good! D-Did Sans tell you—?”

“Yes!! Yes, it really is fantastic news!!!” he said.

Alphys smiled and nodded. Frisk poked Sans's arm.

“Oh right, I forgot, are you guys okay to go downstairs and help me look through old mystery books and stuff tomorrow?” she asked. “Alphys said there might be some old research down there that could help.”

“Sounds exhausting,” Sans said.

“I will be more than happy to help! You can always count on the great Papyrus!” He tapped on Sans’s skull. “Come on, brother, you can’t just leave Frisk hanging! She needs us!”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it,” Sans said.

“Thanks, guys,” Frisk said brightly.

“O-Oh. Um… B-But, Frisk, what about…?” Alphys awkwardly pointed to Papyrus and then bit her lip. “He, um… He doesn’t, uh…”

“Don’t you worry about a thing, Alphys,” Frisk said. “This is Papyrus we’re talking about.”

“Yes. I wish everyone were talking about Papyrus,” Papyrus said.

Alphys looked a little nervous, but she nodded nonetheless. She took a deep breath. “Okay, so… s-so, that’s good, I can keep working tomorrow and… Right. We’re on our way. I think.”

“Ooh! Right,” Frisk said quickly, “Alphys, you haven’t happened to see Asriel, right? On your cameras or anything?” The kid looked hopeful, but Alphys shook her head.

“I h-haven’t noticed, why?” she asked.

“Oh… Never mind, that's okay,” she said. 

“W-Well, to be fair I wasn’t looking as m-much as usual,” Alphys said. “I, um, m-mostly set them up to watch f-for humans, and you’re here now, s-so—”

“That’s fine,” Frisk said. “He’s pretty small. No worries.”

“Don’t you worry, either, little sister, we’ll get this done and save Asriel, no matter what!” Papyrus announced. “Right, Sans? …Sans?”

Sans had fallen asleep, leaning on Alphys’s desk. Papyrus sighed dramatically and lifted him up. Frisk snickered and hopped off the chair and Papyrus gently put their brother down in it.

“Jeez, he s-still does that, huh?” Alphys smiled fondly. “He n-never changes.”

“You’re old friends, huh?” Frisk asked. “That’s pretty nice. He really liked working with you.”

Alphys blushed a little and smiled. “Y-Yeah. We… We had some good times here, I thought. Heh… I h-had such a crush on h-him for a bit.”

“WHAT?! On my brother?!” Papyrus squawked. 

“Is there anyone you haven’t had a crush on?” Frisk joked.

“V-Very few,” Alphys snickered. “Um… Y-You, um, won’t t-tell him, will you?”

“He already knew,” Frisk said.

“Oh god.” Alphys laughed at herself and rubbed her forehead. “O-Of course.”

“We’re talking about the same skeleton here?” Papyrus looked baffled. “I just don’t understand.”

“Th-That’s okay, Papyrus,” Alphys said with a laugh. “Maybe when you're older.”

Papyrus pouted. Alphys laughed and waved him over. He curiously came a little closer and she looked up at him with a big smile. She took his hands. 

“S-Sorry, it’s just…! Sometimes it’s so s-surreal to see you again,” she said.

“It is?” he asked. “Why?” 

“It’s, um… It’s r-really good, you know?” she said. “Y-You were just a little guy when I s-saw you last. D-Do you remember when… um… s-sometimes I used t-to babysit you, when S-Sans would go do CORE research?”

“Ummm… I… Maybe?” Papyrus said. “That does sound awfully familiar now that you mention it.”

“It’s so weird seeing kids grow up,” she said. “I’m r-really glad you’re still doing p-puzzles, actually. You used to love those things.”

“Hah, even as a tiny Papyrus you did puzzles?” Frisk asked.

“I absolutely did!” Papyrus said proudly. “Puzzles are in my bones!”

“Huh. I’m kinda jealous, I wish I knew what was in my bones, too,” Frisk said.

“Also puzzles,” Papyrus asserted. “And milkshakes.”

Frisk laughed. Alphys gave her a confused look.

“You’ve never th-thought about it, Frisk?” she asked. “I mean… W-Well, um, th-that’s okay, too, you’re still p-pretty young, huh? But…”

Frisk shook her head. “Nope. A year ago it was just kinda, don’t starve or freeze I guess? And now it’s just this. I don’t have a clue what’s after. I just hope everyone’s happy.”

Alphys smiled sympathetically. Frisk was quickly lifted in blue and Sans sleepily sat her with him and held her close.

“Don’t worry, kiddo,” he said, “being traumatized every day won’t be your whole life.”

“That’ll be weird,” she joked.

The elevator made a ding and Undyne stepped out, rubbing her hair with a towel and lugging her armour under her arm. “Hey, dudes,” she said.

Alphys’s eyes went wide and her cheeks flushed. “H-H-Hi,” she stammered. 

Undyne grinned and smooched her on the head as she passed, and then dropped her armour onto the floor with a crash. She grabbed a chair and dragged it over to sit across from Sans.

“We gotta talk,” she said.

“Wuh-oh, looks like someone’s gotta bone to pick with you,” Frisk said.

Sans grinned.

“Frisk no, Frisk why,” Papyrus whined, plucking her from Sans. “Sans, you are a bad influence!”

Frisk snickered and Sans shrugged and turned his attention Undyne.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“So I watched the video of our fight like, maybe two hundred times?”

“Sheesh, Undyne.”

“Listen though!” she said. “I was studying your technique. You move like… Well, like you can see it ahead of time. Can you? Which I thought was kinda nuts but then I remembered it was you I was talkin’ about, so…?”

“Hm. Well.” He frowned a little. “In a way, kind of? It’s sorta hard to explain.”

“What, really?!” Alphys asked shrilly. “How long h-have you b-been able to d-do that?!”

“Dunno, since I was a kid, I guess,” he said. “Paps can do it sometimes too. Right, bro?”

“Oh! Well, yes, if I’m particularly energized,” he said. “I’ll admit, it does make my skull hurt a little, though.”

“Hmm…” Undyne covered Sans’s left eye. “What if I did this?”

He shrugged.

“What about this?!” She covered both of his eyes.

“Well now I just can’t see,” he said.

She pulled back and folded her arms, ear-fins pinning back a bit. “I’m gonna figure you out,” she said. “We need a rematch.”

“I’m fallin’ asleep just thinkin’ about it,” he said.

“I don’t know, it might actually be good for you,” Papyrus pointed out. “Seeing as—”

“Oh. Right,” Sans said. “Probably thanks to you, actually.”

“What is?” Undyne asked blankly.

“My health rating thing went up after our fight,” he said. “One to two. Not a big deal or anything but—”

“WHOA. Whoa whoa whoa. You were at ONE?!” Undyne demanded. “And you LET ME FIGHT YOU?!”

He shrugged. She frowned deeply. 

“Holy crap,” she said, and she put a hand to her brow. “You had me beat before we even started.”

Sans grinned. “Sorry.”

She shook her head again. “No! No, that’s fine.” She started to laugh and thumped him affectionately on the shoulder. “It was still really good. I just gotta train even harder now!!!”

“Okay, s-seriously, though, S-Sans, why do you h-have all these super powers?!” Alphys asked.

“They’re not super powers,” he said. “It’s just how my magic works. I told you forever that it was weird, Doc.”

She was about to press him further, but there was a loud banging at the back of the lab very suddenly, making her jump. The door at the west end of the building flew open and Mettaton rolled in, twirled, and took on his humanoid form in a puff of smoke and glitter.

“Hello, darlings!!” he announced. “I have faaaantastic news!!”

“Oh, you fixed your ego modifiers?” Sans joked.

“What?! Pfft, no,” he said. “What does that even…?! No.” He glided over to join them, patting Alphys on the head as he moved by. “Soooo, guess what I did?” he said in a sing-song voice.

“You, uh, realized showbiz wasn’t worth it and you deiced to take up professional knitting and write apology letters to everyone who watched _Under Ground Hearts_?” Sans suggested. 

“What? No! What?! Sans, stop derailing!” Mettaton said.

“Oh, sorry you lost your _train of thought_.”

“Oh my god. Okay. Okay, no, for one,” he said. “I. Just. Took care of our little problem.”

“Oh? What problem might that be?” Papyrus asked curiously.

“Asriel, darling! I took care of it,” Mettaton stated proudly.


	27. Flower Finder Arc

Mettaton struck quite a smug, proud pose and tossed his hair.

“Wh… What?” Frisk’s voice went shrill and the look of shock on her face gave everyone in the room pause. “Wh-What do you mean, took care of?”

“Don’t worry, you said no blowing up, and I promise you, he’s very much intact!” Mettaton said. “I had him moved faaaarr away from your planning. Good, yes? Yes, of course!”

Frisk almost looked like she was going to be sick. It was like the ground had been taken from beneath her feet. “Oh… Oh n-no, that’s bad,” she said, eyes wide, and she grabbed Papyrus’s hand. “That’s r-really bad.”

“It is?! What?! But I thought if he was out of your way, then—!” Mettaton began, but he stopped himself when Frisk put her face in her hands. “Oh, my, I bungled it, didn’t I?”

“We need him,” Frisk said. “We need him out to help break the barrier.”

“Huh? I thought he was the bad guy?” Undyne asked.

“Wait, do you guys not remember this?” Frisk asked, eyes wide. “Sans?”

“Uh…” He shrugged. “Actually. They might not. I have it from you.”

“Crap.” Frisk rubbed her forehead. “I’m sorry. Really, actually, I thought…! Crap.”

“Chill out,” Sans said. “Just talk.”

“Right. Right, right. Okay.” She took a deep breath. “I’m really sorry, I wouldda said this sooner if I knew you guys didn’t know. Here’s how the barrier broke the last two times. I went to talk to Asgore where all the souls are and he lifted them out of their holding place. Mom interrupted before Asgore tried to fight me. Then, everyone showed up. All you guys. Az stole the human souls, and then… then all your souls, too.”

Undyne looked like she was about to interrupt, but Alphys held her arm tight.

“All the monsters. He started getting feelings back because of that but he also became a huge chaos god or something. I had to outlast him, basically. And… save you guys. See, he…” She sighed— it hurt her heart just to think about it. “He tried to erase everyone’s memories of me. So you wouldn’t fight, I guess? S-So it feels hopeless for all of us. But I found all you guys, and my mom, and Asgore, and I was able to make you remember me. It made him unstable. After that, I used some memories his sister left with me to save him. Gave him his real feelings back. And he went back to how he’s supposed to be. All the monster souls together are strong enough to be the seventh soul, so Az broke the barrier and then the human souls left and all the monsters went back to normal.”

“Waaaait. Wait wait wait,” Undyne said. “You’re saying. If we used all the monster souls. All of us. We could have been out way before now?!” 

“I don’t know,” Frisk said, shaking her head, “the thing is, what Asriel is right now, he has a mind, but no soul. All the souls need to go into something without one. But having no soul makes him a huge jerk.” She took a deep breath. “If he just does everything like he normally does, everything should be fine and then w-we just do the thing to give him a new soul as fast as we can right after all that.”

Mettaton flinched. “Sweetie, I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought he was _bad_ bad. I just didn’t want him to get in your way!”

Frisk rubbed her head, but she smiled nonetheless. “I know, I know, it’s okay. So where is he?”

Mettaton looked embarrassed and Frisk’s heart sunk. Alphys put her face in her hands and grumbled something. Mettaton frowned.

“I thought I was helping!!!” he barked at her.

“Now now, we can’t get split over this,” Papyrus said quickly. “It was an honest, heartfelt mistake! But we really do need to know where Asriel is.”

“Um… S-See the problem is,” Mettaton said cautiously, “that I don’t actually know.”

“WHAT?! Mettaton that is wholly irresponsible!!!” Papyrus said shrilly.

“I know, I know, it’s just since the mercenaries I hired to defeat little Frisk were already paid for, I just asked them to, instead, track down a little talking flower and, um, put him somewhere safe and out of the way!”

“MERCENARIES?!” Undyne barked. “Dude, we need to have a talk.”

“I know, I know, it’s bad and wrong and blah blah blah,” Mettaton said quickly.

“So, these mercenaries. Just, uh, ask them, then?” Sans suggested.

Mettaton looked nervous, especially as all eyes trained on him. Sans sighed and rubbed his brow.

“What did you do, dude?” he asked.

“W-Well it was all very clandestine and I… uh…” Mettaton drooped. “I do sincerely apologize.”

“Oh my god, you’re an idiot,” Undyne said. 

“S-So…” Frisk started to look nervous and she grimaced. “S-So you d-don’t know where he is?”

“Oh. Oh no no no, darling, I’m sorry, don’t cry, I—!”

“We’ll find him,” Sans assured her, and he shrugged. “He’s a crafty little freak, he might even find his way back before we do.”

“Idiot,” Undyne grumbled.

“Yes, I get the point,” Mettaton said, pouting a little. “I really only meant to help.”

Frisk took a deep breath. She begged herself not to cry, but she felt her eyes getting hot nonetheless. Papyrus was instantly at her side, bending down and putting an arm around her shoulders and quickly brushed away a tear that slipped.

“I’m okay,” she said quickly. “It’s fine. Mettaton, thanks for trying. I know your heart was in the right place.”

He stared back at her and cracked a nervous smile. “Ugh, I’d almost prefer if you were mad,” he joked weakly. “Hah. Now I just feel terrible. Alright. I think I have some forums I can access. Might be able to find the same monsters. I will get this thing solved!” He bent down and took Frisk’s shoulders. “I am very, very sorry.”

“Dude, I know it,” she said, laughing and wiping her eyes. “Thanks anyway.”

He sighed. “Alright. I… I’ll go to my studio and… Ugh. What a mess. I hate to ask, Frisky, but would you do something for me?”

“Dude, you’re not really in a position to ask her for anything,” Undyne said sternly.

“It’s okay,” Frisk said. “What is it?”

“Well, it’s just that Blooky has always been much better at this sort of thing than me,” he said. “I thought, perhaps, I could get started and you could just stop in and ask him to visit me in the MTT Resort? I’m sure he’d do it for you, hun.”

Frisk nodded. Mettaton smiled and gave her a quick smooch on the head.

“I will make this up to you,” he said.

He rushed back out almost as suddenly as he had arrived. Any levity in the room was drained. Frisk let out a deep sigh and sat on the floor, putting her head in her hands.

“Crap,” she muttered.

“Well, that was just nonsense is what that was,” Papyrus said. “I would have thought a big famous celebrity would be a lot more responsible than that!”

“Y-You haven't known him for v-very long,” Alphys said with a sigh. “Ugh, h-he probably got all c-caught up in playing spy and—”

Everyone jumped when Frisk let out a strange coughing sound. 

“Oh no, little sister!!” Papyrus yelped, grabbing her shoulders. “Hey! Hey, it’s okay, don’t cry! We’ll fix this!!!”

She nodded, but kept curled up on herself. 

“Shit,” Undyne’s eye went wide and she rubbed a hand through her hair. “Ugh, I could throttle that stupid chrome piece of—”

“Let’s just k-keep calm,” Alphys said.

Sans sighed and slid off the chair. Papyrus let him slip in in front of Frisk, and he gently lifted her face up and brushed her tears away.

“You know I hate to see you waste tears on that guy,” Sans joked. “C’mon, breathe a little, huh, kiddo?”

“S-Sorry,” she said, but she managed a smile. “S-So, what do we do?”

“Well, first you get a hug!!” Papyrus said, scooping her up. “Please don’t cry! It’s going to be okay.”

“Could go door to door?” Undyne suggested. “Just say we got a missin’ kid. It’s technically true. I’ve done a couple monster searches before.”

“Y-Yeah?” Frisk asked hopefully.

Undyne nodded and rubbed her chin thoughtfully for a moment. “Hm. Okay. Alph. You stay here, keep working, maybe take a look through your recordings for anything that looks weird, alright? How long’s it been since you’ve seen him, Frisk?”

“Maybe two days?” she said.

Alphys nodded. “Got it.”

“Right. I’ll send some dudes around here and New Home, door to door,” Undyne said. “I’ll check Waterfall. Paps, maybe you can grab Doggo or whoever in Snowdin, take a look around?”

“Yes! Of course, Captain, I will do this for sure!” he said.

“We might not get everyone today. Especially in New Home,” Undyne admitted, “but I think it's a good first step, huh?”

“Is there anything I can do?” Frisk asked. “I c-could help in New Home, maybe?”

“No. Don’t go any farther than Waterfall,” Undyne said. “Most monsters live in New Home. Meaning, most monsters who’d recognize a human live in New Home. Get it?”

“Oh. Right. Sorry,” Frisk said.

“So you just go find Blooby or whoever, and leave the rest to us,” Undyne said. “He’s just a flower, right?”

“Golden flower. White face. Um… green everything else?” Frisk said.

“Got it. Everyone good?” Undyne asked.

“Absolutely!!” Papyrus announced. “I’ll go right now.” He gave Frisk a gentle spark of magic and then got up, saluted, and headed out.

Undyne cut her eye at her armour. She winced. “Ugh, and I just cooled off. Alright.” She started to grin and jabbed her chest with her thumb. “Okay, you guys go, I’ll get this sorted. Don’t you worry.”

“Thank you so much.” Frisk gave her a hug. “Really. Thank you.”

“No worries, squirt.” Undyne ruffled her hair gently. “We got this. I’ll text you, okay? Alph, you too, I’ll be in touch.” She picked up her armour, took a deep breath, growled, and then rushed out the door.

Frisk wiped her eyes. Alphys hugged her gently. 

“D-Don’t worry too much,” she said.

Sans rubbed his brow. “I need a nap.” He offered Frisk his hand. “Let’s go see that ghost, huh?”

The kid nodded and grabbed him. 

They were in Waterfall instantly, near the starlight just up the road from Undyne’s. Frisk stared at it and Sans nudged her gently with his elbow.

“Wh-What if something really bad happened to him?” she asked quietly.

“Kiddo, he’ll be fine,” Sans assured her. “Trust me.”

Frisk grimaced, but she nodded and latched onto the light. Felt everything click into place. She took a deep breath.

Sans put a hand on her shoulder. She held it.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“What, why?” he asked.

“We were having a really nice day, I thought,” she grumbled.

He started to laugh.

“What?” she asked.

“You’re hilarious. Kiddo. It’s okay,” he said. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“B-But…!” She couldn’t meet his eyes. “Today was really big for you.”

“Still is,” he said. “C’mon, let’s find that ghost.”

Frisk led the way up the road towards a pair of homes, white and pink, both a little lopsided, as if they were malleable and top-heavy. She wiped her eyes and knocked on the door. It opened on its own. When she turned for Sans, she was surprised that he wasn’t behind her. She looked around and darted back into the cave.

“Sans?” she asked.

No answer. She heard hinges creaking behind her and she spun around. Napstablook was at the door, wearing a large set of headphones, blinking at her with wide eyes.

“Oh… You came. Hi. Nice, um… Nice to see you,” he said. “Come in?”

“Y-Yeah! Okay, thanks.” Frisk noticed him leaning around to look behind her, and she turned to see Sans there again all of a sudden. “Oh! There you are.”

“Forgot my coat,” he said. “Yo. Napstablook, right?”

“Oh… Yes, hello… Come in, if you want…” He vanished and drifted back inside. 

The house was a barren little place. There was a computer, television, and fridge, and little more aside from some music laid out on the floor. 

“Nice place,” Sans said.

“Oh… Thanks,” Napstablook said. “H… Hey? Frisk, right?”

“Yeah?” Frisk asked.

“Thank you… for, um, sending my cousin? I… hadn’t realized he was… Well… Thanks.”

“I’m glad you’re happy,” Frisk said with a smile.

“Hey. You mind if I lie down?” Sans asked.

“Oh… No, go ahead,” the ghost said. “I really, um… I also like lying down.”

“Cool.” Sans plopped down on the floor. “Dig it.”

Napstablook smiled a little. “Would you, um… like to pick a song? I’ve… well… My mix isn’t ready, but… oh… you wouldn’t be interested in—”

“You’re making music?” Frisk asked right away. “That's really cool, dude! Can we put some on?”

The ghost's eyes went wide; they welled up a little. He bobbed up and down and he put on some spooky jazz. He looked at her as if for approval. Frisk grinned and shot a look at her brother. He had an arm behind his head and his eyes closed, but he stuck his thumb up.

“This one’s sort of, um… sort of a classic?” he smiled. “It really inspired me… um… maybe when my thing is done you can, um… hear it? If you want. No pressure.”

“Thanks so much,” Frisk said. “I’d really like that! Hey! Did Mettaton talk to you at all about it?”

“M-Mettaton? Oh… No,” he said, “I was… um… just so glad to see him, you know? I didn’t, um… want to bother him with that… Oh…”

“You totally should, he’d love it,” Frisk assured him. “Actually, he wanted to see you today. He asked for your help.”

“My... help?” Napstablook looked baffled. “What…? What could he possibly need…? Oh… No, he… He was probably just being nice…”

“No no, see, he kinda goofed up this thing I was working on by accident,” Frisk said. “He needs some help tracking down some monsters he met online, but like, an… anan…?”

“Anonymously,” Sans said.

“Right, that,” Frisk said. “He figured you were pretty good at UnderNet stuff. He was hoping you might be able to help him.”

“Oh… Hm… Hmm…” He lay down on the floor. “Oh… Let me think about it.”

Frisk watched them laying there as the music tooted ever on, and then joined them and closed her eyes. Napstablook started to hum along. Frisk wasn’t sure, but she might have fallen asleep for a moment, because the ghost’s next, musing _hmmm_ startled her enough that she opened her eyes. She looked at him curiously.

“Well… um…” he said. “I’m not… sure. But. I know a lot of people on, um… music forums? If… they’re fans of my cousin, they might be on there, too? Maybe they use the same username… Oh… maybe that’s dumb…”

“I dunno, that sounds like it might make sense to me,” Frisk said. “D’you think you could maybe help him out? He wanted to meet you at the big hotel place.”

Napstablook looked surprised. His face flushed a pale silver and he smiled. “Oh… Yeah. Okay. I… think I can do that.” He began to fade before her eyes. “Um... let yourself out, okay…? Or... stay? If you want. Whatever is fine.”

“Thanks!” Frisk said.

The ghost vanished. Frisk looked at her brother. Fast asleep, arm over his eyes. Made her want to nap, too. She sighed; sat with him a while. Then, she turned off the music.

“Sans?” she said. “C’mon Sans, we should go.”

He didn’t budge. Frisk grabbed his shoulder and shook him.

“Bro, c’mon,” she said. She took his hands to pull him up, but she was taken aback by the faint glow of blue from around his left eye socket. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him again. “Sans. Sans, get the heck up. Sans!”

It was no use. He was locked in. 

She bit her lip. Papyrus knew how to deal. She, on the other hand, would have to make do being a copycat.

She gulped and then hefted him upright. She tried to lean him on her. She closed her eyes and concentrated, and lit her soul up, like she had seen Papyrus do. It was a strange feeling. Like looking into well. Straining to find him in the dark. She felt something. Of course, he had to be there, didn’t he? She reached out, tried to urge him to let her help him. It took a while of mental pleading before his energy tried to latch onto her. Like a hand struggling out of a sinkhole. She grabbed on as tight as she could. 

“C’mon, bro, it’s not real. Whatever it is, it’s not real,” she insisted. 

It was a weird feeling. Like a weight was pulling him down. She wouldn’t let go, though, even if the tug on her soul was starting to hurt. It felt like forever, but she felt his body shift and he lazily patted her on the head.

“Frisk, the heck are you doin’?” he asked.

“Um… Trying to wake you up?” she said.

“No, I figured, I mean… Heh. Thanks.” He pulled back and stretched. “Good job.”

“Y-Yeah?” Frisk asked worriedly. “You okay? What happened?”

“Oh. Weird, actually,” he said. “It was like… Well, first it was one of the regulars, you know how it is. But, again, the normal whacko just, uh, didn’t show up? Stopped the whole thing dead. But then Asriel turned up.”

“Asriel?” she repeated, eyes widening. “R-Really? It couldn't be, could it?”

“I’m not sure. I know he wasn’t there in the memory. He was yelling at me to let him talk to Chara. So, I mean, naturally I called her on my imaginary phone and he got kinda pissed and ran off. But…” He frowned. “I found him again. He was hidin’ behind our mailbox with some mug or something. He seemed kind of upset. He just sort of mumbled that he was lost a bunch of times. Then, noticed me, had a bit of a hissy-fit, and then I woke up.”

“Waaait, wait wait wait,” Frisk said quickly. “You think it was him? For real?”

“Not really sure what to think, to be honest,” he said. “He was a bit incoherent. Could’ve just been normal dream stuff. Then again, I’ve never seen that before, and I’m pretty, uh, wary of that kinda junk.” He rubbed the back of his skull. 

Frisk puffed out a sigh. He grinned.

“Welp. Next time you dream, maybe take a look,” he said. “He seems to hate you the least.”

“Me?” she repeated. “Really? I thought he hated me the most.”

“Huh. Then I have no idea,” he said.

He got to his feet and stretched again. Frisk rubbed her forehead. 

“I… I mean, I guess it could be,” she muttered. “He did the time travel, too, huh? So. Ugh.”

“S’okay.” Sans grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. “We good to head home?” 

She nodded. 

He brought her there, to the middle of the living room. Papyrus was leaning over the table and at the wall and MTT reruns were playing from the TV.

“Hey, bro,” Sans said.

Papyrus turned quickly. He had an apologetic grin on his face.

“Hello! Welcome home, you two!” he said. “Um. Unfortunately. I made no progress door-to-door. And the dogs sent me home. But I did ask all the monsters standing around town if anyone had seen anything! But that was also of no help at all.”

“That’s okay, thanks for trying,” Frisk said. 

Sans leaned sideways to look around his brother to look at the table. Thought he caught a speck of cloth.

“Paps. What’re you doin’?” he asked.

“Oh! Just… Well. I felt a bit bad that I couldn’t really help, so I… Well! Frisk! I made you this!!” He held out a t-shirt, about her size, with SKELETON 3 written on it in his handwriting, in bold, black marker. “I thought it might cheer you up?”

“M-Me? I’m…” Frisk took the shirt and began to smile. “Papyrus, thank you so much. Can I go try it now?”

“By all means!” he said.

Frisk raced upstairs. Sans hoped that he was hiding the smugness in his smile enough.

“Nice goin’, bro, where’d you come up with that?” he said.

“It just came to me. As all my ideas do. I am quite brilliant, you know,” Papyrus said proudly. “I’m glad she likes it.”

“Course she likes it.” He flopped against the arm of the couch and kicked his feet up. 

“Any news?” Papyrus asked.

“Hm?”

“You know? About finding Asriel? And saving him? The whole purpose for Frisk’s quest?” Papyrus said.

“Oh. Nah,” Sans said.

“You don’t seem to care all that much,” Papyrus said with a frown.

“I care plenty,” Sans said.

Papyrus pouted. “You sound like you don’t. In fact, you sound like you care even less than usual.”

“Hm. I know the guy well enough that this isn’t actually that big of a deal,” Sans said. “We find him. Great. We don’t right away? Well. I’m not sheddin’ any tears that he’s kinda uncomfortable for a few days.”

“Frisk cares,” Papyrus said. “Frisk likes him. She says he was good. I’m sure he can be again! We just need to try.”

“Heh. You two shouldda been born twins, dude,” Sans said. “Same attitude. Can’t see the bad when it’s starin’ you right in the eye socket.”

“Oh, come on, Sans!” he said. “There must be some good in him! Deep down. Somewhere. Unlocked by the hearts of a few thousand monsters. We can do this.”

“Oh. Yeah, absolutely. I’m not sayin’ we can’t,” Sans said.

“Then why are you so— I don’t know— negative, about this?!” Papyrus demanded.

“No offence, bro, but you never had to watch him kill someone,” Sans said, “I’ve seen him kill everyone. Rip ‘em apart. More than once. He killed Frisk a lot when he was trying to steal her timeline. Seemed to enjoy it a bit too much.”

“But it is only because he has no happy emotions!!” Papyrus insisted. “He can be good. Once we save him!!!”

Sans shrugged, nodded, and closed his eyes. Papyrus frowned.

“You… do think we can save him. Don’t you?” he said.

“Dunno,” Sans said.

Papyrus frowned. He squatted down in front of the sofa and poked his brother’s arm. Sans opened his eyes and gave him a confused look.

“We can do this, brother,” Papyrus said. “I’m sure. Believe in me. Okay?” He offered his hand. 

Sans laughed and held it. “Yeah. I do. Don’t worry.”

Papyrus grinned. He patted Sans’s hand affectionately. “Hey! Brother, I have an idea. Since this is your special day—”

“It is?”

“Oh my god. Sans. Your energy is finally repairing itself somehow. Of course it is,” Papyrus said. “Anyway! I! The great Papyrus! Master chef! Will prepare for you a special pasta dish. I think you’ll really appreciate it!”

“Welp. Whatever you make, dude, I’ll eat it,” he assured him.

“Nyeh heh heh! Fantastic!” He pranced off into the kitchen. “You’ll be absolutely glowing, I’m sure of it!”

After a few more minutes, Sans had almost drifted off again when he heard the sound of a bedroom door creaking. He blinked his eyes open to see Frisk slide down the banister with the new t-shirt. She seemed pretty happy about it.

“That took a while,” he said.

“Oh! That’s ‘cause I think just about every dog in the underground decided to add me on UnderNet just a minute ago,” Frisk said with a laugh. “Papyrus, did you tell them my username?”

“Oh! No, but I posted a photo to you of Greater Dog and I!” he said. “Did you see it?”

“Oh! Right, yeah, I gave it an uplike,” she said. “Also! Check it out!”

Papyrus poked his head out of the kitchen and began to beam.“That looks fantastic on you, if I do say so myself!” he said. “Sans! I finally found one of your shirts that fit her right, isn’t it great? Frisk, you are a very adorable skeleton number three!”

Frisk blushed and pshawed. Papyrus stuck his thumbs up and ducked back into the kitchen.

Frisk sat with Sans and he gave her a thumbs up. She snickered.“I like it. I guess I could probably make a good skeleton number three.”

“Of course, dude, you’re consistently adorable,” he said. 

“Aw, really? Thank you!” she said brightly.

“Feelin’ a bit better, then?” he asked.

Bashfully, she nodded. “Maybe… Maybe you’re right, you know?”

He shrugged. He held an arm out and she gladly settled in against him.

“I’ll see if I can find him next time I dream,” she said. “Maybe…? Maybe he is linked to us. He used to be able to save, too, huh?”

“Mhm,” he said.

“So… So maybe if that was really him that you saw, I could find him, too.”

“Mhm.”

“You’re falling asleep again, huh?” she asked.

“Nah. No. I’m okay,” he said.

Frisk smiled sympathetically. “It was pretty bad, huh?”

“Not great,” he agreed.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t—“

“You did, though,” he said.

“Y-Yeah?” She looked surprised. “Really?”

“Mhm.”

She grinned and hugged him tight. “Thank god,” she said.

“How’d you figure it?” he asked.

“Watching Papyrus,” she said. “He’s so good at it.”

Sans nodded. He settled back and looked thoughtful. He patted her head absently. “So. I’ve never, uh…? No. I guess I haven’t.”

“Haven’t what?” she asked.

“Pulled you out,” he said. “No. It’s… heh. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” she assured him.

“…Figures,” he grumbled.

Frisk shot him a worried look. His expression was steady except for a slight furrow in his brow. Frisk frowned and folded her arms.

“Hey!” she said loudly.

He jumped; looked at her with an amused grin. “Jeez, kiddo.”

“Look, I get it,” she said. “I super get it. But it’s not anyone’s fault. Right? So don’t feel bad.”

“Yeah, but—”

“What would you say to me?” she said. “If we were reversed.”

He stared for a few seconds. He smiled. Laughed quietly. Ruffled her hair. “I know, I know, you’re right.”

“I know!” She put her hand to her chest and lit her soul up. “We’re a team, dude.”

“Pretty bad team, kiddo,” he said. “We keep gettin’ our butts kicked.”

“I dunno, I think our best thing is, um… what’s that word? We just keeping coming at it?”

“Endurance.”

“Yeah! Endurance,” she said. “Determination! You and me? We can outlast the heck out of anything, I bet.”

He rubbed the back of his skull. “Ever, uh…? Ever get tired of it?”.

She shrugged and nodded. Even so, she smiled and straightened up, and to his surprise, she grabbed his face and put her forehead to his.

“Kiddo, what’re you doin’?” he asked.

“Well… I know I can’t glow like you, but—”

“Pfft!” He laughed and grabbed her into a tight hug, and his soul glimmered pale blue in reply. “You’re a weird kid, Frisk. Thanks.”

She snickered and flopped on him and he lazily held her and leaned back again. They sat in comfortable silence for a little while. Listened to Papyrus clanging around the kitchen, humming to himself; talking to the tomatoes every once in a while. 

“Blaaaaaah, war drums,” Frisk said quietly.

Sans snickered. “Still don’t get it.”

Frisk’s phone made a buzzing sound and she pulled back and fished it out of her pocket. New text from Undyne. 

_“Heard in from Hotland. it’s a no so far sorry kid”_

Frisk pouted. _“thanks anyway!”_ she typed.

Sans looked at her with a brow raised. She shook her head. She texted Alphys.

_“hey sorry to bother you but have you seen anything weerd yet?”_

_“Nope! Nothing weird yet, sorry Frisk! <3 don’t worry we’ll fix this!”_ Alphys replied.

She sighed. “Weird. Weee-i-rd. Weird,” she said. 

“What’s weird?” Sans asked.

“Why does it have an “i” in it?” she wondered.

“What?” he said.

“Weird,” she said. 

“Oh. I dunno.” He turned to look as Papyrus walked back over with plates of spaghetti balanced precariously on his arms. “Oh. Hey, Paps, done already?”

“Absolutely!” He passed out the plates and cutlery. “You will like this I think.”

“Hey, Papyrus?” Frisk asked. “Do I sound like war drums?”

“War drums?! Pffft, no, Frisk. Silly,” he said, sitting with them. “You sound like an ambiguous adorable child person!”

“…Am…? Am-big-yoo-us?” She tilted her head. “Welp. Okay! As long as it isn’t…” She lost her train of thought when she caught sight of Sans’s eye lit up blue in the corner of hers. 

His eyes were glistening as he stared at the spaghetti on his fork.

“Uh. Bro?” she asked.

She cautiously tried the spaghetti. Understood where he was coming from right away. Had to try not to cough. Sans looked up at Papyrus, and his brother started to beam.

“Nyeh heh heh!! Told you you’d glow!” he said. “Good, right?”

“Good? It’s perfect,” he said. “Love you, dude.”

“Thank you! I love you as well!” he said. “In fact, I love you enough to ruin a perfectly good sauce by pouring a entire bottle of ketchup into it! How’s that?”

“Perfect. Really. It’s great.” Sans’s grin was bright and genuine. “Thanks, bro.”

“You are very welcome. Don’t even worry about it,” Papyrus said, waving his hand. “All in a day’s work for the great Papyrus!”

\- - -

The only news that filtered in through the rest of the day was that there was no news. Nothing. No monster anyone had talked to had seen a thing. Mettaton was still overwhelmingly apologetic. He said he had managed to track down two of several monsters he had initially contacted, but neither of them had been the ones to catch Asriel. Alphys had texted in a tizzy about seeing someone sneaking around Hotland, but then embarrassedly sent another message a minute later that it was just two of the guards sneaking off to get nice cream together. 

Frisk was frustrated. She didn’t know how to help. The one idea that Sans had planted in her mind had started to grow, and it was all she could really cling to. If Asriel really was connected to them, maybe she could find him in a dream. But not every dream thrived on a very solid link. In a lot of them, she simply felt her brother’s energy; there was very little lucidity at all. The easiest way to get one of the ones she was looking for was to be already in distress. Stress or exhaustion usually did the trick. 

As it got late, Frisk got Papyrus to help her make some coffee while she dug through their piles of recorded TV shows and human movies on old tapes and disks. Sans watched from the sofa, half-asleep. 

“What’re you doing?” he asked.

“Don’t we have anything scary?” she asked.

“Not really,” he said. “Paps hates horror movies. You tryin’ to get nightmares?”

“Yeah, kinda,” Frisk said.

“FRISK! The coffee is done! But I’m not sure if it’s right, it smells kind of like burning?” Papyrus said.

“Give it,” Frisk said.

Papyrus brought her a mug. She took a sip and immediately made a sour face. Sans laughed.

“How do grown-ups drink this?!” she demanded.

“Don’t ask me, can’t stand the stuff,” Sans said. “Dump it in a milkshake.”

“What!? You can’t have that amount of sweet things before bed, you’ll have a nightmare for sure!!!” Papyrus said.

“That’s the plan, dude,” Frisk said. “I’ll try the milkshake thing.”

She scampered off and Papyrus raised a finger as if to protest, then frowned and looked at Sans.

“Wait, what the heck is she doing?” he asked.

“We think Asriel might be mind-linked to us because of time travel junk,” Sans said. “She’s tryin’ to trigger a strong dream thing so maybe she can find him and ask him where he is.”

“Oh! Wow. Okay. Weird. You think it’ll work?” he asked.

“Maybe!” Frisk called from the kitchen. “I gotta try, right? It’s all I got if I can’t actually go looking for real.”

She came back in with the milkshake-coffee mixture and plopped back beside Sans. “Why do you think just suddenly it might be him? I mean… we’ve been linked since I started saving, but…?”

“It’s probably not suddenly at all,” Sans said. “You realize you, uh, broke the dreams super hard somehow, right? The memories aren’t echoin’ right. Which is good, actually. He was probably there the whole time, but was stuck, maybe. Like you were.”

“I don’t get it,” Papyrus said. “What’s going on?”

“Time traveller junk, Paps,” Sans said. “We all dream together. And… huh. I guess you do, now, too, because Frisk basically just threw all the rules in the trash.”

“Right where they belong,” she joked. “Actually… Come to think of it, I have seen him in a few dreams recently where I didn’t expect him. Maybe it was him for real.”

She took a sip of the milkshake; was pleasantly surprised. She offered it to Sans. He raised a brow and cautiously tried it.

“Oh. Hey, not bad,” he said.

She grinned and held it out to Papyrus. He looked hesitant, but he took it and sipped it. His face lit up.

“Ooh! That’s nice, actually,” he said.

“What, _that_ you like?” Sans asked with a laugh.

“Keep it, I’ll make another one!” Frisk said, racing back to the kitchen.

Papyrus stared at the cup, looked back at the kitchen, and then back at Sans. He shook his head. Papyrus shrugged and sat down, sipping the coffee milkshake.

“Sans, you want?” Frisk called.

“Welp. Not coffee,” he said.

“Gotcha.”

When the kid came back, she gave Sans a milkshake that was tinted red and sat between him and Papyrus. 

“I’m just not sure what to do,” she said. “We don’t have anything scary?”

Sans shrugged. Papyrus looked thoughtful and got up, and then went through the disks again. He pulled out one that was bare, the label worn away, instead replaced with Papyrus’s writing of the words “SHARK MOVIE”. 

“Well, there’s this one,” he said. “It’s got some humans, and a shark, and an ocean. No skeletons, though, unfortunately. It’s a little unnerving if you don’t like water. The first couple scenes don’t play, though.”

“Okay, sure, let’s give it a try,” Frisk said.

Papyrus put in the movie, but their machine just made a horrible buzzing sound. He frowned and pressed a bunch of buttons, but nothing seemed to work.

“Oh, come on!!” he said. He lifted it and shook it vigorously, and the sound just whined louder. 

Sans sipped his milkshake and watched with an amused grin.

“Why. Won’t. You. Play?!” Papyrus demanded.

“We could try something else?” Frisk said quietly.

“Nah, this is way better,” Sans said.

Papyrus made a high-pitched growling sound and mashed buttons until the disk was spat out. He grabbed it, stared daggers at it, and then threw it across the room. Sans clapped.

“Well that was a waste of time,” Papyrus said. “Sorry, Frisk, I’m not sure that we have anything else that scary.”

“Hm…” Frisk tilted her head. “Could one of you guys scare me?”

“Uh… I could… put you in the closet and close the door?” Papyrus suggested.

“No, I’m not scared of the dark,” Frisk said.

“What are you scared of?” Papyrus asked.

“Well, water does freak me out a little,” she said. “And, um… I mean, obviously the big things. Losing people. All that. But… I’m really not sure.”

Papyrus looked thoughtful. He ran to the kitchen and then quickly returned and splashed her in the face with a bit of water from a cup. She spluttered for a second. Sans laughed and she did, too, and then grabbed his sleeve to wipe her face.

“Oh. Not enough water?” Papyrus asked.

“Not water like that!” Frisk said. “Water like that big dark lake!”

“Ooooh. I get it!” Papyrus said. “Sorry about that, Frisk.”

Frisk snickered and shook her head. “No worries. Umm…” She looked at Sans. “What gets you?”

“I dunno. Thinkin’ too much?” he said.

Frisk frowned. She got up and paced. “Okay. Tell me something bad,” she said, walking back to Sans. “Make me worry. Something. Hurt my feelings.”

“Uh… What?” He smiled sideways. “Can I lie?”

“Well not anymore you can’t,” Frisk said with a laugh.

“Pfffft, Frisk, as if Sans would ever hurt your feelings,” Papyrus said.

“Okay, okay,” Frisk said. “C’mon, bro, you gotta have something. Freak me out.”

“Hm. Okay,” Sans said. “There might be one thing. You’re not gonna like it.”

“That’s kinda the point,” Frisk said.

“Fine,” he said, and he looked apologetic. “Eight months.”

Frisk stared at him. “Eight months? What d’you mean, eight…?” Her eyes went wide and she started to tremble. “Oh… Oh. Man.” Her lip quivered. She quickly turned away from him and hid her face. “G-Gimme a second?”

She scurried upstairs and disappeared into the bedroom. Papyrus’s eyes went wide and he looked between the door and his brother. 

“SANS!! What the heck did you tell her?!” he demanded shrilly.

“Eight months,” he said with a shrug.

“What does THAT mean?!” he demanded. “Why would that make her upset?!”

“She’s got my memories, right?” Sans said. “That’s how long my least favourite timeline lasted.”

Papyrus tilted his head, a worried frown on his brow. “Your… least favourite one?”

Before he could ask any more, the door opened upstairs and Frisk wandered back down, pulling a blanket with her. She wiped her eyes on the back of her hand, plopped back down on the couch, and grabbed her milkshake and chugged it. 

“You okay?” Sans asked.

“No,” she said, but she laughed weakly. “Ugh, now it’s all up in my head and stuff.”

“Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s what I needed,” she said. “Thanks.”

“Hm.” Sans held her to him. “Do what we gotta, huh?”

She nodded. Papyrus squatted down in front of her and took her hands. 

“You’re going to be okay, though, aren’t you?” he asked worriedly.

She smiled and nodded, but all of a sudden, her eyes were glistening with tears. “C’mere for a second?” She waved him closer. 

As soon as he was within reach, she held his face and gently kissed his forehead before touching hers to his.

“I love you so much, bro,” she said quietly.

“F-Frisk! I…” He held her close. “Of course, I love you so much, too. What’s brought this on?”

She shook her head. “Forget it. Nothing.” She hopped off the couch and headed back to the TV, wiping her eyes. “Hey! I j-just remembered. We have some dumb crime dramas, right? Those might eventually get stressful, I’ll just—”

Papyrus scooped her up. He put her back with Sans and ruffled her hair. “Let me handle this, little sister, you just get cozy, okay?” 

She nodded and settled in under Sans’s arm. 

“Sorry,” Sans said again, “maybe that one was too—”

“No. It’s what I needed,” she said. “…What a freak.”

“I know, right?” he said. 

He held her close and she slumped against him and took a deep breath. Papyrus shoved a tape into their player and then sat back with them as the TV crackled to life and an old MTT show took over the room. 

\- - -

Frisk pushed herself to stay awake until she simply couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. She felt like she was falling a long way. When her vision focussed again, she was outside. Before her, her brothers were hanging out in the snow. Papyrus built a replica of himself, while Sans was sitting on top of a lump of snow with his name written on it. It wasn’t real, though. Both of them were faintly tinted the colour of their magic when one looked very close. It was unusual for her to see Sans when it wasn’t really him. It felt almost wrong, in a way. But still, it was good to see them having a good time.

She moved on, climbing up a hill that now overlooked Snowdin, a view that somehow mimicked looking out at Starhome from the plateau on Mount Ebott. She laughed at herself and rubbed her head. The world shifted before her and took on a more regular appearance. She guessed it didn’t really matter, though. She wasn’t sure what she should do to begin with. She frowned to herself and then slid back down the hill.

The skeletons were still there. 

“Sans?” she called. 

He looked up. Didn’t seem at all surprised. Then again, why would he? He came over and tilted his head. “Sup?” he asked.

“Can you…? I mean… Are you…?” Frisk sighed. “I need help remembering, could you—?”

“I can focus his memories, sure,” he answered.

She sighed with relief.“Thanks.”

He ruffled her hair. “Next best thing, right?” he joked. “What d’you need?”

“I want to try to find Asriel,” she said. “I think he’s in here. But I don’t know how.”

He looked thoughtful. “Welp. What we got is… energy projection.”

“Huh?” she said.

“Just glow a bunch,” he said. “Send your energy out. If he’s here, he’ll feel it. Remember? Sans used to do that to find you, back before you reset.”

“Oh!! Right. Right. Jeez.” She laughed. “That was helpful. Thanks.”

“Thank yourself,” he said with a laugh.

She smiled bashfully and pointed back the way she’d come. He stuck his thumb up and Frisk scampered off again.

Up the hill, she took a seat on a snowy rock. She closed her eyes, lit her soul up, and tried to focus. She could only hope that Asriel was asleep.

It felt like a long time, and her mind drifted and shifted. She felt like she was floating. She thought she heard something. A little tickle of magic in the back of her head. She trained in on it. A voice? Maybe.

She opened her eyes. She could hear it a little more clearly somehow. There was a voice calling and it resonated inside her, vibrating like a tuning fork. It was weird. Felt like it might have been real.

“Asriel?” she shouted.

The voice stopped. She saw a disturbance in the snow and up he popped, frowning with confusion. He looked her up and down.

“Th… That’s weird,” he muttered to himself.

Frisk was taken aback, but she started to grin. That wasn’t the reaction of a dream projection. She felt a spark of hope and knelt down.

“Hey, Az, there you are! Are you okay?” she asked.

“Why are you talking to me?” he demanded.

“I’m worried about you,” Frisk said. “Do you know where you are?”

“…What the hell is this?” His eyes went wide. “Why are you…? What the hell am I doing…?”

Frisk reached out her hand gently. She touched his face and he shivered. She used her thumb to gently rub his head and he slumped.

“Oh, c’mon, no way,” he said quietly. “What the hell is going on?”

“Asriel, can you show me where you are?” she asked.

“How?” he said skeptically.

“Show me. Think about it and use your magic to project it,” she said.

He frowned. He pulled back and closed his eyes. Dust that shone gold glittered around him and, for a second, it was kind of beautiful.

Then, abruptly, as if being dropped from the air, heavy, dark walls fell all around them, building from the dust into a room without lights, with the exception of one, directly over top of Asriel as he sat on a table under a transparent box. He was in a flowerpot. Frisk took a moment to look around.

“Do you know where this is?” she asked.

“How the hell would I?” he replied.

Frisk looked thoughtful. She checked the walls. They were oddly blank and featureless, and there wasn’t even a doorway. She rubbed her head.

“This isn’t helpful,” she muttered. “Hey. Can you do me a favour?”

“What?” he asked skeptically. 

“Wake up,” she said, “take a really good look around, and then go back to sleep. Come find me. We’ll figure this out.”

“The hell does that mean?” he demanded.

“Just try it,” she insisted. “What’s there to lose?”

He rolled his eyes, but then puffed out a sigh and scrunched them shut. His dissolved into golden dust, and the room did too.

Her brain landed her back in Snowdin. She wandered home and inside, she plopped down on the couch to relax. There was actually very few instances that she had ever been able to lucid dream inside the house so accurately. She decided to take a look around. The TV played only the bars of colour with Mettaton’s theme song over top. The sock was still there, but the messages by Papyrus on its post-it weren’t quite right, probably because she didn’t really remember them. The sink in the kitchen towered over her like a mountain.

She went back to the couch and lay down, folding her arms behind her head. Time was often weird in dreams, so she wasn’t sure exactly how long she was there when she heard Asriel call out again. She got to her feet and reached out her energy for him. 

Around her, the walls fell and rebuilt into that dark room again with Asriel under the light at its centre. Now, there was a door, basic with a single window, against the left wall.

“Hey, good job!” Frisk said. She scampered around the room, checking the walls. More detail there, too. Scuff marks.

“This is weird as hell,” Asriel grumbled.

“Sorry,” Frisk said. “You’re doing great, though. Seen anything else?”

Before he could answer, he recoiled as a white shape with a giant eye moved up against the door’s window. Frisk squeaked with surprise, but after a moment, she processed what she was looking at. She grinned.

“Asriel!” She hopped up to the table and smiled at him brightly. “Don’t worry! I know where you are! I’m gonna come get you soon, okay?”

\- - -

Frisk opened her eyes slowly. The room was mostly dark, the main light shining from the TV, buzzing with snow. She was under a blanket, in Papyrus’s arms. She sat up and slipped off of him, and then tucked him in more snugly. Sans wasn’t in the room with them, though. She peeked into the kitchen, and then into each of the bedrooms, but found nothing.

Frisk put her hoodie on, left Papyrus a quick note just in case, and then headed out. Must’ve been early. The streets were empty.

She went into Grillby’s, which was also mostly vacant except for a few monsters in booths and exactly the skeleton she was looking for, shoulders a little hunched as he sat at the bar. She slipped up beside him and he shot her a smile.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said.

“You look tired,” she said.

“No kiddin’,” he said. “Any luck?”

“Yeah. Yes. Weird,” she said. “I think… I’m pretty sure he’s in the lab.”

“The lab?” Sans looked genuinely surprised. “How the hell did he get in there?”

“Dunno, that’s just what it looked like,” she said. “Downstairs, somewhere. Small room. One of the, um, you know, the pale guys? The one that looks like a bird with a long neck. They freaked him out.”

“Huh. I wonder how…?” Sans frowned. “Alphys wouldn’t… No. Someone must’ve gone in there while she was out. But who couldda…? Ah, crap.” He rubbed his eye sockets, but his eyes had gone dark. 

Frisk tilted her head. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” He looked a little frustrated nonetheless. “It’s fine. We’ll get him out tomorrow. No problem.”

“Yeah.” Frisk reached out and took his hand. 

He laughed tiredly and patted her. There was a bottle of ketchup on his right and he downed what little was left quickly.

“You don’t look so good, bro,” she said.

“I need a nap,” he joked.


	28. Flower Finder Arc

“Ah! Damn it.” Alphys stumbled around in the dark of her lab. Banged her foot on the wall as she grappled with the light switch. 

Nothing happened. The room stayed completely shrouded.

“D-Damn…” She fumbled around near her bed for her phone and used it for light as she made her way down to her computer desk. 

A red, blinking bulb near the largest monitor told her that there was a power supply problem. Her heart sunk. 

She checked the time. It was still early, but she sent Frisk and Undyne a group message. “_hey guys, so, bit of a problem??? power’s out. generator’s in the lower lab but the elevator’s not working???” _She wasn’t sure what to do. 

There was an override for a backup generator, usually, but if she couldn’t use her computer, that was useless. 

She hurried back upstairs to her workbench and propped up her phone on a stand for light. She had a few extra parts around— a receiver here, a magic conductor there— she gathered them up, along with some of her tools and a small flashlight and hurriedly went to work on her phone. She could force it to connect to the generator remotely, but to make it work correctly, she’d have to rewrite several programs entirely. For now, her focus was at least getting the lights back on.

She held the flashlight in her mouth as she worked intently, only jarred from her focus by a banging at the door.

“C-Come in!!!” she called.

“IT’S LOCKED,” Undyne hollered back.

Alphys stumbled downstairs again and opened the door. Undyne ran in, huffing from the heat, and pushed the door closed in a hurry even though it blocked out most of the light.

“So what the hell happened?” she asked, stealing the flashlight from Alphys and shining it around. “Bulbs die?”

“N-No, it’s, um… It’s the main p-power system, downstairs,” Alphys said. “It, um, works partially on a key c-card system? Oh… Maybe one of the guys down there started f-fiddling with it for fun, I dunno.”

“Oh. Okay. Cool, no problem then,” Undyne said. “Just send Sans.”

“Oh. I’m, um… I-I’m just worried they might h-hurt him by accident,” she said. “They have, um… They have less control o-over their magic th-than normal, and they’re attracted to his determination bursts.”

“Determination bursts?”

“When he teleports,” she said. “But… B-But maybe just one down there would be okay. I just… umm… Come with me?”

Undyne nodded, and Alphys lead her back upstairs. She fiddled around for a reflective piece of metal and moved Undyne’s arm to shine the light at it. Alphys quickly finished up the new addition into her phone’s casing, ran an app and used a dimmer switch. The lights came back on at about a quarter brightness in the main area below.

“Hey! Nice work,” Undyne said. “Problem solved?”

“N-Not quite, I can’t fully control the backup generator without m-my computer,” Alphys said with a sigh. “Oh well. At l-least we can see, right?”

Undyne nodded. She leaned against the wall and yawned. Alphys smiled sympathetically.

“I’m s-sorry, I hope I didn’t wake you up,” she said.

“Naw. I was up already,” she said. “You?”

“Oh… I, um… I was just… h-having a bit of trouble sleeping?” she said.

“Worried?” Undyne asked.

Alphys shrugged and nodded, rubbing her headspines bashfully. “A-And then I couldn’t turn on the lights a-and… uhh… Well. It’s just e-everything, you know?” she said. “I hope this all g-goes okay. I r-really, really hope.”

Undyne cut her eye at her and then slumped back until she was sitting and waved her over. Alphys looked confused and got close, only to have Undyne grab her by the hand and pull her in against her chest. The lizard squeaked, cheeks flushing, but she was more than happy to sit in her arms.

“How about we just chill for a bit. Maybe nap? Until those other guys get up, huh?” Undyne suggested. 

“I’d, um…” She smiled. “I-I’d like that.”

Undyne grinned and kissed her head. “Good. ‘Cause, seriously, if you don’t feel safe with me? We got some serious problems.”

Alphys laughed. She cautiously cupped Undyne’s cheek and leaned in to kiss her. Undyne snickered, cozied her close, and closed her eye.

“You got this, Alph,” she assured her gently.

Alphys smiled. She closed her eyes and settled in comfortably. Couldn’t even bring herself to doubt for a few seconds. It was nice. 

\- - -

Music. Sans could hear music through the walls. He’d know it anywhere, even only a few notes. Papyrus’s. He opened his eyes slowly. Found himself bundled up snugly on the sofa, somewhere close to where he had plopped down. He rubbed his eye sockets and rolled onto the floor. 

He grabbed his jacket and found his slippers where they had fallen from his feet and headed outside. Just beyond barely the house, through a mild bluster of snow, he caught sight of magic, bouncing around in the form of bones, and a dark shape spinning out of their way. He shifted farther up ahead, keeping to the old, dark trees. 

Papyrus and Frisk seemed to be battling, albeit somewhat casually. The kid was quick. He’d seen her do it before, but every time, he was impressed. Maybe she didn’t notice, but those lines on her face would light up in certain moments. A last minute dodge, and she’d glimmer blue. A grab of a bone to deflect another, and it would be amber. 

When Papyrus did manage to get her, he’d immediately run over to help her out of the snow before they started up again. They seemed to be having a really good time. Sans watched with the grin on his face becoming increasingly dopey. It struck him suddenly and rather hard in the chest— how much he loved those two. More than anything else. As long as they were together, he wasn’t sure why, but everything felt right to him.

He watched Frisk cartwheel around, defying a shot of blue magic, but when a bone tripped her up, she started to grin. She ran straight at Papyrus, taking him aback as she used one of his attacks to gain height, and grabbed him into a hug. The added gravity of the blue that clung to her soul toppled them both back into the snow. The bright, excited hum stopped. He could hear them laughing.

He strolled up and peered down to find them clinging together. Frisk had cuddled up under Papyrus’s chin and he squished her close, snickering, his eyes glowing brightly. He grinned when he noticed Sans.

“Brother!” he said. “Look at you, up early!”

“Yup,” he said, squatting down. “Havin’ a good time?”

“Hey, Sans, good morning!” Frisk said. She yelped and tumbled backwards into the snow when Papyrus sat up quickly, but then started to laugh again.

“What time is it, anyway?” he asked.

Frisk tossed her phone at him. He winced.

“Sheesh, why am I up?” he joked. “Why are you guys up?”

“I’m almost always up this early, Sans,” Papyrus said. “I’m very committed to my job. Or, what might have been my job. Eventually As you well know. I wanted to do a bit of magic practice and Frisk volunteered to help.”

“Also I wanted to hear his song thing—”

“His hum,” Sans said.

“Right, the hum thing,” Frisk said, and she grinned. “It always gets stuck in my head.”

Papyrus’s cheekbones flushed. “It is pretty great, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, absolutely it is!” Frisk said brightly.

Papyrus beamed.

“Brother!” he said loudly. “Did you hear Frisk’s good news?”

“I did,” he said. “Thought you’d be in more of a rush, kiddo.”

“Well… Yes and no,” she said, sitting up. “If he’s in the lab, he’s totally safe. No worries, right?”

“True.” He brushed some snow from her hair.

“But also,” Frisk continued, “I got a text from Alphys saying they were having power troubles? Really, really early. So I asked her to text me when she’s awake or not busy so we can come over, but she hasn’t said anything yet.”

“Fair,” Sans said. “Did you tell her yet?”

Frisk shook her head. “I wanna tell her in person. People can’t tell how you sound over text and I don’t want her to accidentally think I think somehow she put him there.”

“It is a super strange situation though, isn’t it?” Papyrus mused. “Who would think to hide him in there? Surely there are security measures, aren’t there? Something more than nothing at all?”

“Sure is a mystery,” Sans said dryly. 

“Why are you saying that like it totally isn’t a mystery at all?” Papyrus asked.

“Hm? Ah. No reason, bro, don’t worry about it,” he said. 

Frisk gave him a concerned look. He smiled anyway. She got up, brushed herself off, and then gave him a hug. 

“I’m gonna go save, alright? See you guys soon? Need anything at the store?”

Sans fished in his pocket and pulled out a few gold coins for her. “Get me a newspaper?”

“Gotcha. Be right back!” She scampered off down the main street.

“Ooh, can I have the jumble when you’re done?” Papyrus asked.

“Absolutely, bro,” Sans said. “You know there’s other puzzles in there, too, huh?”

“What, like that confounded crossword? Please! That one doesn’t even make sense,” Papyrus said dismissively.

“Kinda does, dude,” Sans said.

“No, it is nonsense and also barely even a puzzle,” Papyrus said. “Anyway! Did you see our battle?!”

“Mhm, last bit,” he said. “Surprised you went blue on her again.”

“Well, she insisted,” he said. “You know, she said she liked doing battles when it was just for fun. That makes me sort of happy, you know?”

“Oh yeah? New sparrin’ partner, huh?” Sans said.

“Yes! To be honest, now that she’s practiced a little bit, I’m really impressed. It was fun the first time, sure, but now it’s a real fight to even hit her.” His voice was full of pride. “It must be so interesting doing a battle without striking a single blow! Challenging, though.”

“Yeah, she’s not big on the whole hittin’ thing,” Sans said.

“But it’s very interesting that she can actually interact with my attacks,” he said. “I don’t remember it being like that before.”

“She didn’t have your magic on her face before,” Sans said.

Papyrus tapped his chin and frowned thoughtfully. “Speaking of that! How the heck did that happen?! I don’t recall ever being able to imprint before. Not that I’ve tried. But. That’s something one usually uses for locks and whatnot, right? Not for little sister faces.”

“Don’t look at me, bro, I know about as much as you do,” he said. “But, I mean, it is a full year that’s gone. We could’ve, uh, just learned it or something’, y’know?”

“Hmm.” Papyrus folded his arms and paced back and forth in the snow. “Such a strange concept.”

He came to an abrupt halt and tapped his foot. He frowned faintly. “Hey. Sans,” he said. “Do you think we’ll ever get it back?”

“Dunno,” he said. “Like I said, rules’ve changed. Maybe? That’s the best I can do.”

“Well that’s not helpful at all,” Papyrus said. “I’m just very glad Frisk isn’t so sad about us not remembering anymore. But now, with all this, I’m just getting very very curious.”

Sans shrugged. “Sorry, bro. It’s, uh, pretty weird.”

“You didn’t see anything in her memories about such a strange thing?” Papyrus asked.

Sans shook his head. “Nothin’ comes to mind,” he said. “But actually, you know… she likes that you remember the other times you met, too. For a while, that was one of the best things about this.”

“Really?!” Papyrus asked. “But why?!”

Sans shrugged. “That promise she made you, I guess.”

Papyrus’s cheekbones flushed. “Silly Frisk…” he said quietly. “I wish she wouldn’t worry so much.”

“Kid’s got hardcore abandonment issues,” Sans said. “She didn’t want anyone else to feel like that.”

Papyrus nodded. He looked thoughtful. He caught sight of Frisk coming back up the road towards them and perked up right away. 

“Heya!” She tossed Sans his paper. “They just stocked ‘em when I got there!”

“Nice,” he said. “Thanks, kiddo.”

She stuck her thumbs up, stretched, and yawned. “Paps, can we do that again sometime?”

“Yes! Of course we can!” Papyrus said. “What a fantastic choice, to train with the great Papyrus! I also had a very good time, so I’d be more than happy to make it part of our routine!”

Frisk grinned and gave him a hug.

Breakfast was leftovers. As Papyrus took a chance trying to brew himself a little coffee, Sans browsed the newspaper. Frisk read with him, following along as best she could until her phone made a buzzing sound. She checked it right away. The message was from Alphys.

“_Hey Frisk, we’re up! lol sorry the text before was so early. come over whenever! <3_”

“Alphys’s ready,” she said. 

“Ooh?! Are we going?!” Papyrus demanded.

“Guess so,” Sans said.

Papyrus dashed out of the kitchen with his steaming mug and frantically raced around, putting his boots and sweatshirt on. He chugged half his coffee and then tossed it; Frisk jumped up and caught the mug, miraculously not spilling a drop.

“Okay!!! I’ll meet you two there!” he said brightly. “See you soon!!” He raced outside, slamming the door behind him. 

Frisk snickered. She sniffed the coffee and wrinkled her nose. She sipped it cautiously and made a face. Sans scoffed. 

“Why did you even?” he asked.

“I like the smell a bit when it’s from far away? I thought maybe it’d grow on me,” she said. “Nooope.” She took her brother’s empty plate, and carried it and the mug back to the kitchen. “Crap.”

“What?” Sans asked.

“I keep forgetting about the sink!” She laughed. “Oh well.”

She came back out and brushed off her hoodie. “So, this okay? I don’t look like a total filth-mess, do I?” she asked.

“Nah, just like, fifty percent,” he said.

“Great!” she said. “Good to go?”

“Yup.” He got up slowly, popped his spine, and then took her hand. 

They were in the lab instantly. The lights were very dim in the main room, and none of the monitors were on.

“Alphys?” Frisk asked.

“Oh! F-Frisk! Up here!” Alphys waved from the top level. “Hi, Sans!”

Undyne bounded down the escalator in just a few steps, and Alphys followed more carefully.

“Hey guys! Alph filled me in. Guess it’d be good if you could get the power working while you’re down there, too?” she said.

“Sure. Not the first time,” Frisk said. “Also! I have good news.”

“Ooh, wh-what is it?” Alphys asked.

“Found Asriel,” she said. “He’s, um, he’s actually just downstairs somewhere?”

Alphys’s jaw all but hit the floor. Undyne frowned.

“Wait, what?” she asked.

“It’s, uh, complicated,” Sans said. “Time travel mind-link junk. Frisk managed to track him down.”

“Huh?” Undyne said. “Well. Okay. If you’re sure?”

“Pretty sure,” Frisk said. 

“B-B-But how’d he get in h-here?!” Alphys demanded shrilly. “I d-didn’t notice anything, I s-swear, I—”

“Well, yeah, duh, or you wouldda said something,” Frisk said with a laugh. 

“B-But! Oh my god…” Alphys put a hand to her brow. “S-Someone broke in and I didn’t even n-notice?!”

“Someone’s in for a serious butt-kicking,” Undyne grumbled.

“Oh, jeez, guys, I dunno, as long as we find him, doesn’t it not super matter who put him here?” Frisk asked.

“N-Nobody… Nobody should be going down there,” Alphys said, shaking her head.

Sans frowned a little. He folded his arms. “I guess you can check the tapes. Me and Frisk can get started. Paps should be here in a bit, so…” 

“Well how the hell’s he gonna get down there now?” Undyne wondered.

“W-Well, umm… There’s actually an emergency hatch on the top of the e-elevator. It’s not big, but… b-but, he’s really skinny, actually, that’d probably be okay, if you could give him a boost, Undyne? If h-he’s up to it, he c-could maybe climb d-down,” Alphys said, and she looked at Undyne hopefully. “If… If it’s okay, m-maybe you could stay up here w-with me until they get the power back on? J-Just in case something goes wrong, I don’t w-want… I don’t want, you know, the only two tall people here stuck in the same place.”

“Hah! Fair enough,” Undyne said. 

“And, Sans, once you’re d-down there, if you can help it—”

“No teleportin’. Bummer,” he joked. “Don’t worry about it.”

He looked at Frisk. “Should we get goin’?”

“Yeah, guess we could get that door open for Papyrus,” she said. “Ooh. Alphys. Do you want to explain the downstairs monsters, or do you want us to do it, or…?”

“Oh. Um… Uh…” Alphys grimaced. 

Undyne held up her hand. “I’ll do it,” she said. 

Frisk stuck her thumbs up. “Everyone keep their phones on, right?” 

Alphys nodded. Sans put a hand on Frisk’s shoulder and the two of them vanished before their eyes.

At the base of the elevator shaft, it was really quite dark. Frisk pulled out her phone for light and Sans lit his eye up. 

“Sheesh, what a mess, huh?” she asked. 

“Yup,” Sans agreed. 

There was a flash of white a little ways up the hallway. Sans froze, but Frisk took a few steps towards it.

“Hiya, who’s there?” she asked. 

A form sloshed out into visible range. Many faces, several dark eyes, and a curling tail. A mangled, globby body like something pieced together of a dream recalled by different people. It flopped; pulled itself across the floor with slimy-looking tendrils.

“Sheesh,” Sans muttered.

“Hi!” Frisk said.

The creature made a strange sort of low, screeching sound. She remembered this. She put her phone on speaker and hit the call button without dialling anything.

“Hello. Hello.” A layered voice made of many spoke through a blanket of static. “Come join the fun. Become one of us.”

“Oh! No thank you, but thanks for offering,” Frisk said.

“Oh well.” The creature didn’t look disappointed, however. “Call again!” It began to move off, but Frisk followed it for just a few paces.

“Excuse me, can I ask a question?” Frisk asked.

“Please hold. Okay. What is it?”

“Do you need anything?” she asked. “Also, have you seen a strange flower down here?”

“No. And also no. Thank you. Goodbye!” The phone made a dial-tone sound and the amalgamate creature vanished into the darkness.

Frisk pouted. Sans put his hand on her shoulder. He was shaking a little. She turned and gave him a worried look, but he was smiling.

“Jeez, kiddo,” he said. “You handled that well.”

“It’s okay, I was scared the first time, too,” she said. “Must be worse for a monster to see, huh?”

“No kiddin’,” he said. “I think it’s partially just the lurkin’ in the dark bits.”

“I know, right? So creepy all of a sudden!” Frisk said with a laugh. “Guess we’ll need to get the generator thing going, huh? You know where it is?”

“Lemme just…” He went quiet and focussed for a moment. “Okay. You know the room where Alphys keeps the flowers?” 

“Uh-huh?”

“There’s some mirrors in there. From what I remember, should be behind one of ‘em,” he said. “Weird that it wouldn’t go on. Makes me think someone, uh, mighta screwed with it.”

Frisk nodded. She sighed and leaned her back against the wall. “What the heck is going on?”

Sans shrugged.

He went back to the elevator shaft’s closed doors and eyed them up and down. He carefully tested sliding his fingers between them. They were looser than they looked, and he was able to pull one to the side, and then held it there with magic. He did the same to the other side.

“They never got that fixed,” he said. He sat down and Frisk scampered over and sat with him.

“We’ll wait for Paps, then?” she said.

He nodded. Frisk texted him. He texted back saying he was just a few minutes away. Sans closed his eyes. Frisk snickered and started playing _Puyo Puyo_ on her phone. 

\- - -

When Papyrus arrived, he was startled by the state of the lab. Also by the fact that Alphys was pacing anxiously.

“Doctor! Captain!” he said. “Hello! It is I, the great Papyrus! I’m here to help!”

“O-Oh! P-P-Papyrus, umm…! H-Hi!” Alphys said.

“Doctor Alphys!” He grabbed her under her arms and lifted her up. “You are even more nervous and sweaty than usual! Are you doing alright? GASP!! You’re not scared of the dark, are you?! I can light up my eye sockets if that would help?!”

“Oh… Oh, n-no, Papyrus, th-that’s really sweet, th-thanks, but it’s… it’s not the dark, I’m…” She sighed. “I’m s-sorry.”

He tilted his head. He gave her a hug before planting her back on the ground. Undyne laughed a little and then came over to pat him on the shoulders.

“Okay, dude, you got a mission, if you think you can deal,” she said.

“Of course I can deal!” he asserted. “I am, after all, very great: anything you throw at me, I can absolutely handle.”

“Good. That’s exactly what I want to hear,” Undyne said. “First thing. Elevator’s busted. But you gotta get downstairs. Think you can manage climbing the elevator cables?”

“Well! I’ve never done anything like that in my life, but there’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?” he said. “No problem!” 

“Great! Knew you were up for it,” she said. “Sans and Frisk are already down there.”

“Oh! Okay! I’ll go meet them, then,” he said.

“Ah. Wait, just a sec,” Undyne said, holding up a finger. “There is one more thing. It’s pretty serious though. You ready?”

“Yes, absolutely,” he said.

Undyne frowned to herself. She folded her arms. Alphys hid her face in her hands.

“Okay. Do you know about Alphys’s work at all?” Undyne said.

“Um. No. Not really, no,” Papyrus said.

“Okay. Well. Part of her research was about determination. And she tried to save monsters who fell down by using it,” she said. “But… Thing is. Most monsters, turns out they can’t handle determination.”

“Really?” Papyrus asked.

“Big time.” Undyne’s ear-fins drooped. “So, at first, it seemed all good, right? But then, monsters started melting. And they became, like… Well… A bunch of them joined to make newish bodies since their old ones couldn’t keep it together.”

Papyrus stared blankly. He looked between Undyne and Alphys with wide eyes. Alphys tried to hide behind her desk chair.

“I’m not sure I understand,” he said.

“There are a few monsters downstairs that are made of a bunch of different monsters that were gonna turn to dust otherwise, Paps,” Undyne said. “They’re… I mean. I’ll be honest. Some of them are a little disturbing. But they’re harmless. Okay? They’re just not all there in the head.”

“Oh! Is that all? Alright then!” Papyrus said. “I’ll watch out for them. And don’t worry, I will be perfectly nice if I meet them and I will try very hard not to stare at any weird bits.”

“Thatta boy,” Undyne said.

She lead him over to the elevator and pried the doors open easily. The door in the roof was pretty obvious once one was looking for it, and Undyne jumped up to push it open. Papyrus looked up at it, frowned, and then nodded.

“Alright! I’ll—”

“Wait. Wait a second,” Undyne said. “Gimme your hands?”

Papyrus did so immediately and Undyne _tsked._

“Take these mitts off,” she said as she went into her pocket for her phone.

“Why? What’s wrong with my mitts?” he said, sounding somewhat alarmed.

“You’re gonna slip, dude,” she said. “Can’t have that.”

Papyrus did as she asked, and she went into her dimension box and pulled out a set of brown, fingerless gloves with thick palms. 

“These are for punching boulders. Or climbing them. Whatever. I can’t remember,” she said. “They’ll give you a better grip, probably. I barely use ‘em. You keep ‘em.”

“Are you sure?!” he asked shrilly. 

She nodded. Papyrus put them on and looked at them as if in awe.

“I… I haven’t been able to get new mitts in years,” he mumbled; he grinned at Undyne. “Captain!! Thank you so much!” He gave her a hug. 

She barked out a laugh and patted his back affectionately. “Okay. Let me boost you up there,” she said. “Careful your scarf doesn’t get caught on anything, okay?”

“Absolutely, Captain!!” he said.

She grinned. “You can just call me Undyne_._ You know that, right?”

“Well! Thank you!” he said, but he winked. “But we are on an important mission, now, aren’t we?”

She chuckled. “Alright. Guess so.”

It was true: Papyrus was both lighter and skinnier than he looked, and easily slipped onto the roof of the elevator with Undyne’s help. It was dark all around, with cables that stretched up straight into blackness above him. He lit his eyes up to see a little better around him.

“P-Papyrus, are you okay up th-there?” Alphys asked.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he said. He walked to the edge of the elevator box and then looked down. Then up again. There was vast tunnel and more cables running sideways, too. 

“Wow, this place is massive!” he exclaimed.

“Y-Yeah! Yeah. It’s bigger than it looks back here,” Alphys said.

“I’m going to start climbing now,” Papyrus said.

“B-B-Be careful, okay?!”

“I’m always careful,” he assured her.

He edged his way down to the side, grabbed on, and lowered himself, using the extra cables as support.

“You okay out there?” he heard Undyne call.

“Oh yes, absolutely, this is not too hard at all,” he said. 

“Oh. P-Papyrus. By the way,” Alphys said quickly, “I’m not, um… I’m not s-sure how much you remember from down here, b-but I had to change the layout a bit some time after Sans quit, so… s-so don’t necessarily expect everything to b-be where it was, okay?”

“Okay, got it!” he said.

He snuck downwards farther, his feet finding small ledges and his grip solid. He carefully got to the base of the elevator and grabbed it tight before letting the rest of him dangle.

“Oh… O-Oh, my god, Papyrus, you don’t need a light out there, d-do you?!” Alphys squeaked.

“Not at all, don’t you worry,” he said. He could see the cables that went down deep into darkness. Even his glow couldn’t help him see very far down there. He swung himself—Alphys yelped— and then let go, flinging himself at the cables below, which he grabbed and latched on to tightly. 

“Paps, you okay?” Undyne asked.

“Fine! I’m on the down cables, now, so I’m heading down!” he said. “Not to worry!”

If he were honest, though, Papyrus wasn’t totally sure how to get down. He’d never really done any climbing. Either way, he loosened his grip a little and let himself slide, slowly.“Hey, Sans? Frisk? Can you hear me?” he asked.

There was silence for a few seconds.

“Papyrus?” That was Frisk’s voice, a little quiet and a long ways off. “You coming down?”

“Yes! I’m on my way!” he said. “Where are you two?”

After a few seconds, deep below, he saw the darkness illuminated by a sparkle of blue. He grinned.

“See us?” Frisk asked.

“I do! I’ll be there soon!” he said. He readjusted his feet and loosened his grip just a little more, sliding faster down the cables. As soon as he could see the platform incoming, he let go and simply stepped back onto solid ground and took a deep breath.

“Whew! That was interesting!” he said, whipping out his phone to let the others know he had made it. “Never done that before.”

“Nice job,” Sans said.

Frisk hugged him. “Dude, you slid all that way? That’s so cool!”

“Nyeh heh heh! It was kind of fun, too,” he said. “Alright. So. What’re we doing?”

“Exploring, kinda!” Frisk said. “Gotta get the power back. Gotta check out old books and junk. And gotta find Az.”

“Easy enough,” Sans said.

They went down the hallway and turned a corner, and saw the blur of a white shape vanishing up ahead where the room opened up into more hallways and a large doorway, bordered by a dark screen on the right and a vending machine on the left. Frisk scampered up and made a beeline for that vending machine, past a sparkling tear in time against the wall. She popped in some change and got a few bags of chips.

“Kiddo, what’re you doin’?” he asked. 

“These guys down here, they love these things.” She tossed her brothers a bag each. “Sometimes they can be a little, um… pushy? So if anyone won’t let you leave a room or something, just bribe ‘em.”

“Why do you talk as if we’re splitting up?” Papyrus asked worriedly.

“Well. We are. Right?” Frisk said. “Just for a little. Since I gotta find Az, and he kinda… you know…” She looked at Sans. 

“Makes sense,” he said. 

“Does it?!” Papyrus asked shrilly. 

“Sure, bro,” Sans said. “Don’t worry about it.”

He strolled over to that large door and ran a hand over it. “Hm. Stuck, I think.”

“Let me try!!!” Papyrus said. He tried to wedge his fingers into the door. Couldn’t do it. He attempted to get a grip and pull, but nothing happened. He pouted; rolled up his sleeves.

“Wait, it’s okay,” Frisk said. “It should be good to go as soon as we get that generator going. Besides, that’s an elevator again.”

“That’s okay, we can work in the dark,” Sans said with a shrug.

“So, wait, what’s in there?” Papyrus said.

“That’s the lights for down here, bro,” Sans said. “The elevators and the upstairs, though, that works on a different generator. Can you two handle that? I got a thing or two I’d like to check out. Catch up with you later?”

Frisk nodded and Papyrus stuck his thumbs up. Sans started to wander away down the hallway to the left. 

“Hang on!” Frisk tossed her phone at him when he turned back to her. “Just in case.”

He stuck his thumb up.

“Sans, you really need a phone,” Papyrus said.

“No I don’t, I have Frisk’s,” he said.

“SANS.”

The short skeleton grinned and raised his hand in a motionless wave as he walked away. “Later, bro.”

Papyrus rolled his eyes. Frisk laughed and jerked her thumb at the other hallway. She and Papyrus walked together through a set of doors they had to push, and the out into an area that was just beds with pink comforters. There was another tear in time near a doorway and another hall. Frisk had always found it weird that there would be several inside one building.

“Ooh. So. Are there a lot of monsters living down here?” Papyrus asked.

“A few, yeah,” Frisk said. “I wonder where they are?” She scampered through the room of beds and peeked under a few of them. “Hello? Anyone here?” she called. She heard a skittering and looked around, but she couldn’t see. 

Papyrus, too, glanced around, but nothing seemed to be there. She grabbed Papyrus’s hand and then they continued on together. 

In the west hallway was a long line of counters covered in potted golden flowers, and opposite that were mirrors on the wall. They didn’t even need to spend much time looking for where the extra door might be; one of the mirrors, the third in a series of five, was hanging lopsided and there was what looked like darkness behind it. 

“Ooh! Here,” Frisk said.

Papyrus went straight for the mirror and lifted it off the wall to reveal a doorway. Frisk grinned. 

“I never noticed this before,” she said. “This is new.”

“Well, this is all new to me, to be honest,” Papyrus said. “Here, let me go first.”

His eyes shone brighter and they stepped into a small room behind the mirror. There wasn’t much in there, but there was a set of stairs that burrowed deeper. Papyrus peeked over the railing. There was something causing a gentle, magical flickering down there. He grinned and he grabbed Frisk and jumped over the banister. 

Lighting the darkness of the room below was the faint glow of a crystal atop a squat, pyramid-like structure with a thick metal base. Magic like pale, coloured ink in water flowed under that crystal top. Around the base, though, were sockets. Empty, mostly— the cables had been yanked loose. One was still plugged in solid around the far side, while another was only half in.

“Well, that looks like an issue, doesn’t it?” Papyrus said. 

Frisk nodded. Papyrus began to carefully plug the clunky cables back in, while Frisk circled the generator. On one side, there was a small computer monitor that announced _REBOOT REQUIRED_. 

“Have any clue how to reboot this thing?” Frisk asked.

“Not a one,” Papyrus said. He attached the final plug, and there was a bit of a hum that suddenly pulsed in the air, but not much more. 

Papyrus’s phone chimed and he looked at it. He scoffed and then tossed it to Frisk. 

“_pass 2 the kid”_ was all a text from her number said.

_“oh hi its the kid” _Frisk replied.

“_lol hi” _Sans replied. “_fnd a room @ sinks” _He sent her a photo of a room with a desk and a bunch of notebooks and old mugs, illuminated in blue.

“_ooh! cool bro. we found the power thing and plugged it in just now but it says it has to reboot?_”

“_k_”

“_so what do we do?_”

“_ill do it_” he said. “_also bad news_”

“_oh no what happened?_” she asked.

“_found a card key_”

Frisk stared at the screen. “Ah, crap,” she grumbled.

“What?” Papyrus asked.

“We’ll probably have to look for a few card thingies that are keys to that big door,” she said. She rubbed her head. “_ok we’ll look around for them too_” she texted. “_thanks <3_”

“_np gl c u soonish_”

Frisk handed Papyrus back his phone and stared thoughtfully at the generator. Papyrus skimmed the messages.

“Hmmm…” he said. “So. Should I go look for these keys? And you find Asriel?”

“We could both do both,” she suggested. “And if you see any old notebooks or anything, could you give ‘em a quick look? Alphys was hoping maybe whoever ran the lab before she did might have some notes that might be useful for this soul thing.”

“Alright!” he said. “I’ll go take a quick run around! Make a mental map. You’re okay on your own, right?”

She stuck her thumb up. Papyrus gave her a hug and then bounded up the stairs. She stared at that monitor on the generator for a while. Something sparked in the back of her mind. A familiarity. Sans probably knew how to fix the thing, didn’t he? She tried to focus her thoughts torecall.

\- - -

Papyrus didn’t want to admit it, but as he strolled around the hallways lit only by his own glow, he was starting to feel a little unnerved. Peeking in through dark doors, he wasn’t seeing much. He had a strange feeling of being followed, however.

He found his way into a long room. A bathroom, it looked like. There was a tub at the back, with a pink curtain draped in front. He thought his eyes were playing a trick on him for a second when he saw a shadow move behind it. After a moment, though, it became very clear, like a tendril or maybe an arm? A tentacle?

“Hello there!” he said loudly. “I! Am the great Papyrus! I’m just looking around, please don’t mind me.” He was taken aback when the shape seemed to wave at him. He edged a little closer.“You wouldn’t happen to have seen a card-shaped key, have you? We would really love to put the lights on for you.” He saw a wisp of white pull the curtain back just a little. He came a little closer and, to his surprise, a strange arm held out a blue card. He took it carefully and then smiled. “Thank you!” he said.

He put it into his pocket, opened the bag of chips, and tossed a few into the tub before walking back out. The hallway, however, had a sort of chill. There was a sort of strange huffing sound droning from the shadows. Papyrus cast a glance around, frowning a little. The droning got a little louder. He cautiously made to continue down the hallway but, all of a sudden that noise was right by his head and the sound of too many feet slapped the floor.

He turned just in time to see a huge white body and a massive void where a face should have been. His shoulders were pinned by two huge paws, yet the dog-like creature hadn’t even have to rear back. Papyrus gawked; his jaw dropped and he rattled before he could stop himself. The creature tilted their head. A splotch of black goo dripped from the void. Papyrus’s mind raced. He couldn’t reach the chips.

“H… Hello!” he said. “I am the great Papyrus, and I would… I would very much appreciate it if you would release me.”

They tilted their head the other direction, but dropped one paw back to the floor. With a little less of the creature’s form obscured by its shoulder, Papyrus could see that its tail was wagging quite quickly. He reached a cautious hand up to their neck and petted them. The dog beast was immediately a wriggling, happy mess. Papyrus grinned.

“Nyeh heh heh! Oh! I guess you aren’t so bad at all, are you?” he said. “Hey! Maybe! You could help me out a little? I will be more than happy to pay you in chips!!”

The dog— or maybe _dogs_ was more accurate— seemed elated. Papyrus held out the blue card. 

“I am looking for a few more of these! Maybe you could help me?” he asked.

They put their head towards it and made a low snorting noise. Their tail wagged and they spun around quickly and started back towards the west end of the building. Papyrus followed close, keeping his hand on their shoulder. In a room full of fans, the dog showed him to a green card, and then hurried him back the other way, into a room packed full of rumbling fridges. He was surprised to see Sans there, a monster with giant teeth and giant arms pouting while peering over his shoulder.

“Brother?” Papyrus asked.

Sans turned; slipped something into his pocket and grinned. “Hey, you found a friend.”

“So did you,” Papyrus said.

“We are NOT friends,” the other monster said.

“Hey, whatever you say, Lemons,” Sans said with a shrug. “I’m not makin’ you follow me, you know.”

“Hmph,” they grumbled. “Okay, maybe a little bit friends.”

“There you go,” he said.

“So are…? Are these who Undyne was talking about?” Papyrus said. “They aren’t so… Well, you know. I like this one. And, hello, Lemons, I am the great Papyrus, it is very nice to meet you.”

The monster with the big teeth frowned just a little. They flexed one arm and cut their eyes at him. He stared blankly for a second and then mimicked them. Lemons flexed again. Papyrus did the same.

“Hey, Paps. Great, uh, muscles and all,” Sans said with a wink, “but you wanna give me a hand?” He held out two cards: red and yellow. 

“Ooh! You got the others! Fantastic! Now we can…! Um. What do we do with them, exactly, brother?” Papyrus said.

“There should be small rooms in each of the farthest corners of this place,” he said. “They’re colour coded. Just pop ‘em in?”

“I read you loud and clear.” Papyrus pointed to the giant dog beast. “What do we call this one?”

“I dunno, Big Dog?” he said.

“Well, he certainly is!” Papyrus said brightly. He dumped the rest of the chips in “Big Dog’s” void face and then patted their head. Then, he picked up Lemons.

“H-HEY!” they exclaimed.

“Don’t you worry about a thing, Lemons, we will have our flexing competition a little later!” he assured them as he beelined from the room. “Come on! You can help me!”

“Ugghhhh… fine.”

“That’s the spirit!” Papyrus said.

“Uh, hey, bro, there’s one back here, too,” Sans said.

“ACK!! SANS, WHY DID YOU JUST NOT DO IT?!” Papyrus called.

“I dunno.”

“You’re so lazy, I can’t believe you. FINE! We’ll be back for it!!!”

Sans grinned to himself.

As Papyrus disappeared into the gloom, Sans’s grin fell, just a little. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone— not Frisk’s, but a second. One he’d found on the ground. A cheap one. Scuffed like it had been dropped several times. It was locked with a passcode. With enough time, he could bypass it, but he had a feeling someone here might know the right one.

Sans wandered towards the room behind the mirror, just missing Papyrus and the amalgams race back towards the refrigerator room. When he got down the stairs to the generator, he was a little surprised to find the somewhat fluffy form of Mrs. Snowdrake sitting with Frisk as the kid had part of the generator’s console open and was fiddling with it.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said.

Frisk perked up. “Hey! Could you light up over here for a sec? I can’t see the colour of these cables.”

“Mhm. Not sure this’ll help much.” His eye shone blue. “You’re… tryin’ to fix it?”

“I remembered your memories,” she said proudly. “I think I almost got it!” 

He sat down just a little behind her and nodded at Mrs. Snowdrake. She smiled sleepily. 

Frisk fiddled with a couple more wires, squinted as if in thought, and then pressed seven buttons in a specific order. She then closed the console and looked hopefully at the screen. It still said REBOOT REQUIRED. She frowned.

“Oh, c’mon, what’d I do?” she asked.

“Lemme see?” Sans moved in closer and opened it again, eyes skimming a series of wires, buttons, what looked almost like a completed slide puzzle, and some computer chips. “Oh. Hey. Good job. Just missed this.” He pressed a small circular button in the top right, above the puzzle, and then closed it. Then, he felt under the monitor for an oval pad, pushed it, and then sat back. 

The message on the screen changed into a smily face. It made a boot-up chime, and everything went dark for just a few seconds. Then, the magic roared back to life, brighter than before, and a distinct hum reverberated around the room. Mrs. Snowdrake clapped slowly.

Frisk’s phone buzzed with a text. Alphys confirmed that the power had all come back on upstairs. Frisk grinned and she and Sans high-fived. 

“Any luck with Asriel?” he said.

“Naw, I’ve been here,” she said. “How about you with the books?”

He shook his head. “All blank.”

“Oh. Weird,” she said. “Guess I’ll keep looking, but… I’m not sure.”

“Welp. There should be another hidden door or two around,” he said.

“Really?” she asked. “Where? How do you know?”

“There were some other rooms when I was here,” he said. “Alphys moved junk around for her stuff later on. Some rooms she probably just didn’t need. Or didn’t want to deal with. Who knows. But, got a feelin’ they’re still here.”

“A feeling?” she repeated.

“Yup.” He shrugged. “I’m thinkin’ maybe between the two wall consoles right outside the room with the beds. North side. Might be worth lookin’ into?”

“Okay,” she said. She got to her feet and waved at Mrs. Snowdrake. “I’ll be back soon.”

“I’ll keep lookin’ at notes or whatever,” Sans said.

Frisk stuck her thumb up and scampered up the stairs.

Sans waited until he couldn’t hear her footsteps anymore, and then turned to the rather drowsy Mrs. Snowdrake. “Hey. I’d like to ask you something.” He pulled out the phone. “You’ve seen this before, huh?”

She hummed. He smiled.

“I think someone maybe told you some numbers to remember, huh?” he said.

“Hmm… Seven. One… Hmmm…” She smiled. “Someone… Yes, someone.”

Sans grinned. “Great,” he said. “I think we can figure this out together.”

She nodded slowly. He handed her the phone. Her drooping wings brushed over the touch-screen. Seven. One. Three. Five. Seven. A familiar jingle played. Mrs. Snowdrake hummed along. Sans couldn’t help it— his eyes went dark.


	29. Flower Finder Arc

Frisk found an old door completely flush with the wall right where Sans had thought it was. She pushed it open slowly and a small burst of dust caught her in the face. She coughed, wiped her eyes, and then took a look around inside. What opened before her was a wide room filled with bookshelves, aligned like a maze and covered in binders, notebooks, and scientific reference materials. There were a few desks in there, too. The closest one was covered in loose, stacked papers and had two mugs on it and an old ashtray filled with paperclips.

She curiously peeked around, and though she was excited to find so many old books, they weren’t her concern right this second. There were two other doors at the back of the room. There was also one more near them, but on the west wall. She scooted around all the bookshelves and took a quick peek. That door on her left— it was just barely ajar. Hurriedly, Frisk went down there, and found that it was a long hallway. At the end, though, there was a door with a small window in the upper portion. She could see a faint glimmer of light through it. She grinned and ran for it, and then tried to push it open. It was heavy, but it opened slowly.

There he was, in the only ray of light, just like he had shown her. Someone had hung a warm flashlight from the ceiling. Asriel was under a clear, shiny box with a few air holes in the top, sitting in a small flowerpot. His captor had been nice enough to leave him with a bowl of water, some chips, and what looked like an MTT magazine. 

“Asriel!” she said brightly.

He looked up quickly with surprise and an expression of relief washed over his face. “Y-You…?!” He straightened up and moved closer to the glass. “How did you find me?!”

“Hang on,” she said. She checked the box for a lid, or a door, but found nothing. She grimaced and tried to grab the corners. It hurt her hands.

“Uh, hello?” Asriel said.

“Oh, um… The dream, right?” Frisk said, smiling a bit. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you were connected to us, too.”

“What the hell are you…?” His eyes went wide. “No no no, wait, you can’t be serious, right?! That was real?!”

“Yeah.” She pushed up on the corners. It was way heavier than it looked. She grimaced and tried again. It was sharp; they were cutting into her hands. She winced, then pulled back and used her sleeves to protect her palms. She tried once, pushing up. She could only manage a little crack but she couldn’t hold it and it slammed down again.

“Dang it,” she said. “D-Don’t worry! I’ll get you out!”

“Why bother?” he asked. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“What?! No, of course not,” she said.

He tilted his head. He grinned. “You’re so stupid. And now I can get into your head, huh?”

“Actually, that’s probably nothing new,” she said. “Sans mostly controls them sub… um… subconsciously? I think that’s the right word.”

“Oh.” He looked disappointed. 

Frisk snickered. She paced, brow furrowed, thinking hard. “Oh! I know. Hang on, okay?”

“Not like I have a choice.”

Frisk scampered from the room and jogged back down the hall until her way was blocked rather unceremoniously by a lurching, pale frame. 

“Oh!” She drew back and looked up in the one-eyed, birdlike face of an amalgamate blinking down at her. “Hi there! You okay?”

They didn’t answer, but lowered their long, somewhat graceful neck and the huge eye stared back into her. She remembered the chips in her pocket and smiled and took out the bag and popped it open.

“Here,” she said, offering it, “take it, have a snack and relax, huh?”

The limbs that somewhat resembled wings slowly took the bag away from her and delicately ate one of the chips.“Thaaaank…” they replied. They moved off slowly on small, tip-toeing talons, and disappeared into one of the other empty rooms beyond the book cases. 

Frisk hurried on her way, peeking through doors until she saw Papyrus. He was in the room where Frisk remembered there being a large TV and shelves of old tapes, but for the moment, there were also some bookshelves and a table in there. The amalgam of dogs was leaning on him and he was absently patting their neck as he looked through some of the books on a table.

“Paps!” she called. “Can you help?”

“Oh! Sure thing, what’s the problem?” He turned quickly to look at her. “Oh my god, did you find him?” 

She nodded and he gave a final pat to the mass of dogs and hurried to her side. 

“Lead the way!”

Frisk took him in a hurry to the room where Asriel was stuck and, as soon as he saw, Papyrus got the point. He made straight for the box.

“Not to worry, this won’t be a—” He grabbed it and pushed it up. “Whoa jeez that’s way heavier than it looks, who did this?”

“How should I know? They put me in a bag,” Asriel grumbled.

“Just wait one second,” he said. He took a step back, cracked his knuckles, and then grabbed the awkward box in a bear hug and lifted it straight up. 

Frisk rushed to grab Asriel’s pot and hurried him away as Papyrus tossed the box onto the ground and it cracked tile and stuck downwards into the earth.

They all looked at it with shock.

“…I thought that it was glass,” Frisk said in awe.

“Nope. No, definitely not,” Papyrus said with a laugh. He knelt down to look at Frisk and Asriel with a grin. “You’re alright now, little guy. Getting into trouble, huh?”

“…I guess you could say that,” Asriel grumbled.

“Are you okay?” Frisk asked.

“Fine,” he said. “Now what are you going to do with me?”

“Well, first,” Papyrus said, gently taking the flowerpot from Frisk and putting him back up on the table, “let’s take a look at those bruises.”

Asriel looked surprised, and he recoiled when Papyrus’s eyes and fingertips glowed with magic.

“What are you—?!” His words fell short when the tall skeleton gently touched the side of his head, where there were some discolouration and bent petals. “…Oh.”

“Nothing to worry about!” Papyrus assured him. “I, the great Papyrus, am here to help! Trust me.”

Asriel seemed to lose his bite for a few moments, going a little limp in Papyrus’s glow. Frisk watched with fascination as the bruising vanished and his damaged petals returned to normal. Frisk smiled up at Papyrus, and he drew back from Asirel, his magic dimming.

“There you go, better?” he asked.

Asriel looked up at him in silence for a few moments. He glowered and his eyes seemed to flicker red. “You just made a mistake. If you really knew about me, then—”

“Oh! I know all about you,” Papyrus assured him with a smile.

Asriel frowned. He tilted his head; looked like the cogs were turning in his mind but not quite connecting, like he was still missing a piece. “But… you’re still helping me,” he said blankly.

“Yes, of course!” Papyrus said.

Asriel looked between him and Frisk, his frown deepening. “I… I can’t understand.”

Frisk smiled sympathetically and stood on her toes to pull him back down, putting her arms tight around the flowerpot.

“Things are gonna be just fine,” she assured him.

“You. Are. An. Idiot,” he said.

Frisk laughed and carried him over to that crack in the ground.“Hey, bro, could you break this floor up just a bit?”

“What are you doing?” Asriel asked.

Papyrus leaned over curiously and squinted down at the tiny bit of the mountain through the tiles. He gently pushed the kid aside and then his magic casually smashed up the tiles with oversized femurs. Frisk stuck her thumb up and then knelt down. She held out the flower to let him have a good look.

“What do you think, can you get out of here?” she asked Asriel.

“…What?” he asked.

“Is this enough ground?” she asked.

“What, you’re letting me go?!” he demanded.

Frisk nodded and Papyrus knelt down to gently pat him on the head.

“Of course we are!” Papyrus assured him. “We came here to let you out. Obviously.”

Asriel stared. He frowned. He grimaced. Frisk tried not to laugh and she reached into the earth around him. It stung. She forgot about those cuts on her hands. She ignored them and lifted Asriel out of the pot— felt his roots cling to her reflexively, and she put him on the ground.

“Is that okay?” she asked.

“You’re gonna regret this,” he said.

“Oh, I’m sure,” she said with a smile. “See you later.”

He looked confused, but he didn’t ask any more. He ducked back underground and vanished completely.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the flowerbed today,” Papyrus said. 

Frisk snickered. “Nice one.”

“…I am spending too much time with Sans,” he said.

“Nah, just enough,” she said “I’m glad we found him.” She got up and brushed her hands off on her pants, wincing. 

Papyrus gently lifted one of her hands in his. He _tsked_ quietly. “Oh, Frisky-wisky,” he said gently. There was something weird about his voice.

For a moment, his expression was strange— calm, smiling, but with a sort of reservation that didn’t suit his face at all. His eyes didn’t look right. Black— not as they normally were, but so black it was like looking into that abyss of an obsidian lake. It only lasted a fraction of a second, though, because he looked normal again before Frisk could even properly process it.

“Just as I suspected! Bleeding again!” he said with a frown. “Frisk, you should really be more careful. If you need to lift weird pointy things, come to me first, okay?”

“Y-Yeah,” she agreed.

“Now, I think I saw… Ah!” He lifted her up with a grin and bounded down the hallway.

He brought her to the room with a few sinks and examination tables in it and she washed her hands of dirt, but there was more blood along with it than she had expected.

“Aw man,” she grumbled.

“Not to worry.” He carried her over to the tables and sat on the closest one with her, taking her hands in his and starting to heal her wounds. “It must be so frustrating to have skin on your hands. It’s so easily damaged.”

“Tell me about it,” she said. She watched the cuts close up— it was very quick, almost exponentially so.

“Yo.” Sans was leaning against the doorframe. “Mission accomplished, huh?”

“Yup! Back on track,” Frisk said with a smile.

“I like how lettin’ him win is back on track,” Sans said.

“Hah. Yep,” she said. “Also, Papyrus is amazing.”

“What else is new?” Sans asked with a grin.

“Look!” She held up her hands. “I goofed up my hands again. How long was that? Like, two minutes?”

“Well, I wasn’t counting, but I do think I’m getting pretty adept!” he said proudly.

Sans beamed. He sauntered over to take a look and checked her palms. “No scars.”

“Not even one!” She grinned. “So, you find anything?”

“Nothin’ relevant,” he said. “Comin’?”

“Yup!” Frisk said. “There’s like, a million books in that hidden room.”

As they were about to leave, Big Dog and several other amalgamate monsters blocked the way.

“Hi, guys!” Frisk said brightly.

“Where’s the contest?” Lemons demanded.

Big Dog nuzzled up to Frisk quickly, but then circled their body snugly around Papyrus. He laughed.

“Oh. Well. You know what? Maybe I’ll just hang out with these guys a little?” Papyrus said. “You know. Keep them. Here. Instead of. There? And we will, um, deal with the whole light thing soon. Behind that big door, right?”

“Yep!” Frisk said.

He grinned and patted Big Dog on the head. “I bet you all would love to hear some fantastic stories about, me, the great Papyrus, and my many adventures!!! And we can have some snacks, and YES, Lemons, we will flex, it will be good.” Papyrus grinned. “Let’s go to that room with all the beds, right? You guys would like that, I think! Follow me!”

He walked out confidently and all of the other monsters followed him out like ducklings after their mother. Sans laughed. 

“And Alphys was worried about it,” Frisk said with a smile.

“Hilarious,” Sans agreed. “Let’s go, I guess.”

Frisk nodded and she followed him out of the room. “So that one’s name is Lemons?”

“Dunno.”

“Then why’d he call them Lemons?” Frisk asked with a laugh.

“I called them Lemons, ‘cause they sorta smell like that lemon loaf cake thing,” he said. “Gotta call ‘em something, right?”

“Oooh… Hey, you’re right, actually,” she said. 

They went through that room of beds, passing Papyrus doing what looked to be a flex-off with Lemons. He seemed to have attracted close to every amalgamate monster that lived in the place. Sans grinned rather proudly. 

He and Frisk continued back into that room she had opened up. Sans seemed pleased to see it there. Then, he noticed the number of books. His posture drooped. Frisk snickered.

“Tired already?”

“Tired since we got here,” he said.

Frisk smiled sympathetically and gave him a hug. He snickered.

“Careful, kid, I’m just gonna clock out.” He patted her head. “Thanks.”

“Mhm!” She gave him a squeeze and then turned to look at the shelves with a combination of wonder and apprehension. “Sure are a lot, huh? Does…? Does it matter if I can’t actually read it?”

“Nah. Just pile up anything with writing in it,” he said.

They went to work, skimming through book after book— notebooks, binders, sheets of paper left scattered. Some were covered in math, written by a shaky hand. Alphys maybe. Frisk found some notes that were also clearly in Sans’s handwriting, but they also weren’t what they were looking for. Some of them were just notes for coffee runs. Strange. Like the place had been disrupted midday or something. She made a pile anyway.

“Hey,” she said. “Wanna know something kinda great?”

“Sure,” Sans said.

“So… So we found Az, right? And he’s being, um…”

“Abrasive?”

“Huh?”

“A jerk,” Sans said.

“Oh! Yeah, you know, super grump,” Frisk said. “And… And you know what Papyrus says?”

“What?”

“He says, guess he woke up on the wrong side of the _flowerbed_.”

“Pffft!!” Sans started to laugh. “Oh shit. Sorry I missed it.”

“Yeah, thought you’d like that,” Frisk said with a grin.

She used a chair to reach some of the higher shelves. One of the binders she pulled down had a few loose printed emails in it. One of them was math. A long chain of numbers, and equations. At the bottom, “_what do you two think?_” Into the pile it went.

Another email sheet looked like a conversation between two people:

“_Hey, so I know you went home for the night, but I stayed a little late and I reviewed your diagrams. The simulation is still running, so I know it’s early, but I’m counting at least thirty now that end in just nothing??? Is that normal? It looks pretty bad, honestly. I know you said it would. If time really splits like that, isn’t there anything we can do?_”

“_thanks for checkin. i don’t know yet. workin on it. did you see the looping ones?_”

“_I did! What the heck does all that mean? I’m worried this stuff might be a bit too complicated for me tbh._”

“_nah you’re doin good. its when time bends around the anomaly. i don’t know how yet. getting a bit concerned. i’ve only found one so far that doesn’t do any crazy crap. we’ll see._”

“_No thoughts on a cause yet?_”

“_magic prbably, still unclear. going to bed, thx for looking_”

Under all that printed text was Sans’s handwriting. “_she saw it too_”

Between him and Alphys, Frisk guessed. She added it to the pile. There was a sudden, heavy thunking sound in the walls. Frisk jumped. Emergency lights lining the ceiling turned on with a fizzing sound, and so too did one of the computers, lighting up the room with a pale white glow. The hall lights just outside the room had come on all the way, giving them a little extra to see by as well.

“About time,” Sans said.

Frisk grinned and went back to the papers. A few more pages of nothing. Equations she couldn’t understand. She found a page on light grey that had messages again. Three people this time. Sans and Alphys, and someone else.

“_Dark darker yet darker the darkness keeps growing the shadow cutting deeper photon readings negative this next experiment seems very interesting… what do you two think?_”

“_i think you need to find a thesaurus lol_”

“_Are you okay??? Jeez you sound totally exhausted? No offence but your message didn’t make a lot of sense. Are you still in the lab, do you want me to bring you something? coffee?_”

“_i think he’s asleep he hasn’t replied in like 3 hours_”

“_Oh my god should I go back and check???_”

“_nah. get some rest. he does this a lot lol_”

“_Okay, if you’re sure, then I’m going to bed too, good night!!! See you guys at work tomorrow._”

“_Oh my god, sorry, yes, that was unclear. I believe I started the sentence a few times and forgot to delete. The photon readings were, in fact, negative though. It seems like this outcome might be multiplying. Any input would be great!_”

“_lol good job. yeah it’s a lot like i thought. this might get bad._”

“_Don’t worry so much, I’m sure there’s a way to break through it. Don’t forget about the red line, after all. It’s important. Can I count on you two to give me a hand in a few hours?_”

“_it’s 3am go to bed, i don’t want more creepy dark darker darkness dark dark emails lol_”

“_Ha! You’re right, of course. I appreciate you looking out for me. I’ll leave soon._”

The email chain ended. Frisk put it in the pile. She looked at them with confusion. Sans didn’t remember writing much of those emails. But then again, they probably didn’t make a huge impression. That was like asking her to remember every text she’d ever sent, wasn’t it? 

She felt a hand affectionately ruffle her hair. She turned, expecting to see Sans, but no one was there. She could see him at the other end of the room, fiddling with a dusty old computer. A chill crept across her skin. She hurriedly scampered over to him.

“Sans?” she asked. “You’re not foolin’ around, are you?”

“Hm?” He gave her a look of genuine confusion. “What’s that, kiddo?”

“Oh. N… Nothing,” she said. “Sorry.”

“No, seriously,” he said.

“I… think there’s a ghost or something in here maybe?” she said. “Someone just rubbed my head and nobody was there, though.”

“Oh. Well. Just stick close, then?” he said with a shrug. “I mean, there could be. Who knows? Find anything?”

“Old work emails between you and Alphys,” she said. “That’s about it.”

“Oh. Right. You know, back in the day, our servers actually really sucked,” he said. “Crashed all the time. Lost everything. Had to get in the habit of printin’ the emails for whatever project we were doin’. So you’ll probably find a lot around.”

She stuck close to him as he browsed through a computer that was, pretty clearly, Alphys’s at some point. He fished a little portable drive from his pocket and plugged it in, and started moving things off.

“Hey. You mind?” he asked, gesturing to the computer. “I’ll keep at it with the books.”

“Oh. Um. Okay. N-No problem.”

He stared at her for a few seconds, then gently patted her head, a little tingle of blue through his fingers reassuring her. “Spooked, huh? Don’t worry. I’m like, three feet away.”

“Right. Right right,” she said. She folded her arms. 

Sans tried not to laugh. He gave her a hug. She slumped. 

“Th-Thanks.”

“Mhm.” 

He moved away and patted her shoulder, and then went to some of the books. He seemed to be mostly pulling reference material rather than any notebooks. She checked one of the ones Sans had tossed onto the desk. It was blank. She headed for the computer and started dragging folders onto the drive. It was slow and boring. 

After a few minutes, she accidentally clicked on one. Saw in there a folder just labeled “FF”. Suspecting what it might be, Frisk paused for a moment. She considered her options and then clicked on it.

“She… She wrote fanfiction on her work computer?” she asked.

“What else are you gonna do when you gotta wait like four hours for test results?” Sans joked. “Doesn’t surprise me a bit.”

“Yeah, but… there’s a lot in here,” Frisk said. “_King of My Heart_. Part one and two? Ooh. _Dances in Crystal Lights. Askenseeon_?_ Love Beyond the Barrier. The Fish Queen_? _Goo-ardian of Waterfalls_? _His Blue Soul_!? Hey, I bet that one’s about you.”

Sans slid back over to peek over her shoulder. “Ascension. Second one was guardian. Don’t, uh… Don’t open those, they’re probably not, uh, age appropriate.”

“Just a peek?” she asked. She looked back over her shoulder. 

His face was a little flushed, but he looked curious. She hovered the mouse over the document and grinned. 

“Ehhh?”

“…Okay, okay. Do it.”

She opened it. It started with a synopsis, which she read aloud dramatically. “_Two scientists thrust together in a lab of emoty… _oh!_ emotions. One, a shy but somewhat brilliant mecha_… Meck-a… what the heck is that word?”

“Mechanist.”

“Thanks. _MECHANIST. The other, a-band-oned from birth, trying to make the world right. With time travel. What tragic irony that such a sad soul would have a face stuck in a grin. If only there were someone out there who could soothe HIS BLUE SOUL_. In all caps.”

“Oh come on,” Sans laughed. “I’m not mopey enough that I crossed over into tragic irony, am I?”

“I dunno, what’s irony mean?” she asked.

“It’s kind of like sarcasm,” he said. “When something is the opposite of what it seems.”

She looked at him thoughtfully and put her chin on her hand. “Maybe a few months ago,” she said. “Not so much now. Or back then, I guess.”

“Knew it,” he said with a laugh. “Guess we should give these back to her.”

“…I kinda want to read it,” she said.

“No you don’t,” he said; she gave him a confused look. “I’ll explain when you’re older.”

“Aw.”

“Trust me.”

“Okay okay.” She closed the document, backed out of the folder and then copied it to the USB drive. “I think this is almost done, at least.”

“Cool. I got nothin’. Just some of Alphys’s old junk. Not super relevant.”

“Dang it,” Frisk said. “Keep going?”

“Unfortunately.”

She snickered and he patted her head and slipped off.

When she finished up at the computer, she ran to the next one. There were four in the room, but the next closest one wouldn’t boot up. Neither would the next one. The one at a desk farthest from them did, though. There wasn’t much on it, but Frisk took it anyway. 

As she was waiting for the files to move, she took note of a small, grey notebook on the desk. It wasn’t as dusty as some of the other stuff, and the fact that it was out made her think maybe someone else had looked at it recently. She picked it up. Inside it looked somewhat like a journal. She began to read it. Looked like some of the words were kind of tough, but she was pretty sure she could get the gist of it.

_Entry 001 — I’m recording this mostly for posterity. Don’t want to make the same mistakes twice, right? I suppose it might also be useful to see where my head was at if this fails. Full logs with technicals over in F-11820. Research has been making leaps since the last acquisition of a human soul. I’m feeling a bit more confident about this. Used as much of the human substance,“determination”, as I felt comfortable with. It makes my bones feel shaky. Strange, isn’t it? The humans are made of the stuff, and yet if I have miscalculated, I will no longer be able to sustain my form. To be honest, I am nervous, but at this point, I have little to lose. If I fail, someone else may continue my research in another fashion, but if I succeed, we may be free, no more human souls required. Either way, if this prevents more fighting, I’ll be happy, at least._

_ Entry 002 — It’s been a week since the injections. No negative side effects apparent. My “determination” has levelled out so far, so I’m proceeding as planned. I’ve separated a piece of myself. Hoping it does what we theorized. It’s a bit odd to be my own guinea pig in this, but I wouldn’t dare risk anyone else’s safety. But, aside from that, this is much quicker than trying to find someone else compatible with these levels. Waiting for results is a tad annoying, but excuses to have tea with Asgore are always welcome. The new subtraction will take a little getting used to. However, I’m sure there are several uses for it that could be _ _humer_ _ humorous._

_ Entry 003 — It reformed. Shape is holding nicely. I’m elated. Honestly, I wasn’t sure we’d ever even get as far as this. Injected it until it turned blue, but then the colour reverted to white. Not sure what that means. Absorption, maybe? Still waiting and testing. Entering new territory here. So far all my calculations have been correct, but still, something unexpected could happen. Such is the nature of new sciences, after all. Readings occasionally fluctuate, but all together, it seems to be going smoothly. Hoping for good things!_

_ Entry 004 — I realized when I nearly dropped a mug today that there may have, in fact, been a few side effects. I saw it (or maybe felt it is more accurate?) and then prevented it. Very interesting. I’ve asked one of the interns to start surprising me while I’m_

_The intern has surprised me. Though I was still startled, I was able to predict the surprise tennis ball from the second intern. Fascinating. Though, I am noting a slight headache now. I will continue to test myself and see if this is simply a coincidence or not. _

_REMINDER — Treat the interns to something eventually_

_ also learn the interns’ names you numbskull_

The next entry was started a few times, then scribbled out. One of them, Frisk could almost make out the words _“I made a”_ but then there was too much black ink to peer through. She found the real next entry on the following page.

_ Entry 005 —Things have changed. Initial experiment was a complete failure. Cannot replicate a human soul in this manner. I’ll need to adjust my formulas to account for this. However, a secondary experiment has come to light in a very interesting way. _ <strike> _I never expected_ </strike> _ The replica soul shattered its container and has formed, instead, into an infant. Found it on the floor in the glass. It cracked its head, but the damage was easily repaired, for the most part. _ <strike> _Maybe it’s foolish, but I’m already a little attached._ </strike> _ However, with such high levels of “determination” inside it, it pains me to say that I doubt it will survive for very long. I will do my best to make it comfortable._

The next entry wasn’t marked with numbers. It was in a different pen, smudged in places, too. Just a few words, then crossed out with heavy scribbles. Below that was a big arrow drawn to it in red. Beside it was scrawled: _HA! good job panicking, you idiot._

_ Entry 006 — Human soul replication on hold. Possibly permanently. Okay with me, to be honest. Research is now focussed on the child. Sweet little thing, not showing any negative side effects from the injections. Strange readings, though. The injury he sustained when he was _ <strike> _born hatched? created_ </strike> _ born doesn’t seem to have any lasting consequences other than cosmetically, which is a huge relief, but I’ll have to keep monitoring his condition. His hum, his sound, the shape of it was very clear to me the moment he started making noise, so, naturally, I named him accordingly. Check proper log S-11419 for reference and sketch of the full waveform. Asgore seems completely sidetracked. Does’t seem to care about the failure. Just wants to play with the child. Lucky me. He is a good babysitter. It’s always come natural to him. I, on the other hand, still have much to learn. After all this, I feel like I could sleep for a year. And yet, my dreams are strange. Increasingly so. We’ll see. Not sure how much time I’ll have for paying attention to that now, though._

_ Entry 007 — Just realized I have no idea what my son can do. He’s only a few weeks old and he’s already using magic. It’s really quite amazing. His control is precise and strong enough to hold small objects. Might have to delay further, rigorous tests until he’s older, though. He’s physically very fragile despite his magical aptitude. I’ve continued to try to repair the right eye, but I’ve been unsuccessful despite my best efforts. I may try once or twice more, but I suspect the damage is done. However, as long as he’s not in pain and his vision is not impaired, I suppose it’s not all that significant. Still, I’m impressed. I’ll have to wait and see where this goes. I am a little concerned though, as it seems like he may be prone to headaches. _ <strike> _I wonder if he sees_ </strike> _ Side note, Asgore made him a sweater. It’s very cute. These are really not very good notes, are they? I’ll discontinue these entries, new ones of more merit (hopefully) will be back in F-11820 and S-11419. I doubt I’ll have much time for a journal anyway._

Frisk stared blankly at the notebook. She flipped a couple pages. It was empty except for a nonsense doodle in the margins on a random back page. She turned to look at Sans and his illuminated left eye, feeling a strange, sinking feeling inside her.

“Sans?” she asked. “Why doesn’t your right eye light up?”

“Dunno, never has,” he said. “Why?”

“This, um… This book I found? It’s a bit complicated but… I think it talks about a… a… kid? Came out of a soul or something? And a right eye that got messed up?”

Sans turned and gave her a confused look. She held out the grey notebook. He opened it, flipped through quickly, and then looked at her like she was nuts.

“It’s blank,” he said.

“What? No it’s not, gimme that.” She snatched it back to show him the right page, but, to her shock, it really was completely blank. “What?! Oh no no no, ghost book! GHOST BOOK! What the heck?!”

“Kiddo, you okay?” he asked.

“No, no no no, that’s weird. Okay. Okay.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not nuts, I swear.”

“Relax,” Sans said, trying not to laugh. “Weird magic stuff happens sometimes. What did it say?”

“Um… Um… Oh, I’m forgetting. Why am I forgetting?” she said. “Gimme a pen!”

He had one in his pocket and she quickly flipped through the book. She found that weird doodle again and she began to write as quickly as she could.

“Um… Umm… Soul vessel. Human souls. Trying to… Trying to what? Make one? Took a piece of… themselves? Became a soul? Lots of determination. Erm… Kid came out of it instead. Cute sweater.”

She felt a headache come on hard and fast, and she had to turn away, rubbing her temples. She was breathing hard and shaking. Sans held her gently and put a hand on her head. His magic was comforting— stilled her nerves, but the headache still throbbed. 

“I don’t remember what I read at all,” she said quietly. “Oh man, that’s weird… That is super weird and I don’t like it.”

“Huh.” Sans went to the book. His eyes skimmed it quickly. “Then maybe you shouldn’t look at this.”

“Why?”

“Well…” He smiled sideways. 

She turned around as he tore the page out and handed it to her. It was all written in symbols, but it was definitely her hand writing. The doodle in the corner looked, now, like a cartoony Gaster Blaster.

“I’m gonna throw up,” she said.

“Gross,” Sans said. “Looks like… Nope. You just wrote what you said. Somethin’ about someone trying to make another soul out of a piece of themselves. Interesting in theory, I guess? Too bad your ghost book is written in invisible ink.”

Frisk just stared back at him, shaking. His expression turned sympathetic.

“You… You really can’t remember what you read?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“That’s okay. I can’t remember where I got that page,” he said.

Frisk stared at it blankly and he folded it roughly to put it in his pocket. “…Me neither. I just… I just know I feel… weird. Ugh. Maybe we could get out of here for a bit?”

“Yeah. Let’s get Papyrus,” he said.

\- - -

“So then, my brother tells me, no, I used rigatoni, and it was supposed to be ravioli, no wonder trying to stuff them was a nightmare! So then, here I am, left with a pile of rigatonis stuffed with whatever nonsense I had, and let me tell you, it was foul. I mean, really awful! And I felt terrible! And you know what my brother does? He eats the whole thing and pretends he liked it! And that’s the last time I made stuffed pasta.”

Papyrus’s story seemed to have all the amalgamate monsters calmed and attentive when Sans and Frisk returned. The huge, congealed mass of dogs lay across his legs on one of the beds as he talked and Mrs. Snowdrake sat closest, letting out a slow, but fond, laugh.

“Nice… story…” she said quietly.

“I thought so, too,” Papyrus said with a laugh. “Hey, look at all of you, you’re looking better already.”

“Not too bad. Not too bad,” Lemons admitted.

“Hey, guys!” Frisk said. She received some pleased, if not garbled responses, and the giant dog-like beast bounded over to her and put the whole weight of their neck on her shoulder as she started to pet them.

“Hello, siblings!!!” Papyrus said brightly. “How goes? Any progress?”

“Frisk found a weird magic something that erases memories,” Sans said with a shrug.

“OH MY GOD!!!” Papyrus rushed over and lifted her up to look her in the face. “Do you remember who you are?! DO YOU REMEMBER WHO I AM?!”

“Papyrus, not like that!!” she said with a laugh. “It didn’t steal any memories.”

“Ooooh thank god,” he sighed.

“It was just… I can’t really explain it,” she said. “I… I just don’t want to be in that room right now.”

“Oh… O-Oh, I’m sorry.” Alphys awkwardly waved at them as she and Undyne drew closer from up the east hallway. “I-Is this a bad time?”

“Not at all, Doctor!!” Papyrus said.

“Good job, punks,” Undyne said.

Sans gave Alphys their small pile of stuff when she got close. Then, also, the note from his pocket.

“Oh. Um. I c-can’t read th-that,” she said. “That’s… Th-That’s an old skeleton sc-script, right?”

“It’s a what?!” Frisk asked shrilly.

“Don’t worry,” Sans said. “Paps or I can translate.”

“Sans, why am I writing like an old skeleton?!” Frisk demanded.

“I dunno.”

“Oh my god.” She put her hands on her head. “I need a nap.”

“I hear that,” he said.

“Wait, what’s going on now?” Undyne asked.

“Tell you later,” Sans said. “Doc, pretty sure we’ve covered most of it.”

“D-Did, um…? D-Did you go a-all the way down?” she asked.

“What, is there much more?” Papyrus asked.

Alphys looked nervous. She tented her fingers. “N-No, you know what, i-it’s okay. W-We… We can do this l-later. D-Did you… end up finding Asriel?”

“Oh! Yep! Let him out,” Frisk said. “He said he didn’t know who caught him though.”

Alphys’s face paled a little. Undyne patted her shoulder.

“It’s not your fault,” she said.

“Of course it’s not her fault!” Papyrus said. “It’s not like SHE kidnapped him and put him under a weird giant heavy crystal box thing that cuts hands and—”

“W-Wait, what?!” Alphys demanded. “Where was he?!”

“Um, the room on the right of that big hidden room full of books and stuff,” Frisk said.

Alphys frowned a little. She rubbed her forehead. Sans met her eyes and her cheeks flushed. 

“So, what were you sayin’, Doc?” he said.

“Oh! O-Oh, nothing, i-it can wait,” she said.

“Really? I’d maybe like to get it out of the way,” Frisk said.

“Oh! O-Oh. Well… It’s just… um…” She hesitated, and Undyne nudged her with her elbow. “Okay, okay. It’s just th-that, when I was thinking about it, I r-remembered there was an, um… a-another elevator. T-To down below. It’s… It’s old though. N-Nobody’s used it in forever. In fact, I d-don’t think I ever used it. A-And it might be a little broken, but… b-but if there’s any stuff that’s untouched, i-it’d be down there. I think.”

“So you want us to go,” Sans said.

“W-We could all g-go if you w-want, but—”

“I have a much better idea!!” Papyrus announced. “These pale pals have expressed to me that they are feeling a bit hungry, actually! So! How about! Doctor Alphys, perhaps you could start preparing food for everyone annnnnnd Undyne and I will make sure Sans and Frisk reach the basement safely and then join them to cover the most ground. If this elevator really is that old, the two of them— aside from you, Doctor— are the smallest, so it will be easiest to help them out if something goes wrong. What do you think?”

“Well… A-Actually… I w-wouldn’t mind that,” Alphys said. 

“I’m okay with that,” Frisk said.

Sans nodded. Undyne shrugged. 

“Guess so,” she agreed. “So, uh, where the heck is this?”

“It’s actually, just, um…” Alphys wandered across the room to the east side and pushed along the walls until a small section budged. “H-Here.”

Undyne walked up and pushed it. It was a little stuck. She rammed it with her shoulder and the place gave way to a small hallway. It was still dark except emergency lights, pulsing faintly red along the ceiling.

“Ooh, spooky,” Frisk said.

“Scared?” Sans said.

Frisk smiled, nerves clear despite the glitter in her eyes.“W-Well… Actually. It’s kind of exciting to see a thing like this, right?”

“Welp. Hope so,” Sans said.

“K-Keep your phones on, okay?” Alphys asked.

“Absolutely we will,” Papyrus assured her.

Papyrus waved goodbye to his new amalgamate friends and Frisk latched onto the starlight in the corner of the room just before they went down the hallway. It was much longer than any of them expected, and when they reached the elevator at the back, it did look quite old. Like an outdated model or something of that sort. 

“Okay,” Undyne said. “You two shorties first?”

“Guess so,” Sans said, “if this junk even works.”

“Well, there’s a little light on,” Papyrus pointed out. He pressed on the only button beside the door and they parted, revealing a normal level of light that was so bright it hurt their eyes.

The inside, other than that, was a little decrepit. Not entirely naturally. More like someone had smashed it up a little at some point. Or had spilled corrosive chemicals. 

Frisk scampered inside. Sans hesitated and she ran back, grabbed his hand, and pulled him in.

“Okay! Guess we’ll see if this goofs up,” Frisk said. “See you soon!”

“Be careful,” Papyrus said.

She stuck her thumbs up. Sans waved. She pushed the button and the doors clunked shut.

The old elevator creaked and complained, but began to move slowly downward, building speed a little as it went. Frisk covered her ears. It sounded like a train rocketing right by her ears.

The elevator came to an abrupt and jarring halt, the lights fizzling to nothing as the two inside toppled around. Sans found himself on his back somewhere.

“Owww!” Frisk whined from somewhere else in the dark. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” He sat up. “Can’t see a thing. Oh wait.” He lit up his eye and saw Frisk stumbling out of the corner.

She looked dazed and put a hand against her head.

“Sure you’re okay?” he asked.

“Think I cut myself,” she said. She checked her forearm and made a face. “Whoops.”

“You alright?” he asked as he stood.

She nodded, but quickly pulled her sleeve down. He rolled his eyes and grabbed her to check. There was a gash almost all the way from her elbow to her wrist. A little deep, and it was bleeding.

“Hurts?” he asked.

“Not much,” she said. “Don’t touch it, it’ll just get everywhere.”

“Too late.” He raised his hand and showed her darker blotches that marred his bones. “Oops.”

“Gross,” she laughed.

“It’s coming out of you,” he said.

“Gross!” she said again.

“We should probably pause, huh?” he said. “That’s looks real bad.”

“Nah, it’s okay, it doesn’t hurt,” she said. “I’ll be fine. Besides. We’re already down here, right?”

She looked up and around the small container. She patted the walls until she found where the doors met and stuck her fingers into it. She tugged, but nothing moved at all. Her brow furrowed and she looked back at Sans. “So are we stuck?” she asked.

Sans shrugged. He looked around and found an emergency button near the floor numbers and kicked it. There was a heavy groaning sound and the doors parted maybe an inch.

“Great.” He cut his eyes at Frisk. “What d’you think, just blast it?”

Her face lit up. “Yeah!” she cheered.

He grabbed her and pulled her against the back wall, and from nowhere, a huge monstrous skull appeared in front of them, maw already agape. He counted down from three on his fingers as energy built up in the back of its head, lighting the whole room like a spotlight for just an instant before it released on his cue, a bassy sound and the pulse of energy rocking the elevator. The skull vanished; a hole had appeared in the door. It let in just enough light that he could afford to blink his magic out. He grinned, wiping a little sweat from his brow, and he took a deep breath.

“So cool!!” Frisk squeaked. She raced over to the doorway and got on her hands and knees to peek over the edge.

Before them was a long hallway where a trail of wavering, ancient emergency lights barely lit the ceiling, leading down a hallway just slightly to the right of them. Frisk peered down to find the ground. There was a small drop. Sans moved her aside and then carefully went down— it was about five feet to the floor, just a hair higher than his head.

“Ooh, that’s not so bad,” Frisk said. She scooted to the edge and he helped her to the ground.

“So where the heck are we?” she asked.

Sans shrugged. There was a thumping from above them and Frisk latched quickly onto her brother’s arm.

“ARE YOU OKAY DOWN THERE?!” Papyrus shouted down the elevator shaft.

Frisk sighed with relief. “We’re fine!” she called back. “We’re just gonna take a quick look around, okay?”

“We’ll get this fixed, okay?!” Undyne shouted. “And we’ll join you soon!”

“Nah, don’t bother,” Sans said.

“WE MUST!!! ALPHYS SAID THESE AMALGAM CREATURES MAY TRY TO GET TO SANS IF HE TELEPORTS, WE DON’T WANT ANYONE TO FALL!!!” Papyrus shouted.

“I-I’m s-s-so sorry guys!!!” Alphys said shrilly.

“It’s cool, we’ll just wait it out in the spooky basement!” Frisk said with a laugh. “No worries! We’re just going down the hallway!”

“BE CAREFUL, YOU TWO! DON’T DO ANYTHING I WOULDN’T DO!!” Papyrus yelled.

“Okay, mom,” Sans said.

“SANS!!!”

The hall was t-shaped from where they stood, the elevator on one arm and an old, empty vending machine on the end of the other. Down the length of the hall, there was a single door. They headed for it and tried it. It was locked, but the knob was wobbly and loose. Sans dealt with it with a swift, magic blow, and the door creaked open with a sound specifically crafted to send chills up spines. 

Frisk didn’t mind much, though— she went in first. A long room opened up before them that was actually split about two thirds in by a small incline downwards. The place was littered with whiteboards, words faded and illegible, and there was a large, messy desk before the incline and papers covered in maths scattered along the floors. A few mugs and an old thermos. Desk seemed the most logical place to look. It smelled, very faintly, of coffee.

Some of the books were reference material. Quantum physics. Thick, heavy books with very small font on the inside. Sans picked one up and dusted it off before flipping it open. It looked relatively modern; like it was from the human world. 

“Hey, you think Alphys’d mind if I kept this?” he wondered. “This is some advanced stuff.”

“I guess this stuff probably wasn’t even hers, I don’t think anyone’s been down here in forever,” Frisk said. “It’s like a spooky museum.” She hopped up on one of the chairs and tried to take a look through one of the notebooks. Blank, like the others. “Seriously, who keeps this many empty notebooks around?”

Sans shrugged. “Maybe they’re ghostbooks,” he suggested. “Stare at ‘em real hard.”

Frisk sighed and flipped through the whole thing. She didn’t see a word. She picked up another one. Still nothing.

She turned to shoot Sans a curious look. He was still buried in that book.

“Think it’s a bust?” she asked.

“Not sure,” he said. “Someone here was working on some stuff that I was, too.”

“Oh yeah?” she asked curiously. “You think so?”

“Well, yeah. All these books, same stuff. Whoever worked here dog-eared some pages, looking at multiple universes, fluctuations, all that fun stuff.” He held up the book to show her. “Must’ve been smart to get all this. This crap takes years to even start to understand it.”

“Ooh. So, not soul work down here, then, time work,” she said as he slipped the book up under his shirt. “I wonder why…?”

She lost her train of thought abruptly when the temperature of the room sank just as suddenly as if they had walked into a freezer. The air was pulled towards the back end of the room and something in the space before them split. It was like someone ripping paper, revealing a chilly blue-white light behind. It shone in four points, glimmering like the golden tears Frisk could use to stick in time. 

She gawked. Sans stared blankly. He put a hand on her shoulder reflexively.

“Hang on,” he said. “Hang on, hang on. Just. Chill.”

She nodded and very slowly slid out of the seat. She looked back at him. He could do little more than shrug.

“Should we go over there?” she asked quietly.

“Why are you whispering?” he asked.

“I dunno! This is super weird?” she said. “B-But… But it looks like… a time tear or something, you know?” She edged a little closer. 

Sans grimaced and went with her, but as she got within a few feet, he seized her soul tightly.

“What?” she asked with a laugh.

“Paranoid,” he said. 

She stopped in place and turned to give him a smile. “Okay, no problem, I won’t go a step farther. This sure is weird, though, huh?”

He nodded, was about to answer with a joke, but was caught off guard when the light let out a sudden pulse and flashed brightly, blinding him. He heard Frisk yelp. The second he could see again, she was gone.


	30. The Lab? Arc

Frisk blinked in the dark. Before her was a strange, hunched form in a long, black robe, barely discernible from the blackness around him, in stark contrast to the white of his face and hands. He looked sad, wilting, despite the weird, strained smile he wore like mask. He looked at her— she couldn’t explain it— like he was sorry for something. A monster? What was he doing here? She overcame some of her shock and she tilted her head, trying to get a bit more of a grasp of what she was seeing.

“Hey, um… Are you okay?” she asked.

The creature’s dark eyes went wide and he lifted his head slowly. He flowed closer to her in one, quick movement and lowered himself to look her in the face. The eyes were unblinking black, with equally dark cracks in his face near either one. One upwards and one downwards. He said something she didn’t understand. His words were foreign; stilted, and strange, and like they were run through some sort of computer program midway through a crash. It made her feel a little sick; sent a chill down her spine.

“I’m sorry, I can’t understand—”

He said something else. Reassuring. His fixed smile widened a little.

He offered her his hand. There was a gap in his palm. He was faintly trembling. Though a little cautious, she took his hands in hers. She was taken aback when his eyes seemed to start to leak black down his face. He began to trace shapes in her palm with his index finger. She watched, but didn’t understand at first. He repeated it, over and over.

_D - O - N - T - F - O - R - G - E - T_

She clued in. She looked up at him worriedly, but as soon as her eyes met his, the world went white before her.

Frisk stumbled, and when her eyes began to refocus, she was met with bright fluorescent lights and a figure that quickly moved in to obscure the worst of it. She blinked, hard, and rubbed her eyes. There was a man there she had never seen before, holding her hand as if he had guided her out. A skeleton, she realized, after a confused second or two of staring at his skull. He was wearing a lab coat over a dark grey sweater, and protective gloves and goggles. He was tall, with a skull shape similar to Papyrus’s, though his eye sockets were different, which became clear as he took the goggles off quickly and tossed them aside in a rather haphazard fashion.

“Oh! My god, did it actually work?” He spoke with the hint of an accent, one she couldn’t quite recognize— it was most similar to knights she’d seen in a movie about castles and princesses, but that still wasn’t quite it— and a voice that was just a little gravelly. “Hello there! You are a time anchor, aren’t you?” The skeleton looked absolutely thrilled.

“Wh… What?” Frisk stared at him blankly, flummoxed by what she had heard — she wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it definitely hadn’t been that. “A… A time anchor.”

“Exactly. A time anomaly that holds a timeline steady. I have never been able to find one before,” he said. “Mostly because I hadn’t actually expected one to be a person until very recently. It’s very good to meet you.”

“…Huh?” Frisk wasn’t sure what to say. Her mind was racing. “Um… S-Sorry, but… what?”

“Oh! Excuse me, you must be so confused,” he said with a laugh. “Time travel has always been a fascination of mine, and through my calculations, simulations, and tracking through excesses in our CORE reactor, I found a strange set of deviations in our future. Branches upon branches. Timelines creating, collapsing, etcetera, except one, that takes shape five years from now, stays solid, backtracks significantly three times, and then is… anchored.”

She stared back at him, stunned. He smiled.

“That’s because of you, right?”

Frisk gulped. She tried to wrap her mind around it. Took her a moment to decide to be honest with whoever this was. She nodded. “Y-Yeah, I think so,” she said quietly. “How could you know that?” 

He grinned brightly, kneeling down and inspecting her.“I’ve been tracking you. Or someone like you. My calculations were a wee bit off, however. How did you…?” He drew back, eyes wide. “You’re human.”

She nodded.

“You’re not… frightened at all?” he asked.

“N-No? I mean, I’m pretty confused,” she said. “But I’m not scared.”

“But… A human? …Of course.” He looked thoughtful and cupped his chin. “A human could theoretically have the determination required to manipulate timelines if there was enough energy outputted by…! Oh! Is every anomaly human?”

“Um… Uh… Kind of?” Frisk said. “One is a flower that grew with monster dust in him and got brought to life with determination though.”

“Huh.” He smiled. “That’s a tad outlandish, isn’t it? How did that…? Oh, never mind, that’s a whole other story, I’d wager.”

He tilted his head and his eyes went wide. He cautiously put a hand on her shoulder and then pulled her sweatshirt straight gently. “Where did you get this?” he asked quietly.

Frisk gulped. “It’s… It’s my big brother’s.”

The skeleton’s gaze met hers quickly. He looked surprised. “Really?” He started to smile again. “Now that is interesting. I apologize, I hadn’t expected a human to be wearing clothing with that strong of a magical attachment.”

“C-Can I ask? Who are you? Wh-Why am I here?” Frisk asked. “And… I mean, where…? How am I here?”

“Oh. Pardon me,” he said. “I am the Royal Scientist here in the underground. As I said, I was tracking anomalies in the timelines as they began to deviate. A bit of a side project, I’ll admit. Your timeline did some strange things, and then became solid. I was very curious. So, I reached out, hoping you might make contact. Now, how did you get into the lab? In the future, I mean.”

“The…” Frisk’s eyes went wide. “You… You pulled me back in time?!”

“Technically, you pulled yourself,” he said. “I just opened the door.”

“C-Can… Can I get back?” she asked shrilly. “I…! I’m gonna need to get back, m-my family is—!

“Not to worry. If I’ve done this right, and not to brag, but I almost certainly have, by the time you return, even if perceived as hours later by you, it will not be more than a few seconds after you vanished from the perspective of anyone you left behind. Time travel can be funny like that.”

He pointed behind her and she turned to find a tear in time, though instead of shining gold, it was blue-white, just like the one that had grabbed her. Frisk blew out a sigh of relief.

“Thank god,” she said.

“If you would like, you may return right now. I won’t try to stop you,” he said. “But if you wouldn’t mind, I would love to speak with you a little.”

Frisk hesitated, but the hopeful smile on his face reassured her. He seemed confident. She wouldn’t be gone long enough for anyone to worry, if he was right. She nodded.

“R-Right, okay, th-that should be fine,” she said. 

“Thank you very much,” he said. “That’s actually quite a relief for me. You wouldn’t believe how long I’ve waited to find you.”

“And you really would’ve let me go, just like that?” Frisk asked.

“I’m not about to kidnap a child. No matter how fascinating their powers might be,” he assured her.

Frisk took a deep breath and nodded.“How’d I get into the lab, you asked, right? I, um… The Royal Scientist where I’m from let me in. We were looking for old notes to help us make a new monster soul.”

“Why on earth would a human need to know that?” he asked with surprise.

Frisk took a deep breath. “You really want to know?”

“I am a scientist, of course I want to know,” he joked. “It’s in my job description.”

“Can we sit down somewhere?” she asked. “It’s a long story.”

He nodded and got to his feet, then gestured for her to follow him. 

There was a computer desk with a spinning chair across the room. He let her take the chair, and sat on the desk himself, taking a pair of narrow glasses from on top of a book and putting them on. Frisk could see some of the same books Sans had liked on his desk; must’ve been his stuff they had been picking through. The place did smell a lot like coffee.

Without naming names, she told him the whole story, everything she knew: from the very first time she fell, to the moment his light pulled her through, and all things in between. Anything even remotely time travel related that she could think of, including what little she knew about the CORE malfunction being connected to it— things she had learned through Sans and Chara. She explained how she had tried to make the timelines settle and be okay; how she had been trying to save Asriel and how he had come back a year later, and why she needed to get him a soul to preserve the timeline. The skeleton listened patiently, nodding along, though he didn’t ask any questions. She felt drained when she finished, but he still looked interested. 

“A-And that’s it,” Frisk said. “It’s… It’s a mess. Sorry. I’ve just been trying to do my best to make it not terrible for everyone.”

The skeleton looked thoughtful. He folded his arms; drummed his fingers absently. “So… whoever controls the timeline is the one with the most determination,” he mused. “Interesting. And… you’ve said, it was a monster before you.”

She nodded. “My big brother. And then that flower I mentioned. I think it has to be people who’ve been around the CORE’s energy. But… But my brother, he’s really sciencey and stuff. He always told me that mine’s as high as it can go, basically. So even if more humans go close to it, it wouldn’t matter. Whoever the anomaly person is, theirs is always the highest. So if that’s me, then… Then it’s always my timeline. And I can help everyone. I just… really gotta figure out how to make a monster soul.”

The skeleton tapped a fingertip on his chin. He smiled a little. “Well, you have come to the right place, my little friend.”

“Huh? R-Really?” Frisk asked.

“I have done some research on souls myself. And your story has actually been very useful to me,” he said. “Tell me one thing. The CORE. When did it…? When does it become disrupted?”

“I think it was… around ten years ago, where I’m from,” she said, “though maybe that doesn’t help too much. Um… Well, it’s before the timeline starts going whacko, that’s for sure.”

“Do you know what caused it?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No, no one knows.”

“I understand. Thank you. Information for information. Come with me.” He got up and gestured towards a door at the back of the room.

Frisk followed the skeleton out of the room and he paused to lock the door. She looked around the hallway. It was sterile and vacant, and very quiet. No windows. Exactly where she and Sans had been before. She only realized now that she was shaking. Her arm was starting to itch and throb. She was a little afraid to check it. She tried to put it out of her mind.

“I am a wee bit surprised you trusted me so readily,” the skeleton commented casually. “You are quite strange for a human, aren’t you?”

“My whole family is monsters,” she said with a smile. “I’m not really worried.”

“But this could all be ruse to take your soul, don’t you think?” he asked.

Frisk shrugged. “Probably not. And besides, if I get killed, I go back in time, so…”

“Very interesting,” he said. He smiled and then began down the hallway. 

She scampered to keep up.

He took her to the long elevator and they waited inside quietly as it carried them up. She looked him up and down curiously. This must’ve been the Royal Scientist before Alphys, right? He seemed nice enough. Then again, she could just be biased in favour of skeletons. She wondered why nobody talked about him. She also didn’t quite understand why he wasn’t in Sans’s memories. It seemed weird that they had never run into each other at all.

The elevator door dinged and opened, and Frisk followed him out and down a brighter hallway that looked much like the others, but didn’t feel nearly as claustrophobic. He froze for a moment at the sound of footsteps, and put a hand on Frisk’s head to stop her as another monster, one like a tall lizard, approached, a little distracted by some papers in his hands. The skeleton pulled up her hood quickly and she snuck behind his leg a little when the monster looked up.

“Oh, hey Doc, hey k…” The monster laughed. “Sorry, I thought that was your kid for a second. Who’s that there?”

“This is just a wee, uh, student from the school in Snowdin,” the skeleton said. “She has to do a report for her science class. Right?”

Frisk nodded.

“Oh! Well, the Doc is the perfect one to ask,” the other monster said cheerfully. “What’s your report on?”

The skeleton looked suddenly nervous, but Frisk smiled.

“Wave function,” she said.

“Ooh. Nice. Good luck,” the monster said, waving and grinning as he headed off past them. 

The skeleton let out a relieved sigh, and patted Frisk’s head as if on reflex before putting his hand in his pocket. He cut his eyes at her. She shrugged.

“Big bro was a physics professor,” she said.

“Is that so?” He laughed. “Lucky for us. We’re almost there.”

He brought her farther down the hall and to an office in a corner— she didn’t recognize the area at all— and opened the door for her. It was organized chaos inside. The skeleton took his lab coat off and slung it over a chair, and headed for one of his binders. He pulled it out, took off one of his gloves, and thumbed through a few pages.

“You are aware of _boss monsters_?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Frisk said.

“I am one,” he said, “and I’ve been able to create two functioning monster souls through sacrificing parts of myself and incorporating high levels of determination.”

He put down the binder, took off his other glove, and showed her his hands. Frisk felt a sympathetic twinge in her gut as she realized rather quickly that there was a circular piece missing from the middle of each of his palms.

“Oh my god,” Frisk said. “Just you on your own?”

“Exactly,” he said. “I am the first to have done so without a partner, as far as we are aware.”

“Could I…? Um…” She snuck a bit closer. “C-Can I see?”

The skeleton shrugged and nodded, and then offered a hand to her. She looked at the hole curiously and gently touched her fingers around the rim.

“D-Does it hurt?” she asked.

“They don’t. Not at all,” he said with a smile. “They were a little sensitive for the first month or so, and they do ache just a little in the cold, but aside from that, they’ve given me next to no troubles. I mean, except when I try to lean on a fancy railing or something. And don’t even get me started on hat racks.”

Frisk was surprised, and she began to laugh. The skeleton’s smile only grew.

“My kids like that one, too. Serious dad, walking around, so caught up in his work that he gets stuck some protruding object,” he said. “I… I do it on purpose sometimes to make them laugh, but you would not believe the amount of times it was completely genuine.”

“And you play it right off, I bet,” she said with a grin.

“Well, it’s a good joke, isn’t it?” he asked.

She nodded. He grinned quite brightly.

“So to…? To make more monsters like that that, you had to give actual pieces of yourself?” she asked.

“For something like what I did,” he said. “I made two entirely new monsters. But you’re looking to put a soul in a body that already exists. That could prove to be substantially easier. You won’t need the focus to build a body. What you’re looking for is, essentially, pure magical essence. Still difficult, but theoretically much less so.”

“Oh good,” she said. “So… So if one boss monster can do it, do you… do you think if we got a bunch of regular monsters to just give a tiny piece, we could make a new soul? Our Royal Scientist thinks we can do it.”

The skeleton looked thoughtful. He folded his arms.“If there is enough determination to bind it,” he said, “but also a level low enough to preserve the magical integrity of the host. And that’s assuming the magic itself is willing to stick together.”

“So… So I could… I could bind it, maybe?” Frisk said.

“You could,” he said. “But human souls do not regenerate like a monster soul will.”

Frisk grimaced. “Alright,” she said.

The skeleton’s face turned sympathetic. “You’re very certain about doing this thing, aren’t you?”

“I have to,” she said. “It’s the only way. And… And I want to.”

“Do you know how to access your soul’s energy?” he asked. “To use it, like the old human sorcerers did?”

She shook her head. He smiled and returned to her, squatting to approach her eye line. He was still much taller than her. He held out one hand, palm up, and his magic radiated blue in his hand, brighter and brighter until it turned white.

“If you can bend time itself, you should be powerful enough for this,” he said. “Feel the energy.”

Frisk looked up into his eyes worriedly. She was surprised to find the left shone back blue, but the right was bright with gold. The glow reassured her. Cautiously, she put her hand into his energy. She was struck like a punch to the gut, and her mind raced as what she could only describe as schematics filled her mind. She pulled back, breathing hard, shivering. The skeleton gave her a sympathetic smile. He allowed her a moment to catch her breath. 

She grimaced, but she raised her hand and, concentrating, a red glow came to her palm. She glanced at him quickly with surprise, looking for confirmation of if she was doing it right. He laughed quietly and put his hand on her shoulder.

“Relax,” he said. “Tone it down just a little. It’ll take a lot of your energy, at first. You’re just a kid, after all. And you have years of catching up to do.”

Frisk gulped and nodded, and the glow died down. He ruffled her hair gently.

“Dead on. I have to admit, I’m impressed,” he said. “I didn’t expect a human to pick that up so quickly. Hah. Interesting. Just like a skeleton.”

“Thanks! I spend a lot of time around monsters, does that help?” she wondered.

“It very well might,” he agreed. “We have no research on monster magic on a positive, willing human soul. You said you live exclusively with monsters, right? Our bodies are magic, obviously, but have they ever used any kind _on_ you?”

“Oh yeah, all the time,” she said. “My brothers are… Well, they’re skeletons, actually. So they do the whole emotion glowing magic stuff all the time. And my one brother, he’s like… I heard my mom say he’s the most em… empathetic person she’s ever met. He’s amazing at healing and he picks it up super quick, even on humans.”

“So you’re probably becoming attuned to it. Interesting,” he mused.

“Oh. Um. Maybe this would also change things a bit for me,” she said. “I just recently started to glow when my brothers do, sometimes. It.... It started after my oldest brother and I, um… We crossed the barrier.”

“_Chuaigh cos!_ You did what?!” the skeleton barked, eyes wide with shock. “Holy—! You…?! But you’re alive.” 

It was the first time the man had even come close to losing his composure. Frisk found it a little funny.

“Time travel,” she said with a bashful smile.

“But he actually took your soul,” he said.

“I practically forced him to,” Frisk admitted. “We needed to check something outside. It had to be him. And I wouldn’t let another soul touch him, so it had to be me, too.”

“_Cnámha m’anam_.” He breathed the words with disbelief. He stared at her intently and went down on one knee. “What was it like?”

“It was actually really nice,” Frisk said.

“Nice?” he repeated.

She nodded, her cheeks flushing a little. “Me and my big brother, we’ve basically always been really close. And our souls, they’ve been kinda connected since I started being able to save, I think. And I’d trust him with anything.”

“That is… Well. It’s actually fascinating,” the man admitted. “Not something I’d ever expect to hear in a million years, especially coming from the human whose soul was taken.”

Frisk smiled and shrugged. “Yeah, it was definitely weird. Our Royal Scientist, she quizzed us a ton about it. I got the i-impression that it was a pretty big deal. But it was good, too. I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

“Really…” He seemed intrigued. “So what happened to you? Do you become dormant, or—?”

“Oh, no, we were the same person,” Frisk explained. “But also kinda going halfsies, too? It’s hard to explain. Our souls kinda smooshed together, I think. We got all each other’s memories and feelings and stuff. We… sort of had the same thoughts? But we could still talk to each other, too. It was kinda cool, there was a lot of time where we meshed so well that I honestly couldn’t tell you which of us was doing what. That and we were sorta like a big skeleton dragon thing, that was pretty cool.”

“I wish I had seen it!” he said brightly. “That sounds… Well, amazing, if I’m perfectly honest. Would you, uh…? Would you mind if I did a very quick soul-read on you?”

“Soul-read?” she repeated.

He held out his hand and the palm around the hole lit up, as before. “What I’d like to do is a quick comparison to what I recognize from a monster's soul and the, uh… the human souls I’ve come into contact with. It’s a good way to practice for you, as well.”

Frisk wasn't sure exactly what he meant, but she nodded. She focussed hard and that red glow came to her hand again. Felt weird and tingly, and it gave her a sense of vertigo behind her eyes, but she supposed she’d get used to it eventually. She put her hand on his. The connection was cool; relaxed. He closed his eyes, but the traces of light ebbed out around his sockets anyway. 

After a few moments, he drew in a sharp breath and looked at her again. He smiled and the glow died down. “Thank you. Your energy is… strangely compatible. How lucky.” The skeleton looked thoughtful. He tilted his head and held her shoulder gently. “Your arm. How is it?”

“My arm?” she replied. She recalled the cut. She lifted her hand only to see blood had dripped down and onto the floor. Her eyes went wide. “Oh no! I’m so sorry, I dripped everywhere!!” 

“That’s what you’re worried about?” The skeleton looked amused, and he took her hand. “Never mind that, let me see.” He rolled back her sleeve before she could assure him it was fine and he winced sympathetically. “Oh, sweetheart, this looks awful. What did you do?”

“Fell,” she said bashfully. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“Hm. Actually, I think it may be a little worse. Come with me. We should clean it, at least.”

He took her down the hall to what looked almost like a doctor’s office, with a counter built in with a sink and a solid examination table. He lifted her to sit her on it and wet a cloth to gently dab at the wound. She winced. He smiled knowingly and positioned his fingers gently on either side of the cut and used some magic that soothed the pain.

“See?” he said. “I have to admit, I’m not confident in patching your skin magically, but don’t worry, I’ve treated human wounds and broken skin a few times before.”

“Thanks,” she said.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. Blue magic lit up around his hands and magical replicas of of them floated away from him and began to sort through his drawers as he focused the rest of his magic on numbing her wound. She leaned around him to watch them curiously. They moved just as if they were attached to something. One reached into a drawer and took out some imposing metal pincers with tiny, pointed tips and carried them over. Frisk gulped. The skeleton laughed.

“Don’t worry. You just have a few splinters in there,” he said. “But… Actually.” His extra hand went back into his drawer and took out a small needle, which he handed to himself. He pinched the end and magic drew out a glimmering blue thread as he stretched his arm out. “I think stitches may be necessary.”

“S-Stitches?” she repeated shrilly. 

“I can’t in good conscience leave you like this,” he said. “Don’t worry. Just don’t look and it won’t hurt, okay? I promise you.”

“O-Okay,” she stammered. 

He took her arm and she turned her head away and squished her eyes shut. His magic cooled her skin and she felt a little bit of contact, but it didn’t hurt.

“So, what did you fall on, exactly?” he asked. “This is paint and metal in the wound, it looks like.”

“Oh, in the, um… In the basement elevator,” Frisk said. “It’s kinda outta commission and a bit wrecked where I’m from.”

“Oh no, I’m sorry about that,” he said. “I really should maintain them a little better, shouldn’t I? It’s, um… It’s relatively new. Made of spare parts, really. It just slips my mind sometimes that it’s still a little rough.”

He went quiet for a little while. Frisk could tell he was doing something to her arm, but she couldn’t really feel it. She could imagine it, though. She began to shake. The skeleton _tsked_ gently and held her steady with strong fingers.

“It’s alright,” he said.

“Uh-huh.”

“Hm. So. Talk to me about something. Like, maybe… Do you read much? Have you found any books you like recently? I’ve found many human novels to be quite good, but we’ve got some up-and-comers down here as well.”

“Y-You know, actually, I’m not… I’m not that good at reading,” she admitted— she was thankful for the distraction. “When I lived on the surface, it was sort of just simple stuff, out of needing to? And I was too embarrassed to tell my mom. But my big brother kinda found out, and so we’ve been reading a book called the _Trident of Vengeance_ together. I really like it. The main character reminds me of a really cool friend of mine.”

“Oh really?” He sounded pleased. “I haven’t heard of that book. Maybe it hasn’t been written yet! That’ll be interesting. What’s it about?”

“A monster hero. She, um, she saves people from big beasts and explores old ruins and stuff in a made up world where it’s just monsters and there’s no barrier or anything, but it’s still mostly underground. The main character, she’s sort of a fighter, but also a treasure hunter too, and she helps a lot of people. It’s pretty cool so far, but we’re still pretty early in, I think. And there’s a bunch of books. My friend said number four just came out.”

“So you’ll have to pick up reading a little to get caught up, then?” he asked.

“Yeah! I hope so. I’d still like to read it with my brothers, though,” she said. “It’s one of my favourite things. The three of us, we read something together most nights, usually.”

The skeleton chuckled. “So, you’re close with your brothers?”

“Yeah! Super close. They’re my best friends,” she said.

“And you have…? How many, did you say?” he asked.

“Two,” she said. “They’re both older than me, but one’s just a bit older and the other’s a lot older.”

“Skeletons, you said?” he asked

“Yup!” she said.

“Then, you’ve spent some time down here, haven’t you? What places do you like?”

“Um… Well, all of Waterfall is great. I love those crystals in the caves,” she said. “And Snowdin. That’s where I live, mostly. You ever been to Grillby’s? Is that there?”

“Hah! That place’s been there forever,” he said. “Of course I’ve been. Have you tried the milkshakes? Very good for you bones.”

“The milkshakes are my favourite,” she said brightly.

The skeleton laughed. “Too bad this is not an extended stay for you. I’d bring you there as a thank you,” he said. “Oh well, we’ll give it a rain check. For if we ever meet again.”

“That sounds nice,” she said.

She heard a snipping sound. She felt a faint stinging, then he brushed a warm, damp cloth over her arm again. It sent a tingle down to her fingertips.

“There we go! All done. You can look now, if you want.” He smiled when she opened her eyes just in time to see the extra hands vanishing into blue sparkles. “See, barely hurt, right?”

“Right,” she said.

The skeleton gently lifted her arm and wrapped bandaging around it. He was very quick; very careful. It was as if he’d done it many, many times. “How does that feel? Too tight?”

“No, it’s great, thank you,” she said brightly.

“Ah. Good,” he said. “That should do you ’til your brother can look at it, I think. Should speed his healing of a gash that size, thankfully. Also, it should help you not get infected, at the very least! Have you seen a bad human skin infection?”

“Not a really bad one,” she said.

“Good, let’s keep it that way,” he said. 

As he turned to put the instruments away, he seemed lost in thought. “It’s so strange,” he said softly. “You remind me of… Ah. Never mind.”

“Hm?” She looked confused. “I remind you of who?”

“Oh!” He turned back as if he’d forgotten she was listening for a moment. “I suppose I was going to say, my son.”

“Well, I dunno, I probably have a bit more hair than he does,” Frisk joked.

The skeleton chuckled. “However could you have guessed? Actually, I was wondering… This may be a little strange for you, but I was hoping I could ask a favour?”

“Yeah, okay, I don’t mind,” she said.

“You are more than welcome to say no,” he said quickly, “but I would like for you to meet my kids. Especially my eldest. If you’d be willing.”

“Your kids?” Frisk repeated.

“We had an incident with a human here a few months back,” he said. “My son came face to face with it, and he’s… He’s been scared ever since, even though he tries not to show it. But, I feel it is important for him to see that not all humans are bad. I cannot have him lose hope in your kind. Especially if it had to be a human that saves us. And you… I think you’d be perfect.”

Frisk nodded. “If you think it’ll help.”

“I do.” He helped her down from the table and nodded at the door. “Come with me. I just have one more thing I need to do.”

Frisk let him guide her out of the office and to another room, one that was much more open, with a sliding door and a large screen on the wall near some powerful-looking computers and some strange machines lined up against the far wall. He left her in front of it and went to the wall with the machines. On the screen, there was a mess of complicated lines and charts, and it took her a moment to realize that it was magical calculations and timeline predictions. Red, black, gold, and blue lines mixed and made a tangled mess she couldn’t even begin to make out properly. The current location, however, was separate from all that, and a muted, dusty grey. 

She didn’t have time to ask about it before she heard light, quick footsteps racing towards the room, and the door slid open. When Frisk turned to look, she froze with surprise. There was a little skeleton boy, a head shorter than her, standing in the doorway, wearing a cushy red hoodie and pyjama pants. He looked back at her with equal amounts of surprise and glee.

“Hello!” he said brightly. “Are you a new lab friend?”

Before Frisk could answer, the little boy scampered over and hugged her. Her heart thudded. She instantly found him adorable. He looked so familiar. She was almost afraid to say it out loud.

“H-Hey there,” Frisk stammered. She hugged the little boy in return. 

“Dad dad dad, is this a new friend?” the little skeleton asked.

“Sure is, little guy,” he replied.

The boy beamed. “Wowie! I haven’t met a new friend in forever!”

“W-Well, it’s good to meet you,” Frisk said.

“Nyeh heh heh! Thank you! You too!” 

Frisk felt like her blood went to ice in her veins. His name was on the tip of her tongue when she heard another voice from the hallway.

“Hey, bro? Where’d you go?”

She felt like her heart stopped. The voice was higher than she was used to, but she’d know it anywhere. She looked back to the doorway just as another skeleton stepped into view. He was young; still taller than her, though, by just a little. Wore a black hoodie, one that had four symbols stitched on a patch on the front. His normally grinning face fell to a concerned frown. Then, he looked scared.

“P… Papyrus, get away from that!” he said quickly.

The little skeleton looked up at her with big bright eyes— she suddenly couldn’t believe she hadn’t caught on— and then turned back to his brother and hurried over to hold his hand. Frisk gulped. She locked eyes with Sans, her heart pounding. Her mind raced to process it. She cast a worried, wide-eyed glance on the man at the back of the room. He grinned apologetically and shrugged. She suddenly saw the resemblance.

Frisk gulped and looked back at Sans. She had no idea what to say. His eyes scanned her suspiciously, and he frowned.

“How did you get in here?” he asked.

“Um… Your… Your d-dad?” It felt weird to say it out loud. “H-He, um…”

“Boys.” The skeleton walked back over and Sans seemed to relax a little, but he looked surprised when his father put his hand on Frisk’s head. “This is Frisk. She’s a human. And she’s a friend. I asked her to meet with you.”

Frisk’s mind reeled. She started shaking again, but she took a deep breath to steady herself and she took a few steps towards Sans. He held his brother’s hand a little tighter. Her heart ached with sympathy. She already knew the whole story. Could see it through his eyes.

As she got within a few steps of him, he moved to stand in front of Papyrus. She couldn’t blame him. She carefully offered her hand. “Hi,” she said. “S… Sans, right?”

His eyes went wide. He was cautious, but, after a few seconds and a nod from the man behind Frisk, he took her hand. He was trembling. She smiled and shook it.

“I’ve heard a ton about you,” she said. “A… A _skele-ton.”_

He looked taken aback, then began to smile despite himself. “Heh. That’s… That’s not bad, actually,” he admitted.

She grinned. 

“Ooh no, she doesn’t make bad jokes toooo, does she, dad?” Papyrus whined.

“Well, I’m afraid so!” the skeleton said with a laugh.

“Hey, I can make good jokes, too,” she protested. “I just like the bad ones better.”

“Blech!” Papyrus scampered off to give his father a hug. 

She snickered and so did Sans; he didn’t seem to be able to help it. She drew back, but everything in her was demanding she hug him. She was about to reach out, but stopped herself. He gave her a confused, worried frown. His bones were rattling. She huffed out a sigh, grimaced, and she hugged him tightly anyway. He froze up right away.

“I… I heard about what happened,” she said. “I guess I just wanted to… I dunno, let you know, you made the right choice. I-I’m so sorry. You’re… Y-You’re really brave.” She was about to pull back, but, to her surprise, he held her in return, his shoulders sagging. 

“Thanks,” he said quietly.

She almost cried. She smiled and hid her face against his shoulder. “You gonna be okay?”

“I… I think so,” he said. “You, uh… You’re from the future, huh?”

“How’d you guess?” she said.

“How else d’you have a way older version of my frickin’ sweatshirt?” he asked. “Heh. W-We’re literally wearing the same one.”

Frisk smiled. “…Yeah. You’re right. Sorry, hope that doesn’t freak you out too much.”

He went quiet, but, after a moment, he rested his chin on her shoulder. She could feel his energy testing hers. “We’re, um… We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Best friends,” she assured him.

He shook and he squeezed her closer. Somehow, he must’ve understood. She didn’t want to let him go, and he didn’t seem to want to either.

“I… don’t know why, but I needed to hear that,” he said. “Thanks, kid.”

He released her after a few moments and patted her on the shoulder. He looked past her and his cheekbones flushed a little blue, and when Frisk turned to look, the tall skeleton was absolutely beaming.

“Sheesh, dad,” Sans said.

The man laughed and then dropped down to grab him, holding his little shoulders tight. Sans slumped into him and relaxed right away. Frisk wasn’t used to seeing her brother so unsure of himself, if that was even the right way to put it. It threw her for a moment. Though, at the same time, it made her smile to see him put such utter trust in this man. His father. She could still hardly believe it.

“You see?” the man said quietly. “Everything is going to be just fine.”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Sans said with a laugh. “…Thanks.”

The man chuckled and gently rubbed Sans’s skull. “So. I pulled a couple strings,” he said. “Hotdogs for lunch, good?”

Sans’s face lit up. “You’re the coolest.”

His father grinned. Papyrus ran over quickly, eyes alight.

“Hotdogs? Really?! Exciting!” he said. “Hug time!”

He hugged the man, and then Sans, and then quickly hugged Frisk, too, before he cackled and ran around the room. Frisk snickered quietly. Sans grinned wide and waved to the little skeleton as he got close again.

“Hey, Paps, c’mon, let’s get some lunch,” he said.

“Yes please!” Papyrus ran to him and latched onto his hand.

Sans paused at the doorway and looked at Frisk curiously. “…Coming?” he asked her.

“I actually need to talk to her a little while longer,” their father said.

Sans stuck his thumb up and lead Papyrus away.

Frisk waved at them as they left, and the doors slid shut. Her heart was still pounding, and she jumped when the skeleton put his hand on her head.

“He won’t remember that after you leave,” he said quietly. “But… feelings stick. He’ll know that, once, someone was kind to him when he expected to be scared. Thank you.”

Frisk looked back at him with wide eyes, worried. Tears came and she wiped them quickly. “You’re their dad?! But… But they don’t…! _You don’t_…!”

“I don’t exist?” he said. “I know. I’ve… suspected it for a long time.”

Frisk bit her lip. “Is… Is this real? Is any of this real? Were they real?”

“Real enough,” he said. “We’re out of time, here. And a little out of order. Think of it like… Like a bubble. A little compartment. This is small moment I saved. That’s not a thing you lose, apparently.”

“Wh… What? You mean saving? Like, literally saving?” Frisk repeated.

He nodded.

“Why? H-How?! I don’t understand,” Frisk said. “You can do it, too?!”

He shook his head, more as if in thought than answering no. “It’s… complicated,” he said. “But enough about me. Thank you for being so good to your brothers.”

Frisk’s heart dropped. She frowned slightly. “You… You knew the whole time, huh?”

“Almost. I didn’t want to distract you. Or frighten you,” he admitted. “I apologize, Frisk.”

She sighed and nodded. “I don’t think I told you my name.”

“I read some of your memories,” he said with a smile. “I apologize for that, as well.”

“Oh. Th-That’s okay,” she said. “It’s just… Wow. I… I can’t believe it. Of course they’d have a weird cool science dad. Sheesh. And of course Sans would be involved in something like this. Man, he just can’t catch a break.”

“I know. I’ve… Well. Let’s just say, I have the dreams, too, and I’m sure you know what I mean,” he said. “Tell me, are they…? In your future, are they happy?”

“They’ve had it kind of rough. Especially Sans,” she said, “but… yeah. They are, now. If it’s up to me then… then they’ll always be happy.”

“Then you need to live.” He smiled gently when she frowned with confusion. “I know that look you had on your face when I showed you how to use your soul’s energy more effectively. You’re worried you might need to sacrifice yourself for your world to live on, right? Don’t even entertain it. It won’t be worth it for your family to live in a so-called perfect world without you in it.”

“Oh…” She felt her throat go dry. “B-But what if there’s no other—?”

“Frisk,” he said sternly, “there must always be another way. I read your memories. And in doing so, also read some of Sans’s. Do you realize how devastated he would be to lose you? And Papyrus, too, I can just see it on his face. It would break his heart. He might even fall.”

Frisk paled and shook her head quickly. “F-Fall?” she yelped. “N-No, no no no, never, I could never let—!”

“So, let me posit a solution,” he said. “Extra determination.”

“…Extra? H-How would that help?” she asked.

“I don’t know what will happen to your soul if you use it to help create a new monster soul,” he said. “It’s never been done. And you are pure determination. More than I’ve ever seen. More than should be possible. But even so, human souls are not meant to be split. If you could absorb more determination, I believe it would greatly lessen the negative effects you could sustain. It would create something like a shield. Or, maybe more like a reservoir. Something extra for you to draw on.”

“Y… You think so?” she asked worriedly. “But how do I…?”

“Do you recall a machine that looks like a large monster skull in the lab?” he asked.

She nodded. 

“Use it. There should be some residue inside,” he said. “I’m sort of meticulous with making backups. I’ll tell you the code you’ll need before you leave.”

He knelt down again and gently ruffled her hair. “I really am sorry to scare you.”

“N-No. No, you’re right,” Frisk said. “I… I think I can do that. Y-You’re… You’re right. I c-could never hurt them like that. I-I promised. I felt what Sans went through when h-he thought I was gone for good, and… I don’t ever want him to feel like that again. He’d just blame himself forever, huh?”

“That’s my son,” the skeleton said with a melancholy smile, “he takes the whole world on his shoulders. You’ll protect them, won’t you? They’re the last of us.”

“The…? The last?” Frisk repeated.

“Ah! Never mind,” he said quickly, embarrassment crossing his face, “you didn’t come here for a history lesson.”

“W-Well… You said I have all the time I need, right?” she asked. “They’re really the last skeletons? I didn’t realize. B-But then, I guess, I’ve never met another one. I… Oh. Sans hasn’t either…”

The man straightened up and one of his hands took on a faintly blue, magical shine. Two stools from near the machinery rolled over and he gestured to one. Frisk hopped up on it and looked at him inquisitively.

“There used to be many of us, when monsters still lived above ground,” he said as he sat down. “We were always inclined to want to be friends with humans. Because you’re a lot like us, on the inside, see?” He took one of her hands in his hand held it, palm up, and gently poked into her as if to point out the bones of her fingers. He lay his hand out flat beside hers. “Almost the same bones. Of course, minus the solid bones in the palm and my particular subtraction. It was almost instinct, for us. To want to befriend your people.”

“It didn’t work, I guess?” she said worriedly.

“Humans saw it differently. We reminded them of their dead, so most of them feared us.” He folded his arms. “See the problem? Skeletons are… As a general rule, we were a very affectionate group. Very friendly, even by monster standards. Brave, but averse to violence. You’ve probably noticed that in Papyrus the most. That’s why, when the humans attacked us, the skeletons were the first to be turned to dust. Despite all the love we would have offered them, they feared us. More so than almost any other monster.”

“I’m so sorry,” Frisk said.

“Don’t apologize, Frisk, you’ve done nothing wrong,” he said quickly. “In fact, the exact opposite! You fulfilled what we had been trying to accomplish ever since we met humans.”

“But… But that must’ve been horrible,” she muttered. “You were there, huh?”

“I was.” He nodded and his gaze was suddenly far away. “I’m fairly sure I only survived because I was a bit of recluse, and a huge dork, as my kids say. I lived in a library, far enough away when the first rounds of fighting broke out. If I’m not mistaken, almost every other skeleton was long gone before the humans even officially declared the war a few days after that.”

Frisk groaned and put her face in her hands. She felt like she could cry. “B-But… I don’t understand,” she said quietly. “Monsters aren’t scary. N-None of you are scary.”

“Oh, little one, don’t cry,” He tilted her face up gently. “It was so long ago. And… Just look at you. Look at what you’re doing. For people who aren’t even your own.”

“I d-dunno, they’re kinda my people now,” she said.

The skeleton stared at her with surprise. His eyes brightened with a warm, bi-coloured glow. Frisk snickered and wiped her eyes. 

“Didn’t realize that would make you so happy.”

He looked surprised, but then laughed a little himself. “If a human child like you can see that, maybe there’s hope for us.”

“Now I’m surprised,” she said, “that you trusted me so quick, too.”

He smiled. “If it’s bad for all humans to judge all monsters the same, then it’s bad the other way around, too, isn’t it? And you? Well… There was something familiar about you from the start, I think.” He patted her head with a gentle hand, his magic swelling a little before he could help it. 

There was a tingle of affection there, more than she had expected. 

“Thank you. For everything, Frisk,” he said. “I know you must be anxious, but, if you can spare the time, I’m sure the boys would love to see you for a little longer. You could see it on their faces, couldn’t you? They knew you. Your memories of them are so strong they resonate even in a place like this.”

“Would…? Would that be okay?” Frisk asked. “I’d love to see them, too. That won’t mess anything up, will it?”

“I doubt it,” he assured her. “Remember, this place is… separate.”

“Right, right,” she said.

The skeleton gently took her by the hand, and together they walked to a small room, again with sliding doors. It wasn’t there in her time, but when the entrance parted, she could see quickly that it was a lunch room, almost a cafeteria, but it was empty now except for Sans and Papyrus. 

Sans looked over at the sound of the doors and he looked genuinely pleased. He stuck his hand up to greet them. The skeleton gently nudged her forward, waved at the boys, and then turned to leave.

“I’ll be working where we just were talking. Just come to me when you need to leave,” he said.

Frisk headed across the room and, right away, Papyrus got up and ran to her. He hugged her tight and she snickered and lifted him up. He was shockingly light and expectedly cuddly.

“Hey, baby-bones!” she said.

“I’m three and a half!” he protested.

Frisk couldn’t help herself— she kissed his head. He squeaked, but immediately latched onto her shoulders and beamed.

“Almost four! Wow,” she said. “Guess you are getting big, huh?”

“Yup!” he said proudly.

She carried him back over to the table and sat beside Sans. He actually looked kind of happy about it. He offered her half his hotdog.

“Oh! No thanks, but that’s super nice of you,” she said. 

He shrugged and ate it. “So dad’s helpin’ you out with somethin’, huh? How’d you sneak in?”

“Sneak in?” she repeated, and readjusted herself as Papyrus reached back to the table to grab for his carton of milk and straw. “No, your dad brought me here through a weird light thingy. But I’m not super sure how, actually.”

“Yeah, he can be sorta mysterious,” Sans admitted. “So it was time stuff, then, huh?”

She nodded. He grinned.

“He must’ve been pretty happy to get it to work,” he said. “He’s been tryin’ to get it goin’ on and off for a long time.”

“Looking for people like me?” she asked.

“Yup,” he said. “You’re the one he’s been focussed on for the last little while, I think.”

“No way, that’s her?!” Papyrus demanded.

“Yup, bro, pretty sure,” Sans said.

“Wowie! Dad says you’re like a cool hero!” Papyrus said.

Frisk stared with surprise. “A cool hero?” She smiled bashfully. “I’m not so sure about that, but… I’ll do my best. But, focussed on me, are you sure?”

“Mhm,” he said. “Pretty interesting stuff. But… Uh… You, uh, stickin’ around?”

“Not too long,” she said

He looked disappointed. 

“B-But we’ll see each other again! We’re best friends, right?” she said quickly. “I mean… it might be a little while, though. I mean, sheesh, I don’t think I’m even born yet…”

Sans laughed.

“What does that mean?” Papyrus asked curiously. “Are you a time paradox?”

Frisk gawked for a second before she burst out laughing. She hugged him tighter. “Yes. Yup. That’s probably exactly what it means.”

“Nyeh heh heh! Knew it!” he giggled. “I like you, you’re cozy.”

“Thanks,” Frisk said.

“Hey, wait a minute, how’d you get big brother’s sweatshirt?” he asked, eyes wide.

“He gave it to me,” she said. “Where I’m from, it’s too small for him.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, wait a sec,” Sans said, and his grin widened. “You sayin’ I’m gonna get taller?”

“Were you worried about that?” Frisk asked.

“Well I just dunno, y’know?” he said. “Since I’m, uh, technically one of dad’s experiments. We don’t totally know how I work. I kinda been stuck at this size for a few years.”

Frisk tried not to look totally surprised, and then she gently passed Papyrus to him and got up off the bench. She stood on her toes and reached her arm up. “Your head is here.”

“Hey! Not too bad,” he said. “Okay, so I’m just a tall dwarf, no problem. What about Paps, is he like me?”

“He’s almost as tall as your dad,” Frisk said.

Sans’s eyes lit up and he lifted Papyrus proudly. “Hey! Hear that, bro? You’re gonna be able to carry _me_ around soon!”

“The great Papyrus will be the best at carrying!” Papyrus cheered, putting his little arms in the air. “I’ll carry you everywhere if you want! My arms’ll be super big and I could carry anything for all day, even!”

“Totally, bro, of course you will,” Sans assured him.

Papyrus grinned, finished his milk, and then clambered onto the table. 

“Big brother, I’m done, I’m going to play the floor is magma, okay?! Watch out!” He began to race around on top of the table before running to jump onto the next one. 

Sans watched with an amused smile. 

“Dang, he is cute,” Frisk said quietly.

“The cutest,” Sans agreed with a laugh. “I’m… I’m glad. He’s normal. He’s not like me.”

“What does that mean?” She frowned. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“Technically there’s a bunch wrong with me, but—”

“Nope,” Frisk said sternly. “Nuh-uh. You’re super cool. Stop. You can’t always be this insecure!”

“Sure hope not!” he said with a laugh. “…Thanks, kid.”

She smiled and watched Papyrus. The little skeleton let out a sudden squeak on one of the table edges, but before he could fall, Sans raised one finger and blue magic seized his soul and gently pulled him back. Papyrus regained his footing and seemed not even to notice, going about his game obliviously.

“So,” Sans said, “how do we meet? Or is that, uh, confidential?”

“I’m not sure if… Well…” Frisk looked thoughtful. “You helped me out when I was super scared and on my own.”

He nodded. He pointed to Papyrus. “My brother, too? You…? You meet us both, right?”

“Of course,” she said. “You guys are always together, right? He was actually trying to catch me. For the King.”

“Oh. Huh. You still trusted him after that?” Sans asked with surprise. 

“Of course! It’s Papyrus! He’s like the nicest guy in the universe,” she said with a laugh. “That was pretty obvious even when I didn’t know him very well.”

“That’s hilarious,” he said. “Hey. Uh… Could I, uh…?” He looked almost embarrassed, but he held out his hand. 

Frisk wasn’t sure what he wanted, but she gave him hers without question. 

His finger bones gently tested her skin and he flipped it around, looking at the palms curiously. His other hand felt her knuckles, and even down to her wrist. “Sorry,” he said, “I’ve… never actually touched a human before. You, uh… You can feel the bones right through you.”

“Is that weird?” she asked.

“Dad said it was a pity that you guys were so scared of us, ‘cause really, we’re pretty similar. You guys underneath your skin look just like us, anyways,” he said. “But to humans, a skeleton means dead things. Were you scared when you saw a skeleton for the first time?”

“No, not really,” she said. “I was used to looking at dragon-goats, and frogs, and vegetable monsters, and ghosts, even. By the time I ran into you, nothing really scared me anymore. And, I mean, you’re super nice, so nothing to really be scared of anyway.”

“You think I’m super nice?” he asked with surprise.

“Dude, what part of _best friends_ don’t you get?” she asked with a grin.

His face flushed pale, icy blue and he let her go. “Oh. Right,” he said, but he laughed. “You’re a weird kid. But I’m glad we met.”

“Thanks! Me too,” she said.

“Wanna take a walk?” he asked, and he pointed his thumb at the speedy little skeleton. “Tryin’ to wear that dude out, he hasn’t slept in, like, two days.”

She smiled and nodded.

Frisk put her hood up and they got up, and she waved to Papyrus. His eyes brightened and he scampered over on the table tops. Sans opened his arms and the little skeleton snickered and jumped to grab him around the shoulders.

“There we go, bro,” Sans said, gently letting him down. “Wanna help me show Frisk around?”

“Of course I do! You will get completely lost without me!” He grabbed Frisk’s hand. “Come with me, new friend!”

Frisk held in a laugh and Sans grinned wide as she let Papyrus guide her out of the room. 

That little skeleton was like a rocket. He rushed between rooms, talking so fast she could hardly follow. He pointed out labs, and work rooms, and rooms filled with magic in holding tubes. There was a room with a chair a little like at a dentist’s office in a room with a multitude of weird, mechanical apparatuses attached to the ceiling. At the final room, he finally seemed to be a little short of breath.

“And this is the room where my big brother goes for all his testing that doesn’t involve the shooting of lasers annnnnd that’s it! That’s all the most important rooms!!” he announced.

Frisk peeked in through the door that was a little bit open and saw what looked a lot like a doctor’s office, similar to the one she had been in before, but with more monitors and high-tech energy readers. Alphys had slightly simpler ones, but she recognized them nonetheless. 

“Thanks, Papyrus,” she said.

“You are very welcome, new friend!” he said.

“Hey, Sans, what kind of testing?” she asked, looking over her shoulder.

He smiled and shrugged. “My magic’s a bit different than normal,” he said. “So we try to record what it does when I use it. Had to stabilize it once or twice, too.”

“Stabilize,” she repeated. “Wassat mean?”

“Oh, uh. Well. Make it more consistent, y’know? Sometimes, I, uh, see things? Little bit before they happen,” he said, “and it used to give me headaches sometimes. When dad found out, he kinda stuck me to a chair and shot some weird stuff into my head, and now, stabilized. No more headaches.”

“Oh wow, did it hurt?” she asked worriedly.

He shook his head. “It was super cold and weird,” he said. “And I couldn’t see for a few hours after, but it was fine. Dad said he had to do it to himself like three times. Almost knocked himself the heck out the first time, though, apparently.”

“Which is why you always always strap in and take proper safety measures before experiments so you don’t crack your bones or punch yourself in the head!” Papyrus said, standing up taller and straighter, and mimicking their father’s accent. “Or end up with bad depth perception!”

Sans laughed. Frisk had a moment of déjà vu. It felt like Sans did have a little of that in his head. But it was unfocussed and hard to recall with clarity. Strange.

“That’s back in the other room with the frickin’ death machines on the ceiling,” Sans joked.

“This one’s more just boring stuff.”

“Ooh, like what?” Frisk asked. “Oh. Sorry. Million questions. This lab stuff is all just kinda new to me.”

“Nah, no problem. Well… You know about HP ratings?"

“HP, that’s that general health number, right?” she said.

“Right. Welp. Mine's low. Born low, so they just like to keep a watch on it,” he said. “See, uh… usually, when a monster’s base number is as low as mine is, they’re headin’ towards “falling”. Get it?”

“Oh. Right, okay,” Frisk said. “And it’s… five?”

“Four.” He looked embarrassed. “It, um… It dropped a few months ago, and I…” He paused. Frowned to himself. But then, looked her in the eyes and began to smile. “Wait. So. If you know me in the future, I guess that’s not somethin’ I gotta be totally worried about after all.”

“Don’t worry about it at all,” she assured him. “It… It does drop, but you never even come close.”

“Pfft, of course not, big brother. If you fell down I’d pick you up right away anyway! Of course,” Papyrus insisted. “You are very clumsy though. So be careful!”

“True,” he said. “Thanks, bro, you’re the greatest.” He patted his brother’s head gently and grinned. 

Papyrus seemed to glow with pride and he gave Sans a hug. He then turned to Frisk as his brother lazily slumped down to sit against the wall with a drowsy, content smile on his face.

“So tell me, new friend,” he said, his expression quite serious. “In this future of yours, you are little, and I am big, yes?”

“Yep!” she said.

“Strange! But we are good friends?”

“More like family,” she said.

“Ooh!” He grinned and clapped his hands. “Then we will get to hang out all the time, won’t we?”

Frisk smiled. “Yeah, of course we will.”

“That’s confusing! But I’m excited to have friends from the outside!” he said. “Won’t that be great, big brother?”

“Sure will, bro,” he said.

Papyrus grinned. He reached up to touch her face and she let him squish her cheeks curiously. She snickered and squatted down, and his face lit up. He poked around in her hair and then gently tugged on one of her ears. He booped her nose and grinned.

“Humans are funny,” he said. “So squishy!” He gave her a hug. 

She grinned and held him close. He rested for a moment, then looked like he had just remembered something. Papyrus whirled on Sans, but then put his hands on his hips and scowled.

“Big brother, you are falling asleep!!” he squeaked.

“Nah, bro. Just relaxin’. C’mon, sit down with me, you’ve been runnin’ around all day.” 

He held his arms out. Papyrus pouted for just a moment but then went to hug onto him and almost instantly relaxed. He closed his eyes without meaning to. Frisk held in a laugh and sat down beside them. Sans grinned. The little skeleton had drifted off already. Sans rubbed his brother’s skull gently.

“He still doesn’t realize he’s tired sometimes, the weirdo,” he said quietly.

“Sounds about right,” Frisk said with a laugh.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a little while as Papyrus snoozed. Frisk yawned. Sans turned to look at her.

“Hey, uh. Frisk?” he said. “Thanks for bein’ so nice to him.”

“Sure. It’s not hard,” she said with a laugh. “Totally love him, you know?”

Sans’s eye lit up faintly blue.“Cool. Didn’t think a human could like a skeleton that much.”

“Sure can. No bones about it!” she said with a grin.

He looked at her with surprise. “Hey. That’s pretty _com-mandible_,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said, holding in a laugh. “Hey. You know, I’ve always found skeletons to be pretty silly. Why do you think that is?” She cut her eyes at him. 

He tried to play it casual, but he grabbed the set up and…“Oh, easy, because of our _funny bones_,” he said.

She laughed. His eyes were all-but sparkling. 

In his arms, Papyrus stirred, groaned, and gently whacked his brother’s shoulder with his fist. “Big brother, I can hear your terrible jokes even in my dreams,” he protested.

“Heh. Sorry, bro,” he said. “What were you dreamin’ about?”

“Being a great and famous knight! Of course!” he said, hopping to his feet and striking a heroic pose. “One day, everyone will know the great Papyrus! I’m sure of it.”

Sans grinned. “Oh, cool, dude, I'm sure you’ll be a great _skel-ebrity_.” 

“Saaaaannsss!” Papyrus whined. “Frisk! You must make him stop!”

“I dunno, Papyrus. _Tibi-a-_nest, I find them kinda _humerus_.”

Papyrus scoffed and threw his arms up and stomped very theatrically around the corner, but Sans grinned even more brightly. His cheekbones flushed blue.

“Dude,” he said.

Frisk smiled and shrugged. He grabbed her hand in both of his. He was absolutely beaming.

“We really are best friends, huh?” he asked.

“Of course!” she said with a laugh. 

His soul lit up pale blue; he jerked back and bashfully pulled his hoodie closed. Frisk laughed. She unzipped hers and showed him the red glowing through her t-shirt. He stared with shock. 

“You too?” he asked. “H… How?”

Before she could answer, Papyrus jumped back into view and waved to them.

“Big brother! New friend! Come here!!” 

Frisk looked at Sans; he shrugged and they got up. Around the corner, Papyrus had managed to stack magic bones up to the ceiling level. Sans grinned and rubbed his brother’s skull affectionately.

“Heeyy, look at you, dude, that's great,” he said, and then turned and looked at Frisk with a proud grin on his face. “He’s in the top percent of monsters his age. There’s a magic contest in two weeks and he’s gonna totally knock ‘em silly.”

“Absolutely he is,” Frisk said. “Good job, Papyrus.”

“I know! Thank you!” he said brightly. 

He turned to look at them, but then suddenly looked confused. “Big brother, why are you glowing? And Frisk, why are you glowing? I didn’t even know humans could do that!”

“I can do it,” Frisk said, “but I’m not sure about other humans. But, um… check you, too?”

“Me? I think I would know if I was—” Papyrus peeked down the front of his hoodie anyway and gasped. “ME TOO!”

“Seriously, how are you doin’ that?” Sans asked.

“We, um… We kind of sync? she said with a bashful smile. “It’s actually kind of new for me, too, but—”

“Holy crap, dude.” Sans began to grin, and he laughed, surprise raising his voice up. “You should’ve just said you were our sister.”

Frisk blushed and rubbed the back of her head. Papyrus gasped and beamed.

“Really?!” he squeaked. “That’s so exciting! I can’t wait to see you again in normal time!! Oooh! I get to be a big brother!! SANS! This. Is. Great.”

Frisk’s soul brightened, and then flickered with blue. She put her hand over it and smiled fondly; knew that energy trying to pull her as if it was her own. “Oh jeez. Guess I should get going,” she said.

Sans tilted his head. “So, someone’s waitin’ for you, huh?”

“Yeah. You,” she said with a laugh.

He snickered. Papyrus curiously reached up to put his hand in the glow. 

“Ooh, wow,” he said. “Feels warm!”

“Thanks for hanging out, you guys,” she said, zipping her sweatshirt back up.

Sans nodded.

“Have a good trip back!!” Papyrus said brightly.

“Welp. Guess I’ll see you then, huh?” he said. “Hey, tell dad I actually do grow a bit. ’Preciate it.”

She nodded. She gave him a hug and he patted her back affectionately. She grinned, and then stooped— which still felt quite surreal to her— and hugged Papyrus tight. “Take care of him, okay?”

“Mmhm!” he assured her.

\- - -

Frisk scampered back towards the room where the skeleton man said he would be waiting. She heard his voice when she got close and she slowed to a tiptoe, and she peeked inside cautiously.

She was worried he might be talking to another monster, but he was alone. He was speaking into a small recording device, clutched tight in his hand as he paced the large screen, drawing on it with an erasable marker. He had zoomed in on one timeline— one that didn’t end abruptly, so possibly the one that she anchored. He seemed excited.

“The dreams indicate I follow the red line,” he was saying. “Formless, though. Not sure how I manage it. Split apart, too. Over all of them? Perhaps. Trailing the solid one will be interesting now that I know the anchor.” He drew an arrow up one of the branches and circled a thick dot of red that was up before more splits and beside some small, chicken-scratch calculations. “Now, working upwards from the destabilization, the red line leads me to a strange external deposit of determination. Residue, perhaps? Some leached from me and elsewhere, I think? And if that’s the case, the extra from the CORE as well. But… if my calculations are correct, and they usually are, the deposit collects beyond the mountain. And if the dreams are correct, I follow it. I must, it hasn’t been wrong up to now. Which means defying the barrier, possibly a positive consequence of all this? But what could it be guiding me to that has such a high level? It seems almost impossible, and yet…”

He seemed deep in thought. Frisk didn’t want to bother him, but she gently knocked on the doorframe. The skeleton turned to look at her, jarred for a moment.

“Oh! Frisk,” he said. His eyes went wide. He stared at her blankly. 

She smiled bashfully. “Sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt, I can wait.”

He stayed quiet for a few moments, frozen in thought. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder.

“I can go if—?”

“Oh! Frisk, I apologize.” He pressed a button on his recorder and shoved it in his pocket, and quickly drew something around the red dot on the board. “Did you have a nice time?”

She nodded. “Sans told me to tell you he won’t stay as short as he is forever. Still short, just not that short.”

“Oh! That kid, honestly.” The skeleton rolled his eyes. “He’s always worried about silly things like that. First it’s his eye, then it’s his face, now it’s his height. He’ll grow out of that, too, I hope?”

“His face? That’s a new one,” Frisk said. “Why was he worried about that?”

“For the life of me, I don’t understand it. He’s my son, I think he’s just perfect,” the skeleton said in exasperation.

Frisk snickered. “I know it’s maybe weird for me to give you advice, since you’re their dad and stuff,” she said, “but no matter how many times he says he’s okay, just keep giving him hugs, it makes him really happy.”

“Hah. I will,” he assured her. “I assume you’ve said your goodbyes, then? You’re ready to go home?”

“Yeah. Think so,” she said.

“Thank you for humouring me, Frisk,” he said. “I hope you got what you needed.”

“Uh-huh!” she said. “I think you really helped!”

The skeleton took her hand and, together, they went back down to the room he had locked in the deepest reaches of the lab. She noticed he looked sullen as he opened the door up. Before she could ask him anything, he reached into his pocket and passed her a pen.

“Here,” he said. “Do this for me? For peace of mind. Write what you need to do on your hand.”

“My hand?” she asked.

“I’m concerned something you might take back, especially something so flimsy as paper may not last through the energy it takes to time travel,” he said.

Frisk shrugged. She wasn’t sure he was right, but she had no problem doing it to make him feel better. “Alright.” She began to write on her hand, feeling a smidge of déjà vu. “Soul stuff. And… about determination in the skull machine, right?”

“…That’s right. And the code for the machine you’ll need is 2-15-14-5-19. Okay?” He sounded sad. 

Frisk looked up at him with a concerned frown. She offered him his pen back, but he smiled and shook his head.

“Keep it,” he said.

“What is it?” she asked. “You look really worried.”

He sighed and readjusted his glasses, and then bent down on one knee and gently took her by the shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Frisk,” he said. “You… You won’t remember this, either.”

“Wh… What?!” she said. “No no no, that makes no sense, I always—”

“I am erased from time,” he said. “Maybe you’ll hold on to a little of me. Maybe you won’t. Most likely all that will happen is you’ll feel like you’ve had a strange dream. But… as I’ve said, feelings do stick. Maybe you’ll remember that, somewhere out there, there’s someone rooting for you, huh?”

Frisk couldn’t help her eyes starting to water. He gently _tsked _and wiped her tears away with gentle fingertips.

“Frisk… C’mon now, sweetie, you’re a strong kid, don’t cry,” he said. “You’ve got your notes. You wrote them, so they should stay put.”

“B-But… But, Sans and Papyrus, they’ll never…! I can never tell them about you?! They can’t know they had a d-dad who really loved them?”

“It’s best if they don’t wonder. They won’t miss what they’ve never known,” he said gently.

Frisk sniffled. She nodded and gave him a hug. He froze in her grasp, but then quietly laughed and held her gently in return.

“Didn’t expect that,” he said. “What brought this on?”

“You gave me my family,” she said. “I kinda love you for that, you know?”

“Oh…” He squished her gently. “Frisk. That’s so sweet. Thank you.”

She was shaking, and he held her for a little while longer until she stopped. She wiped her face on her sleeve and smiled. “Heh. You must be a really good dad. Thanks for everything,” she said. “I’ll do my best to hang on.”

“I know,” he said. He took her hand and gently put something in it. “You’ll do great out there. And hold tight onto this. You’ll need it.”

Frisk nodded and headed for the light, but then turned back. “I know it doesn’t really matter now, since I’m gonna forget and everything,” she said, “but I realized I didn’t ask what your name was.”

“Oh! Hah. How rude of me,” he said. “I was so caught up in… Never mind. My friends call me Gaster.”

Frisk’s eyes widened. “Gaster?!” she repeated. “Like, _Gaster Blaster_ Gaster?!”

“Oh! You’ve seen them!” he said brightly.

“Okay, okay okay, before I go,” Frisk said, pulling out her pen, “why are they called that?”

“It rhymed, I thought it was sort of cute,” he said with a smile and shrug.

“Oh man.” Frisk scribbled quickly on her hand. “Sans is gonna love that. Okay. I gotta go.”

She took a deep breath. She braced herself. She wondered what losing all that time would feel like. She was already a little nervous. She reached out for the light.

“Goodbye, Frisk,” the skeleton said. “Good luck out there, kiddo.”


	31. The Lab Arc

Sans felt like the world had been knocked from under him. “Kiddo?” he called. “Frisk? Can you hear me?”

He stared nervously at that blue light, straining his senses for some answer from the kid. He was met with silence. No answer, not a thing. But no reset either. He grimaced. He looked and his hands, called up that magic to grasp onto her soul, then rolled up his sleeves. Hoping desperately it would work, he reached for the light. His bones resonated. His hands passed through. Something inside him felt, rather abruptly, like it clicked into place, and then stuck firm. 

In an instant, the light pulsed, and Frisk came tumbling back out of it as if shot from a cannon, knocking the wind out of him as she barrelled into his chest. They landed heavily on the floor and, dazed as he was, Sans grabbed the kid to him in relief. 

“Oooh my god,” he said.

“Oh, dang. I’m sorry,” Frisk said weakly. 

He sat them up and rubbed his skull— felt like his eyes were spinning anyway. He blinked hard. Frisk squeezed her eyes shut and hid her face against him.

“You okay?” he asked. “You scared the heck outta me.”

“I’m sorry. I… I’m gonna be sick,” she muttered.

“Oh, jeez, kid, not on me, huh?” he joked.

“Oh. Okay. Yeah. Sorry, I…” She went limp in his grasp.

“Uh… Frisk?” Sans held her back to look her in the face, and was taken aback to see both sets of magic lines on her skin bright. Besides that, though, the kid was clearly unconscious. “Shit.” He held her up with one arm and carefully checked her forehead with his opposite hand. “Oh, c’mon, kid.”

He couldn’t heal her, but maybe some other magic might help? He grimaced and tried a comforting pulse through her skin. Nothing. He started to sweat a little. Maybe something more jarring? He cupped her face and gave her a mild shock. To his relief, she yelped and sat up in a hurry, the magic on her skin dimming as soon as she opened her eyes.

“Aah! What was that for?” she asked shrilly.

“Holy shit, kiddo,” he said, sighing with relief. “Don’t frickin’ do that.”

She rubbed her head and smiled apologetically. “Fainted, huh? I’m sorry, I…”

She looked confused for a moment and checked her right hand. She was holding a key. It looked sort of familiar to her, but it was an unfamiliar, muted, dusty grey. She frowned for a moment, but then her eyes went wide and she started shaking.

“Ooooh my god, oh my god,” she muttered. 

“What?” Sans asked.

“In there! In the—!” She pointed back to where the light had been. “In the light! It was… There was a guy in there!!”

“A guy?” Sans repeated, frowning. “What kind of guy?”

“I don’t know! I… I’ve seen him before, though!” she said. “I’ve seen him in dreams, I think?! I just didn’t remember, though.”

“Did you recognize him?” Sans asked.

“I’m not sure! He looked like a… I dunno, like a guy in a big robe? All black, but with a white face and bone hands. And like his eyes were kind of running? And his head was split, or… I dunno!”

“What does that mean?” Sans asked. 

“Okay, like… I’mma touch your face,” she said. “He has dark eyes, like you, but then, lines? Or maybe… cracks? Or something? Like this?” She drew one line under his left eye with her finger, going down his cheek, and then one above his right eye. 

He stared back at her with confusion.

“Does that sound familiar?” she asked worriedly.

“Um… Huh.” Sans rubbed his head. “Maybe?”

She showed him the key. “He… I think he gave me this.”

“That, uh… That kind of makes me feel uncomfortable lookin’ at it,” he admitted.

“I know, weird, right?” she asked. 

She sighed and went to put it on the keychain of her phone, but her fingers were shaking too much. Sans put a hand on hers to steady her.

“Just breathe,” Sans suggested.

“I’m kinda freakin’ out, bro,” she squeaked. “I… I know that guy. Why do I know that guy? Why do I…?” She noticed red on her other hand. Her eyes went wide.

She looked at her palm, expecting blood, but instead she saw strings of those symbols again, squished in very small all across her skin, but she was pretty sure that was her handwriting. 

“Sans. Oh man. Help. Help me,” she said, showing him her hand. “Help help help, I am going totally crazy or something.”

“Why?” He lit up his eye so they could both see better. “Oh. You wrote that?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure!” She patted herself down and found a grey pen in her pocket, and then wrote the same symbols on her hand beneath the last line to see if they matched. “See?! It’s the same! I don’t even know what it says!”

“Well, the top one says, _I can do the soul glow thing, like old wizards, use it to bind the Az one. Don’t die, everyone will hate it._ Good note there. The second says, _get extra determination from the giant skull machine first, don’t worry it’s safe. _Spelled determination wrong, though. T-I-O-N, instead of your S-H-I-O-N.”

“Aw man,” she said.

“It’s okay. Proves you definitely wrote it, at least. Then it says: _use the code 2-15-14-5-19_. Okay. That’s oddly specific. The third is…” His eyes went wide. “Huh.”

“What?” she asked. “Is it bad?”

“No. It says, _they really are called Gaster Blasters because it rhymes._”

Frisk stared back at him blankly. “You joking?” she asked.

“You wanna ask Papyrus?” he said.

“No, I trust you,” she said. “It’s just… I don’t understand.”

“And it’s R-H-Y, not R-I, but I get why you’d make that mistake, it’s sorta a dumb word.”

She laughed a little. She lifted the key to look at it. “What’s this even for?” she wondered.

“Lemme see.” Sans held out his hand and she gave it to him. “Huh. Looks pretty old. Figure we got two choices. Look for a locked door or wait until one, uh, gets in our way.”

She nodded. “You got any paper?” 

He handed a crinkled sheet from his pocket over to her, and gave her the key back, too. She stashed it in her pocket.

Carefully, she copied the symbols from her hand onto it, and then handed it and the pen to him. He translated, but when he went to give her her pen back, she was nodding off.

“Yo. You ready to try to get out of here?” he asked.

“Um… C-Can we…? Can we just… sit here a bit?” she asked quietly. “I don’t feel so good.”

“You’re askin’ me to _not _move?” he said. “Not a problem. But, you okay, though? Never seen you this out of it.”

She shrugged and rubbed her forehead. “I… I don’t know. It’s like there’s something in my head.”

“You have a headache?” he asked.

She nodded.

Sans took a look around. He put his back to the wall and used his magic to bring her to him. She slumped against his chest and he put his hand on her head to pulse some consoling energy through her. He knew it wouldn’t cure her, but it might help enough to chill her out, and he closed his eye so the glow wasn’t so bright. 

“Any better?” he asked.

“A little.” Her voice was quiet, and she settled in as close as she could get, her small body limp and weak. “Th… Thanks.”

Neither of them realized they had fallen asleep until the sound of metal groaning and the screech of cables snapped them back. Frisk covered her ears and did her best to hide herself in Sans’s coat, and he simply chose not to move until he physically bounced as what must have been the elevator clunked down heavily on the floor. He opened his eyes a little to the sound of a pleasant door chime.

“Sans?! Frisk?!” Papyrus shouted.

“GUYS?!” Undyne roared. “YOU BETTER BE OKAY!!”

“Guys. Chill. We’re just over here,” Sans said, raising his voice just barely loud enough. “Back room.”

Light shone from the doorway and, like a whirlwind, Undyne stormed in, flashlight in hand. Sans raised his arm to shield his eyes.

“Dude.”

“Oh. There you are. You guys okay?” she said, aiming the light down. “We tried calling. Elevator works.”

“No kiddin’,” he said. “We’re fine. More or less.”

Undyne raised an eyebrow high, but before she could say a word, Papyrus barrelled in and dropped down to hug them.

“Ugh! You need to answer the phone!!!” he said. “You two scared me!”

“…Papyrus?” Frisk said groggily; she looked past him. “Oh. Undyne, too. Hiya.” She cringed, trying to hold in a yawn. She reached out a hand for Papyrus and he held it right away.

“Frisk, you look absolutely, positively exhausted, what on earth happened to you?”

“Saw shadowman again…” she mumbled, then yawned again and her eyelids drooped closed. “So weird. Missed him. Keep forgetting him.”

Sans stared at her with wide eyes. “Wait, what’d you say?”

“Brother, I think she is asleep,” Papyrus said.

“Dude, what happened?” Undyne asked, squatting down. “You guys weren’t down here that long.”

Sans shrugged, at somewhat of a loss. “Tell you upstairs. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

\- - -

“Do you think it’s bad?”

“Dunno. But, uh, look what she wrote.”

“…B-But how c-could she know—!?”

“Everyone, please! Not so loud!!” Frisk felt gentle, bony fingers brushing through the back of her hair. “She’s still asleep.”

“R-Right. Sorry. But…” Alphys let out a deep sigh. “Sans, this is making me f-feel like… l-like when we s-saw that weird video. Y-You know?”

“Hm. Me too. But I’m sorta thinkin’, whatever this is, it thinks it’s helpin’. Maybe just doesn’t realize every time it tries to contact her, it just drains the heck outta her.”

Frisk opened her eyes a little. Everyone was sitting around in the lab near Alphys’s big computer, looking kind of serious.

“So, you’re thinking it’s actually a person,” Undyne said, looking at Sans.

“Sorta,” he said; he noticed Frisk and perked up. “Hey, kiddo, feelin’ alright?”

The room burst out in excited adulations, and Papyrus sat her gently in his lap as she groggily smiled, her cheeks flushing.

“Sorry, did I fall asleep again?” she asked.

“Sure did, squirt, what’s the last thing you remember?” Undyne asked.

“Ummm…” Frisk looked thoughtful. “Oh! Right! Sans, bro, sorry, I totally passed out right on you again. I didn’t puke, did I?”

“No, totally puke free,” he assured her. “You remember the mystery writing?”

“Yeah! Oh, yeah, that was weird,” she said. “I’m sorry, guys, I really have no idea what’s going on with that.”

“Well, we’re all just happy you’re okay,” Papyrus assured her. “I’m sure, whatever it is, has a rational explanation. It couldn’t be from a dream, could it?”

“I… I d-d-dunno, Papyrus,” Alphys said, adjusting her glasses and looking as the sheet with the messages on it. “These are p-pretty specific. F-Frisk, have you thought about this? T-Taking more determination? B-Because I mean, if this w-works, th-that really solves part of the soul stuff I c-couldn’t quite get.”

“If the code works, that makes it legit, right?” Undyne said. “Definitely go for it if you’re okay with that, Frisk.”

Frisk looked thoughtful. Her eyes went to Sans. He shrugged.

“Welp. You specifically wrote down that it’s safe,” he said. “Can’t see how more determination could do anything to you but make you stronger. If that’s something you wanna do, kiddo, I’m with Undyne. Go for it.”

“Okay. I will!” she said. “If it’ll help us save Az, totally. I have no problems doing that. Should we do it now?” 

“Whoa, uh, you feelin’ up to that?” Sans asked.

“This might be a big lead. And… And I dunno, I feel like… this might work?” She smiled and shrugged. “And if this totally knocks me out on my butt, that’s okay, I’ll just nap it off.”

“Good point,” Sans said. “Oh. Right, let’s get your arm looked at first.”

“My arm? Oh! Yeah, my arm!!” She looked at Papyrus. “Sorry, bro, can I borrow a little magic? I sorta cut myself.”

“Hah! Little sister, you don’t even need to ask,” he assured her.

She grinned and hopped down to take off her sweatshirt, but as soon as she did, Alphys gasped, Undyne gawked, and Sans’s eyes went wide.

“DUDE?!” Undyne squawked.

Frisk looked at them with confusion and Papyrus hurriedly lifted her arm. It was carefully bandaged. Frisk stared at it with surprise. Undyne jumped to her feet and threw her arms in the air.

“WHAT. HOLY—!! OH MY GOD.” She whirled on Sans. “DUDE?!”

“Yup,” he said.

“What? Huh?” Frisk asked.

“OH MY GOD, it’s a guy?! It’s totally a guy!!” Undyne said.

Sans slipped out of his chair and took Frisk’s hand to hold her arm straight and turned it over. “Nice job,” he commented.

“What?” she asked.

“Okay. Okay, okay,” Alphys said, raising her hands. “N-Nobody did that, right?”

“It was the mystery dude!!!” Undyne said. “It had to be!!! Right?”

“What?” Frisk asked again. “Guys. Slower?”

Papyrus put his hand up. “I. Did. Not. Do it. Does that help?”

“GAAAAH THIS IS WEIRD,” Undyne said.

“Relax,” Sans said. “Kiddo. Who bandaged you?”

“Um… I… I dunno, actually,” she said.

“Figures,” he said, but he laughed a little. “Paps, take care of her, huh? Unless someone beat you to it.”

“Well, let’s just take a peek,” Papyrus said.

He undid the bandaged and almost instantly shrieked.

“Sheesh, dude,” Sans said.

“BLOOD AND SEWING!?!” Papyrus said.

“Uh…” Frisk looked at her arm and felt herself go cold as she saw that it was stitched up, very cleanly with thin blue thread that glinted like spider silk. “…Oh. Oh god.”

“MYSTERY DOCTOR DUDE,” Undyne hollered. “HO-LY SHIT.”

Frisk hesitantly touched one of the stitches. She shuddered and a weird twinge shot through her body. She felt a little sick. 

“What do we do?!” Papyrus demanded.

“Okay. Everyone, chill,” Sans said, and he took Frisk by the shoulder. “Kiddo, you alright?”

“Someone sewed up my arm, I’m not sure how to feel,” she said.

“Look. I mean. I’m no expert on skin. Obviously,” he said, and he lifted her arm carefully. “But. This looks like someone spent time on it. It’s clean. Not rushed. Must care about you, huh?”

“…I… I guess?” she said.

“Are you sure? Are all the pieces there?” Undyne demanded.

“I-I think so,” Frisk said.

She looked at the others nervously. She knew everyone was as confused as she was, and she didn’t like the feeling. Sans sighed. He grabbed her in his blue magic and floated her with him as he went upstairs.

“W-Where are you going?” Alphys asked.

“Usin’ your workbench light, that cool?” he said. 

“O-Of course, b-but… Oh! I-I know, I’ll h-heat up the—! Don’t worry Frisk, I’m s-sure it’ll be fine!”

Sans moved some junk out of the way and plopped Frisk down on Alphys’s work table. He reached up to grab part of a scissor-arm lamp and pull it down to shine it on her arm. “Papyrus?” he asked.

Papyrus was up at their side in an instant. 

“You wanna give her a zap, bro?” he said.

“Got it,” Papyrus said. “Don’t you worry about a thing, little sister.”

“B-But what about the stitches, I-I don’t want those in there or anything, I—”

“Hey. It’s okay,” Sans said. “This might actually help. It was a really wide cut, honestly. So. Just don’t look, alright?”

“B-But—!” she squeaked.

He patted her head gently. “Trust me. Okay? Just close your eyes. It’s not gonna hurt, promise.”

Frisk gulped, but she nodded and closed her eyes. Papyrus grabbed her and his magic start pulsing through her skin. Then, the thumping of loud footsteps.

“I gotta see this,” Undyne said.

“Sure, pull up a chair,” Sans joked. 

“Seriously, can I?! This is super interesting,” she said. “Wow, look at it… Paps, that’s incredible. How do you do that?!”

“Well, I’m obviously very great,” he said.

“But you don’t have skin,” she said.

“You don’t have bones and you heal bones very well,” he said.

“I have bones,” she said.

“WHAT?!”

“Paps. Focus,” Sans said.

“Right. Right. Sorry. Seriously, where is everyone getting these bones? This is very confusing,” he muttered.

Undyne laughed. Frisk snickered, too. The magic warmed her deep down to the bone, in fact.

After a minute or so, she felt Undyne take her hand and then _hmm-ed_ loudly. She ran her claw very lightly over where the gash had been and then brushed it off.

“Hey. Nice,” Sans said.

“What? Is it okay?” Frisk asked.

“Yup, looks like you’re good,” he said.

Frisk cautiously opened her eyes. Undyne gently wiped away what looked like sparkles from her arm where, to her surprise, the skin was totally smooth and not a trace of the stitches were to be seen.

“Magic,” Undyne said with a grin. “You’re okay, see, kid?”

“Th-Thanks,” she said, and she smiled. “Sorry I freaked out so much.”

“Not to worry, Frisk, it was a very unusual and strange and weird thing that happened,” Papyrus said. “Don’t feel bad, we’re all at least moderately confused.”

They heard a blowing sound and Alphys appeared from behind Undyne, puffing on a steaming bowl of ramen. She held it out to Frisk like it was something overwhelmingly precious. 

“Wow, thank you so much,” she said, taking the bowl and cautiously slipping the broth. “That’s… That’s really good, actually.”

“O-Oh, I’m so glad,” Alphys said; she looked like she could melt, and she gently passed her some chopsticks. “Here. J-Just let me know if… i-if you need any more fauxnito flakes or… o-or another egg or—”

“Alphys, it’s perfect,” Frisk said with a snicker.

Undyne guffawed and lifted Alphys up to sit on her legs. Frisk yawned and Alphys leaned over to look at her arm.

“Wow… Good as new, huh?” she said. “P-Papyrus, I’m impressed!”

“Thank you!” he said.

“Kiddo, you sure you don’t wanna just call it a day?” Sans asked.

“Why? I mean, if you’d rather go home, that’s okay, too,” she said, “but—”

“Nah, it’s you who has to deal with the junk, right?” he said. “Whatever you want.”

“Alph, any input?” Undyne asked.

“O-Oh! Um… Uh… W-Well. W-We have to s-see if that, um… I-If that code works to start. A-And if it does… w-well… honestly, I can’t imagine F-Frisk being in any r-real danger at all. She’s… I mean… I d-don’t have numbers, but I know that her soul is… it’s just d-determination, isn’t it? So… S-So more shouldn’t do anything bad.” She tented her fingers and pressed them together. “It, um… I mean, i-it’s still a lot of energy, though. It, um, it could b-be sort of like, an o-overload, though? Frisk, you might faint, I think. But… B-But if you’re okay with that—?”

“Wait, wait a second, is that quite bad?” Papyrus asked, grabbing Frisk cautiously. “Can I help?”

“It’s not that bad, I did it once today already,” Frisk said. “I mean, as long as I don’t puke when I wake up.”

“What’s puke?” Papyrus asked.

“That’s when you get all sick feeling down here.” Frisk patted her stomach. “And then you kinda just shoot a bunch of gross stuff out your mouth.”

Papyrus looked horrified. “WHAT?!”

“Don’t worry! You’re a skeleton,” she said with a laugh. “You don’t even have a stomach, it won’t happen to you. Probably.”

“Oh…”

Sans chuckled and patted his brother’s shoulder, though it didn’t seem to help the perturbed look on his face, and Frisk yawned and then ate some noodles. 

“It must be getting kinda late, huh?” she asked.

“Uhh.” Undyne checked her phone. “Little bit.”

“I think I’d like to get it over with,” Frisk said, “if that’s okay with everyone.”

Sans stuck his thumbs up.

“I will come with you for emotional support!” Papyrus announced.

“U-Undyne, um… C-Could you m-maybe do—?” Alphys said.

“What’s up?” Undyne said.

“Um. Well… Th-That level of d-d-determination, um… it… might make the basement monsters go a l-little nuts?” she said. “So… So maybe you could… k-keep them preoccupied?”

“Oh. Aw, kinda a bummer to not go with the kid,” she said, “but. Yeah. That makes sense.”

“Th-Thanks,” Alphys said.

“I’ll tell you all about it!” Frisk assured her.

“Yeah, you better,” Undyne said, gently bonking her on the head.

\- - -

As Undyne set up on the highest of the basement levels with the amalgamate monsters, Frisk took a minute to latch onto a tear in time— the one in the room of beds, specifically— before Alphys lead her and her brothers to the large elevator door that now had four orbs of colour on the front. Near the switches at the back, she stuck one of the many keys from one of her _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie_ keychains into a keyhole and twisted it. One of the switches changed from pale to gold and she flicked it. The doors slid shut and the elevator plunged downwards.

Frisk yelped and clung to Papyrus’s leg, and Alphys banged on the wall with her fist and her magic crackled along the walls. The elevator slowed. 

“Sheesh,” Sans said with a laugh. “Still does that, huh?”

“Ugh, you wouldn’t b-believe it s-sometimes,” Alphys said. “I c-come back to it e-every few months a-and it still throws, I dunno, like, tantrums sometimes?”

“Typical,” Sans said.

When they connected with the floor and the doors slid back, they were in a place that looked a lot like the waiting room of a doctor’s office. Seats along the walls were old, but well-maintained, and there was a clock on the wall that had stopped ticking at around 4:42 some time ago.

“Ooh. This feels familiar,” Papyrus said.

“W-We used to have a little playroom d-down here for you, Papyrus,” Alphys said with a smile. “Though… y-you might not remember. Y-You didn’t really use it unless S-Sans was there.”

“Not enough puzzles, I bet,” Sans said with a wink. 

“Is it still there?” Frisk asked.

“Ah. N-Not really.” Alphys waved at them to follow her to a door on their left. “It’s n-not far.”

She brought them down a hallway to a large, heavy door with a warning symbol on it. She fumbled through her keys and then opened it for them. Behind, just a few feet in front, was a similar door with an even bigger warning sign. She sighed and found a second key. Sans snickered.

“Whose dumb idea was this?” he asked.

“Don’t ask me,” Alphys said. She unlocked the second door, that lead them into another hallway. 

There was a final door with a warning label, but this one, fortunately, had been left slightly ajar. 

Inside was what looked like a small, modified control room for live television. Frisk had seen one in the TV station and lab combination from the future she had left. There was a long counter covered in small, dark screens and keyboards, and an old computer in the right-most corner, right in front of something that looked like a heavily altered switchboard. There were three fader bars and an array of keys — a lot that seemed to be lined up in some order on the left near a small joystick, and then twenty-six on the right that appeared to be numbered in some fashion or another, but many were certainly not in any numerals Frisk could read.

They could see clearly into the next room through a wall that was window panels from the centre to the ceiling. It looked to be the size of a small gymnasium in there; mostly grey in colour, with not much there but some cables on the walls, a few switch boxes, and painted markings on the floor.

“You’ll b-be going in there, Frisk,” Alphys said. “D-Don’t worry. It l-looks a little more sc-scary than it is.”

Frisk nodded. Alphys hopped onto a black, cushiony wheeled desk chair and reached into her pocket and took out that sheet of paper written in the strange old skeleton lettering. Adjusting her glasses, Alphys carefully punched in the numbers on the sheet. As soon as she hit the button to confirm, the monitor to her right blinked to life with a white smily face on a black background.

“HELLO DOCTOR,” it said in an automated, dull computer voice, the screen typing out the words in white. “YOU HAVE ACCESSED: STORED SUBSTANCE, DETERMINATION, FOR BACKUP. WOULD YOU LIKE TO— ONE— COLLECT OR TWO— DELIVER?”

“That is some weird crap,” Sans said.

“Mysterious,” Papyrus agreed.

“At least I didn’t go totally crazy, I guess, right?” Frisk said.

“Hope not,” Sans joked.

“I… I k-kind of can’t believe it worked,” Alphys said, and she typed in the number two the old clattering keyboard. “D-Deliver, I guess?”

“ARE YOU CERTAIN? PLEASE CONFIRM. BE AWARE, YOUR BODY MAY NOT WITHSTAND HIGH LEVELS OF THIS SUBSTANCE. PLEASE HIT ACCEPT OR CANCEL.”

She hit the accept button.

“LOWER MECHANISM?”

Accept, again.

There was a rumbling above them and a low, metallic straining sound. Then, creaking and complaining, a huge, chrome apparatus, like a strange skull with a U-shaped jaw, lowered from the ceiling until it almost clunked, wheezing, into the floor.

“Ooh, spooky,” Frisk said. “That was upstairs, huh?” 

“Mhmm! W-We usually kept it u-up there to, um… t-to show Asgore. Easier th-than bringing him down here,” she said. “A-And then, w-we just… sort of stopped using it?” She typed a few quick things on the left-hand keys.

“MANUAL CONTROL ENABLED,” the computer voice said.

Alphys used one of the sliders and the “eyes” of the machine lit up faintly red. She smiled. “R-Ready?”

Frisk nodded.

“Good luck, little sister!” Papyrus said.

“Thanks, dude, I think I’ll be okay, though,” she said.

Sans opened the door into the next room, and ruffled her hair. “Don’t puke,” he said.

“Hah! I’ll do my best,” she said.

Alphys took Frisk by the hand and walked her out into the main room. Frisk looked around curiously. It was much bigger than she had expected. When she looked up, she could see a large, square hole in the ceiling. 

“This is kinda cool,” she admitted.

“I’m g-glad you think so,” Alphys said with a smile. “I hope you’re n-not too nervous. I’ve… I’ve actually used this quite a bit, s-so—”

“Alphys, I totally trust you,” Frisk assured her. 

Alphys’s scales flushed a little and she smiled. “O-Okay, stand, um… Stand here.” Alphys stood Frisk on a circle on the floor. “J-Just… don’t move.”

“Okay?” she said.

“Y-You just saved, right?” she asked.

Frisk nodded.

“O-Okay. I can guide y-you from inside the control room, alright?” She smiled when Frisk nodded again. “L-Let’s start!” 

Alphys hurried out of the room, closed the door, and Frisk saw her pop up behind the glass paneling. She fiddled with some controls, and then pressed a button. There was a buzzing and a clunking sound. Frisk looked up and saw a thick, clear plate sliding into place to block that hole above her. Somehow, the cables still passed through, though.

“C-Can you hear me?” Alphys asked, her voice coming in over a speaker she couldn’t see.

“Yup!” Frisk answered.

“G-Great! Okay. A c-capsule is gonna come down over you, now,” she said. “Don’t move. I-It’s totally normal.”

Above her was a distinct, solid clunking sound. Then, a sound like a motor. A clear, smooth cylinder with rounded edges lowered down over her and thunked onto the floor. Felt a little like someone had trapped her under a giant cup. 

“N-Now, this shouldn’t hurt you,” Alphys said— she sounded like she was underwater, “but it will p-probably, um… p-probably feel a bit overwhelming. You might s-swoon? D-Don’t w-worry, though, the c-capsule can catch you.”

Frisk stuck her thumb up. She saw Alphys smile and return the gesture.

“A-Alright! Okay. U-Um…” Alphys sighed. Her fingers shook as she pressed a button that made a circular opening appear on the capsule, around the level Frisk’s soul would shine at. She lowered the machine a little bit more, then switched the monitor view. 

It showed energy levels now, and focussed as closely as it could on Frisk’s in comparison with the machine that was staring her down. She cast a glance at Sans and Papyrus.

“H-Hey, um…” she said quietly. “Look. U-Um… She’s s-safe, okay? But whatever you do, d-don’t go in there, okay?”

“Wasn’t plannin’ to,” Sans said.

“Papyrus,” Alphys said, “p-promise you w-won’t go in until I s-say, okay? E-Even if she looks l-like she’s hurting.”

“What?! Hurting?! Nobody said anything about that!!! But what if she IS hurting?!” Papyrus yelped.

“Sh-She’ll be h-hurting way, WAY more if you go in there too early,” Alphys said quickly. “The residual determination could be really horrible on a monster’s body. Please promise?”

Papyrus’s eyes went wide. He looked at Sans worriedly.

“She can take it,” Sans assured him. “But seriously, don’t go in until Alphys gives the okay.”

Papyrus folded his arms, but he nodded. Alphys smiled and pressed the intercom button.

“W-We’re good to g-go now, F-Frisk. You ready?” she asked.

“Sure!” Frisk replied. “Just don’t blow me up!”

“W-Want me to do a c-countdown?” Alphys asked gently.

“Nope! Just hit me. I actually find that way less scary.”

Alphys smiled. “Alright. Turning off the intercom. See you in a few minutes, F-Frisk.”

Frisk stuck her thumbs up again. 

Alphys took a deep breath and flicked the mic switch off. She double-checked her monitor, and then slowly pulled down on fader bar. The eye sockets of the machine in front of Frisk began to glow with energy. There was a heavy thrum of magic in the air. Alphys hovered her thumb over the final button. She gulped.

“Three. Two. One.” She pressed it. 

A deep, melodic humming permeated the air for about three seconds, and then what looked like a laser of brilliant white shot straight from the apparatus’s jaws and slammed into the kid. Papyrus put his hands to his mouth for a moment and then quickly scrabbled to grab Sans. He let him hold his hand tight with a vice-like grip.

Frisk felt a lot of heat. Then a lot of cold, like she was frozen down into her bones. It was hard to breathe. Her brain ran over itself trying to figure out what to do, and then, very suddenly, it all stopped. There was a ringing in her ears, and she felt like she could faint. The glow of the laser was leaving something like sunspots in her eyes. She staggered. Felt something try to grab her. Felt like there might be hands holding her up. Her vision went dark to the faint sound of a song she almost recognized.

From the other room, they saw the girl’s knees give out just as the laser went dim. Papyrus probably would’ve been through the door despite the warnings had Sans not been holding his hand. The capsule morphed, tried to catch her so she wouldn’t hit her head, but the moment it touched her, Frisk’s soul pulsed red— a light that overcame the whole room for a fraction of a second— and the capsule shattered. Alphys yelped loudly. 

“Oh. Shit,” Sans said.

Around Frisk had formed a shell of magic, bright red, like hexagonal plates all fixed together to cover her in a domelike shield. She dropped to her knees and flopped sideways, and it shattered, too— as if it were glass, at first, but the pieces became like embers in a breeze.

The monsters gawked. Papyrus was up against the window.

“FRISK?!” He thumped on the glass. “FRISK?! LITTLE SISTER, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!

“Bro, chill,” Sans said, but even his voice warbled. He looked back at Alphys. 

Her eyes were wide and she seemed frozen in place.

“Doc?” he asked.

Her jaw dropped. She scooted back, her eyes hesitantly darting between her monitor’s readings and the kid.

“I’m going in,” Papyrus said.

“Don’t you dare,” Sans said sternly. 

“FRISK IS ON THE FLOOR, SANS!” he retorted loudly. “OUR LITTLE SISTER IS ALL ALONE ON THE FLOOR OVER THERE AND SHE JUST EXPLODED OUT RED MAGIC OR SOMETHING!”

“You wanna melt, bro? Because that’s what happenin’ if you go out there,” Sans said with a frown. “I mean, I’ll still totally take care of you if you’re a puddle of ooze, but I’d really prefer you to, uh, stay just my regular little bro Papyrus, that cool with you?”

“But… But!!” Papyrus pouted and folded his arms tight to his chest. “…Okay. B-But I really want to help her.”

“I know. Me too. She’ll be okay,” he said.

“H-H-Hang on,” Alphys said quietly. “Hang on hang on hang on. M-Magic. Oh… Oh my god.” She put a hand to her mouth and looked at the skeletons with wide eyes. She laughed in disbelief.“Do…? Do you realize wh-what we just s-saw?” she asked; they shook their heads. “M-Magic. Human m-magic.”

Sans’s eyes went wide. “You serious?” he asked. “Like, old-school?”

“I… I think so!” she said. “She m-must’ve g-gotten, like… s-supercharged?!”

“Huh.” Sans looked back at her, worry building. “She’s, uh… still lyin’ there.”

“Just… J-Just a minute. Ambient levels are dropping fast.” Alphys said. “I’ll let you know the s-second it’s s-safe, I promise.”

Sans nodded. He took a deep breath and kept his eyes fixed on the kid, resisting the instinct to just grab her. She still wasn’t moving, though he could see her breathing. Papyrus began to pace. Alphys kept her eyes locked on the monitor. She tapped her fingers anxiously on the console. They were silent for a minute that felt like hours. When Alphys blew out a relieved sigh, the skeletons both looked at her.

“Extra l-levels are z-zero n-now, so—”

Before she could even finish her sentence, Papyrus burst through the door back into the room and raced to Frisk’s side. He lifted her up; she was limp.

“Are you okay?!” he demanded.

Frisk started to glow, but the energy crackled along her fingertips. Sans’s eyes went wide. He looked back at Alphys quickly, but she was already checking her data.

Papyrus was instantly cuddling Frisk and the girl groggily reached up and cupped his face with that red energy. He froze; slumped, and touched his forehead to hers. Sans noticed too late.

“P… Papyrus!” he called.

“It’s… It’s okay,” Alphys said quickly. “It’s okay! It’s j-just… energy. It’s e-energy! L-Like… Like ours! Oh my god…”

“You’re sayin’ she’s using monster magic?” Sans asked.

“N-Not quite, but… but… close?” Alphys rubbed her head. “I mean, technically. Th-The energy output w-was r-really s-similar and… Oh w-wow.”

Sans didn’t need to hear any more.

He shifted himself to their side and bent down to look at her, taking her hand. “You okay?” he asked.

“Mmhm. Dizzy,” she said, laughing quietly. “Just a sec.”

Sans huffed with relief. Papyrus gently let her up and she wobbled. He put his hand on her shoulder.

“Got it?” he demanded.

“Almost,” she said. “It’s okay! It’s okay.” She rubbed her head and almost instantly, Papyrus squished her into a hug again. She snickered and snuggled close.

“IS SHE OKAY?!” Alphys called.

“Ooh!” Frisk gently slipped out of Papyrus’s arms and waved at Alphys, who was still nervously hanging back near the doorway. “I’m fine! Thanks, Alphys!”

The Doctor’s face lit up and she rushed over and gave Frisk a hug. “I’m s-so glad,” she said. She pulled back and smooched the kid on the forehead, then took a deep breath and pulled off her glasses so she could wipe her eyes. “Whew, th-that was a l-little scary, huh, guys?”

“Nyeh heh! N-No, of course not!” Papyrus said. “I wasn’t at all horrified that my little sister might have gone through a horrible magic explosion and broken half the machinery and lay on the cold ground for hours. Heh! N-Not at all.” He didn’t sound sarcastic, but even so, he slowly pulled Frisk back towards him and held her quite protectively.

“It was only a minute,” Sans said.

“Well it felt like hours!!” Papyrus said shrilly. 

Frisk couldn’t help snickering, but she felt bad nonetheless. She turned to face Papyrus and held his head, the red glow coming to her hands, effortless. It would have shocked her if she wasn’t so exhausted, but as long as she could, all she wanted to do was glow for him like he did for her. It seemed to work. It made his shoulders sag.

“F-Frisk—!”

“Paps, c’mon, don’t worry, it’s okay,” she said gently. She pulled him down to touch her forehead to his. 

He held her. Relaxed. Let out a deep breath. His eyes glowed and she grinned.

“There we go,” she said. “We’re alright. Right?”

“Heh… Nyeh heh…” He grinned, too. “You are something else, Frisk. Thanks.”

“No problem,” she said brightly. She let him go and smiled bashfully. “Hey, you wanna do me a favour?”

“Anything!” he said.

“Could you get me some water? My mouth tastes like sand or something.”

“Ah! Absolutely!” He got up in a hurry and marched towards the door. “Be right back!”

“Oh! O-Oh, actually, m-me too, I’ll come with,” Alphys said. “F-Full disclosure, I might be stress sick.”

Papyrus doubled back, picked her up over his shoulder, and rushed away, patting her on the back. 

Frisk yawned; very quickly found herself floating for just a moment. Sans plopped her in his lap and she eagerly gave him a hug. He held her close and blew out a sigh of relief. 

“Jeez,” he said quietly.

She laughed and cozied snugly into his jacket. He smiled faintly and leaned his head on hers, exhaustion weighing him down and the tension that held his shoulders up giving.

“Told myself I wouldn’t freak out,” he grumbled. “Whoops.”

Frisk smiled sympathetically. She gently rubbed his back. He laughed quietly.

“Glad you were right about that thing,” he said.

“Me too,” she said. “Sorry to scare you.”

“Nah. You good?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “I actually just super want to go to bed.”

He snickered. Finally got himself to pull back a little. He held out his hand. “Show me?”

She put her hand on his and red energy glimmered through her skin right away— seeped into his bones. He watched it curiously.

“Hm. How’d you figure that out?” he asked

“I dunno, just kinda happened,” she said.

“It’s nice.”

“Yeah?” She grinned. “Good.”

She put a hand to her chest and lit her soul, too. It did look a little different. There was an extra ring of red around the outside edge. Not too thick, but definitely visible. Like a barrier. It flickered lightly pink every once in a while.

“Ooh, weird,” she said. 

She tried to get up; he helped her to her feet and she rubbed her head. Sans held her still and checked her quickly. She was too tired to complain. She yawned again.

“So you feel fine, though, right?” he said. 

“Just tired,” she said again. “Whew, I bet the dreams’ll be fun tonight.”

“You never know,” Sans said. “Might just get to dream about nappin’. That’s always nice.”

He brought her back into the control room and she sat on Alphys’s chair, half asleep, spinning it back and forth as Sans leaned against the wall and took a bit of a breather himself. 

It didn’t take long for Papyrus to race back into the room, and he bent and gave Frisk a large glass very carefully, as if he was afraid she might drop it.

“Thanks, Papyrus,” she said. She took a sip. 

He gently patted her head. “Phew. I’m so glad that’s done with.”

She nodded. She took another sip and then offered the glass to Sans. He downed about half. 

“So, you’re… alright now, right?” Papyrus said. “You’re feeling okay? Everything is not horrible?”

“I’m fine,” she assured him. 

He nodded. Looked conflicted for a second. Then, quickly, he pulled her off the chair and into his arms, and snuggled her close. She giggled quietly.

“What a ridiculous day.” Papyrus turned to look at his brother and held out an arm and beckoned him over. “Come here, brother, get into this heartfelt family hug.”

“Hm?” Sans looked moderately surprised, like he’d been lost in thought. “What?”

“Group hug!” Frisk said.

“Do not even attempt to resist, brother, I’d know that dismal and tired look anywhere. You need this, and I will blue magic you over here if I must!”

“Oh, gee, bro, I have to walk all the way over there?” Sans said. 

Papyrus scoffed and snatched him in blue magic and pulled him into their hug.

“ALRIGHT, WHERE’S MY KID?!” Undyne stormed into the room like a whirlwind.

Frisk waved. The big monster grinned her big pointy teeth and squatted down to muss up her hair roughly. 

“Hey! Look at you! Didn’t die or nothin’!” she said. “Doin’ good?”

Frisk nodded and stuck both thumbs in the air. “Pretty okay!”

Undyne beamed. “Lemme see it.”

Frisk lit up her soul. Papyrus made an awed cooing sound and Undyne stared, fascinated. Cautiously, she reached out, and gently touched her fingertips into the light.

“Whoa…” she said. “Dude. That’s… Heh. I don’t know why. I didn’t expect it to be so warm.”

“Ooh! If you think that’s nice, lemme show you, um…” Frisk held out her hand and concentrated. “Um. Just a sec.” It took a moment, but red sparked through her skin and soon began to glow. 

Undyne gawked. “NO. FREAKIN’. WAY.” 

“She had it all like a weird big shield thing before,” Papyrus said, “and then it broke into a million teeny pieces and exploded. It would have been very awesome if it wasn’t so horrifying at the time.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Sans said.

“You, shush, you were scared too, don’t think I don’t know it,” Papyrus said quickly.

“Never said I wasn’t, bro,” Sans said with a grin.

Frisk laughed. She offered her hand to Undyne. Undyne stared back with a frown— cautious— but she reached out and took the kid’s much smaller hand in hers. Her eye went wide. She stared at Frisk for a few seconds before she began to grin, her cheek scales flushing and her ear-fins perking.

“No way,” she said. “You…? You really like me that much?”

“Heck yeah I do!” Frisk said.

Undyne barked out a loud laugh and grabbed the kid into her arms and squeezed her tight. “You are so sweet it’s kind of gross actually,” she joked. “HAH! Thanks, kid.”

Frisk snickered. “S’just normal.”

“Pfft. You’re such a weirdo. It’s great.” Undyne let her down and turned to Sans. “Oh, yeah. Alph wanted me to tell you. Might be best to take her right up. The basement guys are already kind of running around like crazy. If they’re gonna try to chase her down anyway, might as well not accidentally fall down any elevator shafts.”

“Got it.” He put a hand on Frisk’s shoulder. “See you guys upstairs.”

The ground floor was quiet and pleasantly cool. It immediately made Frisk want to fall asleep. Sans looked around. Seemed a little annoyed for a fraction of a second, then sat down on the floor and flopped backwards. He puffed out a sigh and seemed to almost seep into the floor as his jacket squished. Frisk lay down flat on the chilly tiles beside him and yawned. He laughed quietly, his voice a little lower than usual. He sounded like he could drift away at any second.

“Long day,” he said.

“Yeah. Good, though. But weird. But… good,” she said.

“But weird,” he said.

She let herself relax and let out a long breath as she settled down, and absently blew a raspberry. Sans chuckled.

“Dude. If I could make that sound,” he said, “I’d do it all the time.”

She snickered and made the noise again. He laughed like it didn’t get old. She beamed. After thinking about it for a few seconds, she sat up and stuck a hand under her armpit. After a few tries of flapping her arm up and down, and she grinned when it made a farting sound. Sans laughed even harder.

“Oh man. How do you even?” he asked.

“I’m not sure!” she said. “I saw a kid do it on TV!”

“That’s amazing.”

Frisk couldn’t stop grinning. She had a thought and got up and scampered to Alphys’s fridge. Sans sat up slowly and gave her a confused look.

“Think she’d mind if I took a soda?” she asked.

“No way.”

Frisk took a neon green can with bright yellow lettering that proudly proclaimed, “LIMELIGHT — A LIME-LIKE SODA DRINK”. She popped the tab and winced at the hiss, and then took a deep swig of the overly sweet, vaguely lemon-flavoured drink. She held up one finger; hiccoughed, and then thumped on her chest until she burped. Sans’s eyes went wide and he burst out laughing again.

“Dude, that’s hilarious,” he said.

“Yeah, I thought you’d like that,” she said.

She sat beside him and sipped from the can. She offered it to him and he took a swig. “It doesn’t even taste like lime.”

“…Tastes like lies,” Sans agreed.

Frisk snickered. She burped quietly without meaning to this time. 

“Pfft, nice,” he said. He offered her the can back, but she smiled and shook her head.

“It’s almost too sweet for me,” she said.

“Eh, fair enough, you’re already pretty sweet, you might get downright saccharine if you’re not watchin’ it.”

Frisk pshawed and waved him off bashfully. He laughed again and ruffled her hair, then took a moment to wipe his eyes tiredly. She lay back down and stretched her arms out.

“I’m so done with today,” she said.

He raised the drink. “I hear that.”

It was a few more minutes before the others reached them in the elevator. 

“SANS! What are you two doing, lying on the floor like that?!” Papyrus demanded.

“Pre-nap lazing, bro,” Sans said.

“Oh. My. God. You didn’t even have to do that much work,” Papyrus said.

“I dunno, I had to walk a bit,” he said.

“Unbelievable.” 

Frisk giggled and opened her eyes to see Papyrus giving Sans that familiar stern look, as Sans grinned groggily. She waved at Undyne and Alphys as she spotted them.

“Alphys, I took a soda, I hope that’s okay,” she said.

“Oh! O-Oh! Of course, F-Frisk, would you like more? D-Do you want to bring some home? T-Take as many as you w-want, I have a bunch m-more in the fridges downstairs!”

“Thanks,” Frisk said.

She sat up and rubbed the back of her head, and she waved Alphys over as, in the corner of her eye, she saw Papyrus scoop Sans up just before he could slump all the way back onto the floor again. Alphys came closer with a concerned smile and Frisk gave her a hug.

“O-Oh! F-Frisk. Thanks.” she said. She wrapped her in her arms, and Frisk pushed that red glow from her body. Alphys squeaked for a moment and then went silent. She pulled back and looked at the kid with shock. “W-Wait. Wait wait, that… that was that energy?”

Frisk nodded.

“B-But… But it felt like…” Alphys mumbled.

“Felt like she totally loved you, right, Alph?” Undyne said with a grin.

Frisk smiled proudly and Alphys looked between the two of them with shock. 

“W-Wait. You… meant that?” the lizard squeaked.

“Heck yeah I did,” Frisk said.

Alphys squeaked again and squished the kid into her arms tightly and lifted her right off her feet. Frisk laughed; grabbed her around the shoulders.

“Dudes, I totally kinda got a new super power, huh?” she said. “Got super hugs!!”

\- - -

Sans was out like a light, and Frisk followed soon after, so Papyrus ferried them and their things home, leaving Alphys and Undyne with piles of reference materials and sheets of old emails to pour through. Crossing that black lake was always a little precarious, but he handled it well, not allowing either of his siblings to get a drop of water on them.

When they got back to Snowdin, Papyrus was a little surprised to find the streets still bright and monsters active in the snow. Very strange. He supposed all that work under the lab might have had his sense of time a little out of whack.

Inside, he dumped Sans on the couch but, after considering for a moment, he tenderly placed Frisk with him. He knew something strange had happened down in the lab that he had missed. They probably would appreciate being close to each other after whatever it was. He felt completely validated when he left them for a moment to get a blanket and found the two of them clinging to each other when he returned, souls glowing faintly. He grinned fondly and tucked them in. He turned out the lights and went to his room to read.

As he was thumbing through one of his more advanced puzzle-making books, he heard a strange buzzing sound. He frowned to himself, trying to figure out what it might be until it occurred to him rather suddenly that it was a phone.

Scrambling up in a hurry, Papyrus dashed around the house until he found that the phone that was ringing was Frisk’s. He snatched it and ran upstairs in a hurry. “Hello! This is the phone of the little sister of—”

“Papyrus? Is that you?” a woman’s voice asked— mom, he remembered.

“Oh! Hello, mom!” Papyrus answered. “Yes! This is Papyrus! What can I do for you?”

“Oh! …Hah, I was just hoping to… Oh, it’s alright. I can call back tomorrow if—”

“You’re looking for Frisk, I gather,” he said. “She is actually sound asleep right this moment but I will be certain to tell her you called the second she wakes up!”

“Thank you, my child,” she said. “Did… you call her “Frisk”?” 

“Yes! Why?” he asked. He heard her begin to laugh.

“My goodness. How absolutely silly of me,” she said. “You know, I love the girl, but I never even asked her name!”

“Nyeh heh heh heh! Not to worry, mom, the first time I met Frisk, I also forgot to ask her name!” he said. “I just called her “human” for days, though she didn’t really seem to mind. Even still, my brother Sans knows her very well, and he often just calls her “kid”, which makes sense, but then he also calls her “kiddo” which makes less sense to me, seeing as my brother is so lazy and “kiddo” is actually more syllables than her actual name.”

Toriel chuckled fondly. “That’s sweet of him,” she said. “I’ll be honest, when she first tried to leave our home here, I was… I was so frightened for her. But you boys, you really love her, don’t you?”

“Of course we do!” Papyrus said. 

“And how is your father with this new addition to your household?” she wondered.

“Oh! We don’t have a father,” Papyrus said.

Toriel went quiet for a moment. She seemed taken aback. “…I’m so sorry, I wasn’t aware,” she said. “Your brother mentioned that you don’t have a mother, but… Have… Have the two of you been alone for long? I didn’t expect… Unless Sans is much, much older than he sounds, but—”

“Oh, no no, it’s not like that,” he said. “We never had parents. It’s always just been my brother and I.”

“I’m not sure I follow, sweetie,” she said gently. “You two have never had anyone to look after you? Where did you live?”

“Well, in the lab in Hotland for a bit, when I was really small,” Papyrus said, counting on his fingers, “then in New Home for just a little while, and then Snowdin, where we are now. Hey! You should come visit sometime!!”

“V-Visit…? I—”

“Yes! I’m sure Frisk would absolutely love to see you, and my brother, he always gets this big smile when he talks about you,” Papyrus insisted.

“I… Maybe… Maybe this sounds strange, but I am not sure if I’m ready,” she said quietly.

“Well that’s okay!” he said. “Whenever you are ready! Just give us a call and we will come meet you and bring you to our house! Hey! Maybe once the barrier is down? Maybe you will come then, what do you think?”

“Hah… She’s still planning that, is she?” Toriel asked quietly. “Papyrus, will you be honest with me? Do you really think she can do it? Without harming herself?”

“Well she’s already—!” Papyrus caught himself and laughed. “Let me put it this way! I trust Frisk with the whole universe! She’s small, but she’s very very powerful in her own weird way. So, I think, yes. She can definitely do it.”

“Hah… Thank you, my child,” Toriel said. “I hope you’re right.”

“So you’ll come to visit after that, though, right?” he insisted. He wasn’t sure why, but he was suddenly dead-set on it.

“Well, I suppose I’ll have to, won’t I?” she said with a chuckle. 

“You won’t regret it for a second!” Papyrus said, beaming. “I promise!”

Papyrus really liked talking to Toriel. Her voice was warm and calming, and though she would sometimes slip in a terrible joke, the way she laughed so genuinely and completely un-ironically after he protested— just like Sans did— made him forgive her right away. It was nice. 

By the time they hung up, he was certain that they must’ve been close before the time travel. He felt like, maybe, he loved her, and that was quite a comforting thought. Maybe she wouldn’t mind so much staying with them, since she was Frisk’s mom and all. And maybe she’d remember she loved them, too. Couldn’t hurt to hope, he supposed.

It was getting late. They must’ve talked for two hours. Before returning to his book, he decided it would probably be best to take Frisk’s phone back to where it belonged. He went back downstairs to put it back in her sweatshirt pocket, where it rested on the arm of the sofa, but was taken aback to find the lump of his siblings much smaller than he expected. He leaned over and squinted in the dark. Sans was gone. He had made sure Frisk was comfortable, but he certainly wasn’t there. Papyrus checked the kitchen and then doubled back when he saw nothing. 

Scoffing quietly, he gently scooped Frisk up. She was quite warm. There was an unexpected, faint thrum of magic around her. It was nice; relaxed and content. He carried her and her hoodie up to bed and tucked her in again before settling in with his book. She clung— it seemed almost instinctive at this point. He smiled fondly and put a hand on her head. 

After a few minutes of reading, he felt her move, though when he looked down at her, she was just sneaking a little closer. He realized rather quickly why those lines of his magic were where they were on her skin. Something about that gave him a little pang of heartache, but it made him very happy, too. Maybe one day, he’d remember correctly, but for now, this was certainly nothing to complain about.


	32. The Mysterious Red Soul Arc

Under crystal-lights, undimmed by the late hour, there was a certain anxious air about the topmost suit of the MTT Resort, despite the warm red and gold tones that might have otherwise served to exude luxury. Draped across the breadth of a bed with crimson sheets, Mettaton lay on his stomach, an abandoned blue sequinned dress and sewing needle tossed to one side of him while on the other was possibly a bottle too many of a drink called Ecto Cooler. He tapped his metallic fingers on the keyboard of his laptop but checked his phone religiously, almost to the point of paranoia.

The set wasn’t going well. His mind was all over the place. He half considered running reruns again tomorrow, but then again, ever since that little human had waltzed into the underground, he had been a little lax on programming. He pouted at himself. That was no way to treat his adoring public, was it? Even if he wasn’t feeling on the ball, he had to at least try, didn’t he? He cast another look at the sequinned gown and grimaced. Maybe a half-set.

He jumped at the sharp, hard sound of knocking on his door. He grimaced and rolled his eyes. He had asked specifically not to be disturbed unless it happened to be Blooky, and Blooky certainly did not need to knock. The knocking came again — rather lazily, in fact, but a very clear sound against the wood. Carefully, he stood up on the tips of his toes and then slid over to the door to peek out through the peephole. He couldn’t see anyone at first, but then noticed a shine of white and looked down. Sans.

“What do you want?” Mettaton asked cautiously.

“It’s room service,” Sans said.

“Hah-hah, Sans, I can see you there,” he said.

“No, seriously.” He held up a paper bag gracefully emblazoned with the MTT logo. “Kid at the burger store said you, uh, ordered this like two hours ago and just left it there?”

“Oh. OH! That absolute weasel, why didn’t he just bring it up here?!” 

“You said no visitors?” Sans suggested.

“Then why did they let YOU in?” he asked. 

He saw Sans shrug. “Your staff like me more than you.”

“Ugh. Some people. But. Hm. It completely slipped my mind.” He undid the latch and opened the door, and the skeleton tossed the bag at him and walked in uninvited. “Oh. Thank you?”

He twirled around the room and moved his laptop to an elegant table across from the bed, and dropped the bag beside it. “I wish you’d have called, I would have cleaned up this place a bit.”

“I’m not judgin’,” Sans said. “Still cleaner than my room.”

“So what brings you to my… fine establishment?” Mettaton asked.

“Gotta talk to you,” he said. “Figured I’d find you here.”

“Well, yes, obviously. I am low-key working, darling,” Mettaton said, sitting down on a velvet stool and crossing one leg over the other. “Did you, um… did you find Frisk’s, uh… little friend?”

“Oh. Yeah. Funny thing about that,” Sans said. “He said he didn’t see who got him.”

“Oh. Oh, well, that’s a shame,” Mettaton said.

“Yeah.” Sans took a phone out of his pocket and tossed it onto the table. “Did find this.”

Mettaton tented his fingers. “Oh. Would you like me to look into that? I may be able to hook into it with a—”

“I already know what you did,” Sans said. “Took me all of two minutes to get the Snowdrake lady to tell me everything. And you kept your theme as the log-in chime, dude, pretty sloppy.”

Mettaton froze; stared him in the face. He frowned slightly. “S-So. Why are you here? Blackmail? Exposé? What?”

“See, thing is. You made my little sister cry,” he said. “Whether you were tryin’ to play the hero or you were just tryin’ to save face with that little power outage act, I don’t really care.” He flicked the phone back towards him. 

Mettaton hesitantly took it and looked at him with confusion, but gulped when he noticed the skeleton’s eyes were completely black. “Sans, I—”

“I just want you to come clean with her. She’ll forgive you. If you’re honest. But you caused that kid some real heartache and I’m not super inclined to put it behind you unless you go apologize.”

Mettaton stared at him, and then looked down at the battered old phone. He sighed and threw it over his shoulder.

“It was so stupid,” he grumbled.

“Don’t have to tell me,” Sans said.

“Look. Sans. I didn’t… I didn’t mean…” He rubbed a hand through his hair. “I’m weak! Okay?! When she got upset, I just panicked! I didn’t mean for it to become this big thing, I just thought… she’d be so mad if I told her and—”

“Frisk doesn’t really get mad,” Sans said.

Mettaton sighed. “You don’t think I already felt like a huge idiot?” he grumbled.

“Kinda deserve it,” Sans said.

Mettaton pouted. He rested his cheek on his fist and drew circles on the table with his finger.

“You’re right,” he sighed. “You’re right. I will. Definitely. Apologize. Tomorrow?”

“Good,” Sans said. “Better than me droppin’ it on her head. Just be nice to that kid, huh? She thinks you’re weird but she really likes you.”

“Hah! I feel the same,” he said. “…Thanks for not tattling on me right away.”

Sans shrugged. “Just thought it’d be better coming from you.”

Mettaton smiled faintly and put his chin in his hand. “You really love her, don’t you, darling?”

“Yeah. I do. So don’t make her cry again, alright?”

Mettaton nodded. He clenched his fists. Sans turned towards the door, but Mettaton quickly grabbed his arm.

“Um. Would you… like to share the glamburger? Since you’re here, uh—”

“Oh. Heh. No thanks. Not really a fan,” he said.

“…Me neither, I just order them to keep up morale,” he said.

Sans chuckled. Mettaton suddenly looked quite embarrassed. He brushed his hair from his eyes.

“Ugh. Okay. Tomorrow I’ll… Oh, but my set is… Ah! Never mind, whatever, I will figure out some way to make it up to Frisk,” he said. “But now I really need to…” He stared dismally at the blue gown on the bed and then glared daggers at it. 

Sans followed his gaze. “What’d it do?”

“Ugh, it’s just… Don’t tell Alphys? These… These hands are new, and they’re a little clunky still, lacking a bit of finesse, and I was just having such trouble with the sewing and…”

Sans raised a brow and Mettaton put his hands up.

“I know, I know, stupid of me, but… Oh! Sans, um. Okay. This is… completely out of line. I mean, I know it’s absolutely awful for me to even ask you a single thing after what I’ve done, but you have such pointy fingertips and I—”

“Alright.”

Mettaton gawked. “Seriously?” His voice went unusually shrill.

Sans took the cloth and the needle from him and plopped down in a cushy armchair in the corner beside a faux-fireplace.

“Y-You really don’t mind? I… I thought you were absolutely pissed at me,” he said.

“Look,” Sans sighed, “I’m kinda miffed at you now, yeah, but I won’t be in, like, a day, and then I’d just feel like an ass for not helpin’.”

“That’s a… surprisingly mature attitude,” Mettaton said. “I can’t say I’d echo it. But do I ever respect you for it.”

“Yeah, sure helps you out, huh?” Sans said with a wink.

“Oh, don’t be so cynical,” he said— Sans gave him a look. “Well. Yes. Okay. But I mean what I said.”

Sans laughed and began to stitch. Mettaton slid over and watched curiously.

“Where’d you learn that?” he said.

“Eh, kid brother, you know,” he said. “Sometimes patchin’ stuff up or making new stuff yourself was easier than finding a specialist.”

“Oh, right, right.” He sat on the arm of the chair. “I… really am sorry, you know.”

“I know. You’re not a bad guy, you’ve just got an ego the size of a mountain.”

“Really? A mountain?” He smirked. “That’s a little small, don’t you think?”

Sans snickered. 

Mettaton watched in silence for a little while before sliding off the arm of the chair and returning to his laptop. He typed a quick email to his cousin and went back to his daily script notes.

“Hey. What do you think of this?” he asked absently. “A grand romantic musical number on a castle set. With an audience member volunteer?”

“I dunno. If they’re into that kinda thing I guess,” Sans said.

“What about…? Ooh! An elegant ballet!” 

“On one wheel? …If you can pull it off, sure?”

“Well, what would you suggest?” Mettaton asked, pouting a little.

“Cooking,” Sans said.

“Cooking?!” he said. “But those are so… so formulaic. So… easy, so—”

“So do it in a dress and dance or whatever,” Sans said.

Mettaton stared at him across the room and frowned over his laptop. “You are pulling my leg.”

“Nope.” Sans pulled a long thread and tied it off, then pinched it until it snapped clean. “The cookin’ ones are Paps’s favourite.”

“Oh. Really?” Mettaton looked surprised. “Well. I’ll think about it.” He tapped his fingers together, making a chimey, metallic _tink_ sound. “What… um… What does Frisk like?”

“Hm. We watch _U-G-H_ together,” he said. “That always makes her laugh.”

“Hmmmmm…”

Mettaton went quiet; returned to his typing. Drummed his fingers. Watched Sans, who looked almost half asleep, a leg up over one of the chair’s arms as he sewed. His script only had five words on it: “_Fantastic Mettaton walks in and_”

“You should tell Alphys,” Sans said.

“Hm?” Mettaton’s eyes went wide as he recalled what he was talking about. “Oh, no no no, she’s so sensitive! She’d be… She might be so devastated. She takes criticism very hard, you know.”

“But then how will you get good fingers?” he asked. “Tell her. She’ll appreciate it. Just don’t be a weirdo about it.” 

Sans got up and tossed the sparkling cloth to him. He held it out in both hands and smiled.

“Wow, you really fixed that up. Thanks, darling,” he said. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

“Make it up to Frisk,” he said. “See ya.” 

He vanished before Mettaton’s eyes. The metallic monster almost fell right out of his chair.

\- - - 

There was a quiet humming warming Frisk’s ears. A voice. Took her a second to realize it was Papyrus. She opened her eyes to see him putting on gloves and then standing, quite heroically, with his fists on his hips for a moment. She sat up a little and rubbed her eyes; he turned at the sound of her movement. 

“Ah! Frisk!” he said cheerfully, keeping his voice rather soft. “Good morning! How are you feeling? Alright?”

She smiled and bobbed her head up and down slowly as she tried to get a fleck of sleep away from her eyelashes. He patted her hair affectionately..

“I’m just meeting Undyne for a little training,” he said.

“Ooh. Can I come?” she asked. “Why are you whispering?”

He pointed. Frisk turned to look and noticed that a lump in the blankets wasn’t simply a lump at all. Sans had flopped lengthwise across the bed at some point and drifted off. She held in a laugh. 

“If you’re feeling up to it, you’re more than welcome,” he assured her.

“Awesome,” she said.

She slipped to the floor, and folded the blankets down over Sans and gave him a gentle smooch on the top of his head. Papyrus pointed his thumb at the door.

“Meet you outside?” he asked. 

She nodded. He grinned and hurried out, and Frisk snuck into the closet and got changed. Then, she bundled herself up, put her cellphone near Sans, and left quietly.

Just outside the house, she saw Papyrus chatting with Undyne — she didn’t even have a coat on, but she looked just fine. She gave her a big grin when she caught sight of her over Papyrus’s shoulder.

“Hey, squirt!!” she said loudly. 

Frisk ran over and Undyne squished her into a hug.

“How you feeling?” the monster demanded.

“Pretty good,” Frisk said.

“You here to watch your big bro get BUFF?” she asked.

Frisk nodded enthusiastically. Papyrus flexed. Undyne thumped him so heavily on the shoulder that he stumbled a little. 

“ALRIGHT! Let’s do this!”

She dragged Papyrus out into the snow and let out a roar, her magic pulsing vibrantly into sharp spikes around her. “TRAINING BATTLE!” she announced. “We’ll go until ten percent, okay?!”

“Yes, Captain!!” Papyrus said, saluting. He drew up bones from thin air under each hand.

Frisk snuck off to the side and watched eagerly. 

Undyne counted down from three on her fingers, and they launched into it. Their magic was almost explosive, and they ran, and struck, and dodged, sometimes too quickly for Frisk to even see. She was surprised, though, that they were actually hitting each other. Undyne seemed unshakable, though. No matter what Papyrus threw at her, even if she slid back, she never toppled. Papyrus took more glancing hits than Undyne did, but less direct ones, and he was much faster on his toes. Her big brother could’ve been a dancer. 

Frisk watched in awe as they smashed into each other. It suddenly occurred to her how different their battles with her had been. It suddenly didn’t seem fair. For all their technique and their power, and how amazing she thought they were, if someone like her had even half a mind towards violence, none of that would matter at all. She didn’t have time to feel melancholy, though. Undyne was doing backflips and Papyrus’s magic bones were flying through the air at blurring speeds. She was enthralled again.

Undyne landed, grounded herself, and pulled a spear from nowhere, cutting through Papyrus’s magic and tossing it straight at him. He took it through the chest and made a sort of surprised noise. Frisk gasped. The spear phased out of existence and Undyne held up her hands in a T shape.

“Okay! Good job,” she said. “Phew! That about ten for you?”

“Yes! Wowie. That was a great battle!” he said.

Undyne grinned and rubbed the top of his skull roughly and then plopped down into the snow and waved him down. He sat with her and Frisk scampered over in a hurry.

“Guys, that was so cool!” she said. “You okay?”

“Well, a little scuffed up,” Papyrus admitted, “but no harm done.”

Undyne nodded and then grabbed his skull in both hands, her magic crackling bright.

“Gotcha covered,” she said. “Just gimme a few minutes.”

Frisk peeked around Papyrus’s front. His sweatshirt wasn’t even torn. 

“You guys looked so cool out there,” Frisk said.

“Thank you!” Papyrus said. 

“You’ve really improved,” Undyne said. “What I want you to try next round is feeling a little more closely where I’m gonna throw. You get caught up watching the glow of the spears for an extra tiny bit, which is where I catch you with them.”

“Ooh! Alright, I’ll try that,” he said. 

“Hm. Maybe we could try something a bit experimental, actually,” she said. “More energy. Less seeing. Can I blindfold you?”

“I guess we could try that,” he said.

“It helps build your magic sense. But I got a feeling you’re pretty great at that anyway,” she assured him. “But it might be an interesting angle. When I trained with Gerson, he did that to me, but I think it took me longer to get than it’ll take you.”

“Alright!” 

“Also,” she said, “I’d like you to work on a move that covers more airspace.”

“More?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yeah. Vertical bones are good to walling someone in, but they’re not as good for fast targets.”

“Okay! I think I’m good, now, by the way. Let me do you,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said.

Papyrus shifted to put one hand on her neck and the other on her arm, and his fingers glowed. 

“What do you think, Frisk, you notice anything for us?” Undyne asked.

“Oh! Um… Um, no, not really,” she said, “I was just sorta caught up on how cool you guys were.”

Undyne laughed and Papyrus smiled wide.

“So you guys do this all the time, huh?” Frisk asked.

“Yup.” Undyne closed her eye. “Oof, jeez, Paps, why you gotta make that so damn pleasant?”

“Nyeh heh heh! That’s just how it is,” he said.

“Oh!” Frisk said. “There is one thing.”

“What is it?” Papyrus asked.

“Hope this isn’t future-cheating,” she said, “but, bro, I think I know what you could do.”

“Ooh! Wait. Wait. Let me guess!” he said. “Um… Horizontal rows?”

Frisk shook her head. His brow furrowed.

“Hmmm… What about an X shape?” he said. “Ooh! Or a plus shape?”

Frisk smiled; didn’t have the heart to point out they were almost the same. She shook her head again. “Here’s a hint. It’s something you can do with just one bone,” she said.

“Hmmm…” Papyrus said again.

“We’ll figure it out a bit later.” Undyne patted Papyrus on the shoulder and then got to her feet.“Good job, dude. Ready to try the next thing?”

“Ah! Yes!” He jumped to his feet. “Let’s go!”

Undyne looked him over; tilted her head. She took his scarf, folded in half widthwise and then tied it over his eyes. 

“What do you see?” she asked.

“Umm… Not much? Dark? A bit of red,” he said. 

“Cool. Okay. Don’t move. But, Frisk, back away, alright? Don’t want to hit you by accident,” Undyne said as she took a few large paces backwards to gain some space.

“Oops! Okay,” Frisk squeaked.

She hurried over to the left and out of the way, and even though he couldn’t see, Papyrus turned to her and gave her a thumbs-up. She snickered.

“No peeking!” Undyne said.

“I’m not!” he said quickly, turning his attention on her.

“Good. Ready?” Her energy flared. “Feel it?”

He braced his feet in the snow. “Y… Yes. I think so,” he said. 

“Okay!” Undyne spread her arms and two spears of energy hovered out from each hand. “How many spears?”

“Um. T…? No. Four. But what’s…?” He turned his head back towards Frisk. “Huh.”

“Over here, dude,” Undyne said. “I’m gonna start shooting.”

He nodded and Undyne fired. He was a little slow to react, but hopped out of the way in time, the spear just clipping his pant leg. The second, he sidestepped a bit faster, and the third missed him by a full second. The final one, Undyne shot quicker. He wasn’t quite fast enough for that one and it swiped his boot. He yelped and stumbled for just a moment before regaining his balance. 

“Good!” Undyne said. “So you’re feeling them, right?”

“Yes! And I’m listening more,” he said.

Frisk clapped. “You got this, bro,” she said brightly.

He grinned. Undyne lit up again, and they repeated. Papyrus was getting faster already. He still made a few mistakes— he took a spear to the arm, and the foot— but it was already impressive. 

“Okay! Big one, and then we’re through!” Undyne announced.

Papyrus braced himself. Undyne’s magic lit up in blades that looked almost like a wall of icicles. Frisk was excited, but all of a sudden, she noticed Papyrus’s left arm looking a little strange. She heard a telltale rattle of his bones, but before she could say anything, Undyne launched. Papyrus froze up. Frisk squeaked and then sprinted for him.

“Waaaait, wait, Undyne, wait!!” She threw her hands up in front of her. “Stop stop stop, he’s not ready!!!”

She got to him before the spears did and braced herself, squeezing her eyes shut reflexively. Nothing knocked her down, though she did hear Papyrus squeak and plop backwards.

“Holy. Shit,” Undyne said.

Frisk hesitantly opened her eyes. She saw red. She blinked with surprise. Undyne had stopped the spears in time, but even so, Frisk had done something strange. There was a shell-like shield before her, stretching up high enough to block where Papyrus’s head would have been. She didn’t have time to really process it before it dissolved into embers. Undyne stared back at her in shock, then began to laugh and clap, her own magic shattering into sparkling shards and taking off in the wind.

“Look at that shit!! Damn! Cool stuff, kiddo,” she said. “Paps, you okay? What happened?”

Frisk quickly turned back to look at Papyrus. He pushed his scarf up to his forehead and looked at her with shock. He rubbed his eyes.

“Was that what I felt!?” he demanded.

“Wh…? Um. I dunno!” Frisk said. “You rattled, though, are you okay?”

“Oh! Oh. Yes. I’m fine. Just. Um.” His cheekbones flushed a little. “My arm.” He unzipped his sweatshirt.

Undyne jogged up, but when he took it off, his left arm was missing from the elbow down. Frisk squeaked.

“Oh, jeez,” Undyne said. “Sorry!”

“That’s alright!” he said with a laugh. “Little bit of a more jarring hit than I realized, I guess.” He reached down into the sleeve of the sweatshirt and grabbed the rest of his arm, and then popped it back on with a sort of dull clacking sound. He flexed his fingers, then stuck his thumb up. “There! No big deal, sorry to worry you.”

He put his sweatshirt back on, and Frisk hugged him. Undyne started to laugh again.

“You guys, honestly,” she said, shaking her head. “So. Paps. What do you think? I think you did pretty good with that. We’ll try again another day, alright?” 

“Sounds fine to me!” he said. He took off his scarf and undid the loose knot in it, then put it comfortably back around his neck. 

“So it doesn’t hurt when that happens, right?” Undyne asked.

Papyrus shook his head. “No. It does feel a bit strange and tingly if something is detached for too long, though,” he said. “Like, one time! When I was about your age, Frisk! I actually broke my arm. And that was after Sans couldn’t heal anymore. He wanted to bring me home, the doctor wanted me to stay overnight, so we compromised and left the arm! I got it back all patched up, but boy did it tingle for a little while afterwards!”

“Phew,” Undyne said. “Hey! Actually.” Undyne plucked Frisk up and looked at her curiously. She grinned a little. “How would you like to do a little training, squirt?”

“M-Me?” she repeated.

“Yeah!! That shield thing, that’s really cool! Is that a human thing? Why’ve you never done that before?” she asked. “Oh!! No wait, that must’ve come from yesterday, huh?”

“I… um… Maybe? I guess so,” she said. 

Undyne grinned wide. “C’mon, let’s test it!”

“G-Go easy on me?” she asked.

“Pffft, okay, just for today,” Undyne laughed.

She plopped Frisk down into the snow and then yanked Papyrus to his feet. She positioned him just out of the way and drew up a spear. Frisk gulped.

“Don’t worry, kiddo,” Undyne said. “Lowest setting? Alright? Let’s go! Try to block!” 

She threw the spear and Frisk took it like a punch to the chest, and toppled onto her back. Papyrus yelped and ran to help her up, and Undyne winced.

“Whoops. Uh. You alright?” she asked.

“Fine! Fine.” Frisk stuck her thumbs up as Papyrus gently lifted her and brushed the snow off her hoodie. “Sorry! Lemme try again?”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

The kid nodded. He took a few steps back and wrung his hands. Undyne’s magic swelled again and she threw another spear. This time, Frisk reflexively hopped backwards. She stared at the glowing weapon plunged into the ground and rubbed the back of her head bashfully. 

“Sorry!” she said. “Maybe go a little faster?”

“Are you sure?!” Papyrus asked again.

Frisk nodded and she gave him a bashful smile. “If you wanna toss a few things at me, too, I don’t mind.” 

“Hah! Training under pressure!” Undyne said. “I like it! Let’s go!”

Undyne’s soul pulsed a bright light and those javelins of energy formed around her. She grabbed one in her fist. She braced her boots in the snow and it seemed to steam around her. “ALRIGHT! RAAAAAA GET READY!!!” Undyne launched herself straight at the kid.

Frisk twirled out of the way out of reflex. Undyne spun on her heel and stabbed straight ahead. Frisk’s eye lit blue and she hopped, just enough to not be hit. 

“I s-said just a little faster!” Frisk said.

“Yeah, this is just a little!” Undyne said.

Frisk yelped and ducked under a spear.

“KID, YOU GOTTA TAKE THE HIT!” Undyne said.

“I w-will! Eventually!” Frisk skirted right, then left, as energy flew at her. “It’s just kinda scary!”

Her left eye flickered again and she pulled back and turned, crossing her arms to block her face as a white blur shot straight at her. It slammed, however, into a shimmering shell of red, and then both shattered into glittering dust.

“Heeey!” Undyne grinned bright. “Papyrus, nice!!”

Papyrus, to their side, looked a little bashful and rubbed the back of his skull. “I just thought,” he said, “if it were a surprise it might go? Did I help?”

Frisk merely stared in shock. “I… I did that?” she asked. “Holy crap. L… Let’s go again!”

The attacks came at her in a blur, but even so, she felt a sudden spring of confidence. It was just a feeling, but energy crackling in the back of her mind helped her stay just barely ahead of most of the magic. Like she could feel where it would hit a fraction of a second ahead of time. A spear from above, that shield caught when she reflexively raised her hand; a line of bones arching towards her head jerked still for a moment and then crumbled against it. It wasn’t like she could keep going forever, though— her legs were getting tired, and the whacks she took definitely were leaving bruises. 

She thought, for a second, she saw blue out of the corner of her eye— Sans coming from the house towards them. “Sans!!” she said with a big grin. 

No sooner had she turned, however, did Undyne’s spear strike her in the head and she toppled sideways to the ground with a dull crunching sound. Sans winced.

“SHIT! Kid, you okay?! Sorry!!!” Undyne yelled, bounding over as fast as she could. 

“I’m okay!” Frisk heaved herself up out of the snow and rubbed her head, snickering and putting her hands up. “My bad!”

“GAH! Watch it, alright?!” Undyne grabbed her and put both hands on her head, magic swelling electric blue in her palms. “Damn, kid, you scared me.”

Frisk laughed and sat still. Sans sauntered up and sat beside them, waving at Papyrus as he sprinted over.

“FRISK? You alright?” he asked.

She stuck both thumbs up. He let out a rather shrill sigh and plopped onto his back in the snow with them.

“Hah. Takin’ a page outta my book, huh?” Sans lay down too. “Dig it.”

“You guys seriously tired already? It’s barely even morning yet,” Undyne said. 

“I’m not tired,” Papyrus said quickly, sitting up so fast it was sure to have made his head spin. “In fact—!”

Undyne grabbed his shoulder and pushed him down again. He yelped. 

“Okay. Okay maybe I will stay down here,” he said.

“Good choice,” Sans said. “What’re you guys doing?”

“Weeellll, first we did my training,” Papyrus said, putting his arms behind his head. “Undyne was teaching me some extra energy sensing. Very interesting. Then Frisk ended up blocking an attack with a big shield thing and we thought maybe she could actually learn to use it!”

“Oh yeah? Huh. How’d that work out?”

“Kinda okay!” Frisk said with a grin.

Sans clapped slowly. She snickered. 

“Hey, Undyne,” Papyrus said, “are you busy today?”

“Mmnope, not really, gotta just do my rounds in Waterfall,” she said. “Alph and I talked last night and she figured she should just do a bunch of reading today with those books and whatever you guys pulled out of the lab, so, you know, don’t wanna be a distraction.”

“Ooh. So wait, does that mean we’re free today, too?” Frisk asked.

“Guess so,” Sans said. 

“Ooh! Can we all hang out? Anyone wanna watch _Under Ground Hearts?_” she asked hopefully.

“Oh god, but we’re at season two…” Sans grumbled.

“It’s not that bad,” Frisk said.

“It’s a slog for like ten episodes,” he said.

“Bah! The whole thing is a slog,” Papyrus said.

“We could start it over?” Frisk said. “Undyne, have you seen it?”

“Uh… One or two episodes. I, uh, thought it wasn’t that good?” she said.

“It’s not! That’s the point!” Frisk said. “If you want, come back and watch with us!”

“Oh! Well… Like, I don’t get it, is it funny?” 

“It’s sort of uncynically, earnestly terrible in a way that makes it very funny, in fact,” Papyrus said.

“Oh! Alright, I’m in,” she said. “Paps, wanna come with?”

“DO I?!” He sat straight up, absolutely beaming. “Captain, I’d love to!”

“Great! Just lemme finish up with the kid, here,” she said. “Frisk, how’s that feeling, by the way?” 

“Pretty good,” she said.

Undyne grinned. “Hey, maybe one day I’ll be almost as good as Papyrus!” She seemed to be concentrating very hard. “How’s that? Good to go?”

Frisk was actually still a little bruised, but she smiled anyway. “It’s great! Thank you.”

Undyne seemed pleased and stood up, stretching her back, and then pulled Papyrus to his feet. 

“Okay! We’ll see you two soon!” she said.

Frisk got up and hugged them both goodbye, and then waved as they headed off towards Waterfall. Then, she went back to Sans and grabbed his sleeves and pulled him to sit him up.

“Bro, wanna go back in?” she asked.

“Hm?” He didn’t sound like he was awake at all. 

She snickered and grabbed him into a hug, half to hold him upright before he flopped backwards into the snow again. “C’mon, you can do it,” she said with a laugh. “Hey, wanna go to Grillby’s?”

“Oh. Uh.” He forced his eyes open. “Yeah.”

She grabbed his hands to help him to his feet. “Can I invite Kid to come and to watch stuff, would that be okay?”

“Dude, you don’t gotta ask,” he said. 

Frisk took a detour to Kid’s first as Sans went on ahead, and she knocked on the door. After a few moments, it opened to reveal a slightly serpentine lizard monster: Kid’s mom. Her scales were a similar yellow to his, but a little paler, and she had a row of spikes down from her head to her tail, and little arms with clawed hands, like a dinosaur.

“Can I help you, little one?” she asked.

“H-Hi! I’m Frisk, I’m Kid’s friend,” she said. “I was wondering if he could come over and hang out?”

Kid’s mother tilted her head. “Will your parents be home?”

“Um. We don’t really, um, have parents,” Frisk said, and she gulped when she saw the woman’s brow furrow a little. “B-But my big brother is a grown-up! If… If you’re worried about someone watching out for us.”

“And where do you live?” she asked,

“The, um, the house with the skeleton flag.” She smiled sheepishly. “A-And Captain Undyne will be there. If that helps.”

Kid’s mother looked surprised. She smiled. “Well! I see! Can’t get much safer than that,” she said, and she turned back to the house. “Kid!! Kid, sweetie, your friend Frisk is here!”

Within three seconds, Kid sprinted to the door and ducked around his mother, beaming. Frisk grinned and hugged him right away. He snickered.

“Hiya!” she said. “Wanna come over?”

“Heck yeah I do!” he said.

“Here.” Kid’s mother held gently plunked a brown hat with floppy earflaps over his head. “Stay warm out there, okay? And call if you need anything. And come home at lunchtime.”

“I will, mom,” Kid said.

She leaned down and smooched his cheek. “Have a good time, you two.”

Kid’s face was absolutely alight as they walked down the road.

“Wow, this is great! Usually she doesn’t let me out that fast!” he said. “Sorry about that!”

“Sorry? Don’t be sorry,” Frisk said with a smile.

“She’s kinda overprotective, since… Well, since forever, but… Hey! What’d you tell her?”

“Oh, just that Undyne’ll be at my place,” she said with a wink.

Kid gawked. “No way, really?”

Frisk nodded. Kid beamed.

“Oh my god, that’s so cool, dude!” he said. “Hey, um, where’re we going?”

“Grillby’s for breakfast. Hope that’s okay,” she said.

“Grillby’s?! For BREAKFAST?!” He gawked. “That’s amazing!!!”

Sans was leaning up against a table in the bar. “Hey, ordered for us already, hope that’s alright.”

“W-Wow, thank you!” Kid said. He slipped into the booth and Frisk joined him. 

Sans pushed burgers towards them and grabbed one himself, tapping some ketchup onto the patty. He held it out to them with a brow raised. Frisk shook her head.

“Oh! No thanks,” Kid said. “So, it’s really true, huh? Undyne’s gonna be at your house?” 

“Yeah! We were planning on watching a show that’s really bad-funny, you want in?” she asked.

“Heck yeah I do,” he said.

He took a big bite of his burger and seemed quite happy with it. He looked at Frisk curiously. “Yo, Frisk?”

“Mhm?” she said.

“So, like, I get that you’re probably, um… I mean, you here, it’s kinda a big thing,” he said. “But how’d you get to know all these cool people? How long’ve you been here anyway? Were you in hiding?”

Frisk shook her head. “No, I… Um… Jeez, Sans, how long’s it been?”

“Straight-line? Uh… I lost track, maybe a week?” he said. “Week and a half? I dunno.”

“That’s it?!” Kid barked. “Wait, then, no offence, how are the skeletons your brothers, then?”

“Just are,” Sans said with a shrug.

Frisk grinned and her cheeks flushed. “And… well, it’s a long story. And it’d sound crazy and weird.”

“That’s okay!” Kid assured her.

Sans raised his brows. She smiled and laughed a little. 

“Well. Oh! You know what? Actually, dude, can I try a thing?” she asked. “A magic thing?”

“Oh! I didn’t know you could—! Okay!” 

Frisk grinned and turned, and cupped his face and bumped her forehead gently against his. He snickered. Frisk tried to make those lines on her face glow. Kid seemed to be able to feel something and he squinted, focussing, and, to both their surprise, he blew a bubble out of his mouth. They both laughed.

Frisk waited for a few moments more and then sat back, rubbing her head. “Nothing?”

“I saw a bit of red. Was that it?” he said.

“No, it should be blue,” she said.

“What was I supposed to feel?” he asked curiously.

“Memories.” Frisk pouted and took a bite of her burger. “Dang, I was hoping. Oh well.”

Kid looked confused. Frisk smiled apologetically.

“You gonna tell him?” Sans said.

Frisk rubbed her head. She took a deep breath. “I’m a time traveller,” she said. “You know how… you said, right away, we felt like friends? It’s because we are. Or. We were. Still are. We met three times before this one. I’ve known you for more than a year.”

“Wait, what?!” Kid demanded. “Seriously? Oh man, dude, you’re joking with me, right?”

Frisk shook her head.

“Man, I heard humans had weird powers, but nothing like that!!” he said.

“Just her,” Sans said. “She’s the only one.”

“I’m from a future that went kinda bad. It was good at first. We broke the barrier and everyone was happy, but then something went wrong, and I had to bring us all backwards to fix it. I’m sorry,” she said.

Kid gawked. He looked at Sans for confirmation. Sans shrugged and nodded. Kid stared at his plate with shock. After a few moments, he started to laugh.

“Sheesh, okay,” he said. “That’s nuts, Frisk.”

“Tell me about it,” she said. “I… was hoping maybe you’d remember, but…”

“My bad, probably,” Sans said.

“It’s okay,” Frisk assured him, and she shot Kid a grin. “I’m just super glad we’re still friends.”

“Hah! Duh,” Kid said. “I guess that explains… Okay. This is gonna sound totally sappy, but the first second I saw you walk into town, I just thought, _oh! That’s my friend_. Like. I knew. But I didn’t?”

Frisk beamed and hugged him, and he snickered.

They finished breakfast, Frisk made a stop off at the starlight near the inn— though Kid couldn’t see it— and they headed back to the house. It was still quiet inside, and Frisk flopped down on the couch, puffing out a sigh. Kid snickered.

“Tired, huh?”

“Hah, kinda. Undyne tried to kinda train me this morning? Just kinda kicked my butt actually.”

“What?! Seriously?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty bruised honestly,” she said. “I’m not a fighting person, y’know? I’m more of a… running person. Sometimes a jumping person ”

Kid laughed and sat on the arm beside her and reached into his pocket for a small coin purse. “Um. Mister Sans?”

“Just Sans, dude,” he said.

“Oh! Um, I just wanted to give you some gold for the food?” he said.

Sans scoffed. “Don’t worry, pal, I have a tab.”

“Oh, b-but—!”

“Seriously, it’s fine,” Frisk assured him.

Sans lifted Frisk in his magic and flopped where she had been before plunking her down on him. He flicked on the TV. Cooking show reruns. Kid sighed.

“It’s been the same junk all week,” he said. “Hey, you happen to know Mister Mettaton, too? Can you ask him for newer reruns?”

“I can try,” Frisk said. 

“I was joking,” Kid said, eyes going wide. “Oh my god, dude, do you actually—?”

“Yup,” she said.

Kid gawked. Sans snickered.

“Okay, seriously, how do you know all these people, though?” Kid demanded.

“Um…” She patted herself down, checking for her phone. “Well. Mostly, they tried to kill me, actually.”

“What?! Seriously?!” Kid asked. “You’re not saying Undyne wouldda… No way, she wouldn’t.”

Sans passed her the phone from his pocket and she immediately texted Mettaton, asking if there was any chance for different rerun tapes. 

“Kiddo. Said you’re bruised?” he said.

“Oh, heck yeah.” She held her bangs up for a moment, showing where her skin was much darker where she had been struck in the head. “It’s okay. It’s just Undyne’s not good at human healing yet. She got them to not hurt as much, though.”

“Sheesh,” Kid said with a quiet laugh.

Sans put his hand on her head and his bones glowed gentle magic through her. Couldn’t heal, but it was cool and soothing. Kind of like an ice pack.

Frisk snickered and looked at Kid. “I met everyone my first time down here. More than a year ago, I think. Undyne tried to take my soul, but we became friends when my brother introduced me to her properly. Then, Alphys, she sort of set up a puzzle game for me to do in Hotland? And Mettaton, he was pretending to try to kill me. And then he actually tried to kill me on live TV, it was pretty nuts,” Frisk said. “And I… had to do all that three times, I think. Because… B-Because when I travel backwards, no one but Sans would remember. Now more people remember what happened back then, so it’s all different this time.”

“Wow. Dude. That’s nuts,” he said. “So why’d you end up going backwards anyway?”

“Well. The first time it was because I… I got kinda booted out of the underground after a big fight with someone who stole all the human souls Asgore has,” Frisk said. “Sans helped me come back. He told me I could go back in time to the first day I landed here. Which I did, and it was great. Undid the mess I made by accident, that’s for sure. The second time, I learned how to break the barrier, but it… kinda cost me a friend. The third time I tried to save him. It didn’t really work. Because of that, the timeline ended up going bad and, well, here we are again, I guess.”

“Wow. Sheesh, dude, that’s pretty heavy,” Kid said.

“Sorry,” she said. “I just want everyone to be safe.”

“N-No! That’s okay! Th-Thanks for trusting me.” He smiled. “I mean. That’s all true, right? I… I dunno why, but meeting you four times, somehow that feels right.”

“I’m really happy to hear that. And—” Her sentence cut off at the buzz of her phone. “Oops, sorry.”

When she checked, she had a message from Mettaton, saying that he’d pull through other tapes, and also that he had a surprise for her. She wasn’t sure what else to say but “thank you”, and she sent him a smiley.

“Mettaton says he’ll try,” she said with a grin.

“Kiddo.” Sans sounded half asleep. “Text Paps, huh?”

“Oh. Right, right.” She quickly did just that. “Anyway! Kid. Thanks for not flipping out.”

“So are you, um…? Are you gonna try to bring the barrier down again?” he asked. His eyes were all but glittering.

“That’s the plan,” Sans said. 

“S-So, Sans, have you seen it?” he asked. “The surface. If you remember, you must remember seeing it, right?”

“Some, yeah,” Sans grinned when he saw that hopeful, awed look on Kid’s face. “Get ready for the sky, pal, it’s gonna blow you away.”

\- - -

After the cooking show ended, a newer, music-based gameshow rerun began, making Kid quite happy. Sans, as usual, fell asleep. Frisk was getting close, too, until the front door smashed open. Papyrus and Undyne strode in with some bags of groceries. Kid yelped and slipped onto the couch, and Sans caught him.

“Hey, punks!!!” Undyne said loudly. “We got snacks! OH! Hey, it’s that kid! Hi, Kid, how’s it hanging?”

“F-F-Fine,” he squeaked.

Undyne grinned and stuck her thumbs up, and then began to unload stuff onto the table near the wall.

“Oh-ho! Hello, Kid! Going to join us on this terribly-written adventure?!” Papyrus asked

Kid nodded. Papyrus grinned, but then took one look at Sans and rolled his eyes. He picked him up under his arms and shook him gently.

“BROTHER. WAKE UP.”

“What? I’m totally awake.” Sans rubbed his eyes and grinned. “Sup, bro?”

“I brought you one of those sodas that are just basically syrup from Alphys’s,” he said.

“Huh. Thanks.”

“Ooh, did you see her?” Frisk asked. 

“We did! We invited her, too, but Undyne was right, the Doctor is quite busy,” he said. “But! She promised, she would make some time to hang out a bit later!”

“Yeah! Also. She asked me to do a dump dive,” Undyne said. “Later, though.”

“What’s she need?” Sans asked.

“Dunno, scrap metal I guess,” she said.

Papyrus put him back down and Sans went for the soda.

“Anyone else want?” he asked.

Kid looked like he did, but he didn’t say. Frisk got up and looked at the cans.

“Blue, green, or yellow, Kid?” she asked.

“Oh! U-Um… Blue?” he said.

She grinned and tossed him a can. His face lit up. 

“Mom never lets me get these,” he said as he popped the tab.

“Hah! Well, don’t tell her we let you have it, or she won’t let you come back!” Undyne joked as he took a swig. “But don’t overdo it, alright?”

“Y-Yes, ma’am. Um. C-Captain. Guard Captain.”

Undyne guffawed and dropped to the couch beside him, making him bounce, and she patted his head. “Call me Undyne,” she said. “I’m not on patrol. Heck, I left my armour at home! No formalities, got it?”

He nodded hurriedly, his eyes wide. Starstruck was a good word for it. She grinned. Papyrus plopped Sans back onto the sofa and then ran to set up the TV. 

“I am thinking, maybe we should start looking for a bigger sofa, brother,” Papyrus said.

“What? No way, dude, I spent, like, my whole life on this,” Sans said as Frisk snickered and hopped up beside him.

“But look! We have many friends coming over, now! If I go on there, Kid will not be able to sit!”

“Oh. No problem.” Undyne crossed her legs and scooped Kid into her lap. “There. Good? Good.”

Kid’s eyes were as wide as saucers. He nodded, his scales flushing, and he clutched tight to his soda.

“We can always find another on the surface,” Frisk suggested. “There are whole stores full of just stuff to sit on.”

Sans’s eyes went wide and they all but started sparkling. “Ooh. Oh. Right. There’s… a whole store of just comfy chairs and crap, isn’t there?”

“Heck yeah there is,” she said.

A battered slate with the title of the show and Mettaton’s name listed in every space allotted for the director, producer, and cinematographer popped up on the screen. Someone was telling the camera-monster to shush and Papyrus hopped back to join them, scooping Frisk up into his lap.

The show immediately started with Mettaton, playing the character Susana, sans wig, rolling around what was clearly the lab dressed up like a human mall, humming his own theme-song.

“Pffft, oh my god, is this serious?” Undyne asked.

Frisk grinned. She held up one finger.

“Oh wow, what a glorious day, here in this opulent shopping centre!” Susana said. “I sure hope I will encounter my one true love, Greg, here! For I! Susana! Am clearly the most beautiful and perfect person around! And he would be a fool to not meet me at our prearranged secret smooching spot! Oh ho ho ho ho!” Susana rolled down the “hallway”, which quickly ran out of space. 

There was a jump-cut and she was back at the start again. 

Kid snorted and Undyne made a face. Smash zoom onto Susana, aghast. Then, another smash zoom onto an identical robot, but with a cowboy hat, groping a cardboard box at the corner of the frame. 

“GREG!! HOW DARE YOU!!” Susana cawed.

“HONEY MUFFIN, IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!” he yowled.

The camera zoomed in very quickly on him, and then on her, and then on him again. Frisk started to laugh as the dramatic music that sounded more like a horror music score than anything else began to swell. The title card was held in front of the lens. It was Alphys’s hand. 

Frisk beamed as Undyne burst out laughing.

“Oh shit, dudes!!” she exclaimed. “That’s trash!”

“Super trash,” Kid said, starting to grin. “Is it all like that?”

“Absolutely it is!” Papyrus said.

“HAH! Frickin’ right it is, oh man, I didn’t realize—”

“Shh, shh, they’re gonna slap-fight in a second!” Frisk said.

“But… isn’t Mettaton playing both, how are they gonna?” Kid asked.

“Poorly,” Sans said with a grin.


	33. The Mysterious Red Soul Arc

Around lunchtime, Kid’s mom called him home, much to his chagrin. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves with the show, and, as she walked him home, Kid made Frisk promise that they’d keep watching it another time. She was just so happy that he and Undyne had been having a good time. 

She went back towards the inn again to save, and when she got home, she saw Papyrus squishing Undyne into a tight hug and Sans facedown on the couch. He had lost one of his fuzzy slippers.

“What’d I miss?” she asked.

“Oh! Gotta go see Alph, she asked for a hand with some junk,” Undyne said as she affectionately patted Papyrus’s head. “You guys wanna go dump diving later?”

“Yes! We will meet you there!” Papyrus said. “Just let us know!”

Undyne grinned. She walked over and gave Frisk a hug. “Thanks for inviting me, squirt, now that I’ve seen that dumb thing from the start, I get why you think it’s so funny,” she said. “Oh! Hey! Know what we should do?”

“What?” she asked.

“When we go to the dump… You ever done a dump dive?” She asked, and she grinned when Frisk nodded. “Good! So you know what we do with tapes and junk, right?”

Frisk paused. She didn’t, but Sans did. “We, um, we collect ‘em and watch ‘em?”

“Right! So. If we find anything, tonight maybe we take a look! And I’ll bring my favourite one that I kept, if you wanna see it. Since you shared one of your favourites with me and everything.”

“That sounds awesome,” Frisk said brightly. “Okay!”

Undyne left quite quickly and loudly. Papyrus let out a rather contented sigh and stretched his arms above his head.

“Frisk. I’m sorry, I forgot to ask! Did you end up eating breakfast?” he said.

“Yup,” she said.

He nodded. He sat down beside Sans and sat him up, but the short skeleton almost immediately slumped down again, flopping over Papyrus’s legs, somewhat catlike. Papyrus scoffed, but he gently rubbed Sans’s back anyway. Frisk snickered.

“Gee, he’s out of it, huh?” she said.

“Seems so. As usual,” Papyrus said. “Ooh. While you were gone, he mentioned you tried to glow at Kid. Did it work?”

“Not really,” she said.

“Aw. I’m sorry,” he said. 

Frisk shook her head. “No worries. He knew… something? He knew we were friends. Before we even were in this version of the timeline. So. That’s good enough for me.”

“Really?” Papyrus smiled proudly. “Frisk, I’m so happy that this isn’t bothering you nearly as much.”

“You guys were right,” she said with a smile. “It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty close, you know?”

“I still wish I had known everything the second I saw you.” He had a faint look of regret on his face. “I don’t like the thought that you… That I… Ugh. Awful.”

“Naw, dude, you’re perfect,” she said. She stood up on the cushions to kiss her brother’s cheek. 

He snickered. “My gosh you are so short.”

“Yeaaah, I’m hoping maybe I’ll get at least as tall as Sans when I grow up,” she said. “He’s manageable short, you know? I’m just… I can barely reach the normal counter!”

“Nyeh heh heh! That’s alright. You’re a good lifting size,” he said. “And a good piggybacking size. And hugging size. But aside from that! You’re still quite young. You have plenty of time to get taller.”

“Guess you’re right!” she said.

“Of course I’m right,” he said with a grin. “I’m glad everyone had a good time with that horrible show. I really have a hard time believing it’s not ironic, honestly.”

“Ironic,” she repeated with a faint frown, but then her brain clued in. “Oh! Yeah. I know, right?”

“How many times have you seen it now?” he asked.

“I’ve seen up to the middle of season one like four times,” she said. “I’ve never seen season two, though. We end up putting it off and eventually it gets to the point where I wanna restart it and—”

“Ah, I see, even your TV show watching is caught in a time loop,” Papyrus joked.

“Hah! That’s a good one,” she said.

He grinned proudly.

Papyrus turned his eyes on their brother and his expression went soft. He gently patted his skull. “Did you two dream last night?” he asked.

“Not really,” she said. 

“He never dreams without you, does he?” he asked. “I mean, if you’re both asleep and all.”

Frisk shook her head. Papyrus frowned for a moment, looking thoughtful. 

“I guess it’s just whatever adventure he had last night, then,” he said. 

“Adventure?” Frisk repeated.

“Mhm. I went downstairs to give you your phone and… Oh, mom called, by the way. Anyway, I went downstairs where I left you and Sans right here on the sofa and he was gone, so I brought you up to bed.”

“Huh. Weird,” she said. “Did you have a good talk with mom?”

He smiled and nodded. He looked rather bashful all of a sudden. “I think I love her. Is that normal?”

Frisk stared blankly for a moment before bursting out laughing.

“Hm? What’s so funny?” Sans asked quietly.

“Hah! Oh man. Sorry, Sans,” Frisk said. “Paps said he loved mom.”

“Oh. Heh.” He sat back up slowly and rubbed his head, giving Papyrus a sleepy grin. “I’d be worried if you said you didn’t, bro.”

“I am confused,” he said. “Is this some big revelation? Oh no, did I break a time thing?”

“No, no,” Frisk assured him. “No. That’s good you remember at least that.”

“Really? Is it? That’s good,” Papyrus said.

“Yup, probably a good thing to remember your mom,” Sans laughed.

“Hm? My mom? Frisk’s mom,” Papyrus said. “Our mom?!”

“Basically,” Sans said with a shrug. “Once this is done. Trust me, dude, she’ll love you the minute she sees you.”

“Ooh! Blown away by the great Papyrus, huh?” he asked.

“Who wouldn’t be?” Frisk asked. “I was.”

Papyrus’s cheeks flushed and he cackled, pleased.

Frisk was about to ask Sans where he had gone last night but before she could, there was a jarring smashing sound. She immediately clung to him, the hair on her neck standing on end, her heart pounding. Before any of them could react, their front door was slammed open and Mettaton, conspicuously covered in a robe, or dress, that was blue and covered in sequins, rolled in, followed by a monster completely concealed under all the fancy bags he was carrying. 

“Hello, darlings!!” Mettaton announced, and he whirled on the walking tower of bags. “Yes, just here.”

The bags all but collapsed and an arm struggled out from underneath after a few seconds.

“Sheesh, Mettaton,” Frisk laughed. She hopped off the sofa.

“Oh, come now, he can do it himself, he’s not a child,” he said.

Frisk rolled her eyes, grabbed the monster’s hand, and and pulled. “C’mon, you can do it!”

Panting, a cat monster heaved himself out. He seemed almost too nervous to even look Frisk in the face. “S-Sir, am I getting overtime for this?” he asked.

“Pah! Of course not, now, shoo shoo,” Mettaton said.

“Aw c’mon, Mettaton, you could at least give him an overtime, whatever that is,” she said. “Look at all this!”

Mettaton flipped his hood back dramatically and whirled on them. “I will. Consider. It.” He pushed the cat out the door. “Go go go!”

“Remember when I said your staff like me more than you,” Sans said. “That’s why.”

“Pshaw!” Mettaton slammed the door, spun, and in a poof of magic, took the more humanoid form and stretched his arms high. “Nonsense. Anyway.”

“Ooh! You should have called,” Papyrus said. “I would have made a fresh batch of spaghetti! Would you like some now?”

“Uh, no, thank you, honey. Actually. I would like to talk to Frisk. Privately. If that’s alright?”

“Not a chance,” Sans said, leaning back against the arm of the couch and kicking his feet up. “Who knows what a weird guy like you’d say to her.”

“Ugh. Seriously?” he asked.

“Nah. I’m just not feelin’ super inclined to move, I’m half asleep anyway,” he said.

“Well! I will make the spaghetti anyway, who knows, you might change your mind!” Papyrus said.

He bounced off to the kitchen and Mettaton quickly grabbed Frisk and showed her to the many things he brought, kneeling beside her as he pulled through those fancy bags.

“Now let me just say, I spared no expense. We’ve got some glaaaaamburgers in here, and a some nice bubbly drinks, and some cute little outfits, and—”

“Um, Mettaton, that’s really great and everything,” Frisk said, her smile apologetic, “I appreciate the effort, but I don’t really need you to give me all this stuff.”

“But I want to! Honestly,” Mettaton said. “Now, look, see, I’m sure this gown matches your eyes, and… Oh. Wait. Th-They’re brown? I could’ve sworn they were…? Did you change your eye colour?! Oh goodness, I—”

“Mettaton, seriously,” Frisk said with a laugh, holding him by the shoulders. “What’s all this?”

“Ooooh, nothing, just a bit of, um…” He noticed Sans giving him a stare from across the room. “Well. I’m, um. Okay. If I’m honest, I’m trying to buy your forgiveness?”

“…Huh?” Frisk gave him a confused smile. “Well, um, you don’t have to.”

“I do. I do, honey,” he said. “I mean. I… I screwed up really badly. Now! I know what you might be thinking. Can a famous super-star and grown, responsible adult really have made such a mistake? To your young mind, maybe not, but I assure you. Even someone as sparkling, and fantastic, and talented as myself might make a bit of a slip up.”

“Okay,” Frisk said.

“What I am trying to say, dear little human child, is that… I lied to you.” He put a hand to his head dramatically. “I. Was the one. To kidnap Asriel. I am sorry.”

“Huh?” Frisk’s eyes went wide and she sort of recoiled. “But you said—”

“Yes. Hence the lying. I just… When I saw that look on your face, I… I couldn’t bring myself to admit it,” he said. “And then I hurt your feelings, and I lied about knowing where he was, and I should not have done that.”

Frisk frowned a little. “But… you were going to say, weren’t you?”

“Well, yes, of course I was, but I was so embarrassed and—”

“Oh!” Frisk grabbed him by the shoulders. “Wait a sec! You did the basement power too, right? That’s why.”

“Wh-Wha—?”

“To get our attention,” she said, “because you were too embarrassed to say what you did.”

Mettaton stared at her quietly for a few seconds, but he began to smile, especially as she wore a proud grin on her face. “Frisk. You are very clever. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Well, that was really kinda stressful and freaky, and not to mention it freaked Alphys out that someone broke into the lab, and you’re kind of a butt for lying about it, but,” she said, “I do forgive you. But you should say sorry to Alphys. She was really worried about someone breaking in. If it was just you, that’s a lot less scary.”

Mettaton laughed. He hugged her. “Thanks, sweetie.” 

“We’re going dump diving later, you wanna come with?” she asked. “Maybe you could find a good sorry gift for Alphys? Or maybe, um, one of these bags?”

“Hah! Darling. I’d love to, but the filth and me simply do not agree at this stage in my production. And Alphys… I very much do need to apologize, though she is never going to let me hear the end of it.”

“Do you want some help?” Frisk asked.

“Oh! No no no, darling, no, it’s nothing to worry yourself with,” he assured her. He patted her head and stood up, and then whirled around and transformed back into a rectangle. He pulled his sequinned hood up. “Now! I must slip away discreetly!” he announced rather loudly. “I will! Talk to you! All! Later! Ta-taaaa and bon voyage!!” He raced out like a whirlwind.

Frisk stared after him for a moment and then went to close the door. She looked at all the bags in the living room. “Bone… voyage?” she repeated to herself quietly.

“Was that supposed to be a disguise or somethin’?” Sans wondered. 

Frisk shrugged. She pulled out a rather flowery dress that was much too large for her. She didn’t think it suited her at all. She put it back and rubbed the back of her head.

“Hey!” Papyrus peeked out of the kitchen. “Did he leave? Oh! Frisk! You look a little dismal, what happened? It sounded like he apologized, though?”

“Still didn’t tell the whole truth, I think,” she said.

“What?! What do you mean?” Papyrus asked. “I thought everything was okay now?”

Frisk shrugged and nodded, but she looked a little pouty as she sat back down on the couch. 

Sans gave her a look. “Need a hug?” he asked.

“Yeah.” 

He lifted her in his magic and plopped her on top of himself, and she settled into his arms right away. 

“It’s okay,” she said. “Hah. Alphys is gonna tear that poor guy up.”

“You mad at him?” he asked.

“No, I just wish he told the truth,” she said. “But. I guess that’s up to him. That’s okay, it’s no real harm done, huh?”

“I don’t get it,” Papyrus said. “I thought he did, though?”

“Nah. You can, um, see it in people’s faces a lot of the time, you know,” Frisk said. “The way the eyes move. Or the mouth and eyebrows a little. Heh, even with a robot face!”

Papyrus still looked confused.

“She gave him an out, bro,” Sans said.

The tall skeleton tilted his head. He sat down with them, still looking thoroughly puzzled.

“He didn’t really turn the power off to get us to go downstairs,” she explained. “See, he would’ve just messed with the lights if that were true, right? He probably was really trying to keep us from going down there instead, since the elevator was messed up. And then I bet he’d show up in a day or whatever, tell us where Asriel was, and then everything would be cool. He could keep pretending it was Mister Mystery Monster that did it. He didn’t know we were going down there for books anyway.”

“Good job,” Sans said.

She laughed, but she sounded tired.

“That is wholly irresponsible,” Papyrus said with a frown. “From a celebrity! I expected better!”

Frisk shrugged and she poked Sans’s shoulder gently. “When’d you figure out?”

“Talked to Snowdrake,” he said. “Found a phone he left to give them instructions to mess with stuff. Still wasn’t a hundred percent sure of the motives, though. Sorry. Should I have said?”

“You wanted to call him out and get him to say sorry,” Frisk said. “Right?”

“Mhm. Jeez, you’re on point today,” Sans said with a grin.

She laughed. “Been in your head, I think I can guess you pretty well, huh?”

“Wait, so why’d you tell him a much nicer version of the thing he did?” Papyrus asked. “Why didn’t he correct you?”

“Ego,” Sans said. “Bet you were hopin’ he would, huh, kiddo?”

“I didn’t really expect him to,” she said. “He does all kinds of crazy things to save face. One time, in the future, instead of admitting he got the colours wrong on one of his outfits for the show— and like, really really super wrong, too— he went in and rainbow painted a gritty sci-fi future set at like, four in the morning and pretended the whole time it was part of some big art piece. It was pretty funny.”

“How’d that turn out?” Sans asked. “Oh. Wait. Terrible.”

“Terrible!” Frisk agreed, but she was smiling pretty wide now. “It was kind of fantastic.”

“So wait, I’m confused, are you upset or not upset, little sister?” Papyrus asked worriedly.

“Well, I’m a little disappointed, but it’s not a big deal, I’ll be okay,” she said with a laugh. “Anyway, things are on track, I think!And now we can watch terrible TV all day! Until Undyne calls us and stuff.”

“That’s quite good, actually, since now you live with us and I’m absolutely sure mom will visit after we defeat the barrier, we will probably need a little bit more cutlery. Right, brother?” Papyrus said.

“Guess so,” Sans said.

“Ooh! And maybe we’ll find more of those soldier models and such!! Or some new books! OOH! Or maybe. A new type. Of pasta! To take to a converter! Wouldn’t that be something?”

“Yup, hopin’ some human whipped a sealed pack of uncooked noodles down a waterfall in a fit of rage,” Sans said with a grin.

“It could happen!” Papyrus insisted as he stood up and headed back for the kitchen.

Frisk snickered. She cuddled up to her brother and he put a hand on her head, patting her hair lazily. She could have fallen straight to sleep.

After another minute or so, she sat up. “Thanks,” she said. “I should call mom.”

“Good idea,” he said.

“But I don’t wanna move,” she said.

“I know that feel.”

She sighed and reluctantly rolled off him and onto the floor, and then wandered upstairs, kneading her eye. 

Sans really didn’t feel like moving either. Eventually, he slid onto the floor and wandered around the sofa, looking for his slipper. Once he found it, he turned his attention on the mountain of bags now almost blocking the front door. There were a lot of glamburgers. They were mostly made of sequins and glitter; he had no idea who would want to eat those. Mettaton thought it was mimicking fancy human food, but now Sans knew that was absolutely not the case. 

The bags also had clothes. Dresses, he guessed. Flowery, frilly things. For some reason, he didn’t think they were really the kid’s style.

“Brother, are you scrounging through Frisk’s things?” Papyrus asked.

“Yup,” he said.

“Shouldn’t you ask first?”

“Why?” Sans said. “I know the answer.”

“But Saaaanss!”

Sans rolled his eyes. “Hey, kiddo, can I look through your junk?” he called.

“Yeah, of course, you know you don’t need to ask!” she replied.

Papyrus peeked out of the kitchen and Sans grinned and shrugged. 

“Huh, how strange, that dress matches your eyes,” Papyrus said. “It’s sort of cute.”

“Not my size,” Sans said with a wink. “Hm. Maybe Alphys’d want this junk.”

“Frisk would not?” Papyrus said.

“Doubt it,” Sans said. 

“Is any of it very thick? We could make some nice scarves, maybe!” Papyrus said.

“Dunno, it’s mostly the flimsy fancy city stuff,” Sans said. “But. If you think of somethin’ to do with it, go ahead.”

“I will! Thank you!” He went back into the kitchen. “The next great concoction of master chef Papyrus is almost complete!”

Sans still didn’t know what to do with the bags. He half thought about moving them, but instead flopped back down onto the couch on his face. He lay there until Papyrus picked him up, sat him back down. He gave him a plate and a fork. 

“Well?” Papyrus asked as Sans tried it. “Good? Excellent? Fantastic?”

“I like it a lot, bro,” Sans said. “Thanks.”

Papyrus beamed. “Getting better, right?!”

“Every time,” Sans said.

“Nyeh heh heh heh!!” Papyrus sat down with him and his own plate of spaghetti. “I wish Mettaton hadn’t made such a mess.”

“Mhm,” he said.

“Because now I am going to have to clean it up,” Papyrus said with a frown.

“Shame,” Sans said.

Papyrus cut his eyes at him, and then sighed and put a big forkful of spaghetti in his mouth.

Frisk came back downstairs a little after they had finished, awkwardly trying to run a brush through the back of her hair.

“Good chat?” Sans asked.

“Yup! Mom’s doing good,” she said.

“You see all this junk?” he asked.

“Just a bit,” she said. “Mettaton’s kinda nuts, huh?”

“Mhm.”

“Oh!! Let me get you some lunch!!” Papyrus said, racing to the kitchen.

Frisk smiled fondly and sat back on the sofa. She pointed at her head. “Do you see any twigs?”

“Uh… No?” he said. “Why?”

“I got all chucked around!” she said with a laugh. “I found one upstairs. I didn’t realize I was such a mess.”

“Didn’t notice,” Sans said with a grin.

Frisk snickered, and she beamed when Papyrus gave her a plate. “Thanks, bro!” she said brightly, and then gave him a hopeful smile. “D’you think you could help me out?”

“OF COURSE! What do you need?!”

She held out the brush. Papyrus looked at it with confusion and turned it over in his hands, running his fingers through the bristles.

“What do I do with it?” he asked.

“Do you think you could just brush the back of my hair?” she asked. “I kinda have a hard time reaching right.”

Papyrus looked surprised; like there were gears whirring in his head. He lifted her up, then sat her down with him on the floor. He hesitated for a few seconds, then ran the brush through her hair once. “Is that… right?”

“Yup, just that, until it’s not so sticky-outty,” she said. “This spaghetti is great, by the way.”

“Hmmmm…” Papyrus stalled for just a few seconds longer, but then began to brush. “This is helping?”

“Yup! Thanks a million, bro,” she said.

After just a few seconds, Papyrus’s eyes were all but shimmering. Sans gave him a look and tried not to laugh. He leaned back on the couch and put his arms behind his head. 

“Think you just blew his mind a little, dude,” he said.

“Hm? Really?” Frisk asked.

“Nnnnno. Maybe? I don’t, uh…” His cheekbones flushed a little. “I think I like doing this?”

Frisk snickered. “Oh! Jeez. I’m sorry, I guess this is my first time asking you this time.”

“Oooh, alright, okay. No. That’s fine. This is pleasant,” he said. “…Hair is interesting, isn’t it?”

“I guess so,” she said.

“I think I have also just realized I really don’t know very much about humans at all,” he said.

“That’s okay, welcome to the club,” Frisk said with a smile.

“There’s a club?! Oh boy. Humans must indeed be very confusing,” Papyrus said. “Especially if even you are in it, Frisk!”

Sans snickered. “She’s kinda like us like that, you know? But she’s still just a little kid. Not meanin’ to sound condescendin’, kiddo, but most people at that age only really got their own experiences and yours are kinda outta the ordinary, I’m guessin’.”

“Gosh, I hope so,” Frisk said.

“Really? Why?” Papyrus asked curiously.

“Oh. Well, it’s just…” Frisk’s face flushed a little. “I didn’t have anyone to teach me stuff. I learned by watching strangers. I hope that’s not normal, because it wasn’t much fun.”

“So you really, really really had no parents, no anything, up there?” Papyrus asked worriedly, and Frisk shook her head. “I… don’t understand. Ooh! Frisk. Maybe that’s why you needed to end up with us! Because we also had no parents. We can definitely empathize, I think.”

“Hah. Thanks, Papyrus,” she said with a smile.

She put her empty plate down on the floor and Papyrus brushed her hair for a little bit longer. It felt nice. When he finished, he put the brush aside and then began to poke around her neck and the back of her head with curious fingertips. He cupped the sides of her head and carefully pushed her ears forward with his thumbs. She giggled.

“Bendy,” he commented.

He pulled her in closer and rested his chin on her head somewhat lazily. She snickered and, to her surprise, his fingers almost automatically went to that bruise on her head and lit up. 

“Undyne didn’t quite get it yet?” he asked.

“She’ll get there, I’m sure,” Frisk said with a grin. “Thanks.”

“Would you like to help me sort through this mess after?” he asked.

“Yeah, okay.” She looked at the bags and smiled nervously. “I hope Mettaton won’t be offended if I wanna get rid of, like… all of it?”

Sans snickered sleepily.

“That’s alright, we can donate some! Or! I heard rumours there’s a strange village in Waterfall where these cat-dog-somethings will buy odd things, so maybe that’s an option?” Papyrus said.

“The Tem Village?” Frisk said. “Been there. Always felt kinda bad because there was a Tem there who was allergic to me!”

Papyrus snickered. “A Tem? Is that what you call them?”

“I think so,” Frisk said. “They’re pretty nice!”

“Are they cats or dogs?” he wondered.

“I think maybe both,” Frisk said.

Once he was done and her bruises were mended, they turned to the bags. Glamburgers were thrown into a pile immediately. Papyrus pulled out each gown and dress to show Frisk, but each time, she shook her head. He almost couldn’t believe it.

“This one?” He held up a pink flowery gown and she shook her head, and then pulled out one that was similar, but purple and sparkly. “No? This one?” 

Frisk shook her head again. Papyrus pulled up the last one, a fancy black and white dress covered in ribbons.

“This?!”

“Nuh-uh.”

“You don’t like any of them?!” he demanded. “What clothes do you like?!”

“I like what Sans wears,” Frisk said brightly.

“WHAT?! But it’s so plain and lazy!” Papyrus said.

“I dunno, I think it’s nice and cozy,” she said with a bashful smile. “Ooh and I like my blue shirt with the pink stripes, it’s kinda cozy, too”

“HMMMM.” Papyrus rubbed his chin. “All. Cozy. Are you just terrified of being cold, little sister?”

“I definitely like being warm,” she said, and she laughed. “Why d’you think I want to be hugged like ninety percent of the time?”

Papyrus grinned. “Alright, alright, I get the picture. Hey! Maybe we’ll find you something in the dump today, who knows?”

He tossed the last dress into the rejected pile and went to the next to last bag. Inside were some clear plastic cups filled with what looked like ice-cream and glittery stars.

“Ooh! Ooh. Those are actually good,” she said. “How many’d he leave?”

“Ten, I think,” he said.

“Ooh! You should try one,” Frisk said brightly. She grabbed one and handed him another, and then scampered over to Sans. “Big bro, you want a starfait?”

“Hm?” he mumbled.

“Starfait?” She held it out with a grin as he opened one eye. “Mettaton left something that isn’t the worst. I think you’d like it!”

“…Alright. Thanks.”

She gave it to him and snickered gleefully as she ran to the kitchen. She returned with spoons for everyone. “Paps, it might be a little too sweet for you, buuuut they’re pretty good.”

Sans tried his. Seemed pleased. “Hm. Haven’t had this in a long time. They used to suck.”

Frisk laughed and took a big spoonful. Papyrus also tried one. He tilted his head.

“The little star bits are nice,” he said.

“Mhm! You know,” Frisk said as she ate, “I had to go through so many of these. When I did the battle with Mettaton the last few times I was here. You guys watched that, right?”

“Every time,” Sans said. “Even when you got stomped the first few times, huh?”

Frisk laughed.

“Wait, you got…?! Oh no, don’t tell me he killed you, too!” Papyrus said shrilly.

“Don’t worry, almost everyone did at least once,” she said, and she winked, “except you.”

“Well of course, I’d never!!” he said. “Who kills their own little sister?! Awful!!!”

“Exactly! Anyway. So, I found out having the MTT stuff with me and pulling it out while Mettaton was trying to kill me, it would just make the audience go totally nuts. And Mettaton, he’d get distracted by the ratings, y’know? So. I’d do that. That was a ton of starfaits. And glamburgers. Ugh.” She laughed again. “If I never eat another one, that’ll be just fine with me.”

“Why? What’s wrong with them?” Papyrus asked.

“They feel really weird on my teeth!” she said. “I mean, try one if you want but it’s not great.”

“Yeah, you’d think they’d clue in that just ‘cause it’s edible doesn’t mean it’s food,” Sans joked.

“Well let me try…” Papyrus unwrapped one and turned it over in his hands, inspecting the purple bun and twinkling surface cautiously. “Well, it’s sparkly, that’s something.”

Frisk winced preemptively as Papyrus took a bite with a disconcerting crushing sound. Her brother cringed instantly, gulped heavily, and looked at the thing like it was somehow offensive. 

“I. See. Your. Point.” He tossed it pointedly at the other bags of them. “BLECH. BEGONE.”

Sans laughed. “Hopefully you don’t start coughin’ up sparkles, bro.”

“Hopefully not!!” He poured his starfait into his mouth. “Bleh.”

He got up and cleaned up the clothing, shoving it all into one bag, and then scooped up Frisk. They watched TV for a while. Sans fell asleep promptly after finishing the dessert. Papyrus was watching the reruns with interest, seeing as he’d only seen this particular one ten times. Frisk had almost drifted off, too, when her phone buzzed. She groggily checked it. Message from Kid.

“_hey, so my mom wants to keep me home for the afternoon >_< sorry i won’t be back today, but thanks for hanging out and thanks to your brothers and undyne for being so cool!_”

“_no problem! we’re gonna do a dump dive soon, need anything?_” Frisk replied.

“_hang on_”

Frisk browsed the UnderNet while she waited. Alphys had posted a rather dramatic message on her wall:

“_Sometimes you just don’t know WHO TO TRUST… Anyone else ever feel like that?! OMG…_”

Frisk winced. She rubbed her head. She heard Papyrus make an inquisitive noise over her shoulder and she held up the screen to show him.

“Oh my.” He pulled out his phone, too. “I will send her some words of encouragement!”

Frisk got another text and she checked it quickly.

“_if you find any plates or maybe any camera parts? mom says ours is on its way out_” Kid said.

“_cool! need any dresses or whatever? just ended up with some. they’re from the city and stuff_”

“_omg my mom might like! thanks frisk_”

The kid grinned to herself. On UnderNet, there was an abrupt outpouring of sympathy for Alphys’s dramatic predicament. Frisk hoped the lizard could forgive Mettaton.

\- - -

Undyne called them up after a little while. She was with Alphys; told them to get started without her and she’d meet them at the dump. Papyrus knew exactly what to do. He got a big, well-worn backpack and a change of clothes for everyone, along with some old socks for cushioning and plastic baggies.

Frisk was excited. She hadn’t really been on an organized dump dive in a long time, but she had always liked it. Finding helpful items from things others had disregarded was very satisfying. It was familiar to her.

The dump was a place that must’ve seen countless visitors over the years. It was a little like a human time capsule, in a way. You could find things from decades ago at the bottom of a well concealed trash pile. At the same time, it seemed prudent to check the place often, because new things would often wash in before being brushed down into black chasms if they found nothing to slow them, or no hands to lift them up.

In front of the dump, Frisk ditched her sweatshirt so as not to get it filthy, and with much prodding from Papyrus, Sans did as well. 

“Alright! Siblings!” Papyrus announced. “Before we go in! Our main goals are, kitchen supplies! Any clothes! Anything you see that someone you know would like! And especially! Books and disks and tapes of any kind! Anything else?”

“Plates and camera stuff, for Kid’s family,” Frisk said.

“Ooh! Alright! We will keep that in mind! Any questions?”

“When’s lunch?” Sans asked.

“SANS. WE. ALL. ALREADY. ATE!” Papyrus said.

Frisk snickered.

“Second lunch?” Sans suggested.

“We can get more food after! You just had ice cream!” Papyrus said.

Sans shrugged and grinned, and Papyrus scoffed and gently prodded him.

“Take off your slippers.”

“Ew,” Sans said.

“They will be soggy and gross like stinky wet puppies, Sans, and you will be miserable. I told you to bring boots. Frisk, you at least brought boots?”

“Sans gave me his boots!” Frisk said, pointing at the rubber boots on her feet that were too big and went up to her knees as Sans grumbled and tossed his slippers in the dry pile.

Papyrus sighed. “Add boots to the list! Frisk or Sans sized. Good to go? Alright!” 

He all but tossed Sans into the dump and Frisk waddled in after him. The water was cold and quite deep on her, and the boots filled up almost right away. She shivered.

“Ewww ew ew ew!” She hurried back out and took them off, dumping the water out. “Sorry, Sans! These aren’t gonna work for me, you want ‘em back?”

“Nope. I’m already used to water goin’ between my leg bones.”

“Eeeeyuck,” Frisk laughed. She rolled up her shorts and then waded back in.

“Okay, Frisk, be extra careful then with your squishy feet, if you step on anything that cuts just scream right away and I will toss you straight back to shore!” Papyrus said. 

“Thanks, dude. I think I’ll be okay.” She winked. “I’m pretty good at stuff with garbage.” She waded through to a big pile of junk and clung to it cautiously, then clambered up it to start sorting from the top.

“Careful you don’t fall,” Papyrus said shrilly.

She stuck her thumbs up.

It didn’t take her long at all to set aside some plates and a bowl. Or, more accurately, the two halves of one bowl. The plates were also chipped around the edges, but other than that and the tacky bumble bee design on them, they looked just fine.

“Paps!” she called.

He ran over in an instant, and she showed him what she found. He grinned. “Nice find, little sister!” He took them and gently placed them in a plastic bag and cushioned them with socks. “Kid will be so happy!”

Frisk grinned proudly and he bounded away through the water.

The kid looked over at Sans, who was sluggishly picking out what looked like might be old CDs. 

“Finding anything, bro?” she called.

He shrugged. “We’ll see.

From her vantage point, she watched Papyrus dragging out a piece of an old bed frame and a dented fridge door. Scrap metal, she guessed. He dug back into a pile almost as tall as he was. Frisk carefully climbed back down into the cold water and started to wade. Her foot slipped on something and she yelped and barely had time to splutter in the water before blue latched onto her soul and she was floated up and out of the cold. She grinned bashfully and Sans held in a laugh.

“Nice,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said.

He gently let her down again and she reached in to find what had been so oddly smooth below her. “Careful,” Sans said.

“You got me,” she said with a grin.

“…Yeeeeah, I do.”

She laughed, then took a deep breath and squatted down, going a little under the water as she grasped the edge of whatever it was. She pulled it; it was a bit stuck. She went up for air, and then tried again, and managed to yank out the corner of what looked like a yellow road sign. It had a shark on it.

“Heya! Take a look,” she said. “For Undyne?”

“Oooh! Look at that!” Papyrus hopped over and gently took it from her. “Perfect!” 

He ferried it away and Frisk brushed her wet hair from her face.

“Yuck,” she muttered.

Sans laughed. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Thinkin’ of checking a little farther back, wanna come with?”

“Heck yeah I do!” she said.

She followed him deeper into the dark and the water, and he lit his eye up blue, setting the little ripples forming as they moved aglow. He plopped himself down at one lump of trash with soggy, torn cushions marking the top, and from where they stood, Frisk could almost make out that hole Undyne had kicked through a wall the last time they were there.

“Don’t go too far, huh?” he said. “Gets deep in bits.”

“Got it!” she assured him. She waded back and started to climb another pile when she slipped a little. She clung and felt some squishy cloth. She took a peek at it curiously. 

A sleeve. Her eyes lit up. She went back down into the water and gently started pulling it out. A hoodie. Old, a little rough, but she was shocked to realize she recognized it.

“Oh. Oh my god.” Frisk began to beam. “Sans. Sans Sans Sans.” She pulled the black and white hoodie out of the junk and ran it over to him. 

He took it in his hands and was startled— pleasantly so— to see that it had the worn pattern of cartoonish, stylized skeleton bones on it. “Hey, skeleton-themed. Thanks, kiddo. That’s really cool.”

“No problem, it’s yours,” she said. “See how that front pocket is a little torn?”

He looked at it and nodded. “Totally fixable,” he said.

“Not just that,” she said. “We found you the same one in the future. I guess it’s been sitting here for a while!”

Sans grinned. “That’s cool. Yeah, I can see that. I like it,” he said. “Paps, you see this?” He lifted up the hoodie.

Papyrus beamed. “Wow! That’s so cool! I guess some humans must really like skeletons!”

“Found anything you like?” Frisk asked.

“Wellll, there are a few cool little battle figurines,” he said. “One of them’s missing an arm, but that’s okay! And I found us two new mugs annnnd… Sans, something I think you might like!” He held out a slightly soggy book with a torn, black cover with a picture of space on it.

Sans’s face lit up. “Thanks, dude.”

Papyrus grinned and put it in his backpack. “Frisk, don’t forget, pick up any old tapes or disks you find,” he said, “even if they don’t have any labels, we’ll go through them afterwards.”

“Sounds good to me,” she said.

“HEY PUNKS, you still in here?” Undyne shouted from somewhere in the dark.

“YES WE ARE,” Papyrus called back.

They heard sloshing and splashing, and Undyne came into view with a big grin on her face and a small backpack over her shoulder. “Good haul?”

“I think so!” Frisk pulled free a disk with broken, sharpie lettering on it. “Alphys okay?”

“Mhm. Little bit pissed. Guess you know?”

“Do we ever,” Sans said.

“Honestly, I almost punched that dude out,” she said. “But. Squirt. You’re not mad?”

“Nah,” she said. “Got no time! Gotta find junk.”

“HAH! Good attitude. Alright. Forget it,” Undyne said.

“Looking for anything?” Frisk asked.

“Mugs. And music, I guess. Oh and I need some new spoons.”

“Ooh! I found some mugs, take one of these!” Papyrus showed her the two mugs, one slightly chipped that read _Life’s a Beach_ and another with some cartoon cats on it. “Either one, take your pick.”

“Well. I’ve always wanted to see a proper beach,” Undyne said with a grin, taking the mug gently and putting it in her bag. “Thanks, Paps. Owe ya.”

“Think nothing of it!” he assured her.

\- - -

They came away with a pretty nice haul. As everyone cleaned up at Undyne’s and shoved their scrounging clothes in the wash, they laid out the stuff they had found on the floor. Papyrus sorted through it, Frisk sticking close, as Undyne made tea and Sans took his time in the shower. Frisk was still a little chilly, but her striped sweatshirt and periodically sneaking under Papyrus’s arm were both very helpful.

“Okay! So we have… seven disks of some sort. A… tape? Two tapes! Ooh, maybe a movie!” Papyrus said. “We have… Spoons! Undyne, you can take all of these.”

“Thanks a ton,” she said.

“And the shark sign!” he said. “Frisk found it! For you!” 

“That’s super cool, I’ll shove it on my wall.” Undyne beamed. “Thanks, squirt.”

Frisk stuck her thumbs up as Papyrus checked through their things, counting quietly.

“Annnd… three more mugs, Undyne, how many would you like?”

“Just one, you guys have more people in the house,” she said.

Frisk moved the spoons and a mug with some abstract spaces of colour and triangles on it to Undyne’s pile. 

“Now, let’s see…” Papyrus began to shuffle things around. “These comics to Alphys, I think, annnnd, some metal bits, also for Alphys. Think she would like any of these forks or knives?”

“Give her the knives, she can use the metal. She doesn’t use forks,” Undyne said.

“Okay! We will take the forks! And then there’s a sweatshirt for Sans, and—”

“And I found this hat for you!” Frisk pulled out a red and black plaid nightcap with a little pom-pom on the end. “If you want it.”

“I do! Thank you, Frisk,” he said, putting it on immediately. “It matches my pyjama pants! Great find, little sister!”

She grinned and then heaved out a few more t-shirts from the pile. Most of them were in decent condition, but designs were faded and often some seams were torn. She put a few in Undyne’s pile, then some in Alphys’s and then shoved more back with Papyrus’s things.

“Whoa, dude, you found that many?” Undyne asked. “Thanks!”

“I think they’ll fit!” she said. “I found you some cool stuff, I think!”

“So this isn’t your first run, huh?” Undyne asked.

“Naw,” Frisk said. “It’s… Actually. I really like doing this with you guys. Back where I came from— like, before I met any of you— I used to do something like this. But on my own. And I was always so embarrassed. But this, this is really fun actually. It’s like treasure hunting now.”

“Why was it embarrassing before?” Papyrus asked worriedly. “What, don’t tell me humans don’t go through their dumps for things.”

“Well… humans without money or houses do,” Frisk admitted. “And other humans kind of, um, look down on those people.”

Papyrus frowned. “How wasteful!”

“Yeah, I know, right?” Frisk said. “And the food people would throw out, you wouldn’t even believe! Like, bakeries and stuff? They throw out stuff that’s just a day old! So… dumpster donuts?”

“Wait, why would they throw out food at all?” Papyrus asked shrilly.

“Well… human food does actually get gross eventually, you know? Not like the food here,” she said. “But bakery things, usually they’re still okay after a day or so, they just get kinda hard.”

“Wait, kid, you didn’t have a house?” Undyne asked. “You… took stuff other people threw away?”

Frisk nodded. Undyne looked a little stunned. She passed out the cups of tea and then sat down with Frisk, frowning faintly and staring her in the face.

“I just realized,” she said, “I don’t know a damn thing about where you come from.”

“It’s not all that important,” Frisk admitted. “It… wasn’t very fun up there for me, you know? I like it better here.”

“You like it better trapped under a big frickin’ mountain?” Undyne asked.

“Yeah,” Frisk said. “A lot better.”

“Actually, come to think of it, I don’t really know that much about that either,” Papyrus said. “Why have we never talked about this?”

“It’s really not that interesting,” Frisk said.

“Where did you come from, anyway?” Undyne asked.

“Oh. Um. Just some small town, I guess,” Frisk said. “North, I think. You could only see the mountain a little from there. I walked for a long time to get here. If I never ever see that place again, that’d be okay with me.”

“That… sounds so lonely.” Papyrus’s voice was soft and he held her little hand. “But… I don’t understand. You’re so nice. And… And how could you have no one?”

“Yeah, it kinda sucked,” she said with a laugh. “But that’s okay! I have you guys now. That old stuff doesn’t matter anymore.”

“I don’t get it,” Undyne said with a frown, folding her arms. “Kid, no offence, but you’re tiny. You’re… really young. Did no human just pick you up and say, you know, come stay with me? Let me give you a coat? I mean, for god’s sake, they just let you wander around and eat food outta the garbage?”

Frisk shrugged and nodded. 

Undyne huffed out a frustrated sigh; grabbed the kid up in her arms and hugged her tight. “Screw those guys, you’re ours now,” she grumbled. “OKAY. Show me these shirts?”

Frisk grinned, stretched up to give Undyne a smooch on the cheek, and showed her one of the t-shirts — a dark blue one missing a sleeve with a faded logo of a cartoon shark in a circle, flexing a fin, with lettering that looked possibly Japanese, but Frisk wasn’t sure. Undyne’s eye lit up.

“DUDE! That’s so cool! It’s perfect!!” she said.

“I know, right? I saw it and thought of you!” Frisk said.

“You really are good at this,” she said.

Frisk beamed. Undyne put her back down gently and Frisk took her tea and sipped it. She didn’t stay on her feet for very long, though, because Papyrus grabbed her next and put her in his lap. 

“I don’t like the thought that you were alone for so long,” he said. “It makes me think you’re at least forty-thousand hugs behind where you should be.”

“How’d you figure that?” Undyne asked.

“Well. She’s eleven. And. At least ten hugs a day,” Papyrus asserted. 

“Wow, I get ten hugs a day?!” Frisk demanded. “That’s amazing. Thanks, Papyrus.”

“Of course!” he said brightly.

Behind them, a door creaked at the back of the house. Sans walked out of Undyne’s room in a fuzzy pink bathrobe. He was followed by a puff of steam. 

“Oh good, I missed most of the hard work,” he said. “Hey. Kiddo. C’mere?”

Frisk scrambled to her feet and her brother gave her a grin. 

“You mind blowin’ in here?” he said, pointing to his right eye socket.

She did so without question and, to her surprise, a bubble floated out of his left. She burst out laughing and he beamed and laughed, too.

“Oh my god Sans,” Papyrus said.

“What?” Sans grinned. “C’mon, bro, don’t burst my bubble.”

“SANS,” he barked. “THAT WAS TERRIBLE.”

Undyne scoffed and gently popped the floating bubble with her claw. “Neat trick,” she said. “Did you use the shampoo?”

“Eh.” He shrugged. “I like the bubbles.”

Undyne laughed. He grinned and held up his hand, and Papyrus tossed him his clean clothes. He stuck his thumb up and then slunk back into the bathroom. Frisk snickered and then grabbed one of the blank white t-shirts she had found, and looked at Papyrus.

“Bro, do you have your shirt marker?” she asked.

“Always!” he announced, pulling it out with a grin. “Why?”

“Could you do me a favour? Can you just write three big Z’s on this? Across, like this?” She drew a diagonal line in the air. “I think Sans would really like it.”

“Three Z’s? Well, okay, I’m not sure I get it,” he said, but he stretched the shirt out flat and did as she asked. 

“Perfect! Thanks!” She grinned and put it in Sans’s pile with his new hoodie and book. “He’ll love that.”

“You think?” he asked.

“Yeah! It’s like, cartoon snoring,” she said.

“Oh. OH. Because he is lazy. I get it! Hah. Yes, he will like that,” Papyrus said.

“Kid, I’m kinda impressed,” Undyne said. “You seem to know what everyone’s into, huh?”

Frisk smiled and her cheeks flushed. “I, um, try to really pay attention to people.”

“What about you, though?” Undyne said. “I don’t see anything you grabbed for yourself, huh? What the heck do you like?”

Frisk shrugged and grinned. “I like you guys,” she said. “I don’t really need stuff.”

“But Frisk! There must be something,” Papyrus said. “W… Would you like one of the battle figurines I found?”

“That’s super sweet, bro, but I can just look at yours in the bedroom, huh?” she said. “No worries.”

“Hmmmm…” He got up and paced. “What about…? No, no. WHAT ABOUT…? Hmmmm…” He bounded into Undyne’s room and they heard Sans grumble. He ran out with his brother under his arm. “BE RIGHT BACK!” He barrelled out through the replacement front door Undyne had set up, leaving atrail of bubbles in their wake.


	34. The Mysterious Red Soul Arc

Papyrus was frantic and jumpy, like he was hopped up on caffeine. Sans didn’t even try to keep up with him as he, with his pants legs rolled up, rushed through the waters of the dump once again. Sans leaned against the wall on the shore and crossed his arms, watching him with a tired expression on his face.

“Dude, you’re wastin’ your time,” Sans said.

“I am not,” Papyrus said. “Get over here and help me.”

“How?” he asked.

Papyrus dug into a pile of trash, grimacing as he tossed pieces of junk aside. Sans shifted to sit on top and looked down at him with an amused grin.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to _trash_ your plan, but, uh, don’t you think we should go back?”

“Not until I find something good for Frisk!” he said. “SANS!”

“Mhm?”

Papyrus folded his arms, frowned, and looked up at him, pouting a little. “There has to be something,” he said. “Did you find anything? Anything at all?”

Sans shrugged and pulled out a small, deformed metal piece from his pocket. Papyrus rolled his eyes. 

“Ugh, that’s not what I mean! I mean…! I mean! What does she like?! Why don’t I know that?!” He rubbed his face. “I should know that!!! Shouldn’t I?!”

“She’d like anything you gave her, dude,” Sans said. “Chill out.”

“Gah!!! No, that’s not right! What do I do?! What does she like to have most in the world? Come on, brother, you know exactly what she would want!”

“She’s not big into stuff, Paps. Just give her a hug and tell her you love her or somethin’, that’s all she needs,” he said.

“But Sans, I do that already anyway.” He huffed. “No. You know what? It’s a puzzle. I can do this. I will figure Frisk out! By the end of today I will find the absolutely most perfect thing for her.”

“Of course you will, dude. But, uh, don’t spend too much time on it, alright? It’s exhausting just watchin’ you.”

Papyrus grumbled under his breath and went back into the pile. He was only looking for a few seconds before he sighed dramatically and turned his eyes on his brother again.

“When I was little, I always had a lot of things,” he said.

“Yeah, you were a lucky kid,” Sans said.

“But you always made sure that if I wanted a thing, that thing would be there,” he said.

“Well, yeah, dude,” Sans said.

“You’d do that for Frisk as well, wouldn’t you?!”he insisted.

“She doesn’t want a thing, though,” he said.

“Ugh.” Papyrus frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Sans shrugged and he watched with an increasingly sleepy expression as Papyrus began to pace.

“But I want her to feel… I want her to feel like she belongs and is safe and will always have everything and nothing will make her sad anymore,” he said. “I want her to have lots of fun and not be afraid to ask for things she wants and to know that everyone around her would do anything to help her. That’s how I felt as a little Papyrus. I want that for her, too.”

“That’s real sweet of you, bro,” he said.

“Then why do you look so skeptical?” he demanded.

Sans shrugged. Papyrus’s brow furrowed a little.

“You don’t doubt the great Papyrus, do you?!” he asked.

“Nah, that’s not it at all, bro,” he said. 

Papyrus stared at him as if he were a particularly perplexing puzzle. He tilted his head slightly, but then perked up very abruptly, like a switch had been flipped. “Oh! Wait. Come with me, I want to check something back home!”

“All the way there?”

“Oh, come on,” Papyrus said, using a quick burst of blue magic to pull Sans down from the small trash hill and grab him again, “you can just reappear back at Undyne’s, you don’t have to walk a step! Just come with me.”

“Okay, okay, fine, sheesh,” Sans said with a laugh.

Papyrus cackled and, throwing his brother over his shoulder, raced for dry land again, kicking up dark water in his wake.

\- - -

Undyne and Frisk were still on their own by the time they had finished sorting all the things they had found. There was a decent amount of stuff, and she was very grateful, but Undyne noticed right away that the Frisk pile was non-existent. Her ear-fins drooped a little and she watched the kid carefully packing up some of the dishes and an old, battered disposable camera. 

“That’s for…?”

“Oh! For Kid’s family,” Frisk said with a grin. “I thought I’d see if they needed anything, since we were going anyway.”

“Huh. Nice of you. That’s funny, you know, you sound like you grew up here,” she said.

Frisk’s smile only grew. Undyne laughed and grabbed her under her arm and squished her in close.

“That makes you happy, huh?” she asked.

“Mhm!” Frisk blushed a little. “I’m always happy to hear stuff like that. The more I’m kinda like a monster, I think the less I’ll remind people of… of the bad stuff.”

Undyne was taken aback. She frowned. “D…? D’you actually worry about that?”

Frisk looked embarrassed. She nodded. Undyne _tsked_ and lifted the kid up and looked her in the face. 

“Kid. Anyone whose magic feels like yours does, doesn’t matter what you are. You’re great. Alright?”

The kid’s cheeks darkened and she looked relieved. Undyne smiled, softer than usually suited her, and she pulled Frisk in for a hug. The kid clung to her shoulders and Undyne cupped the back of her head, frowning thoughtfully for a few seconds before gently putting her down. 

“I think I got something you’ll like,” she said. “Wait a sec?”

“Oh! You don’t have to—!”

“I know,” she said. “But I want to. Just hang on?” She ducked away into her bedroom.

Frisk could hear clunking and things being tossed around, and some muffled cursing. When Undyne came back out, she had a small, silver object in one hand and a black cord around the other. She knelt down and held them both out to her. The cord was attached to big earphones.

“Now, this is kinda old,” Undyne said, “but it plays CDs and stuff. See, it’s got a storage onthe bottom for disks, and then you pop this bit.” She pressed one of the larger buttons on the side. The top flipped up. “See, then you put the disk you want in there and it plays music! It’s old as heck, but it was super nice before I got a phone, when I was a kid. I mean, I know you have a phone but… this is sort of something I’d like to share with you. If you don’t mind hand-me-downs.”

“Oh!” Frisk gently took the small CD player from her hands and she all but glowed. “Hand-me-downs are the best!”

Undyne grinned her big, pointy teeth. “Think I got you figured. You can keep that.”

“I can?!” Frisk squeaked. “But your CDs!”

“It’s okay! I have it all on my phone now, anyway. Just think of it like I made you a playlist of all the goofy junk I used to listen to at your age.”

Frisk gawked, and then she beamed. “Thank you!!!” She gave her a tight hug. “You’re so cool, Undyne.”

Undyne grinned fondly. She jolted with surprise when the kid’s energy stuck to hers like honey. There was a lot of love there.“Hah! Glad you like it. Thought you would.”

“Mhm! C-Could I listen to some of it now?” she asked.

“Tell you what. I’ll drag the couch out and you get comfy, alright? I gotta talk to Alph for a bit anyhow,” she said.

She mussed up her hair and then got up to grab the couch. Frisk gently shuffled some of their unpacked things out of the way and then looked at the little CD player with a fond smile. If she knew anything about music, it was that it could be very personal, and also that monsters and magic went hand in hand with it. She would be glad to check out whatever Undyne had given her, even if she didn’t end up liking it.

When Undyne clunked the couch down in the main room again, Frisk cozied up on it with the big earphones over her ears as she queued up the first CD in the pile. J-Pop. She smiled and closed her eyes. It was so upbeat. Catchy. She didn’t blame Undyne for liking it at all.

She could feel Undyne stomping around the house. She lifted one earphone and noticed that she was still on the phone and the kettle was on. She turned her attention back on the music to give her some privacy. 

After three and a half songs, Undyne tapped her on the shoulder and offered a cup of tea. Frisk smiled and put the earphones down around her neck.

“Thanks a million!” she said, and she sipped it. “I like your music so far.”

“Great. Hey, lemme brush your hair for you, you’re all scruffy again,” she said.

“Ooh! Thanks!” She drank some tea as Undyne went off to get a brush. “Is Alphys okay?”

“She’s annoyed. Can’t focus. I told her to come over,” she said. “She said later. So I’ll give her her stuff and then bring her to your place later, that okay?”

“Of course it is!” Frisk said. 

Undyne hopped over the back of the couch, scooped up Frisk and then began to brush her hair. Frisk felt kind of lucky that she got that twice in one day.

“Do you know if any of that stuff we pulled out helped?” she asked.

“There wasn’t much in terms of notes,” Undyne said. “But there was, like, two books on… What’d she call it? Advanced arcane soul dynamics and, uh, something about the photons and interlinking hums? Or some junk like that. Don’t really understand, but she said that was something like what she was lookin’ for, so that’s good.”

“Oh phew,” Frisk said, and she grinned. “Glad I didn’t get my butt kicked by a glowing basement thing for nothing, then.”

Undyne chuckled. “So what was up with that, anyway? What did you see, exactly?”

“Didn’t Sans tell you guys?” Frisk asked.

“He told us he saw you vanish and then you kinda flew out of the thing with writing on you and all dizzy and crap,” she said, “and that you mentioned some guy you called a shadowman.”

Frisk thought back, but it was all fuzzy. She seemed to recall a figure in the dark, with a white face and hands. She wasn’t sure how real it was, but she guessed someone had to have stitched up her arm, right? “It’s… weird. I remember, but I don’t? Like… it was a dream. But something happened, I guess,” she said, and she laughed. “It makes me dizzy just thinking about it!”

“Hah. Fair enough, me too,” she said. “Well. At least this shadowdude seems like a nice enough guy, huh?”

“Think so!” Frisk said.

\- - -

Frisk was half asleep by the time Undyne finished and then took her empty teacup and set the kettle boiling again. The kid blinked heavily. When her eyes refocussed, though, Sans was in front of her.

“Hey, you’re back,” she said with a grin.

“Yup. Yuuuup…” He sounded tired. “Oh man.”

“Oh, hey Sans,” Undyne said.

He sort of grunted as a reply. He flopped onto the couch with Frisk and grabbed her shoulders to hold himself up, but almost immediately slumped, the only thing keeping him mostly upright being that he rested his head on his little sister’s. Frisk hugged onto him tight.

“What the heck happened to you?” she asked.

“Nothin’. Tired,” he said. “Paps went nuts.”

“Oh yeah? Where is he?” Undyne asked. “Want some tea?”

“Dunno. And. Yeah. Thanks,” he said.

“Is he okay?” Frisk asked, frowning.

“Mhm. He’s, uh… tryin’ to find you a thing?”

“A thing? Why? I don’t need a thing,” she said.

“I tried tellin’ him that but you know him.” Sans grinned a little. “Sorry, kiddo, I’m like two seconds from passin’ out.”

“That’s okay,” she assured him.

He was still for a moment. She felt his soul starting to cling. He jarred himself awake and rubbed his eyes. He reached into his pocket and then pulled out a tiny, metal loop, like for a cheap keychain, that he had clearly bent back into its circle shape. 

“Here,” he said, pushing it into the kid’s hand. “For, uh… the skull thing? Paps gave you one. Right? So you can put in on your phone or whatever.”

“Oh! Hey, thanks, that’s really useful,” she said. “I really appreciate it!”

“Mhm.” He slumped on her again as she fiddled with her phone and that little charm and attached it near her key ring. “Just… gimme five?”

“You can rest longer, we don’t mind,” Frisk assured him.

“Five’s fine,” he said.

“Whatever you say, bro.”

He clocked out almost instantly and Frisk could feel his energy stick against hers comfortably. Very tired. Undyne glanced over and scoffed.

“You okay there?” she said.

“He’s not as heavy as he looks,” Frisk said with a smile. “I don’t mind.”

“Okay. Seriously. I gotta ask,” Undyne said. “I have been wondering about this forever. How the heck is that comfy?”

“Hm?” Frisk looked confused. “How’s what comfy?”

“Skeletons. You’re always all snuggly with skeletons,” she said. “And don’t get me wrong, I dig giving Paps a good hug but he’s all bones. I mean. That’s just how they are. Kinda pointy in bits. I don’t mind. But you’re a human. That’s not normal stuff for you.”

“Oh.” Frisk laughed. “You know… Now that you mention it, I really never noticed.”

\- - -

Sans woke up in time to take his tea and somewhat reluctantly peeled himself from the cozy spot around the kid to sip it. His eyes focussed on the headphones around her neck. Frisk noticed him looking before he said a word, and her face lit up.

“Undyne gave me this,” she said. “Check it out!” She took them off, then eyed his skull rather analytically for a moment before sliding them over the top of his head and getting the ear pads into the right spots on the sides. She turned the player on again. 

He tilted his head and then grinned, then listened as he drank his tea. He stuck his thumb up. “Nice.”

“Didn’t expect you to be into it,” Undyne said.

“What?” he said.

“I said, I… Oh.” She laughed. “Duh.”

“What?” he said again.

Undyne groaned and laughed. Frisk lifted one of the squishy earpads.

“She said she’s surprised you’re into the J-Pop,” she said.

“Oh. Yeah, dude, I’m into everything,” he said.

“Everything?” Undyne repeated.

“Sure.” He took off the earphones and gave them back to Frisk. “Thanks, kiddo.”

Frisk grinned and put them back around her neck, turning the volume down just a bit.

“That’s pretty cool,” Undyne said. “Hah. I used to be kinda embarrassed about sharing my music, actually.”

“Think everyone’s kinda like that,” Sans said. “Don’t worry. Everything’s pretty good. Except this one thing.”

“What’s the one thing? And don’t you dare say K-Pop,” Undyne said.

Sans snickered and shook his head. “Naw, Paps and I found this CD one time that was just someone banging metal together every once in a while and then shouting _art is dead_ over top of it? Every track was like that. Didn’t really dig it.”

“Straight to the Archives!” Frisk announced.

Sans laughed and nodded. “Yup, kiddo, you got it.”

“Hope that genre didn’t last long on the surface,” Undyne said.

“You never know, humans couldda decided it was the next big thing and done only that for a decade or two, and we’d never even know,” Sans said, winking.

“What a nightmare,” Undyne said. “What about you, squirt, what d’you like?”

“Um… I’m not sure, I think I like everything I’ve heard so far,” she said. “Even the theme-songs from Mettaton’s weirdest shows.”

“Mhm, say what you want about the dude’s writing, he’s got good music sense, I’ll give him that,” Sans agreed.

“Heh. I like how just kinda, like, not cynical you are,” she said with a grin.

Frisk tilted her head. “Sin-i-cal,” she repeated. “Cynical?”

“Oh. Like. Pessimistic? No, no, uh… negative, I guess,” Undyne explained.

“Ooohh, okay.” Frisk nodded. “Got it. Hey, two new words!”

Undyne patted her head. She looked like she was about to say something, but her phone buzzed. She sighed and checked it, frowning faintly. “Ah, jeez, Alphys,” she muttered quietly.

“She okay?” Sans asked.

“Mhm. Mostly. Just. Whiny? Heh. She’ll be okay,” Undyne said. “She should just chill out and let me be pissed for her. Only reason I didn’t deck the guy is that it’d be so much work for her to fix him.”

“Oh jeez.” Frisk laughed and rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah, maybe let’s not punch Mettaton’s head off. That’d be good.”

“She said just now she wishes he never told her,” Undyne said.

“I hope she changes her mind a little,” Frisk said. “It’s good to know some random monster didn’t break into the lab, isn’t it?”

“That’s true, actually, I’m gonna text her that,” Undyne said.

Almost as soon as she had sent the message, her phone began to ring with a loud, J-Pop ringtone. Her cheeks flushed, she held up one finger, and the snuck off to her bedroom to answer it. Frisk sighed.

“Poor Alphys,” she said.

“I’m sure he’ll figure some way to make it up to her,” he said. “Eventually.”

“Do you think I should talk to her?” Frisk wondered. “Would that help?”

“Welp. You could. But sometimes, y’know, grown-ups just gotta work out their own stuff,” Sans said. “Especially people who’ve known each other as long as those two dopes.”

“Oh. Yeah. Okay, I guess you’re right,” she said.

She pouted a little and huffed. She shrunk back into the sofa cushions and went to text Papyrus, asking him where he was. When almost five minutes had gone by and he hadn’t replied, she felt a hit of worry. She was about to call him, but didn’t have to. He walked back in with hurried steps and turned quickly to make sure the odd door was closed right behind him.

“There you are!” Frisk grinned. “Good timing, bro, I was really starting to miss you.”

When he turned to them, however, Papyrus had an uncharacteristically downtrodden look on his face. “Nyoo hoo…” He took Frisk by the shoulders and looked positively ashamed. “Little sister, I’m so sorry, I… I… Despite! My best efforts! I, the great Papyrus, have f— momentarily had to, um… I couldn’t find anything I thought you’d like, I’m so sorry.”

“Oh! Jeez, Papyrus!” Frisk said with a sympathetic smile on her face. “I told you, I don’t need anything.”

“But…! But all your things are Sans’s old things, and you don’t have any toys, or books, or—”

“I don’t really want any toys,” Frisk said. “And I know I’m pretty small, I mean, it’s hard to find stuff that fits me, it’s okay.”

“Hmmm… Okay. Then. What are your favourite things in our house?” he asked.

“Oh! Easy! You and Sans,” she said brightly.

“Oh.” His cheeks flushed and he shook his head. “Not that I’ve lost your meaning! But! Like. An object. Or a… a book? Something?”

“Anything I read with you and Sans I like,” she said brightly. “And that shirt you made for me, I really like that! And, duh, that little dragon skull charm, and… Oh! This now, I think! This’ll be one of my favourites.” She held out the little CD player to show him. 

He took it in cautious hands.

“Undyne said I could have it. It was hers when she was a kid, and she gave me a ton of her old CDs, too!” she said. “That was back before everything was just on phones I guess, so, like a million years ago, but I really, really like it.”

Curiously, Papyrus inspected it. He tilted his head. “Paper, cloth, bone, plastic…” he mumbled

“What?” Frisk asked.

“Nothing, nothing.” He smiled. “It’s just another big puzzle.”

“Paps, really, you don’t gotta spend so much energy on this,” she assured him.

He cupped her face with a little spark of magic and then ran out again in a rush.

“We’re going home soon!!” she called. 

“OKAY SEE YOU THERE LOVE YOU BYE!” he shouted behind him.

“Aw jeez,” Frisk said, and she laughed a little. “I wish he stayed, I wanted to hug him.”

“Dude’s on a mission.” Sans shrugged and closed his eyes. “He’ll figure it out.”

Frisk sighed. She folded her arms. “…I feel like I’m just making everyone feel bad today.”

“Why? S’not you,” Sans said.

“But Mettaton felt bad—”

“Because he lied,” Sans said.

“But then Alphys felt bad,” she said.

“Because he lied.”

“And now Papyrus feels bad because I… um… don’t like toys or something?”

“Hm. Not quite.” Sans cut his eyes at her. “Don’t sweat it, kiddo.”

“I dunno, should I have just pretended to find something I wanted? Some toy or something? Should I go back in there?” she wondered quietly. “…I don’t want him to feel bad.”

“Nah. Honest is better,” he said. “You do enough of that pretendin’ stuff so people won’t worry anyway.”

“Sheesh.” She laughed quietly and rubbed the back of her head, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry.”

He shook his head. 

When Undyne came out of the back room, sweeping a brush through her hair, her cheeks were a little flushed. “I look okay?” she asked. “Not like total trash, right?”

“You look cool,” Frisk said.

“Alright. Thanks. Going to see Alphys. Meet you guys at your place later?”

“You guys walkin’?” Sans asked.

“Yeah, probably,” she said.

He heaved himself off the couch and tossed her his jacket. She grinned and slung it over her shoulder.

“Thanks, dude, you okay to head out on your own? I can lock the door, right?” she said.

“What kinda teleporter would I be if I couldn’t get through a locked door?” Sans asked with a grin.

“Fair point.” Undyne picked up her bag and all the metal. “See you punks later, huh?”

She left and Sans stared rather bleakly at their bags on the floor. Frisk snickered. 

“Think we can do it all in one go?” she asked.

“Sure hope so,” he said.

\- - -

Papyrus was at home when they got there, and seemed to have finally cleaned up the living room from Mettaton’s gift-bomb. He had a few of the dresses set aside on a table, and was leaning over it, staring very intently. The moment they dropped in, he fumbled to cover part of the table with his body and leaned on it with an obviously feigned attitude of disinterest.

“Oh, hello, siblings, I didn’t realize you were there.” 

“Papyrus, you okay?” Frisk asked.

“Yes, yes, of course, why would I not be?” he asked. 

“Lookin’ a little suspicious there, bro,” Sans said.

“What? Pfffft! What? No I’m not,” he scoffed.

“Whatcha doing?” Frisk asked.

“Oh! Nothing. Nothing at all. Um. Oh! I sorted those dresses into Alphys size and non-Alphys size,” he said. “So. I think that’ll be fine. Right?”

“Ooh! Thanks a million.” Frisk grinned. “I’ll put them in Kid’s bag.” 

She went to get it from the stuff they’d brought, but Papyrus hurriedly whisked it away from her.

“I-I’ll do it, little sister, don’t trouble yourself! I, um, I made some hot chocolate so maybe you could go get some! In the kitchen. Um. Yes.”

Frisk raised an eyebrow, but she nodded and did as he asked. He quickly brushed the back of his hand across his brow. Sans smirked.

“Smooth,” he said.

“Thank you,” Papyrus said.

Frisk struggled to reach over the counter. When she finally did reach the mug her brother had left, she very quickly realized it was cold.

“When did you make this, bro?” she asked.

“Maybe twenty minutes ago, why?” he said.

Frisk held in a laugh.“No reason. Thanks.” She peered up at the microwave, then took a sip of the cool drink. It wasn’t bad like that, actually, though he had also not mixed it very well. She pulled open the cutlery drawer and felt around for a spoon. Instead, she squeaked when she pricked herself on something sharp. She grumbled, and then found the spoon to mix her drink. She suddenly had a much better idea. She got one of the milkshakes from the fridge, poured in the cocoa, and then stirred that instead. It took her some effort, but with a bit of hopping, she managed to grab two more mugs and split it between them. 

When she returned to the living room, Sans was flipping through his new book, while Papyrus was about to head out the door with a bag over his shoulder.

“Where you goin’?” she asked.

“Oh, um! Just to get all these new things cleaned,” he said. “Little bit of repairs here and there, you know?”

“Ooh cool,” she said, passing Sans a mug. “Can I come, too? I gotta bring Kid some stuff anyway.”

“I could do it! I, the great Papyrus, am more than up to this task!” he announced. “You just stay, your hot chocolate will get cold!”

“Um…” Frisk smiled bashfully; didn’t have the heart to tell him. “Well, actually… I mean, you were out running around a bunch today, I just kinda wanted to hang out with you.”

Papyrus stared, his cheekbones flushing with pale orange. He looked conflicted for a moment before he threw the bag aside and scooped her into a hug. “I’m sorry!” he said. “Yes, okay, we will go together.”

Frisk grinned and kissed his cheek. “Great!”

It seemed to be common practice for the monsters of Snowdin to take whatever was newfound from the human world to the inn. The woman who ran the place had one of the only washing machines in town. When Frisk and Papyrus arrived out of the blowing snow, Lesser Dog was in there, bouncing on his paw-pads at the counter as the demure rabbit lady passed him two fluffy pillows. He booped his snout against hers, tail wagging in a blur, before prancing out the door. The rabbit smiled at them as Papyrus strode confidently up to the counter.

“Hello again, hun,” she said to Papyrus with a smile. “Who’s your little friend, there?”

“This is my little sister, Frisk,” Papyrus said brightly, putting a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “We’re just back from a dump dive.”

“Ooh, how exciting,” she said. “So you’ve got some things to be cleaned up, then.”

“Exactly!” he said.

She smiled warmly when he handed the bag over. She looked inside. “My! Nice finds,” she said. “Anything specific you want done? Modifications?”

“Just repairs is perfect,” Papyrus said. “And. Um. About that thing we spoke about?”

“Oh! About the sca—?”

“Y-Yes! Yes, about, um, my scarf!!” Papyrus leaned over the counter close, and raised his brows, and then took his scarf in between two fingers, winced, and tore it. “A-As you can see! It’s ripped! What a shame. So can you do it?”

“Uh…” Her ears slowly lifted a little and her eyes went wide. “Oh! Oh. Yes. Yes, don’t you worry, hun, won’t be a problem.”

“Good! Phew!” He took off his scarf and passed it to her tenderly. “You have my absolute gratitude.”

“Uh, Paps…?” Frisk looked quite confused. 

“Ah! Not to worry, little sister,” he said. “Everything will be clean and fixed perfectly in just a tiny bit of time. She really is very good, you know.”

“I know,” Frisk said with a smile. She stood on her toes to peek over the counter and gave the rabbit a hopeful look.

“Um… About mod… modifying?” she said. “Is that… much trouble?”

“Depends, really. What’re you looking for, little one?” she said. 

“Well, um… Could we take a look at that black hoodie that’s in there?” she said.

The woman nodded and took it out, spreading it flat on the counter. Frisk stretched to try to see, and Papyrus picked her up. She pointed at the rib pattern. 

“W-Would it be easy to put a mark like a soul spot in there? So that it matches?” she asked. “Just in a bit of blue?”

“Oh, Frisk, that’s an adorable idea,” Papyrus said.

“Hmm. Sounds easy enough,” the woman said. She held out her hands and, between her fingers, a little big of magic began to crackle. After a few seconds, a half-dozen little blue orbs appeared, all in different hues. “I can do these. Any of them like you’d like?”

Frisk picked out the second lightest one, and the rabbit smiled and nodded.

“That’ll be no trouble at all,” she said. “It’ll just be maybe… thirty minutes?”

“Thank you so much,” Frisk said.

“Fantastic news! We will see you soon!” Papyrus said. “Come, Frisk, we have a delivery to make!”

They found Kid’s house in the little block of homes near the river. Frisk knocked and, after a few seconds, Kid answered the door. He grinned.

“Oh hi!” he said.

“Greetings, Kid!” Papyrus said.

“Got you some junk!” Frisk said.

“Ohmigod, thanks, come in!” he said; he scampered back into the house. “MOM! Frisk and her brother brought us some stuuuuuff!”

The inside of Kid’s house was warm and yellow, a lot like him, with a brown couch and armchair, and a little coffee table in one corer, with a small TV in front of that. Their kitchen seemed to be almost right in front of the front door and there were stairs on the left side up to the second floor, in a setup a lot like their house. It seemed much bigger on the inside than on the outside.

Kid started to push the table over with his head and Papyrus quickly picked both it and him up and carried them into the more open area near the door. He put the bag on the table and took out the things they had wrapped up. Kid was absolutely glowing. His little tail was thumping against the floor, and he checked back over his shoulder as his mother came from the upstairs.

“What’s all this?” she asked.

“Mom, mom, mom, look! They got us some new dishes and stuff! The bowl’s just a little broken, but—”

Kid’s mother slipped over and looked down at the collection of dishes and disposable cameras. She smiled. “Thank you two very much. What do we owe you for your efforts?”

“What? Nothing,” Frisk said quickly.

“Absolutely nothing,” Papyrus agreed, nodding and half talking over her.

Kid’s mother tilted her head slightly. “I can’t send you away empty-pawed!”

“Yes you can! Don’t worry,” the skeleton said.

The kid pulled out the bag of clothes and got up to offer them to the monster. She looked a little confused.

“What’s all this?” she asked. “These… look quite new.”

“They’re from New Home, I think,” she said. “A friend gave them, but see, I’m really small so none of them fit and we were thinking, maybe… you might like them? Or Kid’s sister?”

Kid’s mother looked at them curiously. She pulled out one of the flowery gowns and her face lit up. “Well, that’s actually very pretty, thank you,” she said. “That is very thoughtful of you.”

Frisk grinned. Kid’s mother returned the smile, but after a moment, her eyes narrowed just a little.

“I’m sorry, little one, I hope this isn’t rude, but I’ve never seen a monster quite like you before,” she said. “What kind are you?”

“Skeleton!” Kid said shrilly.

“She’s a skeleton,” Papyrus said at almost the same time. He stood and put his hand on the kid’s head, smiling a little too wide. “I mean, she is my little sister, so obviously she is most certainly a skeleton.”

“Oh.” Kid’s mother smiled. “I’ve never seen a skeleton like—”

“She was made in the lab!” Papyrus said quickly. “Yes. Um. In the lab. In Hotland. From, um… skeleton. Things. Um. It just went a little teeny bit wonky and she came out a bit squishier, but she is definitely one hundred percent a skeleton.”

“Oh my! I… didn’t know the lab was able to do such a thing!” she said.

“Well, it’s… I mean, they didn’t make her from scratch, over there, of course,” Papyrus said. “They can’t just make monsters out of thin air, but—”

“I’m a little bit of a science experiment,” Frisk said with a smile, nudging her brother gently with her elbow. “It’s no big deal, really.”

“Yes. Yes, true, very correct,” Papyrus agreed. “Um! Hey! Would you look at the time? I thiiiink our laundry might be done soon, Frisk?”

He looked a little anxious. Frisk nodded.

“Yeah, guess we should get going,” she said.

“Aw! Stay a little longer next time, huh?” Kid said.

“Mhm! Of course,” she said.

He stood up and she gave him a hug. He leaned in close. “S-Sorry, I won’t say a thing,” he whispered. “Promise.”

“I know, dude,” she assured him. “Trust you one hundred percent!” She patted his shoulder and he grinned, his scales flushing a little. 

Papyrus scooped her up in a hurry and edged towards the door. “Well! It was very nice to see you Kid and Miss Kid’s Mom, but we really should be going!” he said. “Please enjoy your new things and have a great evening! Bye!”

Papyrus put Frisk over his shoulder and rushed out and down the road until they were alone in the quiet and snow. He took a deep breath and put her down.

“Think she bought it?” Papyrus said.

Frisk shrugged. He rubbed the back of his skull and took a deep breath.

“Well I certainly hope so,” he said. “I do not like lying. Really, I don’t. But. I don’t want it to be me that gets you killed again.”

“Huh? When did you get me killed before?” Frisk asked.

“Oh, Frisk, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten!” he said shrilly. “On your first day with us, remember? I brought Undyne, Undyne stabbed you, it was kind of awful?”

“Oh! Right!” Frisk smiled and reached up to pat his hand. “Bro, don’t even worry about that, that wasn’t your fault.”

“But I—!”

“Paps, it’s not like your heart’s ever been in the wrong place your whole life, I could never hold something like that against you,” she said. “You just thought Undyne would be happy to meet me, which was true, wasn’t it?”

“Pffft, as in, happy to stab you and take your soul and…” He groaned and rubbed his face. “I am so glad it’s not like that anymore, I don’t think I could handle it otherwise. Hey. Um…” He tented his fingers. His cheekbones flushed a little. “Frisk? If I, um… if I lied. But I did it for a reason that was not to hurt someone but to… maybe, I don’t know, keep a secret surprise, or something like that, would that be okay? You would not be mad at me, would you?”

“Nope!” she said. “Never!”

His face lit up and he seemed very pleased. Frisk certainly didn’t have the heart to tell him that he was a terrible liar.

\- - -

Sans wasn’t there when they got home with the laundry. Frisk was a bit disappointed— she wanted to show him the new hoodie— but she guessed it could wait. Papyrus had his scarf back, the rip in it patched and invisible, as if it had never even happened at all. He wore it quite snugly, even in the house, as always. Frisk found it funny that he looked a bit naked without it.

He took their new clothes upstairs to put them away. Frisk flopped on the bed. He was meticulous, folding each thing carefully and quickly, sorting between what was his and their brother’s. He paused for a moment as he held one of the t-shirts in his hands and looked back at Frisk.

“Are you falling asleep?” he asked.

“Um… Little bit,” she said. “Sorry.”

“Still tired from yesterday, I guess? That’s alright.” He pointed out the shirt. “Are you quite sure you don’t want any of these? There’s more than enough. Even if they’re a bit big, we could always—”

“Found ‘em for you guys,” she assured him.

He pouted a little, but he finished up and then headed, with Sans’s pile, to his room. After a few seconds, Frisk heard him squawk. 

She found him in Sans’s room, shoving that big blanket ball aside, trying to avoid all the socks on the floor at the same time.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Look. At. This. Mess!” he said.

“Looks kinda normal to me,” Frisk said.

“EXACTLY!” He grabbed clothes that were tossed randomly on Sans’s mattress and then threw them towards the dresser. They landed near the pile of neatly folded clothes Papyrus had just finished with. 

“Honestly, I don’t know how he lives like this. He barely even wears socks!!” he said. He heaved a blanket out from the mess and then flapped it out and laid it down on the mattress gently. He smoothed it out with his hands. “That is at least a little better,” he grumbled, “but I’m not touching these socks! Bleh!”

“It’s not like they’re dirty,” Frisk said.

“Socks without feet are weird and strange,” Papyrus grumbled.

Frisk snickered. She checked the time on her phone, and leaned back on the wall as she browsed UnderNet quickly. Alphys was still being dramatic. She sighed and brought up their text screen.

“_love you alphys! hope you feel better soon <3”_ she typed.

Alphys replied before she even had time to put her phone in her pocket. _“^_^ Frisk that is so sweet thx <3 <3 <3 ttys”_

Frisk smiled. She knew it wasn’t much, but she really hoped a little bit of kind words might help. She hoped Alphys knew that it wasn’t her fault.

She leaned forward and stretched. Papyrus was folding all Sans’s clothes, despite a disapproving frown on his face.

“Hey, Paps? Think I’m gonna go to Grillby’s, see if Sans is there,” she said.

“Okay!” he said. “Be careful out there!”

She headed for the door and was just putting her hoodie back on when she heard her brother racing down the stairs after her.

“Wait wait wait, Frisk, waaaaiit!” he called. 

“Yeah?” she asked. 

“Well, I just thought. That. Maybe.” He pulled a piece of red cloth from behind his back. 

For a second she thought it was a torn section from his scarf before she noticed it was striped with darker red, too. 

“You might. Want. This.” He gently passed it to her and smiled. A scarf. A lot like his, but made to her size. “I know how you hate being cold!” he said. “And I spent a lot of time thinking about it. Until it occurred to me, from what you said and what Sans said. And I thought, maybe you’d like something to be more like your cool big brother Papyrus! Right?”

Frisk held the scarf in her hands and she was so overwhelmed that she couldn’t help the tears. She hid her face in it and Papyrus looked shocked.

“Oh no no no, did I—?!”

“Thank you so much,” she squeaked.

“Um. What?” he asked.

“I l-love it,” she said.

“You do? Oh, phew! For a minute I thought… Then. Wait. Hey. Why are you crying?” He went down on one knee. “Are you okay?”

When she looked up, tears were streaming down her face, but she was smiling, too. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself close. He hesitated only for a second before holding her shoulders and cupping the back of her head.

“Frisk…”

“D-Dude, you’re the coolest,” she said quietly. “Heh. S-Sorry.” She sniffled. She drew back just enough to kiss his cheek. “It’s just… you made me one just like it. Before. When I, um, ripped this sweatshirt, in the old timeline? You turned it into a scarf for me, just like this.”

“I did?! Oh! I’m so glad to hear that.” He gently brushed her tears away with his thumb. “Aw, little sister, don’t cry about that, it’s okay. I’ll always make you a new scarf, whenever you want. You just need to ask!”

She snickered and nodded. 

“Do you like the red?” he asked. “I was thinking. Red would be nice. Mine is also red, but I just felt like it could go with whatever other colours you choose! Red looks nice on blue and black and white and brown and green and orange and yellow and basically everything. And, there are stripes on yours though, as you can see, because I thought then we wouldn’t get them mixed up, not that it matters much except that mine is much longer and—”

“Papyrus.” She grabbed both his hands and grinned wide. “It’s perfect.”

“I knew it! I knew you’d love it!” He beamed and snugly wrapped her new scarf around her neck. “Okay! Go find Sans! I’ll get things ready for everyone coming over!”

Frisk headed back out into the snow, the cold air immediately chilling the remnants of tears on her cheeks. She scoffed at herself and hurriedly wiped her face on her sleeves. 

She headed straight for Grillby’s, but when she got inside, the place was full of dog guards, but no Sans. There was a bird monster lazing at the counter, talking to Grillby and drinking a frothy beer from a mug. She slid up to the counter and clambered onto her usual seat. There was a farting sound and the monster looked at her. She groaned, put her face in her hands, and started to laugh. She shifted and grabbed the whoopee cushion from under her and then put it on Sans’s regular seat. 

“Oh, got you, too?” the bird asked. “Yeah, that happens almost every time I come in here. Wonder why…”

Frisk snickered and shrugged. “It’s a mystery, I guess,” she said. “Hey, Grillby, can I get a minute?”

The fire man slid over, drying a frosted mug, and raised a brow slightly. 

“Oh! Not right now, thanks. I was actually just wondering if you’ve seen my brother in the last little while,” she said.

Grillby dipped his head in a casual nod and then raised his chin towards the door.

“Oh yeah? Okay. I’ll see if I missed him, then.” She hopped back to the ground. “Thanks a million!”

She was a little confused; she started back towards home. Maybe he had gone straight home from outside the bar and she was just a little late. She shoved her hands in her pockets. As she was coming up to the library, however, she saw the door opening and saw a telltale hint of blue. Her heart leapt and she jogged up quickly. Sans backed out the door as he seemed to be waving goodbye to someone.

“Big bro!” she said brightly.

Sans turned the sound of her voice and shot her a grin. “Hey, pal.” He took one look at her scarf and he grinned even wider. “Oh, lookit that, he figured it out.”

“You like it?” she asked.

“Sure, kiddo, it’s great.” He winked. “Master puzzle solver, that guy.”

“So whatcha doing in there?” she asked.

“Oh. Alright, don’t be embarrassed, I was just checkin’ to see if I’m doing the whole helpin’ you read thing right,” he said. “I mean, I kinda taught Paps, but he didn’t have the whole no interaction with people thing like you did, so…”

“Oh.” She blushed. “A… And?”

“Think we’re doin’ alright,” he said with a a wink. “Spellin’ could use a bit of work, too, but one thing at a time, huh?”

“Thanks, Sans,” she said.

“Shoulda told Tori, though,” he said. “She wouldn’t be mad, you know. Probably wouldda

given you a bit of a break to catch up. Also. Got dinner.”

“Ooh! Oh yeah? Early, though,” she said.

“Like I wanna go out again later,” he said, nodding towards the house. “Today’s already too long for me.”

“But we barely did anything,” Frisk said with a laugh, grabbing his hand as they started to walk.

“Eh, yesterday filled the quota for like, a week of stuff, so.”

The kid snickered. “So lazy.”

“Hey, what can I say?” He shrugged. “Glad you seem alright after all that.”

“Mhm. I think I’m okay,” she said. “Wish I knew what was going on, though.”

“You and me both, kid,” he said. “That whole light in the basement thing? Kinda okay if I never see somethin’ like that again.”

“Yup,” she said.

“And then that other junk?” he said. “Never really expected you to glow like that.”

“Me neither but I kinda love it,” she said with a grin. “It kinda makes me feel more like one of you guys, you know?”

“Hm. Weird. Weren’t you already, though?” he asked.

“Aw, Sans, c’mon…” Her cheeks flushed. “You know what I mean. I’m… I’m different.”

“Nah.”

“Nah?” she echoed, a faint, confused furrow in her brow.

“Nah,” he said again.

Frisk smiled sheepishly. “Thanks.”

The floor of the main room was occupied once again when got in, but this time with big, bulky machines and cables, and a chunky, blue and silver CD player. Papyrus was fiddling with the cables around the TV, humming to himself. 

“Oh, good, I don’t have to do the set-up this time,” Sans said.

“Pffft, brother, you haven’t had to do the set-up the last four times!” Papyrus said.

“Yeah, it’s great.” He took a brown paper bag out of his ribcage and put it on the side table, and then flopped on the couch. “You’re so good at it.”

“Obviously.” He shot Frisk a grin. “Soooo, how was it?”

“Very cozy!” She was hanging her outdoor clothes near the door. “Paps, it’s super nice, thank you so much.”

“You are very welcome!” he assured her. “Now maybe you could give me a hand with one of these cables? Quite literally, actually, I need your hand with your teeny tiny fingers.”

“Lemme see?” she said.

She scampered over as Sans kicked back and put his arms behind his head. He watched from the corner of his eye as Papyrus pointed out something that was supposed to connect into the TV and then turned his gaze groggily on the ceiling. 

“See, it’s like this,” he said, “but my hand is a bit too big without taking the whole thing away from the wall and—”

“No no, don’t worry, just gimme a boost!” she said.

“Ah! Great! Thank you!” 

There was a moment of quiet clicking, Frisk humming to herself for a few seconds, and then a plastic clunk.

“Perfect! Look at that, see? Tiny little baby hands.” Papyrus said.

“They’re not that small!” Frisk laughed.

“Yes they are, look, I can fold my fingers all the way over yours.”

“Yeah, but you’re a big normal skeleton guy!” she said. “And your fingers are super long, lookit that!”

“Nyeh heh heh heh! Well, obviously, since I am the biggest in the family!” he said.

“Wait until you meet Tori,” Sans said.

“Tori? Oh, you mean mom?” Papyrus said. “Why?”

“She’s almost as big as the King, dude,” he said.

When he looked, Papyrus was still squatted down with Frisk, holding her hand, but he was gawking. Sans laughed, and his brother looked at Frisk with alarm.

“No wonder you feel so short all the time!!!” he exclaimed. “Oh no, and to have lost some height through time travel! You poor thing. How much did you lose?”

“About this?” She held her hand up almost two inches over her head. “I mean, I could see over the counter better, at least.”

“You grew that much in one year?! That’s amazing!!” Papyrus said brightly. “Well! Never fear. The great Papyrus, your cool and very tall brother, will be your go-to counter boost pal.”

Frisk snickered. “You’re great.”

“I know.” He grinned. “Thank you.”

His phone buzzed rather suddenly and he checked it quickly. His face lit up. 

“Ooh! They’re almost here!” he said brightly. He was instantly like whirlwind, rushing around putting the final touches on some of the cable connections and finding and laying out their new things very carefully. 

As he did, Frisk grabbed the hoodie that’d been patched up and hopped up onto the sofa. She tugged on Sans’s sleeve.

“Hm?” he said.

“Dude, check it out.” She grinned proudly and held out the sweatshirt as his opened his eyes to look. “Got it all fixed and stuff!”

He took it from her and held it up, his grin widening. “Oh. Kiddo. It’s great. I can have this?”

“Yeah, of course, it’s yours!” she said brightly.

“Love it. Thanks.” He sat up and rather sluggishly began to switch into the new hoodie. “Paps, check it.”

“Wow. Brother, you look surprisingly cool,” he said. “Frisk, good pick!”

Frisk stuck her thumbs up and Sans draped his blue hoodie over her shoulders. She grinned and squirmed to put her arms through the sleeves that were much too big. She flopped them over her hands and waved them, and her big brother beamed and lifted her up under her arms.

“Hey, bro, look, the kid’s a bit blue,” he said.

“WHAT?!” Papyrus looked over with wide eyes and then groaned. “Saaaaaans!”

He snickered and let the kid drop down against him. “It’s pretty good, right? Warm?”

“Yeah!” She latched onto him and snuggled close. “Super warm!”

With her ear up against his ribcage, she could hear his hum with a little focus— heard it speed up just a little. She smiled, and closed her eyes when he started to absently rub the back of her head. 

“Oh my god, did you two fall asleep already?!” Papyrus demanded.

“Nah, bro, just lazin’,” Sans said.

“Ugggghh, you can sleep if the movies are bad!! Come on,” he insisted.

Sans laughed. Frisk reluctantly opened her eyes, but before she could say a word, there was a loud banging at the door.

Papyrus quickly took up a spot leaning cooly against the TV and Undyne shoved the door in, accompanied by a puff of snow. Alphys followed quickly, her cheeks flushed and hiding under the fuzzy hood of Sans’s coat.

“Hey, punks!” Undyne said, grinning as Frisk scrambled over the arm of the sofa ran to greet them each with a hug. “Oh, hey, Paps, look at you, got it all ready!”

“Of course I did!” he said.

Undyne thumped him on the shoulder and started to unpack her own stuff.

“Frisk, a-are you alright?” Alphys asked.

She nodded. Alphys smiled sheepishly and gently cupped her cheek.

“Aw, jeez, y-you’re such a g-good kid,” she said. “I… I’m st-still a little upset, t-to be honest.”

“I was about to ask,” Frisk said. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“I know, I know,” she sighed. “It’s just… Ah. N-Never mind. It’s a-alright.” She turned to Sans and pulled the coat off and gently poked his shoulder. “A-Are you a-awake?”

“Mhm,” he said.

“Oh! Oh. Th-Thank you s-so much for your c-coat,” she said.

“No prob,” He opened one eye. “I’ll, uh, keep an eye open for one for ya, alright? I hear the winters above ground are, uh, _snow_ walk in the park.”

“SANS,” Papyrus cawed.

“Does the surface have super cold winters or something?” Undyne said. “Seasons are actually a real thing up there, right?”

“Mhm! Right,” Frisk said. “Before I, um, came back, it was winter. A really big blizzard, even! It was pretty—”

“Don’t you say _cool_,” Papyrus said quickly. “Because I have already said it, therefore negating the pun, nyeh heh!”

Frisk laughed. “I was gonna say freezing!” she said. “But it was nice, too.”

“C’mon dude, give ‘er a break, that’s the easiest pun to do by accident,” Sans said with a grin.

“That’s true, I’ve done it a bunch,” Undyne agreed. “How were, uh, summers? Summer, that’s what it’s called, right? Was it like Hotland? Please tell me it wasn’t.”

“I k-kinda like the heat,” Alphys said bashfully. “B-But H-Hotland can be a little m-much…”

“It was actually kinda nice,” she said. “It would get a bit hot, but we’re only a little drive away from the ocean, so we could always go there for a day trip.”

“Day trip. Huh,” Undyne said. “We at least had a river or somethin’, right?”

“Yep! There was one that comes down the mountain a bit and if you follow it, it goes all the way to the ocean, too!” Frisk said. “You’ll love it.”

“Awesome!” Undyne stuck her thumbs up. “Okay! So. Should we check this crap or what?”

The monsters, sans Sans, became like well-oiled machine in a matter of seconds. Papyrus had a little handheld fan to dry out the wet spots from any tape. Undyne went to cleaning off grime or old filth or goo stuck to the disks, and Alphys had brought a tiny tube of some sort of magic adhesive that patched up and smoothed the cracks in the disks and sealed little rips in the strips of tape from inside the cassettes. 

The first tape was worthless— all snow with sound that was a lot like static mixed with a struggling beatboxer. There may have been an image there once upon a time, but it wasn’t worth it to try. The other one was a little better, after fastforwarding for a while. There was a cartoon on there. Something about a rabbit man and basketball. Papyrus really loved the basketball, so what little they had of that one was a hit. He decided to keep it.

The disks were more reliable, but the quality was still not great. The things could’ve been a hundred years old and no one would be the wiser. The one Frisk had found with the writing half-smudged off was a TV show that, as far as they could tell, had five episodes, terrible music, and equally bad picture quality. They watched one episode of apparent human teenager drama— grown-ups pretending to be young teens, yelling and being rude to each other— before putting it in the Archives pile. Frisk didn’t like the look of it at all. She hid under Papyrus’s arm while they watched, hoping she would never grow up to be like that.

The next two didn’t play on their disk player, but did in the stereo. Pop music. It was exciting. The first one was something from a group of high-pitched young men. Alphys wanted it for “science”, so it was hers. The others might’ve been rock music. It was pretty nice, and Undyne gladly decided to take that one home.

One disk was completely devoid of content, the next was just a slideshow of greenery and cats. Archive. All the others kept freezing, making them useless, except the last one. This one was a movie, a little better looking than the others so far. It seemed to go over pretty well with the monsters despite being something human and political, and maybe a crime movie, too, but Frisk didn’t get it at all and couldn’t really follow. Papyrus didn’t seem to, either, and though he was happy watching it, he was also preoccupying himself with his Rubik’s cube. Frisk fell asleep.

In her dream, Frisk saw Asriel in the snow. He didn’t notice her, but when she snuck up on him, he vanished. White started to glow and stained itself with gold and red, like steady, intense sunlight. Heat struck her, then a rumble of deep stone grinding, like the growling of a massive beast. Her legs wobbled. She could see his stem and white petals in that fiery light. Her vision went dark.

Frisk blinked, her eyelids sticky, and she could see Papyrus taking a disk out of their player and taking a marker to write on it. She felt someone solid and warm under her, hugging her gently, and stumpy, clawed fingers brushing across her head.

“What do you all think? What do we call it?” Papyrus said. “Human Political Talking Movie?”

“Welp. That’s accurate,” Sans said.

“That w-was a lot to p-process.” Frisk realized she was snuggled up to Alphys when she started talking. “B-But it was p-pretty good, I thought! B-But… Jeez, I n-never expected humans t-to need or w-want so many rules. I-Imagine the paperwork!” She shuddered. 

Undyne laughed. “Yeah, dude, what a pain! Hopefully this junk is really old. Right? Maybe they’re over it? Maybe it’s easier now. Who knows?”

“Would Frisk know?” Papyrus wondered.

“Nope,” Sans said.

“That’s true,” Frisk said groggily.

“Oh! F-Frisk! G-Good nap?” Alphys asked.

“Mhm!” She sat up and hugged the lizard tight. “Thanks!”

Alphys cooed and cuddled her. “Hah. S-Sorry, I g-guess that m-movie was a l-little boring for a little k-kid, huh?”

“That’s okay, I’m the only little kid here,” Frisk said.

“Couldda done with more fighting,” Undyne said. “We got time for our tapes, now, or are you guys outta it? Sans?”

Frisk saw Sans’s arm lift up from the floor, sticking his thumb up. 

“Go ahead,” he said.

The kid leaned over the edge as Undyne, excited, hopped up from beside them to join Papyrus to prepare the next tape. Sans was laying on his back with a blanket, looking about three-quarters asleep.

“Hiya!” she said.

He raised his hand a little.

“Sans, y-you can come b-back up, you know,” Alphys said.

“I’m good,” he said.

“Ooh, do you have paper?” Frisk asked. 

“Uh…” He pointed up the stairs. “Check my room.”

“Kay.” She smooched Alphys on the cheek and then slipped off the couch. “Be right back.”

Her brother’s room was a disaster area, as usual. She shoved his wad of blankets out of the way as she fetched a memory or two of his. She put her shoulder against his dresser and managed to push it just a little bit forward until she could stick her arm behind it. She felt something kind of squishy in crinkly paper. It was a burger. Who knows how long it had been there. She put it on top of the dresser and groped around a little longer until she found what she was looking for, an old notebook that had slipped back against the wall. All it had in it was a couple phone numbers. 

She wrote her dream in it like Sans had suggested and then popped the book in the dimension box in her phone. Behind her, rather suddenly, the door slammed open and she jumped and turned, pressing her back to the wall; she was almost immediately scooped up by Papyrus.

“There you are, little sister! You have to be careful, I would hate to lose you in a sinkhole of wayward socks!!” he said.

“It’s not that bad,” she said.

“It. Is. Awful,” he insistedHe ferried her back downstairs. “Come on, let’s watch Undyne’s tape! She says it’s her favourite!”

“Yup. I mean. We all down for that?” Undyne said. “It’s just ‘cause—”

“Undyne, of course!! We all would love to see your favourite tape of whatever it happens to be,” Papyrus assured her as he plopped Frisk down with Alphys. “And now! I will! Get everyone dinner! Hang on!” He snatched the bag from the table, patted Undyne on the shoulder, and then raced for the kitchen. 

Undyne’s scales flushed but she grinned wide and pressed a button on the tape. The player made an uncomfortable, high buzzing noise. She made the tape rewind itself.

“Might take a minute,” she said. “Heh. My machine is kinda messed up so I didn’t actually crank it back last time I watched it. Didn’t wanna break it or anything.”

“I hear that,” Sans said.

Undyne quelled a yawn and leaned up on the wall. Alphys looked at her and her cheeks flushed a little. Her eyes turned to Frisk. She looked bashful for a few seconds and then gently touched the kid’s shoulder.

“Hey, um… F-Frisk?” she said. “About the d-dump stuff—”

“Oh! Did you like it? OH! Also!” She got up and fetched the bag of clothes from the table. “Sorry. Hope this isn’t awkward. But Mettaton left me all these, like, dresses, I guess? But they aren’t my size, or… Well. Anyway! I thought maybe you might like them?”

“Oh! Oh… F-Frisk. That’s sweet,” she said with a smile. “Th-Thanks.” She took the bag and stashed it in her dimension box. 

Frisk smacked her forehead. “Dude, we couldda just done that!”

“Whoops,” Sans said.

“Um… Uh… B-But, um, Frisk, I h-have a, um… A question?” Alphys said. “If you d-don’t mind. Undyne m-mentioned y-your, um… y-y-your story about looking for the t-trash, and I r-realized… I-I mean… y-you’re so young, and… a-and… um…”

Frisk tilted her head as Alphys struggled to finish her thought. The lizard sighed. 

“I w-would n-never had made it on m-my own like that,” she said. “It m-must’ve been hard.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Frisk said.

“She’s a tough little punk,” Undyne said.

Alphys bit her lip. She looked at Sans cautiously. He shrugged. Papyrus returned, balancing plates of food for everyone, and then began to pass them around, forcing Sans to finally sit up.

“Are we talking about how Frisk has a mysterious past?” he asked.

“It’s not that mysterious,” Frisk said with a laugh. “It’s just not all that important, either.”

“You really think that?” Undyne asked.

“Well, yeah, the only important stuff that’s ever happened to me was in the last year, since I fell into the Ruins,” she said with a shrug. “That’s all. No biggie.”

“B-But, Frisk, you… r-really never had parents? Nothing?” Alphys asked gently.

“Nope,” she said. “Not until my mom adopted me.”

“I still kinda have a hard time believing that,” Undyne said. “It’s just so weird. I mean, it’s not like humans just hatch outta eggs and have to fend for themselves. Uh. Right?”

“Who knows?” Frisk said with a laugh. “I don’t think so, though!”

“That’s okay, Frisk, Sans and I also don’t know where we came from, so please don’t feel too alone,” Papyrus said. He sat down beside her with his plate of spaghetti and gently patted her head.

“Paps. Obviously skeletons grow outta ice cream,” Sans said. “That’s why it’s good for your bones.”

“WHAT?!” Papyrus shrieked.

Sans grinned. “Yeah. Vanilla ice cream usually. Didn’t you know? I mean, unless you only have strawberry. But then you get pink skeletons.”

“And chocolate makes brown ones?” Frisk said. “Ooh! What about pistachio?”

“Oh, that’s… oh, that pale green? Yeah. But you get kinda the same with mint.” Sans shrugged. “Pistachio skeletons are a little nutty though.”

“You are pulling my leg, please tell me we did not magically grow out of bowls of ice cream!!!” Papyrus said.

Sans grinned and shrugged. Papyrus groaned and rubbed his face. Frisk beamed.

“D-Do…? Do you get striped skeletons from neapolitan?” Alphys wondered.

“Oh, absolutely,” Sans said.

“A-And… And what about from snail, though?” she pushed.

“Isn’t that, like, always different colours?” Undyne wondered. She was trying to hold back a grin.

“Yeah, that’s the toughest one. Kinda random. Grey, or maybe purple, or even kinda mossy? Who knows,” Sans said.

“Saaaannnnsss!!!” Papyrus whined.

Sans snickered. He shrugged again.

“Ugh, you are absolutely ridiculous,” Papyrus said.

“What else is new?” he said.

Papyrus folded his arms. “Now I’m curious. And I want to know about Frisk, too,” he said. “Little sister, do you really have no idea at all?”

“Not really,” she said. “This is kinda embarrassing, but I used to have nightmares about it, y’know? I think mostly I don’t wanna know the truth about that.”

“N-Nightmares about where you c-came from?” Alphys asked worriedly. “D-Did you worry y-your parents were scary?”

“Kind of? In my dreams, I’d see these two big shadowy people kinda tossing me out in the forest. They’d always say, you know, _stay out here_, _we don’t want you_, like, really mean stuff,” she said. “_Who would ever want a dumb kid like you? You’re useless. _That kind of thing. I mean… It wasn’t real. They didn’t even have faces. Not that I’d recognize someone, y’know? And I was definitely alone before I even saw a forest for the first time. But I’d always wake up and cry like a baby. I guess… I mean. I hate being alone. Obviously, right? And I guess those people, they were kind of scary to me. And—”

She squeaked when Papyrus whisked her into his arms, his whole being shining with reassuring magic.

“Nope, no no no no no, that’s awful, that is just the absolute worst!!!” he said. “You’re not dumb!! And…! And we want you. You don’t still have it, do you?! You’re not still scared of being alone, are you?!”

“I’m okay now,” Frisk assured him quickly. “I’ve been doing much better since I met you guys! Really. I’m fine.”

“But I don’t want you to have them at all,” Papyrus said, pouting. “I don’t want you to have any lonely nightmares.”

“I-It’s not l-like she c-can help it, Papyrus,” Alphys said gently, putting her hand on his shoulder. “But… B-But they are just dreams.”

“It’s true,” Frisk said with a nod. “Heh. Sorry guys, I guess sometimes it kinda shows that I’m sorta messed up, huh?”

“No no no, little sister, no, it’s okay,” Papyrus said. “I will just. Not let you go. That should be good enough. I think.”

Frisk laughed and Sans cut his eyes at her. She smiled sheepishly. He knew better than anyone how she felt. 

“Hah! Hey, Paps, don’t worry about her so much, alright?” Undyne said. “She has you, doesn’t she?”

“That is very true,” he said. “You know that, right, little sister?”

“Duh!” she said brightly.

The tape finally clunked and buzzed, and then went quiet. Undyne excitedly jumped back onto the sofa and stole Alphys away into her arms. 

The show started with a cold open. An anime, completely in Japanese. There was a teenage girl taking a train to school through a city inhabited by what seemed to be both monsters and humans. Seemed average enough until a giant monster erupted into the city with a huge explosion, bringing waves from the ocean with it. Papyrus gasped loudly.

The train crashed. The girl vanished and suddenly emerged, glowing with colour, and saved the train, lifting it right off the tracks with her own strength. She pointed at the giant monster and shouted a challenge and fireworks exploded behind her. Upbeat pop music started and the show’s opening began.

\- - -

The show, something that seemed to be called _Shuparainbow-Maho-Shojo— _or at least that was what they could make of it due to the lack of subtitles— made the monsters hoot and cheer. By the end of the fourth and last episode, most of them were singing along with the ending theme. 

Alphys clung tight to Undyne’s arm and beamed up at her. “That…! Th-That was a great anime! I d-didn’t know you had such a c-cool one h-hidden away! M-Maybe once we’re on the surface, we can find the rest.”

“Yes! Wowie! That was a great pick, Undyne!” Papyrus said. “Ooh, the part where the human turned pink and used the baseball bat to hit the mean ruffian into the ocean?! Fantastic!”

“I think that was the opening, bro,” Sans said.

“Yes! So it happened every episode, it was very exciting,” he said.

“I liked the cat monster,” Frisk said. “Thanks for showing us, Undyne, that was super cool.”

“Hah! Well I’m glad you nerds liked it,” she said; she got to her feet and brushed aside some of the napkins left around from dinner. “I wonder if that’s a real city? I’d love to visit it! Right on the ocean like that? So great, right?”

“We’ll look it up once we get up there,” Frisk said.

Undyne hit the rewind button on the player and cast a look back at Frisk. “We ever been to the ocean?”

“Mhm!” she said.

“On one of those, uh, day trip things?” she pressed. “Is it as nice as that? Like, in the show. That glittering,” Undyne said.

“With the sun on it? Yeah! Even prettier for real,” Frisk said.

“So hype!” she said. She checked her phone. “Oh. It’s gettin’ a little late, but I’m totally still wired. Anyone got anything more? Or should we head out?”

“W-Well, I, um… I-I did a lot of p-problem solving today b-before, um… Uh… Well! A-Anyway. I w-won’t f-feel too guilty for n-not getting b-back right away,” Alphys said with a sheepish smile. “D-Does anyone h-have any more f-favourite tapes? Y-You’ve all seen mine, I think?”

“Have we?” Papyrus asked.

“Oh! Oh, h-have you n-not?! You’ve never seen the…? Oh… P-Papyrus, we need to have a day. Just m-me and you, if n-no one else w-wants to s-see it again,” she said.

“I’m excited already!” he said. “And I’m sure you’ve all already seen my favourites. I just like Mettaton’s cooking programs.”

“And we’ve all seen those only a million times each,” Undyne joked. “Alright. Frisk?”

She shrugged and shook her head. “_Under Ground Hearts,_ but—”

“Did it,” Undyne said.

“Helped m-make it,” Alphys groaned, rubbing her brow. “You…? Y-You really like that, Frisk?”

“Yeah! It’s a great comedy!” she said brightly.

“A… comedy…?” The little lizard looked suddenly very relieved. “Oh, phew…”

Frisk laughed. Alphys leaned over the couch to look at Sans as he lazed on the floor.

“Sans, h-how about you?” Alphys asked. “D-Do you have a f-favourite show? O-Or a tape, or something?”

“Well, uh. I have one,” he said. “I’ll get it.” He vanished. 

Alphys jumped and Undyne laughed. The lizard sighed, smiled, and rubbed her temples. “Still not used to that,” she said quietly.

Sans popped back into the room holding an old cassette rather tenderly. “Alright. So, uh… I’ve had this one for a while,” he said. “Don’t pull it out much, ‘cause the front end is already a little busted. But, uh, it’s a show, I think. About a dude and some robots, and they make jokes over a crap movie. I have two episodes on here, and some weird old human commercials, I think. Not sure it’ll be for everyone, but, uh, since you wanted to see…” He shrugged. 

Papyrus’s face lit up and he clapped his hands together. “Sans, you haven’t pulled that one out in years! Ooh, I’m excited!” He gently took it from him. “Don’t you worry, brother, I will take very good care of it.”

“Well, if it’s as funny as that terrible Mettaton show, I’m into it,” Undyne said.

Sans grinned bashfully. “It’s better.”


	35. The Mysterious Red Soul Arc

Snowdin was quiet at night. The place came to a standstill, what little sound further muffled by a fresh dusting of gentle snow. The festive, colourful lights on many of the buildings painting pleasant splotches on the fluffy white ground below them. 

Papyrus was on his way home with a bounce in his step. He’d already walked the increasingly drowsy Undyne home, and then carried Alphys all the way back to the lab. Her bed was weird — it was a cube unless you kicked it — but he managed to figure it out and tuck her in snugly anyway. He knew she was busy, and he was very grateful, so he left a few surprises for her nearby for when she woke up.

As he came up to the house, he was surprised by a little disturbance by the windowsill. Some snow had been scattered, and brushed away. He looked it curiously, put his hands on his hips, and then looked around. Being as perceptive as he was, he noticed a little bit of a trail, like something small had peeked up through the snow every few feet. He followed it until it vanished behind their mailboxes. He smiled to himself.

He doubled back and looked disdainfully at Sans’s mailbox. It was packed to the brim with notes and letters, and there might even be a package in there. He squinted suspiciously and considered trying to weasel it out, but quickly ditched the thought. There was no way that the mailbox wouldn’t simply explode if he touched it, he was certain. His own mailbox’s little red flag was actually up, for once. He felt a small sting of dread. He couldn’t have forgotten to return a library book, could he? That was the last time he had gotten a letter that was not from Santa or “Sansta”, whoever that was, and he had barely been taller than the mailbox at the time.

Hurriedly, he reached in, grabbed the letter, and pushed the flag down. The envelope was a little heavy. When he opened it, there was a small note written on a napkin.

“_Thanks for the dinner!_”

That was it. And there was fifteen gold pieces in there, too. Papyrus smiled brightly and, pocketing the change, pranced back inside.

Sans and Frisk were both asleep, as he expected. They looked pretty comfy where they had flopped on the couch, so he decided to leave them where they were. He fetched them a blanket and tucked them in snugly, and then turned off the few lights that were still on. Very carefully, he took Sans’s tape out of their player— he was afraid to even rewind it for the sound it would make— and then, hoping his brother wouldn’t mind, opened up the dimension box on his phone and slipped it inside. He had never lost his phone for a day in his life: he was sure it would stay nice and safe in there.

He felt, rather suddenly, a small charge of energy tweak his soul. He noticed a little glimmer of blue; saw Sans’s magic leaking out from his closed eye. His brow furrowed sympathetically and he hurried back to the couch. He put his hand on Sans’s skull and closed his eyes, reaching deep through him with his magic. Their souls linked close. His brother’s cool energy wasn’t as agitated as he had worried it might be, but it didn’t feel quite right. He used his magic to reach in, as if grabbing him under both arms and scooping him up. The energy settled.

When he opened his eyes, Sans looked up at him groggily. “Oh. Heh. Thanks, bro,” he said.

“Bad?” he asked gently.

Sans shook his head. “Just kinda off. Thanks. We’ll be okay,” he said. “Really ‘preciate it.”

“Of course you do, you’re an absolute wreck,” Papyrus said.

“I know, right? Totally hopeless.” He grinned nonetheless. “That’s why I need a brother as great as you, right?”

“Absolutely you do!” Papyrus said. “I mean, to be fair, I feel most people would benefit from having a brother as great as me. But. You got quite lucky, didn’t you?”

“Luckiest guy in the whole world, bro,” Sans said.

“Nyeh heh heh! I know. Without me, you probably wouldn’t have even gotten out of bed in the morning for all these years!”

“That’s true.” Sans looked like he was already falling asleep.

“Sans! Honestly. You are the laziest skeleton in the whole world,” he said.

“Well, yeah, obviously,” Sans said with a smile. “Speaking of. Probably gonna turn in. Hey. Get some rest, too, huh?”

“Bah! Rest is for the tired! Which I am not,” Papyrus said. “But never fear, I will be around if you need me!” 

Sans stuck his thumb up. His eyes turned on the kid and they went dark. Papyrus tilted his head.

“What is it, brother?” he asked.

“Oh. Heh. Nothin’, it’s just…” He gently rubbed Frisk’s head. “Nah, nothin’.” 

“Brother. You were about to have a sincere talk with me,” Papyrus said. “And I think it would be a good step to take in not being a miserable Sans. What do you say?”

“Not so good at that,” Sans said.

“Try,” Papyrus insisted. “I know you can do it. And also your eyes have both gone totally dark and don’t try to tell me they haven’t because I can see them just fine, thank you very much.”

Sans went quiet for a few seconds. He chuckled. “Wish they didn’t do that, sometimes.”

“Well, I wish you would pick up that sock on the floor near the TV but some things are just facts of the universe, aren’t they?” Papyrus joked.

Sans laughed quietly.“Alright, alright, you got me.”

“FINALLY! Good. Tell me all of it, brother,” Papyrus said.

“It’s just… I feel kinda guilty.” He stared at the kid, settled in against him, and he sighed. “I was sorta, uh… excited, for a sec. When I learned she… You know, when I found out we sorta stick together in dreams. But at the same time, I never wanted her to… You know.”

“But you said she broke it,” Papyrus said. “Doesn’t that help? Though breaking sounds bad it was actually good this time?”

“Yeah. Does. But… Sometimes she pops in in the aftermath, y’know?” he tried to explain. “And before she broke it, it was always… her.” He sighed. 

Papyrus tilted his head with confusion for a second. His brow furrowed when it seemed to click. “Oh. Oh, so… So every time you had a…? Oh. That does sound kind of awful.”

“She’s a good sport, but… Poor little dweeb,” he said. “Heh. Wish I didn’t keep messin’ with her sometimes.”

“Oh, brother, don’t be like that,” Papyrus said with a sympathetic smile. “She’d never see it like that.”

He grinned as the light in Sans’s eyes began to return. He held him by the shoulder reassuringly. “You look better, you know,” he said.

Sans laughed quietly. “Yeah? I dunno.”

“I’d never lie to you.” Papyrus grinned. “You know. These other timelines, they’re not as clear for me as they are for you…”

“Thank god,” he said with a wink.

“But! You know. I do remember a little. It really is nice to see you worrying less,” he said. “I… remember. Feelings. And I feel somehow like a lot more days have passed than have actually passed. You know?”

“I know,” he said.

“I feel like you were very worried for a long time. And then very low,” he said. “Is that about right?”

“Nailed it, dude. Like always,” Sans said with a laugh.

“But now you feel a lot better than that,” he said. “I guess that’s why your magic is coming back. I’m very proud of you, brother.”

Sans laughed again and rubbed the back of his head. “Thanks, bro, that’s sweet of you.”

“I bet that’s why you could heal in Frisk’s old future, too!” he said.

Sans shrugged, but Papyrus merely grinned and then pushed in a little closer to hug him. “Heh. Dude. You don’t gotta—”

“Nonsense, you love hugs,” Papyrus said.

“That’s true,” Sans said.

Papyrus held his brother’s head gently and gave him a careful pulse of magic. “Hopefully the dreams will not be so bad.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Papyrus got to his feet and stretched his arms up high above his head. “Oh! Brother. Also, I put your special tape in my dimension box for safe keeping,” he said. “Just so you know. So that will not be a thing you worry about ever.”

“Hey, thanks a million,” he said.

“I missed watching it. It is a good tape,” he said. “I’m very happy it made everyone laugh.”

“Mhm.”

“And. Another thing. I think Asriel may have been by,” he said.

“Oh. Great,” Sans said. “Keep your distance from him unless you’re with Frisk, alright?”

“Um. Okay.” Papyrus looked confused. “I thought maybe we were friends, though?”

“Paps. You know. You’re fantastic. You’re the best friend anyone could ask for,” Sans said. “But that guy. He doesn’t care. It’s not that he wants to be like that. He literally can’t care. Okay? He might be nice to you sometimes. But it’s because he’s tryin’'to get somethin’ from you.”

“Liiiiiike my friendship? Does he want me to make him lunch? I’ll do it, he would just need to ask!” Papyrus asserted.

“Just do me a favour?” he said.

“Alright, alright, I will keep away from him unless Frisk is there, I promise,” he assured him. “Would you like some tea?”

“Sure, bro, why not?”

Papyrus nodded and got up to head for the kitchen. He started to boil the kettle and prepared the mugs, and poured a heaping six spoons of sugar into Sans’s. “Did you ever know Asriel when he was nice, Sans?” he asked.

“Nope,” Sans said.

“Don’t you think we could convince him to be nice?”

“Nope.”

“But he has to have good in him, doesn’t he?” he insisted.

“Nah.”

“Somewhere? Deep down? Just a teeny bit?”

Sans didn’t answer for a few seconds. Papyrus peeked back out of kitchen. Sans looked like he was asleep, slumped back against the arm of the sofa, with his arm over his eyes. Papyrus huffed and strode over to him, putting his hands on his hips and frowning.

“Oh, come on, you barely even had to walk today! I carried you!” Papyrus protested.

“Hm? Oh. Sorry, bro,” Sans said groggily.

Papyrus puffed out a sigh as his brother sat up straighter, a sleepy look on his face.

“Brother, I know you have bad dreams sometimes, but your napping schedule has barely been disrupted,” he said. “You haven’t even been to your job at all since Frisk got back.”

“Sure I have,” Sans said.

“When?” Papyrus said.

“Welp. Job description is to keep an eye out for humans.” He gestured to Frisk and grinned. “I been doin’ that, right? Two eyes, sometimes, even.”

Papyrus folded his arms. “Hmm. Now that you mention it. I guess… that is an acceptable loophole,” he admitted.

Sans winked and shrugged, but then rubbed the side of his skull.

Papyrus tilted his head, and then put his hand where his brother had touched and concentrated a gentle, healing glow. Sans slumped.

“You should have just asked, brother,” Papyrus said gently.

“Thanks, dude,” he said. “You mind holdin’ that for just a minute?”

“Not at all, just one second,” Papyrus assured him. He took the blanket and draped it around his shoulders snugly. Then, he put both hands on his brother’s skull and started up the healing again, a soft, warming light brightening the room. “You should stay comfortable. If you’re going to be so lazy and nap all the time—”

“It’s night, bro,” Sans said.

“In any case! You should be the absolute coziest you can be,” Papyrus said. “Might as well excel at something, even if it is resting.”

“Heh. You’re right. Always are,” Sans said.

“I know,” he said.

As Sans drifted off, Papyrus gently plunked Frisk against him and tucked them in again. He returned to Sans’s skull with more magic, focussing hard, just to be certain his headache was fully gone. He watched with interest as that little kid, still bundled up in her brother’s blue sweatshirt, clung close to him almost right away. He felt a hit of sympathy. 

Gosh, his little sister was really tiny, wasn’t she? Even next to Sans, she was small. But those little hands clung, tight and desperate. Like she was afraid to be pulled away. Papyrus wanted to understand her. He and Sans had been alone, just like she had, but Sans had always been there to watch over him when he was too small to do it himself. Frisk hadn’t had that. He didn’t understand how that could be. Maybe he would never understand. But, he didn’t like the places his thoughts carried him to when he imagined Frisk, alone, without them.

He held each sibling’s head in a hand, very gently, and set his bones aglow. He loved them both so much. It made the hum in his soul speed up a little. This had to make them feel better, didn’t it? 

Once he was satisfied that Sans was comfortable, and that Frisk had settled back in, he pulled back to return to his tea. Sans could have his when he woke up again.

\- - -

Wiping her glasses on the hem of her coat, Alphys stared at them, squinting. She blew on the lenses and wiped them again before putting them back on and staring at her computer screen. The problem wasn’t her eyes. Her screen was black and covered in white, gibberish text. 

It was midmorning. Alphys had woken up hours earlier, tucked into bed, with a very sweet note from Papyrus and a pot full of spaghetti beside her. She wasn’t exactly sure why she had tucked that in, too, or where he had gotten it, but she was grateful nonetheless.

She had spent the early hours with the amalgamate monsters downstairs, passing out bowls of pasta and the new comics she’d been given from the dump. Mrs. Snowdrake was a little more lucid than some of the others, and she left her in charge of the stereo and CDs for today, reminding her that they couldn’t just listen to one song all day or else they would get very bored. 

She also decided to put on a TV series for them, and sat, leaning up against the large compilation of dogs, as she checked through the UnderNet. There were some new selfies of Undyne and Papyrus. They must’ve been doing their morning training. Papyrus also posted a photo with Frisk out in the snow, announcing them as, “scarf twins with the exception of a few inconsequential differences”. Frisk had been clever enough to pull her hood up for the photo. They looked like they were having a good time.

When Alphys got back to work, she took a few moments to review, as she did every time she started up again. The numbers were starting to fall into place. Her goal was complex: an energy sacrifice from a monster, and then thousands of monsters, that would be sufficient to meet the minimum magical requirements for a new soul, but at the same time would not cause aging in the monsters like creating a full child might. 

She needed, as well, a certain level of something she called “solidarity”. It was a bit of a vague term that she had only coined two days prior, but it essentially represented the willpower of a monster to pull off something spectacular to help a friend in need. It was similar to determination in some ways, but seemed to be able to be summoned up by anyone without the same detrimental effects.

Solidarity was what was needed to bind the magic together, and then that final boost of determination was what would make it a soul. However, that solidarity would need to be inspired. Solidarity in monster parents came through their love and desire to create a child. That same reaction would be much harder to cause in the theoretical thousands of monsters that would take to build the soul. Something would need to trigger a desire in all of them: to give a piece of their soul and to be absolutely sure it would be helping to save the world. Despite her dread and her sense of disappointment, Alphys hoped that she might still be able to count on Mettaton to help with that. He had the ear and the heart of the people, after all.

Alphys speculated that every adult monster would be needed, especially since the souls of the two known “boss monsters” were unavailable for use. She sorely wished they weren’t. It would make everything so much easier, and they could risk a few hundred monsters not even participating. However, she understood Frisk’s concerns, and elected not to push the issue unless it was absolutely necessary. 

She realized that she would need, definitely, to set up her work station to analyze Frisk properly. She needed to know exactly how much determination was in her soul. The machine that had given her that extra determination had given Alphys a basic readout of what was added, so she knew that number at least. It made her sweat to realize it was enough to destroy dozens regular monsters; far more than she had ever worked with before at all. She wished she knew where it came from. The lab was her place, now. Her home. But it was still full of mysteries to her. It turned out, very quickly after she started work, that her computer screen had become one of them.

She had only looked away, had accidentally screwed up her vision pointing her phone’s flash for photos the wrong way. When she looked back at the screen and saw only nonsense, she was sure it was her eyes playing tricks. Turned out her eyes would much rather have been taken seriously.

She couldn’t make out a word or line of text, but it did look somewhat familiar. It seemed to be like those strange, algebraic determination equations Frisk had received via text on her phone. Alphys gulped. She tried to click off the screen; tried a command to open the computer’s task manager, but it didn’t work. She started to sweat. 

She hopped off her chair, phone in hand, and clutched it tight, pacing in indecision. She was on the chair again as quickly as she had left, aiming her phone at the screen. She took a photo and then checked. She pouted when she saw nothing of value because of the flash. She fumbled to turn it off and tried again. Better, but still blurry. She sighed. She couldn’t make her fingers stop shaking. 

She took a deep breath and tried to figure out what to do. She’d just wait to calm down. Or invite Frisk over to read the message in person. She needed to see her anyway, to read all that determination. But then, she needed a machine that could do it. Maybe if she copied the code on the machine on the lower floors, but that might take all day. Yes — she nodded to herself — she’d work on the code and the machine first.

She was still trembling when she turned off her computer’s monitor so she wouldn’t have to look at that message. She rubbed her hands together and took out her phone again. “_Undyne?” _she texted. “_sorry to bug you but um could you maybe come over to hang out and help me a little if you’re not too busy? I know it might be a loooooot of trouble but if you can find the time I’d really really really love to see u”_

At times like this, she was very grateful for autocorrect.

Undyne replied within a few seconds. “_just finishing up training w the squirt, OMW in 15”_

Alphys sighed with relief. _“omg thank u so much you’re the coolest ever ^__^xoxoxoxo”_

_ “lol np cya xo”_

Alphys’s cheek scales flushed a little red and she smiled despite herself. It was so weird to think that just a little while prior, she had been too scared to even talk to Undyne face to face most of the time. But now, she had three timelines worth of starting to date; being in love. It was nice. Warm and comfortable. It made her feel, somehow, important. Maybe that was strange. It also made her scales tingle and the pulse in her soul flutter and rush. And even then, there was still a year of things missing. It made her heart ache, in a way, to have it yanked away, but whatever had happened in that time they lost, she was so glad that it had happened at all.

She was jarred out of her daze by a gentle, hesitant knocking on the east door. It opened without her approval and Mettaton, in a blue-sequinned gown worn like a cloak, slipped in.

“Alphie, are you—? Oh!” He smiled sheepishly in a way that didn’t really suit his face, and brushed his hair from his eyes and he took the the gown off. “There you are. I, um. I stopped by last night. But you were out.”

“O-Oh. Um. O-Okay,” she said. “What, um…? What do you… want?”

“I know I messed up,” he said. “I just… I wanted to see if we’re okay? Somewhat? Just a bit?”

Alphys gulped. Dread settled all through her, down to her toes. “M-Mettaton, I, uh… I don’t, uhh…”

“I know, I know. I’m awful,” he sighed.

“Th-That wasn’t wh-what I was going to say,” she squeaked.

“I know. Listen. Look. I was wrong. Very wrong. To bring you into my terrible shenanigans. And then I brought my cousin in on it, and it was a mess,” he said. 

“Um… O-Okay,” she said.

“You’re still mad, aren’t you?” he asked, pouting.

“I’m n-not mad, I’m d—”

“Disappointed. I know. I know,” Mettaton said. “It’s the oldest cliché. But. It hurts like like a forty gigawatt laser beam straight at my chrome and fantastic septimimus gradiosa.”

“I, um…” Alphys said. “I’m n-not sure if those are, um… w-words, b-but—”

“Listen. Alphie. Doctor. Alphys. Royal Scientist.” Mettaton smiled without a hint of sarcasm. “You’re brilliant. And I came to apologize again. You know, seeing as this… used to be our movie day. That I have skipped. For a year. Sorry.”

Alphys raised a brow slightly. She bit her lip. “Um… O-Okay. M-Mettaton, I—”

“Wait! There is one more thing,” he said. “While you were gone— now don’t get mad— I borrowed one of your DVDs. Remember that special, super deluxe edition beach party special OVA of _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2_, the only worthwhile part of that whole atrocity? The one that used to skip a little and we couldn’t never figure out why?”

Alphys’s eyes went wide. “Oh my god, what did you—?”

“Well, I. Took it. And I. Got. It. Fixed!” He grinned and the DVD case appeared in his hand with just the telltale shimmer of the digitized magic that would have placed it in a dimension box. “Let me just… Um…”

Mettaton tried to open the DVD case and fumbled for a moment. He grimaced and then smiled bashfully. “Maybe just, um, imagine I held the disk up into the light, and it shimmered with stars and was fantastic and wonderful, okay?”

“I-Is there something wrong with your hand?” she asked worriedly.

“WHAT? Pssshaawww, no, of course not!” he exclaimed.

Alphys ignored him and grabbed his hand, and then took his glove off. She turned his blunt, metal fingers around as she inspected them and _hmm-ed_ to herself.

“It’s really fine,” he insisted.

“Oh! Duh. Th-The tapering isn’t r-right,” she said. “C-Come with me.”

She pulled him to the escalator, and then brought him to her worktable. She quickly grabbed her screwdriver with the magic tip and then gently brought it in close to his index finger. The tip retracted and tapered as it crackled with magic the colour of lemons. 

“Alphie, um—” he said.

“Shh, just gimme a m-minute,” she insisted. She did the same to each fingertip until they much more closely resembled one of a normal monster. She stole his other hand and did the same.

“O-Okay.” She wiped her brow. “T-Try that?”

Mettaton frowned slightly in thought and rolled his fingers over his thumbs. He tapped them each together, and then tried again to open that DVD case. It was a breeze.

“Oh! Alphie!” He tossed the case to the table and gave her a hug. “They. Are. Perfect. Thank you.”

“Wh-Why didn’t you j-just say the f-fingers weren’t d-dextrous enough?” she asked.

“I… I didn’t want you to f-feel like you did something… wrong?” he said. “Because you didn’t, obviously, it was just a small tweak, and—”

“Oh… Mettaton. That’s sweet,” she said. “B-But, I mean, you’re… Hah. You’re one of th-the few things I didn’t t-totally screw u-up. And b-besides, this… This may n-not be what e-everyone expected, but… i-it’s still a first. There’s g-going to be t-troubleshooting for a while. I mean… I d-don’t think progress is ever p-perfect the first time.”

Mettaton let out a long sigh of relief. Alphys couldn’t help but snicker. She rubbed the back of her head bashfully.

“I… I k-kinda can’t believe you r-remembered that disk w-was messed up,” she said. “I th-thought I was j-just rambling at the a-air when I told you.”

“Hah! No, Alphie, believe it or not,” he said, sitting on her table and crossing his legs, “I do actually listen to all the nerdy nonsense that spews from your cute little snout.” He poked her gently on the nose and she blushed. He smiled fondly. 

“So. What is Doctor Alphys up to today?” he asked.

“Oof. Um. A l-lot of work,” she admitted.

“What kind of work? Anything I can lend my perfect fingers to?” he asked.

“Well, I need t-to fix a few computers a-and reverse e-engineer a d-determination reader, b-because I really n-need to know Frisk’s levels but m-my computer c-can’t process it yet, all I know is sh-she’s off the charts, and—”

“Whoa, sorry, darling. Her what?” he asked. “Determination?”

“Oh! Oh, right, sorry, the, um… Th-That human stuff I was studying? Th-The stuff, I, um… The st-stuff I used to, um… You know…” She pointed her finger sheepishly towards the floor. 

Mettaton stared at her with a vacant expression for a few seconds. “…Oooooh. Okay. I get it. Wait. Wait uno momento, darling.” He raised his hands as if to pause her. “You’re saying that little Frisk is full of that stuff?!”

“I’m, uh… I’m a-actually pretty s-sure th-that’s all she’s made of,” Alphys said.

“Whaaaat?! Really?! How is she still solid?!” Mettaton said.

“Humans s-seem to be like that, b-but we know F-Frisk is pretty special, though,” she said.

Mettaton tilted his head very slightly. “Ooh. Okay. Well. How about this? We get a TV going downstairs, we watch some goofy show, invite your girlfriend if you want, and we’ll work on your whatever machine all at once, yes? Yes!”

Alphys couldn’t hide her surprise, but she smiled slightly. “…Th-Thanks, actually, that might b-be helpful. Um. Have y-you g-given, um… H-Have you given a-any thought t-to the, um, b-broadcast blaster?”

“Sorry, hun, what about it?” Mettaton asked.

Alphys frowned a little. “D-Didn’t you g-get my text when…?” She bonked herself in the head. “Oh! R-Right, I a-accidentally… N-Never mind. I w-was thinking. Frisk’s magic. Or, m-maybe more accurate is, the b-blue magic on her face? It s-seems like it w-wakes people up to t-time travel a little. S-So, I was just thinking…”

“You’re thinking of projecting it with my broadcast blaster?” he asked. “Well, Alphie, that might be interesting, but for what reason would you want to do such a thing?”

“O-Oh! Well… I just thought, th-there might be a situation where having just a little s-sense of it might h-help p-people get on b-board with us, I’m n-not sure,” she said. “I m-mean… I’ll have t-to do a little m-more research with F-Frisk, but… B-But maybe if we c-could… Project it to e-everyone… Isolate maybe j-just a little aspect of it… For wh-when the barrier’s supposed to break and… a-and Asriel tries to win b-by erasing memories. A-Anyway, it’s s-still just an idea, it’s not e-even s-super thought out yet, b-but—”

“Hold up, Alphie, you don’t need to rationalize to me,” Mettaton said with a laugh. “I’ll look into it for you, don’t worry your scaly little head.”

“Th-Thanks,” she said.

He nodded and smiled brightly. 

“So,” he said, “have you talked to little Frisk yet?”

“Um… A-About what?” she asked with a puzzled frown.

“Do you actually not remember or are you just doing one of those secret things where you pretend not to remember to emphasize how secret it is?” he asked.

Alphys tilted her head slightly, but then her eyes went wide. “OH! N-No! No, we h-haven’t talked about that,” she said. “Oh… J-Jeez, I guess… I guess that m-means Sans knows, now, too…”

“WHAT?! She told him?!” he yelped.

“N-No, no, when they, um… Oh! You w-weren’t there f-for that. She g-gave him her s-soul for the, um, the barrier thing? So th-they shared all their m-memories,” Alphys explained. “W-Wow, I didn’t e-even think about that.”

Mettaton’s jaw dropped. He stared at her in silence for a few seconds. “…She did such a dramatic thing for him?!” he demanded. “My god. That is some serious dedication in such a little girl!”

Alphys nodded.

“But they…? They really shared all their memories with each other? Is that really how it all works?” he said.

“Y-Yeah, seems like it,” Alphys said. “I guess I c-could mention it next time I s-see her, if you r-really w-want, but, um… I, um, d-don’t really see the point?”

“You’re not concerned?” He tilted his head. “It could ruin you. Me. Mostly you.”

Alphys’s cheeks flushed. She remembered the warm energy Frisk had shared with her. She smiled. “N-Nah. I’m n-not worried. B-But if you r-really want me to talk to her—”

“I would very much appreciate it,” he said.

Downstairs, the west door thunked open. Mettaton jolted a little and Alphys hurried for the escalator.

“Babe, you here?” she heard Undyne call.

Alphys was instantly blushing. “Y-Y-Yeah! Just up, um… I’m c-coming down.”

“Cool.”

She scampered downstairs and Undyne met her. Alphys blushed a little deeper. Undyne’s scales were glistening a little on her bare, muscular arms and she had her long red hair down and a little messy. She scooped her up to her level and gave her a kiss. Alphys giggled.

“Y-Your, um… Your h-hair looks nice,” she squeaked.

“Hah! Thanks! Just spent like an hour rollin’ in the snow, though.” She grinned. “Needed company?”

She nodded. “M-Maybe a l-little help? Might need to b-build a thing.”

“Sure. Whatcha been workin’ on?” Undyne asked as she put her down.

“S-Soul stuff, you know…” She shrugged. “What, um…? Wh-What were you doing this morning? T-Training, right?”

“Mhm. Paps’s magic is really shapin’ up,” she said. “Kinda a pity he’d never make guard, but—”

“Wh-Why would he n-never make guard?” Alphys asked worriedly.

“Oh! Hah. Well, besides the fact that the structure’s all gonna change once we get to the surface?” Undyne smiled. “Honestly? The guy’s too nice. I could never put him in a situation where he’d have a weapon in his hand. But if Frisk is right about what goes on on the surface, maybe he could be an honorary one, who knows?”

“Aww. You really c-care about h-him, huh?” Alphys said with a smile.

“Yeah. It’s kinda strange. When we first started a while ago, I always thought he was kinda weird. He just showed up at my house in the middle of the night asking to join up with the guard, and I slammed the door on him. Found him outside in the morning, waiting for me with that big goofy smile on his face, totally ready to go. So… I thought, what’s the harm in training him?” She laughed to herself; looked somewhat nostalgic. “I mean, I still think he’s kinda weird, but I kinda love him, too? His attitude is strangely inspiring. I’m real proud of him, honestly.”

Alphys snickered. “Th-That’s so nice. He really is a sweetie. I, um… I knew him wh-when he was j-just a little kid, and it’s r-really nice t-to see he hasn’t changed at all. And h-how was, um… Frisk’s t-training? Wh-What are you doing with h-her?”

“Oh! No big deal, just tryin’ to get that shield working,” Undyne said. “It’s going okay. But it’s only working if she’s either concentrating super hard or if she gets surprised. Paps said he wants to keep pushin’ it. Probably because he wants her to feel real safe, y’know?”

“M-Makes sense,” she said. “And the shield holds up?”

“Yeah. But I notice it sometimes sorta warps magic in a weird way before it hits it,” she said. “Kinda makes it jerk back just a bit. Totally didn’t even see it at first. Maybe it’s like, magic magnetic repelling stuff or something, I dunno.”

“Right, right.” Alphys nodded. “She, um… Sh-She’s okay d-doing battles and stuff?”

“She’s actually really good for someone who never attacks,” Undyne said with a shrug. “I think she probably could if she wanted. Kid’s got no anger in her, I doubt it’d do any damage, but she never hits. Kinda weird, but she’s a fast little punk, I’ll give her that. The more we fight, the harder she is to get a lock on, it’s pretty cool. And the funniest thing, she just says she loves the music.”

“The m-music?” Alphys repeated. “Oh! Oh, the battle resonance!”

“The what?” Undyne asked.

“Y-You know, when your hum goes fast? Th-That’s what we call it in the l-lab, a b-battle resonance. Oh… W-Wow, that’s kind of i-interesting. Sh-She mentioned l-liking them, b-but that’s sort of neat, actually.” She blushed and laughed. “Ooh, I h-hope she doesn’t a-ask to hear mine! I b-bet I’d just t-trip or something and h-have to end the b-battle right there.”

“Oh, nonsense, Alphie!” Mettaton called from the top floor. “You’d do a commendable job, I’m sure.”

Mettaton rode the escalator down gracefully, a leg up on the railing. “Ooh, ooh, can I show off? I’m absolutely going to show off.” He waved at Undyne. “Hello, darling!”

“Oh. You.” Undyne frowned and pointed at him while turning her focus on Alphys, her ear-fins pinning back. “This okay?”

“Y… Yeah. Yeah. It’s okay,” Alphys said.

“Alright,” Undyne said as the mechanical monster strutted onto the tile. “But I got my eye on you.”

“Lucky for me you just have the one, then, or else I would be in big trouble!” He winked and tossed his hair. “But. You must see what Alphie did for me. Look.” He showed off his fingers proudly, as if he’d just had a manicure. 

Undyne didn’t seem to get it. He got up closer to her and wiggled his fingers. 

“Look look, they were blunt before and she made them better,” he said. “Our Royal Scientist is very, very talented.”

“You just tryin’ to butter her up?” Undyne asked.

“Why no!” Mettaton laughed. “We’re going to build a thing! Aren’t we?”

Undyne grinned, patting Alphys on the shoulder. “Progress. Nice work. What’re we building?”

“Oof. W-Well…” Alphys was a little trepidatious thinking of that machine in the basement, but she also felt a little spark of excitement. “We’ll go d-downstairs. I’ll show you.”

\- - -

“Friiiiisk? Oooh Friiiiiisk?! Little sister, where are you?!” Papyrus scoured the lane through the blowing snow, a bone glowing at his fingertips. His eyes looked for any irregularity in the lumps and bumps of snow mounds on the ground. He picked out a tiny speck of brown. He prowled silently over to it, anticipating a resounding victory, only to realize what he’d seen had just been the colour of a branch. He felt a tug on his sleeve. “Just a moment, I’m…” He turned to see Frisk smiling up at him and he groaned “I thought you were over here!”

“I was over there!” She pointed back towards the trees. 

“Well, I suppose it’s your turn now,” he said.

Frisk laughed and shook her head. “I was actually coming to surrender. I’m, um… I’m pretty cold.”

“Surrender?! Well!!” His magic crackled out and he picked her up to hold her snugly against his chest. “I gladly accept! Captured by the great Papyrus again, I see!”

“Whoops,” she said with a laugh. “Well, congrats, though! Good battle!”

“Nyeh heh heh! Thank you.” He tilted his head. “You are a little bit different coloured than usual, little sister, maybe it would be best to go inside.”

Papyrus bounded back for the house. Inside, Sans was slumped in the corner of the sofa as usually, possibly asleep, definitely lazy, snug in that new hoodie and the t-shirt with three Zs on it.

“SANS! Wake up, lazy bones!” Papyrus said loudly.

“I am up,” he said, though he didn’t move an inch.

“You should have come out with us! Undyne and I had a training battle that was overwhelmingly cool,” Papyrus said, planting Frisk on the couch. “And! Our little sister did very well. Though she was also thoroughly trounced by me. As is to be expected.”

“Thoroughly,” Frisk repeated with a smile as she took off her jacket and scarf.

“Oh yeah?” Sans opened his eyes slightly. “Sounds like a big morning.”

Frisk shrugged and got up to hang her things near the door.

“Also! Exciting. Frisk’s shield powers are doing well.” Papyrus headed up the stairs. “So far nothing breaks it, so that’s good news! But at the same time, it doesn’t hold for all that long.” He vanished into his room and reappeared a few seconds later, carrying a blanket. He draped it around Frisk’s shoulders and cupped her face. “I hope you are not discouraged by your defeat,” he said gently. 

“Of course n-not!” she said. “I had a lot of f-fun.”

“Oh good!” He snuggled her gently. “I’m sure that, together, we can only get better and better! What do you think?”

“Absolutely, bro!” she said brightly. 

He beamed. “You have a fantastic attitude, little sister! I am very proud. And your magic shield! Very cool.”

“Thanks! But I k-kinda prefer this.” She glowed red her in palms and held his hands. “See?”

Her brother blushed and grinned wide. “I don’t blame you. Hey! Who knows, maybe one day your eyes will even glow! Wouldn’t that be cool? But this is very nice on its own!”

She grinned. He hugged her and then hopped to his feet. He picked her up and put her back on the sofa.

“Just going to update some of my battle records!” he said. “Be back soon! Do not get into any trouble! Sans, I’m looking at you.”

Sans shrugged.

Papyrus took off upstairs. Frisk puddled into her blankets and let out a sigh. Sans shot her an amused look. 

“Wanna c’mere?” he asked.

“Y-Yeah,” she said.

He floated her over and she huddled up close to him. “You don’t gotta pretend you’re not cold,” he said.

“I know, I know, I w-was just h-having a lot of fun, though,” she said, laughing a little. She sniffled and rubbed her nose on the back of her hand. 

Sans scoffed. She put her arms around herself and took a deep, settling breath.

“H-Hey,” she said, “d-do you think maybe we could read a l-little more today? If you feel like it?”

“Little later?” he said.

Frisk grinned. Her big brother seemed amused.

“You’re really into it, huh?” he asked.

“W-Well, that book is pretty good,” she said. “And… A-And I like trying to get the words.”

“Cool,” he said. “Welp. You are gettin’ better.”

The kid looked absolutely thrilled, right before her face crinkled up and she sneezed, very high-pitched and squeaking. Sans laughed.

“Does that hurt?” he asked.

“Usually no,” she said. “Oh. Oh no.” She sneezed again and her brother grinned. “That one hurt a little,” she said with a laugh.

Sans snickered. He shifted a little and lifted the kid to turn her so she was facing him. He pointed at her cheek. “Mind if I check a thing?” he asked.

She shook her head and she saw blue crackle between his finger bones. He cupped her cheek and, after a few seconds, his brow furrowed. 

“Hm.”

“Kinda hurts, huh?” she said.

“Yeah.” His left eye brightened with blue. “Just a sec.”

Frisk stayed still. The magic in his eye shone brighter. When he drew his hand away, he rubbed his brow and chuckled to himself.

“Sheesh,” he said.

“What?” she asked.

“One more go,” he said. “Hang on.”

He held her face gently in both hands and his brow furrowed as he concentrated. He closed his mismatched eyes and touched his brow to hers.

“Try matching me,” he said.

“Um. Okay.” She closed her eyes and stuck her energy up against his. “That it?”

“Hang on.” He went quiet for a little. He grunted quietly.

“Sans?” she asked.

“S’okay,” he said. “Try… Try thinkin’ of what you want me to see.”

Frisk knew exactly what she’d like him to see. She concentrated hard on that last day. The snow forts, the pie, Grillby’s. The good stuff. But her memories flickered, too, to her last moments there. Huddling behind the bar, saying goodbye. The heartache struck her hard; made her chest tighten uncomfortably. She took a deep breath.

“Phew,” he said. “Alright.” He pulled away and brushed the back of his hand across his brow. 

Frisk looked at him with confusion. “Did it work?”

“Dunno, what did you think of?” he said.

“Last day,” she said.

“Nope,” he said.

“Aw…” She pouted. “What were you looking for?”

“Answers, I guess,” he said.

“What’d you get?” she asked.

“Nothing useful, but…” He shrugged. “Judgement Hall round two. Not yours.”

“Yeesh.” Frisk grimaced. “Sorry.”

“Same.” He patted her head. “You’re tougher than you look, huh?”

She had that memory clear in her mind. It was the second time she’d done the Judgement Hall nightmare with him, but the first where they realized they were dreaming together. Papyrus hadn’t been there. Out on a trip with Undyne, probably. Without him, sometimes their energy couldn’t hold itself steady and the nightmares came hard and fast.

She remembered waking up, sobbing, aching, after the fight, just so happy to be able to move her body again. Sans all but kicked in her door only a few seconds later, left eye like blue fire, and grabbed her into his arms, demanding to know if she was alright. She held him as tight as she could but started laughing, coughing; choking as she tried to regain herself. She cheered for the creature whose mind she’d been stuck in to get dunked on. She laughed that sort of relieved, disbelieving laugh that was hard to stop. He started too, though she was pretty sure he had tears on his face. She would never forget that feeling.

“Weird coincidence,” he continued, and Frisk gave him a puzzled look. “Was just kinda whinin’ about that to Paps a while ago.”

“Whining? You?” she said. “About what part?”

“Your part,” he said.

“Oh.” She smiled bashfully. “It’s not… It’s not that bad.”

“You were cryin’ like a baby, dude,” he said.

She smiled and shrugged. He looked at her with a sort of sympathy in his eyes.

“It’s weird seein’ it from you and from me,” he said. “Where I felt like total crap. And you were actually happy.”

“You weren’t happy to be done?” she asked.

“I wasn’t too happy to blow you up, kiddo,” he said with a laugh.

“I was really glad you did, though!” She wrapped her arms around his chest, settling in close and cozy. 

He scoffed and gently rubbed the back of her head. She knew how he felt. She wasn’t sure that she could do what he did for her if their roles had been reversed, though. Her big brother was always so brave like that: he’d do exactly what he had to, even if his hands were shaking.

“Was that all you got?” she said.

“Nah. Grocery shopping. With Paps. Midway though,” he said. “We found this store that had all these, what d’you call them? Cannoli?”

“Oh! Yeah! That place!” Frisk grinned. “Lots of pasta, too.”

“Mhm.” He sighed. “Guess we can’t target.”

Frisk frowned thoughtfully and sat up a little. Nonetheless, she dragged her blanket over and bundled up again. “There sure is a lot of strange stuff going on this time.”

“Yup. Hey. I ever remember, remind me to just tell you everything, alright? Cause this is gettin’ a little ridiculous,” he said.

“It really is pretty weird, huh?” she said. “I don’t really get how just a sort of glowing handprint thing can hold all those memories. I mean. Is it even all the memories?”

“Don’t think so. Pretty sure it’s just the year’s worth. Haven’t gotten any repeats,” he said. 

Frisk rubbed her cheek. She frowned. “So… So. Ugh. Okay.” She frowned. “Time stuff is weird.”

“Tell me about it,” he said. “Kinda frustrated with myself, to be honest.”

“Why?” she asked.

“For some reason, I had the bright idea to keep whatever I was doin’ a secret,” he said. “Or maybe I just didn’t feel like, uh, explainin’ it. Whatever. Bad move.”

“You think it would help to know?” she asked.

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “This stuff is all off-script now. Anything extra could help. Just wish I remembered the surface, but for some reason I never—”

“Isn’t that just ‘cause of the CORE stuff?” Frisk wondered.

“…What?” Her brother stared back at her blankly. “Which CORE stuff?”

“Well, like… Those star things, that let me save and stuff,” she said. “They didn’t appear until the CORE went nuts. Right? That’s what I remember from you.”

“Right,” he said. “So you think it’s linked to that.”

“In some way, I think so.” She nodded. “I didn’t see any on the surface. And you don’t really remember anything from after the barrier went, so maybe that’s something to do with that, or the CORE energy, or any of that junk.”

“Huh.” Sans went quiet for a few seconds and then started to grin. He ruffled her hair. “You’re a smart little dork sometimes, y’know?

“You think that’s right?” she asked excitedly.

“Yeah, kinda,” he said. “Makes a bit of sense, huh?”

Frisk grinned. He rubbed the back of his skull and laughed a little. 

“Why didn’t I think of that?” he wondered.

“You don’t remember the surface right,” she suggested. “I mean, you have my stuff, but it’s not at the front, right?”

“True,” he said. “Hm.” 

“I mean, to be totally fair it just sorta occurred to me right now,” she said with a laugh.

He smiled faintly, but he slumped farther back against the couch. He suddenly looked exhausted. Frisk snickered and copied him.

“Still hurts?” she asked.

He shrugged and Frisk sat up again.

“Papyrus!” she called. “Sans needs you!”

The tall skeleton was down the stairs in one jump. “SANS! What seems to be the…?” Papyrus fell silent when he got a good look at his brother’s face and he smiled sympathetically. “Again?”

“Whoops,” Sans said.

Frisk made room on the couch beside Sans. Papyrus quelled a laugh and sat down with him, putting both hands on his head.

“Okay! Tell me when you’re good! And do not fall asleep this time!”

“That’s askin’ a lot,” Sans joked.

Papyrus scoffed. “So what did you do?”

“Just pulled some memories.” Sans grinned. “No big deal. Just kinda too lazy to nap the headache off.”

“Too lazy to…?!” Papyrus gawked and Frisk stifled a laugh. “SANS. You. Are. A. Mess.”

“Tell me somethin' I don’t know,” he said.

“Ugh, what would you ever do without me?!” he said.

“Nothin’,” Sans said.

“SANS.” Papyrus sighed. “Was it a big one?”

“Nah.” Sans smiled sideways. “Just two short ones.”

“Sorry,” Frisk said.

“Nah, if it’s anyone’s fault, you’re lookin’ at him.” He jabbed his thumb at his chest and then laughed. “As usual.”

“Sans, don’t be like that,” Papyrus chided. “Besides, when I got memories back, it didn’t hurt at all! Well, except for just a few seconds right when it started. Then it stung just a teeny bit.”

“You haven’t taken any extra back, have you?” Frisk asked curiously. “It’s okay if you do, you know. I don’t mind sitting still for it. Seriously.”

“Oh! Well, maybe sometime,” Papyrus said with a smile. “Thank you, little sister!” He pulled back and shook his hands out, and shot Sans a questioning look. 

Sans stuck both thumbs up. Papyrus grinned. 

“Alright! I am almost done my battle logs! I will return shortly to hang out with the both of you! Never fear!”

Papyrus wooshed up the stairs again, a boney whirlwind. Sans rolled off the sofa like a lump. He put his slippers back on and ambled towards the kitchen. 

“Doin’ hotdogs, interested?” he asked.

“Ooh! Yes please!” Frisk hopped up, trailing her blanket like a cape. “Let me help!”

“Sure thing, kiddo. Don’t chop your finger off this time, huh?”

“Saaans!” she whined.

They were halfway through preparing the food when there was a knock on the door. Papyrus was down the stairs before Frisk could even volunteer to get it. 

“Oh!! Hello, Kid! Good to see you again!” Papyrus said.

“H-Hi! Um… Hi, Papyrus!” Kid said. “Um, is Frisk home?”

Frisk darted out of the kitchen with a big grin on her face and Papyrus let her by. Kid smiled brightly.

“Hi!” he said. “Brought you guys something. From my mom. For going to the dump for us.”

He had a sling backpack’s strap around his chest, and he finagled the sack forward and opened it, offering the contents to her. Frisk took out paper bag and she peeked inside: homemade muffins.

“Oh my god, that’s so nice,” she said. “Thank you! Thank your mom!” She showed them to Papyrus and he grinned.

“Wowie, that is very kind!” he said. 

“No problem.” Kid readjusted his bag and smiled. “She really liked the clothes you brought. She, um, you know, hasn’t really ever been to New Home. At least not in a long time, so. Yeah. Thanks.”

Frisk nodded and she gave Kid a hug. He beamed.

“D’you wanna come in? We’re making hotdogs, there’s a bunch extra,” she said.

“Oh! No thanks, sorry, mom made me promise I’d come right back,” he said with a bashful smile.

“That’s okay, next time,” Frisk assured him.

“Next time I’ll make a proper meal of spaghetti and sauce,” Papyrus asserted. “You’ll love it, Kid, I’m sure!”

Kid laughed and then looked up at Papyrus with a smile, the scales on his snout flushing. “U-Um, hey, Papyrus? W-Would you… Um…” He looked a little embarrassed. “Would you be okay if I sort of copied your style and started wearing a scarf like yours?”

“Wh… What? O-Of course, I mean, I certainly do not have a monopoly on scarves!” Papyrus said.

“Yeah, but I mean, like… I dunno, you just always look so cool, and I was kinda wondering if…” Kid shrugged shyly. 

Papyrus stared back at him blankly for a few seconds before he began to beam. He scooped Kid up into a hug and squeezed him tight. 

“Of course! Of course, please do! I mean! That’s really—! That’s really really great!” he said shrilly. “I’ll even make you one!! What colours do you like?!” He held him back to look him in the face.

“Oh! Um, well…” He blushed. “I’d uh… I’d kinda like one just like yours! I mean, you’re super cool, so I thought maybe you—”

“Yes, yes, a million yeses!” Papyrus exclaimed. “I! The great Papyrus! Will get on this right away!” He plopped Kid back to the ground and sprinted away, cackling brightly.

“Wow, he’s fast,” Kid said softly. 

“Thanks for saying that to him, dude, you probably just made his week,” Frisk said.

“Yeah? Really? Wow,” he said. “I wasn’t sure he would even—” He jumped as Papyrus stormed down the stairs and wooshed by again, a small bag over his shoulder.

“I’LL MEET YOU AT YOUR HOUSE, KID, BE BACK SOOOOON!” he called as he raced down the street.

Frisk snickered and Kid smiled bashfully.

“See you later?” he asked.

“Yup! Thanks again,” she said.

She waved and closed the door as Kid headed off. When she turned back to the room, Sans was already on the couch with his food. He pointed to her plate and she happily jumped up beside him and dug in. She passed him a muffin and took one herself. They were delicious, and faintly cinnamon flavoured.

“Nice kid,” he commented.

“Hm?” she said.

“Kid.”

“Oh! Yeah, totally, he’s great. You know… I thought I’d be more upset. About the whole memory thing. But with him, it’s… still nice. Like we just picked up where we left off. Even if he never remembers it all the way.” Frisk shot him a grin. “Thanks to you, y’know?” 

“Oh?” he asked.

“You give good advice,” she said.

“Broken clock’s right twice a day, I guess,” he said.

She gently nudged him with her elbow. He snickered. When she finished her food, she took his empty plate too, to bring them to the kitchen. 

She was confronted with the counter and sighed. She stood on her toes and slipped the plate up on top. She felt her brother’s hand on her head.

“Hey, short-stuff.” He leaned casually against the counter as she pouted. “Don’t let it get you _down_.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s just a _little_ problem,” she said.

He grinned. “You won’t always be short, y’know. Might even get taller than me one day, who knows.”

“Bet I won’t,” she said. “Watch me just be so time-goofed that I’m just this forever.”

“Don’t feel too bad, I was stuck about your height from like, ten to fifteen, so.” 

He shrugged. Frisk looked thoughtful.

“Well. At least we’ll always have Papyrus, right? He’s tall,” she said.

“Absolutely.” Her big brother’s expression turned nostalgic. “Can’t believe how fast he… Heh. Listen to me, I’m gettin’ old.”

He leaned forward off the counter and stretched. He looked, for some reason, like he was a bit regretful. Frisk tilted her head and then tugged gently on his sleeve.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“Oh. Nothin’ important.” He laughed as she raised her eyebrow. “Just thinkin’ it wouldda been good to get you sooner, huh?”

“Hah! I wish,” she said. “Sometimes, I wish I was just born a monster instead. But then I wouldn’t be able to keep everyone super safe, huh? So… I guess this is best, right? Maybe I can’t glow right, but—”

“Eh, you’re bright enough,” Sans said.

Frisk snickered.

She felt her phone buzz rather suddenly and quickly pulled it out to check. Alphys.

“_heeeyyy Frisk! Can you please come ooooover? There’s some science something I need you for and also I want to pinch your cute wittle human cheeks!”_

Frisk tilted her head. No, someone masquerading as Alphys. Sans leaned over her shoulder and scoffed.

_“Also! Mettaton is perfect and I like to spend allllll my time complimenting him and also smooching fish LOL”_

“Oh. Mettaton,” Frisk said.

“Oh, cool, he’s a phone thief too,” Sans said. “I can relate.”

Frisk snickered and texted back. _“hiya! =D do you for serius need me tho?”_

_“absolutely sweetheart~~!!!!”_

_ “OK! be there soon!”_

“Oh great, back to work,” Sans said. “…I need a nap.”

“You can nap! I’ll head there on my own if you want,” she said. 

“Waitin’ on Paps, though, right?” he said.

“Heck yeah we are,” she said.

He nodded and vanished, but he reappeared in a blink on the couch. Frisk laughed. 

“So lazy,” she said.

“Hey, what can I say, I’m _bone_ _tired_,” he said.

Frisk rolled her eyes, but she snickered nonetheless. She scooted back onto the sofa and latched onto him again. “Me too,” she admitted.

“Paps worked you _to the bone_, huh?” he said.

“Only a little.”

Sans was out and Frisk had almost fallen asleep, too, when the front door slammed open. She jumped, heart pounding, her grasp around her brother tightening as she pressed herself as close to him as she could get. When her eyes refocussed, though, it was just Papyrus. She started to relax the moment she saw him smile at her. 

“Jeez, kid, what’s the emergency?” Sans asked groggily. “Someone tell you you gotta get a grip?”

“Hah! S-Sorry,” she said quietly, before turning her attention on Papyrus and loosening her hold on Sans. “H-Hey! How’d it go?”

“Oh! Fantastic! I had a new scarf like mine but with white stripes made at the inn! And I brought it to Kid and he loved it, naturally!” He grinned brightly and his cheeks flushed. “Scarves are not so hard, actually, just need someone to seal off the ends so they don’t fray, really, since Sans can’t do it anymore and all. I’m very glad Kid wanted one, actually. Finally! Someone! Has acknowledged my inherent coolness. To have someone want to copy my style of anything! That has always been my dream!”

“I thought your dream was to be a Royal Guard, dude,” Sans said.

“That, too! A skeleton can have more than one dream, Sans!” Papyrus said.

“I like one at a time,” he said, and he looked at Frisk. “Ready to go?”

“Go? Go where?” Papyrus asked.

“The lab,” Frisk said as she slid to her feet to get her hoodie. “Alphys needs us again.”

“Needs you,” Sans said.

“Ooh! Okay! Just let me finish up a few things and I will definitely meet you two there!” Papyrus said. 

He raced upstairs once more. He slammed the bedroom door and Frisk winced. Sans shot her a look.

“Want me to tell him to not?” he asked.

She shook her head. Sans shrugged and reluctantly sat up. He tapped his toes back into his slippers, put a hand on her shoulder, and then shifted.


	36. The Mysterious Red Soul Arc

Alphys almost spit her soda when she saw the skeleton and the kid appear in front of her. “J-J-Jeez!” she said.

“Sorry!” Frisk ran over to give her a hug. “Hiya!”

“Oh…” Alphys gently hugged her back and laughed quietly. “H-Hi to you, too. Hi, Sans. Wh-Where’s…? Oh. R-Right, you can’t teleport Papyrus, r-right?”

“Not yet he can’t, but later, maybe. We’ll see,” Frisk said. “He’s coming, though. So what’s up?”

“U-Um, well… F-First, I… I was wondering, if you could… um…” She pointed to her computer. “L-Let me show you.”

She turned the monitor on and they waited for the screen to fade back in. There was a lot of writing on it. Sans tilted his head and his brow furrowed when he looked at Alphys. She bit her lip nervously.

“C-Could you, um… C-Could you see if y-you can, uh… I-If you can read that?” she asked.

Frisk looked confused, but she nodded and clambered up onto Alphys’s spinning chair. She sat up on her knees to get closer to the screen, and felt Sans hold her soul steady when she wobbled precariously. She laughed.

“Thanks, bro. Alright. Um…” She squinted. “Okay. It says: S… _Solidarity. Brilliant. You’ve always been brilliant. So proud._ I see thr— Oh! Through. _I see through the light. Don’t mean to startle. This will help. Reading the red. _Then a heart. And then it’s just a bunch of algebra stuff.”

She looked back at the others. Sans was frowning and Alphys was gawking. Her soda was about to fall out of her hand. 

“Don’t drop it,” she said.

Alphys quickly snapped out of it and chugged the rest of her drink before throwing the can over her shoulder. She stood on her toes beside the desk, knocked some junk to the floor, and heaved out a piece of paper from underneath something and a pen from a jar of a few dozen near the back of her desk.

“Can you write it down? A-All of it?” she asked. “J-Just copy it exactly?”

Frisk nodded.

Alphys let out a deep sigh and paced. Sans gave her a quizzical look.

“That all mean somethin’ to you?” he asked.

“S-Someone… Someone must be w-w-watching me. I… I… Oh m-man.” She took a deep breath to try to calm herself. Her hands were still shaking. “Solidarity. I j-just… I just named it th-the other day. It’s what h-helps m-magic from d-different monsters stick to each other. I-It’s the other binder w-we need besides determination.”

“Oh. Hey. Good one,” Sans said. “But that other stuff?”

“I… I’m n-not sure,” she said. “I’ll h-have to l-look at it, b-but… But… It w-was right. Last time.”

“So it’s the same guy who texts me?” Frisk asked. “I mean… I guess if you can’t read it—”

“H-Hang on, wh-what do you mean _texts you?_” Alphys asked worriedly. “Do th-they send you m-more of these?!”

“No no, just… like… Little friendly messages,” she said. “_Have a good day. Stay warm_. Little hearts and stuff. Stuff like that.”

“A-Are they w-watching you, too?” she wondered quietly. “S-So Frisk, wh-what does the message l-look like to you?”

“I dunno, just normal I guess,” she said.

She went back to writing and Alphys let out a high, squeaking sigh. Sans patted her shoulder. She rubbed her head and her increasingly furrowed brow. 

After a minute or so, her phone began to ring, playing something in Japanese. Alphys hurriedly scrambled to answer the call.

“Moshi moshi?” Her face paled after a few seconds. “O-Oh. Oh. Um… H-H-Hang on?” She raised one finger and hurried off to the other end of the room.

She came back a few minutes later, looking a little shaken. Sans shot her a questioning look.

“Sup, Doc?” he asked.

“You okay, Alphys?” Frisk said.

“Oh… Oh yeah, j-just fine,” she said.

“Look kinda spooked,” Sans said.

“Oh! W-Well it was just my, uh… s-s-someone, um… Someone c-calling about a m-monster falling a-and—”

“Oh no, someone didn’t—?” Frisk squeaked, but Alphys quickly shook her head.

“N-No, no, n-n-not yet, e-everything’s okay f-for now,” she said. “Anyway! It’s fine. Almost done?”

Frisk nodded.

Soon enough, Frisk hopped down from the chair and handed her the copied page. Her eyes skimmed it and she groaned. The kid tilted her head, and Alphys forced a smile and patted her shoulder gently.

“Th-Thanks, Frisk,” she said. “You seem pretty okay with this, huh?”

“Well, this guy, whoever they are, they’re on our side, right?” she said. “Look. They said they were proud of you. They think you’re doing a really good job. Which is totally true, by the way, so…”

“…I h-hope you’re right,” Alphys said, though she smile a little. “Th-Thanks.”

“Was that all?” Frisk asked.

“Oh! O-Oh, actually, n-no,” Alphys said.

“Dang,” Sans joked.

“W-We’re just putting together something strong e-enough to, um… T-To maybe get your r-reading, Frisk,” Alphys said.

“Oh! Is that hard?” she asked.

“N-Not too bad, a-actually, if my math is right, j-just needed something m-more heavy-duty f-for it,” Alphys said.

“Yo, don’t go all mad scientist on my kid, alright?” Sans said.

“I w-won’t! N-Not much, anyway,” Alphys said with a shy smile. “It’s n-not invasive or… or a-anything like that. C-Come downstairs with me?”

Frisk nodded. Alphys headed towards the elevator, and the others followed her. Inside, Sans supported the wall and then poked the kid and held out his hand. She quickly fished in her pocket and gave him her phone. He leaned back and sleepily began to text as the elevator started to descend.

“Oh! Oh m-my god. I’m sorry,” Alphys said quickly. “I sh-should’ve offered you guys a drink, I—!”

“Oh, no, don’t worry about it,” Frisk said.

“I can go back,” Sans said.

Frisk shook her head. He shrugged and kept texting. 

“S-Sans, are you talking to s-someone?” Alphys asked curiously.

“Papyrus. And lookin’ at our mystery dude’s messages,” he said.

“Um… Sh-Shouldn’t you have asked first?” she asked quietly.

“Why?” He looked confused. 

Alphys jerked her thumb at Frisk. His brows raised. Alphys tented her fingers. He sighed.

“Kid, do you mind—?”

“Nope!” she replied.

He cut his eyes at Alphys and she blushed a little.

“S-So, do you two just, um… I-I mean…” she said. “O-Okay, is it psychic or s-something?”

“What?” Frisk asked. “Is what psychic?”

“Just inferences,” Sans said. 

“What the heck is that?” Frisk asked.

“Oooh…” Alphys said.

“Huh?” Frisk tilted her head. “But what’s an—?”

“It’s like… you come to a conclusion based on facts you already have,” he said. “So ‘cause we know each other’s minds super well, then…”

“Oooh, okay, I think I get it!” she said.

The elevator clunked down and the door opened. The giant amalgam of dogs greeted them cheerfully. Frisk was instantly petting their head and they shoved in close, bum wiggling in the air along with that long tail. Sans snickered and Alphys gently took her hand and guided her down the hallway.

“So. Example. Your idea about those save things. That’s an inference,” Sans said, petting the dogs as they put their head on his shoulder as they walked. “Conclusion. Assumption but with more facts.”

“Oh! Cool,” she said.

“What s-save things?” Alphys asked.

“Oh! Did we not…? Let me show you! There’s a few down here,” Frisk said. “These weird little star looking things. They’re what let me stick to a spot in time.”

She scampered into the room of beds with pink sheets, past a few lazing amalgamates, and went straight for the light across the room. She pointed at it. Alphys squinted and readjusted her glasses. She pushed in a bit closer. 

“I don’t, uh… I d-don’t… see anything?”

“You don’t?” Frisk frowned with confusion. “Really? Weird!” She touched her hand into the light and stuck on.

Alphys let out a little gasp. “I saw that! A l-little glow! Was that it?”

“Basically, yeah,” Frisk said. “To us, I mean… To people who can see it? It looks like… kinda like a light turning into a star, I guess. Hm. I wonder if the four points are important, though?”

“Only if you think Time Cube is a thing,” Sans said with a joking grin.

“What?” Frisk asked.

“A-And so… you just, um… s-saved, just now?” Alphys asked.

The kid nodded. 

All of a sudden, though, there were blobby monsters peeking at her from under a nearby bed. The long-necked bird-like monster peered at her from around a corner and Mrs. Snowdrake waddled up to her and looked at her curiously. She hummed softly and then touched the kid’s cheek with her somehow dry, goopy wing. Then, she wandered off without saying a word. The others settled at the same time, Big Dog so much so that they flopped on top of Sans, pinning him to to floor.

“Oh m-my god, Sans?!” Alphys demanded.

“I’m fine,” he said from somewhere in the mass of fur and dogs. “S’kinda warm…”

“Don’t y-you fall asleep under there,” Alphys said quickly. She put her shoulder against Big Dog and shoved them until she saw a bit of Sans. She grabbed his arm and pulled him partway out before backing off and panting. 

Sans rested his cheek on his fist and snickered. “It’s fine, Doc, I got a, uh, bit of a secret weapon.”

“R-Really?” she asked.

“Well, I’d say _no bones about it, _but…” He conjured a bone hovering above the tip of his finger. “…That’s exactly what it’s about.”

Alphys groaned, Frisk giggled, and with just a quick flick of his finger, the bone was flying through the air, and so was Big Dog. 

As they wrestled with the bone, Sans rolled onto his back. Frisk snickered and ran up. She held out her hands and, after a second, he grabbed her and she pulled him upright. He rubbed the back of his skull.

“Clingy, huh?” he asked.

“Y… Yeah. That one is, um… They’re basically, th-the, um… A-All the p-parents l-left of the dogs th-that work for the Royal Guard in S-Snowdin.”

“That’s _ruff_,” Sans said.

“Oh m-my god.” Alphys put her face in her hands, but couldn’t quell a tiny laugh. “Sans, th-that’s awful.”

“They seem happy, though,” Frisk said quietly. “I mean… All things considering, right?”

“Y-Yeah. Yeah. I mean. They are.” She pointed at the dogs. “Th-They were all friends. A-And all dogs. Th-They still love sn-snacks, and bones, and p-pets, and e-each other, s-so… So r-really, they’re one of the best off here. Some of the others, though… A-Anyway. Should w-we go?”

“Can we wait for Papyrus?” Frisk asked.

“Oh! O-Oh, right, of course!” Alphys said. “R-Right. S-Sorry, I almost forgot…”

She looked like she still really wanted to hurry on anyway, but she sat down on one of the beds. A goopy creature slunk up beside her and she pet them absently on the head. Frisk yawned and sat down with her brother. She grabbed one of his arms and held it around her. He scoffed and hugged her against his chest. She grinned. 

“S-So kawaii, can’t deny-ii,” Alphys mumbled.

“You say somethin’?” Sans asked.

“Wh-What? N-No, no no no, nothing,” she said.

Sans raised a brow and Alphys blushed.

“I-It’s just… you two, it’s, um… It’s j-just kinda cute the way you… N-Never mind.” 

“So, how’s the fanfic going?” Sans asked.

Alphys’s scales went a deeper red on her cheeks. “Sans!” she squeaked.

“I wanna know, too!” Frisk said brightly.

“R… Really?” The little lizard’s eyes went wide. “…Seriously?”

“Yeah, sure!” Frisk said.

“W-Well, um… I… I actually restarted?” Alphys said. “B-Because, um, it st-started to get a little too d-dark. S-See, th-the way the story was g-going, it made A-Asgore kind of, um… N-Naturally the villain? A-And th-that didn’t feel very good, s-so I, um… I scrapped that one a-and started on a k-kind of cuter one?”

“So how’s it go now?” Frisk pushed.

Alphys was still blushing, but her eyes were alight. “Oh! W-Well! Um, it starts with, um…! With Sans! And he’s, um, a scientist. A-And he’s working on the, um… On the C-CORE one day with some soul r-research, and i-it overloads with d-determination and j-joins with the th-thing he was making and b-becomes, like, a l-little human baby?” She tapped her fingers together bashfully. “B-Because of all the, um, determination. S-So, he has to s-sort of leave the l-lab and k-kind of deal with r-raising both this l-little human— which he, um, d-doesn’t really know much about— and also P-Papyrus, because he’d be pretty young at the t-time, too.”

Sans was clearly holding back a laugh and Frisk grinned.

“Ooh! So I get to hang out with little Papyrus?” she said. “That’s really cute! He… Oh my god, he was super cute back then, huh?”

“Mhm. You’d fit right in,” Sans said.

Frisk giggled and couldn’t help the big grin on her face.

“So, um… Um… Th-Then, a few years later—” Alphys started.

“Wait, a few years? You’re writing about years of stuff?” Frisk looked amazed. “Won’t that take a really long time?”

“Nah, dude, she’d do a time skip,” Sans said. “That’s when an author thinks a thing will be kinda boring and skips around in time to the interesting bits. Like, uh, words doin’ time travel.”

“Oh! Really? Did they do that in the _Trident of Vengeance_?” she wondered.

“Nah, not much, that happens over, like, two weeks or whatever. I think there’s a boat trip or something in one of the other ones, though.”

“Oooh,” Frisk said.

“Y-Yeah. I, um… I do kinda linger on stuff I th-think might be cute, sometimes, though,” Alphys said. “I mean… It d-doesn’t always advance the plot but s-sometimes it’s good for character b-building? I g-guess it’s more slice of life st-style anyway.”

Sans grinned and then looked at her very steadily. She started to sweat.

“So here’s the most important question,” Sans said. “Disaster Blasters, or blaster disaster?”

“Oh! Oh. I… I h-haven’t decided y-yet,” she said. “M-Maybe a bit of both.”

“Yay!” Frisk clapped. “That’s exciting. So when can I read it?”

“Ummm… Uhhhhh…” Alphys grinned nervously. “Um… At… At s-s-some point?”

Frisk stuck her thumbs up.

“Um… H-Hey. Sans?” Alphys started blushing again. “Is… I-Is there anyone y-you’d, uhhh… You’d, um, be okay to be shipped with?”

“Did you have someone in mind?” he asked.

“W-Well… N-Natural progression didn’t super l-lend itself t-to it yet. I mean… N-No, I don’t, uh… I could make someone up? Wh-What’s your type?”

Sans shrugged. “Don’t really have a type.”

“R-Really? Nothing? N-No one?” she asked.

He shrugged again and shook his head. Alphys pouted for just a moment. 

“Okay, o-okay, it’d be forced and w-weird at this point anyway,” she said quietly.

Frisk snickered and looked back at Sans with a grin. “You’d be an okay alternate universe fanfiction dad, I think.”

“Yeah? Heh. Dunno, dude, I’d have to be an adult like, more than not at all,” he said.

Frisk laughed.

“Sans, you’re the s-same age as me,” Alphys scolded.

“Yeah, give or take.” He winked. “You’ve always been better at it than me, though.”

“You say th-that about literally e-everything, though,” she said with a laugh. “And it’s h-hardly ever true.”

He shrugged. Frisk turned around and stood up, grabbing his face in her hands.

“Bro, you’re great! You gotta believe in me who believes in you!” she said loudly.

He laughed and she hugged him. Alphys cooed.

“You two are t-too cute!” she said loudly— more so than she had intended. 

Frisk snickered. The lizard blushed. Sans grinned and patted the kid gently on the shoulder.

“So, what else are you doin’?” he asked Alphys. “You gotten far, then?”

“K-Kinda,” she said shyly. “It’s… nice. T-To… Okay. This s-sound really, r-really messed up and weird. B-But, it feels g-good to write a place where… wh-where you weren’t alone, Frisk.”

Frisk turned back around and tilted her head. She smiled, though. “Yeah. That’s kinda weird. But it’s really nice, too.”

Alphys smiled sheepishly and rubbed her headspines. 

“Can I a-ask you something?” she said.

“Of course,” Frisk assured her.

“Did… D-Did you ever think…? Did you ever th-think of, um, looking for your parents? I mean, above ground,” she said.

Frisk’s brow furrowed a little. She clung to Sans’s arm. “No.”

“N-Not at all? You don’t wonder?” Alphys asked gently.

Frisk shook her head, gripping a little tighter onto her brother. “No. Where I was, if… if someone left me there, either something horrible happened to them, or they’re horrible. Either way, I don’t… I don’t care anymore,” she said. “I sometimes used to wonder. I still don’t really know who I am, I guess. But… No. I have a family. I have a mom. It just happens that they’re monsters, and for me, that’s better than anything else in the world. I don’t need anyone else. Just you guys.”

Alphys smiled fondly. Sans ruffled her hair gently. Frisk cast a glance at him over her shoulder as if for reassurance and he leaned back and stuck his thumb up. She smiled.

She took a deep breath. Mrs. Snowdrake waddled back over to them, drawing their attention, and to their surprise, she took Frisk by the hand. A little confused, the kid got up, and the monster nodded and smiled a little, and then began to lead her across the room. Frisk looked back over her shoulder and shrugged. Sans shrugged back.

“Heh. I’m g-glad they seem to like her,” Alphys said. “Sorry, that w-was a little bit of a touchy s-subject, wasn’t it?”

Sans shrugged. “Actually,” he said, watching as Mrs. Snowdrake took his kid towards a table of arts and crafts, “believe it or not, that was progress.”

“Y-Yeah?” Alphys smiled a little. “Th-That’s good. D-Did, um… Did she used to worry?”

“It’s always hard bein’ a kid. Sometimes, you don’t know where you belong even normally, huh?” he said. “And that kid, well…”

“Right. Right. H-Hey. You know. You are a r-really good big brother,” she said.

“And I better be a really good AU fanfiction dad, too,” he said, flicking his index finger towards her.

“Hah! H-Hey. Th-Thanks for… F-For being a good sp-sport. I know, it was just a dumb fanfic, but—”

“Doc, I don’t care,” he said. “I mean, not in a bad way. I mean just do what you want.”

“Thanks,” she said.

“But I’m gonna read the whole thing.”

“O-Oh n-n-no,” she stammered.

At the table, scattered with rough drawings in messy crayon and coated with glitter, with little blunted scissors teetering near the edge, Mrs. Snowdrake took her time running her melty wings across some sheets of crinkled paper. Frisk wasn’t sure what she wanted, but she waited patiently.

“Hmmm… Honnnney…? You… see Snowy…?” she asked slowly.

“S-Snowy? Oh! Yeah. Yeah. I have,” Frisk said.

“…Happy?” she wondered.

“Oh. He, um… Yeah. But he misses you,” Frisk said gently. “B-But don’t worry! Um, as… as soon as we fix things. You can go home. It’ll be safe. J-Just… we just… Doctor Alphys just wants everyone to be okay.”

“Heh… Heh…” Mrs. Snowdrake pulled back with a slightly misshapen, folded sheet of paper clutched close. “Will you… bring this… to Snowy?”

Frisk nodded and took the paper. She looked at it curiously and then looked at the amalgam of monsters before her. The strange, dark eyes of Mrs. Snowdrake bored into her. She put her hand on Frisk’s and unfolded one segment of the paper. There were little cuts in it. Frisk opened it up and her heart felt like it hit the floor. Tears immediately came to her eyes. A snowflake.

“W-Wow. H-Hey, that’s super n-_ice_ of you,” she said, her voice squeaking a little. “Um… There’s _snow_ way he won’t love it. It’s really _cool. _S-So… So. You can count on me. I promise.”

“Heh… Heh heh…” Mrs. Snowdrake looked happy. “Heh heh heh…”

She wandered away, chuckling, and Frisk quickly folded the snowflake back up and slipped it into her dimension box so it wouldn’t come to any harm. She quickly wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. A door banged and echoed in the large room.

“HELLO! The great Papyrus is in the building! Greetings, brother, Doctor, and now where is—?!” Papyrus strode towards her. “Ah! Frisk! There you are, little sis…” His face fell. 

She quickly wiped her eyes again. He dropped down to hold her shoulders.

“Little sister, were you crying?!” he demanded.

“N-No! No. I, um… I just got snow in my eyes,” she said.

“…That makes no sense,” he said, tilting his head.

“No, it makes _snow_ sense,” she said.

“BAH!” He threw his hands in the air and she couldn’t help a smile. “Frisk, that was absolutely horrible.”

“I know, I know. Can I still have a hug, maybe?”

“Pffft, of course.” He wrapped her in his arms. “Bad jokes or no, you are always welcome to hugs.”

Frisk settled into his arms, and didn’t really want to let go of him. 

“G-Guys, um…?” Alphys waved at them from across the room. “Ready t-to go downstairs?”

\- - -

The room deep below, where Frisk had been shot through with determination, had been cleaned up only to be crowded once more by machine parts carefully, but precariously, arranged into a sort of horseshoe shape. Undyne eyed their handiwork curiously and then turned to Mettaton. The mechanical monster was gliding around on the wheeled chair from the control room.

“Dude, are you sure this is what she wanted?” Undyne asked.

“Yes, quite sure, darling!” He slid over to meet her and projected a scan if Alphys’s diagram in a ring of light in his palm. “See? Perfect!”

“Hope so,” Undyne said.

Her ear-fins lifted to the sound of the door clunking and she raise her hand to wave to the four coming in. 

“Undyne!” Frisk said brightly.

Undyne grinned and readily accepted a hug from the kid and mussed up her hair.

“Shield progress?” she asked.

“It was good!” The kid turned quickly as if just suddenly noticing Mettaton. “Oh!! You’re here, too? Hiya!”

“Hello, darling!” he said brightly.

“Smoothed it over?” she asked.

“A tad.” He was smiling quite wide, however. “That shirt is adorable on you, sweetie. But a little ill-fitting?”

“What, this?” She looked at her shirt— one that was once Sans’s: it read _Bone Tired— _and she smiled bashfully. “Thanks! It’s one of my brother’s old ones. I think he has a new one just like it. Um. Somewhere.”

“Whaaaat? You’re wearing Sans’s old clothes?!” Mettaton demanded shrilly. “Why?!”

“I only own one shirt,” Frisk said with a laugh. “None of this stuff is mine. Except my sneakers, I guess.”

“Well, it’s kinda yours now, kid,” Sans said. “It’s not like I want it back.”

Mettaton frowned and pouted, folding his arms and tapping his foot. “Sans, really, you couldn’t find her something else?!” he demanded.

“Not a lot of clothes stores in Snowdin, dude,” he said with a shrug. 

“And those lovely dresses, they were—?”

“Too big,” Frisk said bashfully. “Sorry. But I appreciate it!”

“D-Don’t get on h-her t-too much about that, huh?” Alphys said gently, nudging Mettaton with her elbow. “Okay! I’m gonna just g-get this all f-finished now.”

“Can I help?!” Papyrus demanded.

Alphys chuckled and patted his arm. “Th-That’s alright, Papyrus, I th-think I got this one.”

She waved them all a few paces back from the mostly assembled machine and then took a stance in front of it. She cautiously took off her white lab coat and sucked in a deep breath. Her magic, lemon yellow, bristled across her scales and crackled down to her fingertips. She touched the machine before her gently and the magic spread, dancing across the makeshift, recycled metal parts and the shiny fixtures, all connected to bits of laptop at the centre. It began to float and she shot a look at Undyne. She nodded and raced away, and then came back with a part of an old desk to support one side and an upside-down, broken bed frame for the other.

The screen on it crackled to life with pale yellow and then faded. Alphys sighed, dimmed her magic and wiped her brow on the back of her hand. She was sweating a lot. She turned to the sound of clapping and saw that it was Frisk.

“Wow, Alphys, that was awesome!” she said, her eyes all but shining.

“Ooh, I’ve never seen magic do that before,” Papyrus said.

Alphys blushed and rubbed her headspines, and Undyne passed her a small towel and a glass of water. “Th-Thanks,” she said, dabbing her face. “Now just… uhh…” She hurried back towards the control room and began fumbling with some long cables. 

Mettaton rolled his eyes and went to join her.

Frisk curiously circled the strange, crescent-shaped metal thing. She reached up and gently touched it. It was very solid. “So you think this’ll work?” she asked, looking up at Undyne curiously.

She shrugged. “Dunno. Hope so. Spent all morning on this thing,” she said with a wry smile. “She get you to look at the weird screen thing?”

Frisk nodded. Alphys jogged, panting, back into the room and stood on her toes to attach a power cable to the machine. It hummed and sparked, and the screen lit up white. Her eyes lit up and ran away again just as Mettaton had caught up with her, forcing him to spin right away and chase after her. Undyne held in a laugh.

“So, um, what are we doing here, brother?” Papyrus asked, nudging Sans with his elbow.

“I dunno, moral support?” he suggested.

Mettaton raced back, carrying Alphys under one arm and a chair under the other, and then plunked them both down. “My goodness, Alphys,” he said. “You are heavier than you look.” 

She waved him off dismissively and then shoved the chair into the centre of the machine before clambering onto it, spinning, and fiddling with the screen. “A-Almost done, almost done,” she assured them. “Sans, I’m going to need you to h-hold Frisk when w-we start.”

“Uh, why?” he asked.

“I m-mean, like, with your magic,” she said. “I’d s-strap her in, but the old t-testing chair just barely t-too big for her.”

“Um… Wait, is this like, a big procedure or something?” Frisk asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

“Oh!” Alphys turned to look at her and gave her a reassuring smile. “N-No, no, it might just be, um… m-mildly uncomfortable for a few seconds. There’s g-going to be a lot of m-magic poking at you. It’s, um… It’s h-harmless mostly, but it st-still feels like something.”

“Is that safe?” Papyrus wondered. “I thought you always had to strap in for experiments, right? So you don’t break your head?”

“If it’s simple enough, magic should be fine,” Sans said. “Kid, don’t look too worried, huh?”

Alphys finished up at the screen and pulled out some cables, and attached something to one of them from her pocket. She hopped off the chair and gestured to it. Frisk cautiously sat down and Alphys beckoned Undyne over.

“Okay, just—” She passed her some cables with little nodes on the end. “Stick these on her temples and neck, okay?”

“Sure. Kiddo, don’t move, okay?” Undyne said.

“I’ll try not to,” Frisk said.

“Well, this is all rather medical, isn’t it?” Mettaton said, sounding a little worried. “Is all this really necessary, Alphie?”

“W-Wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t,” she said. “Okay… I mean, m-maybe I’d still do it eventually, t-to get the data, but, yeah, w-we need this.”

“It’s okay. I’m fine,” Frisk said. 

“O-Okay. Just, um… close your eyes?” Alphys said.

Frisk did as she asked, and she felt Alphys take her hand and heard a soft popping sound.

“What is THAT?!” Papyrus demanded. 

“Shh, shh, it’s fine,” Alphys said gently. “Now, F-Frisk, you’re going to feel a bit of a jab. It’ll hurt just a little, is th-that okay?”

Frisk gulped, but she nodded. “Just do it.”

After just a second, Frisk felt a sharp pain in her wrist. She drew in a quiet gasp. A needle, of course. Papyrus shrieked.

“YOU PUT IT IN HER?! WHY DID—?! WH…?! WHA…?! No no no no no no no no, get it out, that’s not right, that’s not—!!!”

“Paps. Paps, chill. She’s okay. Take a breath,” Sans said.

“I’m fine, big bro, don’t worry at all.” She opened her eyes and, careful not to look at the needle, stuck her other thumb up and grinned. “No worries! See?”

Papyrus pouted, but then forced a grin and stuck a thumb up. “H-Heh! Nyeh heh! Very brave, little sister. Y-You take after your coolest big brother, Papyrus, I see!”

“Uh,” Mettaton said, “but weren’t you just—?” He shut up when Undyne nudged him hard in the side with her elbow. 

Alphys finished up fastening some nodes to Frisk, and then gave her the final one. “O-Okay, just put this above your soul spot, and we c-can start.”

Frisk put the thing on her skin under her shirt. Alphys nodded at Sans. His eye lit up and so, too, did Frisk’s soul. His grip was cool and reassuring, but tight, too.

“That alright?” he asked.

“Just fine, I’ll try not to move,” she said.

“Okay! L-Let’s start,” Alphys said. She sparked magic through her fingers and into the machine, and it hummed to life, a strange combination of the sound of Alphys’s soul and something a little heavier. 

The energy struck Frisk hard and she was immediately light-headed.

“Ooh! It’s w-working!” Alphys squeaked.

Frisk had to close her eyes. It was hard to hear past the thrum. She felt herself shudder and was glad for her brother’s hold on her. 

“She’s lookin’ kinda sick, Alph,” Undyne said.

“I know. I know. S-Sorry, Frisk, w-we’re almost done!” Alphys said. “Okay. O-Okay. Okay. It’s… eighty. Eighty f-four… Almost…”

Frisk would have answered, but she worried that she might throw up. She felt an extra, heavy pulse against her and something entered her wrist. It chilled her to the bone. 

“Oh… O-Okay, so… Ninety f— Oh. Oh n-no. No no no, c’mon.”

“What?” Papyrus demanded. “Is she okay?!”

“Y-Yeah, it’s just—! It’s j-just—!”

“Alphie, it’s okay, it’s—”

There was a crackling sound and hurried footsteps. Static stung Frisk’s ears and suddenly, the humming dropped out. In fact, all sound vanished for a few seconds. She heard a voice humming gently and felt large hands on her shoulders. 

When Frisk blinked her eyes open, Sans was lifting her out of the chair and onto her feet. Her legs were wobbly and her head hurt, and she blinked groggily at him. She saw Alphys lift her hand and gently remove the needle from her arm.

“Hey, there you are. Lost you for a second,” Sans said, but he sounded amused. “You okay?”

“Y…” Her throat was kind of dry. “Yeah.”

“F-Frisk, I’m s-so sorry, I thought… I thought…!” Alphys hugged her gently. “Ugh. S-Sorry…”

“Hey, don’t worry, I just saved,” she assured her. She felt a big hand ruffle her hair and she looked up to see Undyne smiling with relief. 

“Hey, squirt, you did good. How’re you feeling?” she asked.

“Kinda weird. Um… Tired?” She looked around. “Where’s Papyrus?”

“Sent him and Major Kusanagi to get you a drink or something,” Sans said.

“M… Major…? Oh. Oh! Hey, that’s pretty funny,” Frisk said.

Sans grinned.

“I don’t get it,” Undyne said.

“Ugh, oh m-my god,” Alphys muttered, rubbing her head. “I c-can’t believe I m-messed that up, I’m such an idiot and—”

“Alph, stop,” Undyne said rather sternly.

“B-But…! But the reading, it… W-We have to d-do another one,” Alphys protested.

“Ooh…” Frisk didn’t want to bother with standing anymore and slowly moved to sit on the floor. “M-Maybe another day? I’m kinda out of it.”

“Oh, my god, of course, F-Frisk, not t-today. No no no, s-some other time, once I fix this st-stupid hunk of… God. I’m so sorry,” Alphys said.

“Dude, it’s weird new science crap, you can’t expect it to go without a hitch the first time,” Sans said. He pulled Frisk back upright, but then lifted her into his arms. “Hey, Doc, think it’d be okay if I do one shift?”

“Oh… Um… Y-You know… Just do it. T-Take her up, p-put her on my bed,” she said. “I’ll calm th-those guys down on the way up.”

Sans nodded.

When Frisk blinked again, they were up on the second storey of the lab. Sans kicked a weird cube and it popped and revealed a bed, mattress, blankets, and all. He sat her on it and patted her head.

“Good job,” he said.

“Sorry Alphys didn’t get what she needed,” she said.

“Don’t tell her that, huh?” He winked. “Chill. Some other time.”

“But if we need to do that to get Az a soul, then… Then I’ll do it a hundred times, if I gotta.”

“Not today,” Sans said with a laugh as he sat down beside her. “You look… _bone tired_.”

“Pfffft, that’s cheating, it’s right on my shirt,” se said.

Sans snickered. “But seriously, though, your eye skin is doin’ that thing where it gets dark and stuff.”

“Oh. Hah, yeah.” She rubbed one eye with the heel of her hand. “That makes sense.”

“FRISK?! SANS?! Is that you two cackling over there?!” Papyrus demanded shrilly from somewhere.

“We’re upstairs, bro,” Sans called.

The tall skeleton was up beside them in an instant and immediately pulled Frisk into his arms. “Are you okay?!” he demanded.

“Yeah, don’t worry,” she said.

“Papyrus? Darling, where did you go?” Mettaton called.

“Upstairs! Frisk is here!” he said.

“Oh! Does she still want some water?”

“Yes, please,” Frisk said, and she hugged onto Papyrus. “I wasn’t out long, was I?”

“About twenty seconds,” Sans said.

“Oh! That’s not that bad,” she said.

“What?! No way! Little sister, that is much, much too long!” Papyrus said. “I knew it was dangerous. I knew it was—”

“Relax, relax,” Frisk cooed. “S’okay.” She glowed gentle red. 

Papyrus sighed. He cupped the back of her head and she could feel his warm, loving magic seep through her bones. She didn’t realize how much pressure had been building behind her eyes until he took it all away. He pulled back and lifted her wrist. The only mark left was a tiny red dot. He brushed his thumb over it and it was gone in an instant.

“Ooh, would you look at that.” Mettaton leaned to look at them over Sans’s shoulder with fascination on his face, and then passed the glass of water to her. “Here, sweetie.”

“Thanks!” She took a few long gulps and breathed out heavily. “Sheesh.”

“Well, that was… um… interesting,” he continued. “Did you all know that would happen?”

“Nope,” Sans said.

“Absolutely not,” Papyrus added shrilly.

Frisk shrugged and finished her water. Mettaton tilted his head slightly and brushed his hair from his eyes.

“And yet you don’t seem at all perturbed, Frisk,” he said.

She shrugged and smiled.

“Please, let’s be a little more careful from now on,” Papyrus insisted, looking at Sans with worried eyes. “Frisk already had a terrible thing where she did the fainting just a few days ago! She can’t keep doing that all the time!!”

“So. Is this what you do? I mean. Time travel people. Do incredibly risky things for minor chances of progress?” Mettaton asked.

“Basically,” Frisk said.

“Huh.” He raised a brow. “I can’t say I understand, darling.”

“This, umm…” Frisk stifled a yawn behind her hand. “Sorry. This soul thing? It’s really, really important. I’d do almost anything to get it done.”

“Or else?” he pushed.

“No future,” Sans said with a shrug.

\- - -

Frisk just barely drifted off in Papyrus’s arms by the time Alphys and Undyne returned to meet them. Mettaton was lounging dramatically on the bed and Sans, too, had fallen asleep on Papyrus’s shoulder, despite the fact that it had only been around six minutes.

“Oh… Oh n-no, is everyone okay?” Alphys asked.

“Hm?” Frisk said sleepily.

“I think we are okay,” Papyrus said. “Frisk? Are we okay?”

She stuck a thumb up. He smiled fondly. Alphys took a deep breath. Undyne patted her reassuringly on the shoulder.

“I’m s-so sorry that d-didn’t work right, Frisk,” she said. “I… I thought it w-would, but—”

“No worries,” Frisk said. “Next time. Right?”

“Next time,” Undyne agreed. “Sans, you awake?”

“…Now I am.”

“Oh. Um. I j-just wanted to say. It was m-my mistake, um… I sh-shouldn’t have asked you to hold her steady,” Alphys said. “Y-Your d-determination is w-way too high, combined with h-hers, and it w-was trying to read both. And the fact that my numbers w-were a little wonky, w-well…”

“Oh. Heh. Makes sense,” he said. “Sorry, shouldda caught that myself. Ask Paps next time.”

“Oh! Yes! I, too, can do blue magic,” Papyrus said somewhat proudly.

“He’s higher than average,” Sans said, “but nothing like me.”

“Oh. Good t-to know,” Alphys said. “Th-Thank you so much, e-everyone. S-Sorry to have, um… Sorry to w-waste your time…”

“Alph,” Undyne chided.

“Don’t be silly, Alphie. You rescued me from writer’s block,” Mettaton asserted.

“And you built that cool machine,” Frisk said with a sleepy smile. “Don’t sweat it.”

“Right. Right. I… I guess I d-did need to do th-that anyway…” She smiled and gently patted Frisk’s head. “Hey. H-How about you guys h-head home? G-Get some rest? I p-promise, I won’t b-bother you again w-with work stuff until I f-figure this out.”

“Or… you know, bother us if you need help,” Frisk said.

“I’ll agree with that. We are a team, Doctor Alphys,” Papyrus said.

Alphys blushed. Undyne grinned and nudged her gently.

“See?” she said quietly. “Alright. Call it a day?”

“Yup.” Sans took Frisk’s hand. “Catch you at home, bro?”

“Yes! Be right there!” Papyrus said.

\- - -

Sans hadn’t seen Frisk so low-key since they’d come back after fusing. She wasn’t quite as lethargic as then, but it was pretty close. Compounded by the morning training, he guessed. She definitely looked just as tired, though.

At the bar counter at Grillby’s, Frisk sipped on a milkshake and Sans lazed with half a bottle of ketchup, watching her from the corner of his eye. She seemed really drowsy, but in good spirits anyway despite not having much to say. Seemed like most of her vocabulary had been temporarily replaced with yawns.

“Kid, you doin’ okay?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Feelin’ alright?” he said.

She nodded again.

“It’s just that, uh, you’re awful quiet the last little bit,” he said.

She smiled a little and looked thoughtful. She sipped her shake and then drummed her fingers on the counter softly.

“Hey, Sans?” she said quietly.

“Sup, kiddo?” 

“What do you call a skeleton in a towel?” she said.

“I dunno, what do you call a skeleton in a towel?” he said.

“Bone dry,” she said.

Sans snickered. “Terrible,” he said. “Dig it.”

She grinned sleepily. She looked thoughtful for a few seconds and sat up just a little. “Hey, Sans?”

“Mhm.”

“What do you call a skeleton cowboy?” she asked.

“I dunno, what do you call a skeleton cowboy?” he said.

“The Bone Ranger.”-

“Pfffft.” Sans put his cheek on his fist. “Okay. I got one.”

“Do it,” she said.

“What do you call a skeleton that sleeps all day?” he said.

“Lazy bones?” Frisk said.

“Sans,” he said. “But you don’t have to call me, I’m just over here.”

Frisk snickered. “Okay, okay. Why do skeletons hate storms?”

“Dunno, why?” he said.

“Because the wind goes right through them,” she said. 

Sans grinned and ruffled her hair. She smiled. Grillby rolled his eyes. Sans laughed.

“Hey, Grillbs. Got one for you. Why do skeletons tell so many jokes?” he asked.

Grillby sighed. He shrugged dramatically.

“Because of our funny bones. Obviously.”

Grillby scoffed as Frisk giggled and the skeleton grinned.

“…As if I have not heard all of those a thousand times, Sans,” Grillby said as he turned and began to polish another mug.

“I think that might be the most words I’ve ever heard you say at once,” Frisk said, her voice a little awed.

Grillby gave her a slightly bemused look, but he chuckled softly, smiled, and patted her head. He looked at Sans and raised his brows.

“Well, I mean… Yeah, I taught her,” he said. 

Grillby rolled his eyes again, but he smiled a little. He pointed at Frisk. Sans looked. The kid’s eyes were half-lidded, but she seemed pretty happy.

“Dude, I know. She had a long day.” He nudged her with his elbow. “Ready to head home?”

“Umm… Ooh. One more,” she said. “What do you call a skeleton that gets stuck in the snow?”

“I dunno, what do you call a skeleton that gets stuck in the snow?” he said.

“A numb skull.”

Sans grinned. He pulled the sleepy kid down from the stool in his magic and plunked her on the floor, holding her by the shoulder.

“Can you walk?” he asked.

She nodded. He jerked his thumb at the door. 

“Alright, bundle up, then, or we’ll both be numbskulls out there, huh?” he said with a wink.


	37. The ZZZ Arc

Alphys couldn’t sleep. Even wrapped in Undyne’s arms, feeling the warm puff of her breath against her scales, she couldn’t do it. Guilt made her insides feel like ice. Her mind was racing over itself. 

She had brooded for a few hours, running the numbers, adding or subtracting pieces from the machine— nothing seemed to help, yet. Could it be that Frisk’s levels of determination were just too high? Maybe nothing she could do would get her a proper reading. Her machines couldn’t handle it. But she needed to get this done. She had to solve this puzzle. There were more lives at stake than just Asriel’s.

It occurred to her suddenly that she could check the levels at which both computers had stopped functioning. She felt a little jolt of excitement. She tilted her head over her shoulder to look at Undyne. She was sleeping quite soundly, content to be the big spoon as they snuggled. Alphys had always thought Undyne was beautiful, but she was kind of cute when she was asleep, too. Even that huge scar that was what remained of her left eye was kind of wonderful.

A little reluctantly, but with hope in her, she slipped out of bed. She hesitated, but then planted a gentle kiss on Undyne’s cheek. Fumbling around in the dark and finding her glasses, she made her way to her closet and pulled on a cozy robe to wear over her baggy t-shirt and slacks, and then stood, yawning, on the slow escalator downstairs.

She checked her phone, squinting into the light that stung at her eyes. Mettaton had texted her some time after he left. Something about an _Under Ground Hearts _revival special. She groaned. Definitely wasn’t ready to deal with that, yet. She posted a quick status about working late and headed for her computer. 

She loaded up the data from the new machine in the basement, and then went through the crash log on the computer to check if the numbers were comparable. They weren’t, really. The computer had crashed almost instantly when exposed to Frisk’s levels of determination. The new machine had been trying to calculate it and overloaded. The number it had reached, however, was astronomical. She would have been sure it was a mistake if she didn’t know that Frisk was able to travel through time. And yet, from what she knew about Sans’s powers, not even close to Frisk’s amount was needed to start the process of manipulating time, judging by how he had explained holding onto a timeline and the fact that he had once been able to do it. The data was a little daunting to look at, even though it wasn’t a full read. How powerful was Frisk, really? How had this even happened?

Alphys rubbed her eyes. It was better than nothing. Guilt jabbed her to her core, but she wanted to try maybe one or two more times. Get an average. Because even if this was lowballing what Frisk was capable of, and with the addition of the extra shell of determination around her soul, she could probably use that number in her equations. She was sure it would be more than enough. The risk, now, was keeping the new soul solid while also doing the same to Frisk. Human souls, as far as she knew, didn’t split like monsters’ did. Solidarity wasn’t present. The human composition of determination made it so it wasn’t needed, even in the much less saturated souls Asgore had collected and Alphys had studied.

Alphys sighed and kneaded at her brow. She thought about answering Mettaton, but didn’t. She thought about calling Asgore, just to talk, but she didn’t do that either. She thought about texting Frisk another apology. She typed just the first few letters of a message before taking it back entirely. She turned her phone over on her desk and sighed to herself. Maybe they were rushing. Frisk said there was no deadline as long as everyone was safe. And that little kid, she’d been through a lot in the short time she’d been there. And at the same time, the call she’d gotten weighed heavily in her thoughts. She couldn’t risk another monster falling. Not when they were so close. 

Sometimes, though Alphys hated to admit it, she forgot how young Frisk was. The way she and the skeletons were, it was like she just fit in like a piece of a puzzle; like she’d always been around. But even a grown-up would have problems with this. She was sure of it. She knew Frisk must have been exhausted. She knew she certainly was, even with that shadow of worry gnawing at the back of her neck. She grumbled to herself, took her phone, and trundled back off to bed.

She snuck herself back into Undyne’s arms and closed her eyes. She loved feeling that soft, magic thrum so close. Her mind drifted, and it seemed like she might have been asleep for only a second when she felt her phone buzz and heard a soft chime. It was unfamiliar. An alert she had set up a long while back that had never sounded before. With groggy, bleary eyes, she looked at her phone. What did that say? The CORE?

Alphys’s eyes went wide and her insides turned to ice. She rolled out of bed and clunked to the floor, rubbing her eyes to clear them. It was blurry without her glasses, but what she could make out made her mouth go dry. She scrambled to her feet and grabbed Undyne by the shoulder, shaking her hard. Her hands were trembling. Undyne opened her eye and frowned with confusion, but the look on Alphys’s face told her enough that she sat bolt upright.

“What is it?” she said.

“B-Bad. Bad,” Alphys stammered.

“Bad bad?” Undyne repeated.

“Really, r-really bad.”

\- - -

A low, buzzing hum prodded Sans’s mind with a sense of pre-programmed urgency. It stopped shortly, but he was awake now, it was too late. He opened his eyes slightly. The room was lit only by the faint, pale glow of what was probably a phone somewhere on the floor beside his mattress. 

He felt cozy and strangely safe, though. Wasn’t keen on getting up at all. He felt a little movement; saw a glow of red and blue. He almost laughed. Of course. Frisk. No wonder. He could feel her skinny arms and their surprisingly tight grip around his ribcage.

His kid had smushed herself against him and passed out at some point. She brought that book— it was on the floor. Probably came to ask to read but had found him already out like a light.

It was a surprise to see her here, but not an unwelcome one. She was usually with Papyrus. That was better, he thought. He actually had a bed. And his room was cleaner. Mattress on the floor in a mess of socks and whatever the hell else he had— that was no place for a kid to doze off. Then again, for Frisk, this junk might as well have been a luxury suite compared to where she came from. He knew she didn’t mind. She just wanted to be close to someone. What he knew now made it so he absolutely couldn’t blame her.

There was a bustle of movement downstairs. Papyrus must’ve still been up. Exhausting. That explained a lot.

Sans settled down again and, when Frisk squished in just a little closer, he gently hugged her. His tired little dope. He felt a hit of warm nostalgia and his soul’s hum speed up, just a little. He brushed his fingers lazily across the back of her head. They hadn’t dreamt last night. It was a nice change. Getting a bit of real rest was always good. Little sis really needed it, huh?

He fell asleep. But there was that buzz again. It didn’t feel long enough. He opened his eyes reluctantly and saw Frisk blinking heavily. She sat up out of their messy blanket nest and then slid off the mattress onto the floor. She reached for the phone. It buzzed again.

“Shhhh,” she told it. “Shh.”

“Doesn’t have ears, kiddo,” he said with a grin.

She turned quickly and then gave him an embarrassed smile. “Sorry. I thought you were still asleep.”

He sat up a little and rubbed his skull. “Paps stayed up all night, huh?”

Frisk nodded. She rubbed her face sleepily and lifted the phone, blinking hard. She checked the texts and suddenly looked much more alert despite the dark circles under her eyes. 

“S… Sans? I think Alphys needs us,” she said. “Or, you.”

“Oh. Great. What’s she sayin’?”

“She got an alert about the CORE?” she said uncertainly. 

Sans felt a chill through his bones so strong that he audibly shivered. Frisk’s eyes went wide. She hurried back to sit with him and took his hands.

“Big bro, what is it?” she asked.

He looked down. The light in his eye sockets went out. He was silent for a few, long seconds. At the very least, he wasn’t rattling anymore.

“I, uh… I should go, huh?” he said.

“Me too,” she insisted.

“Dunno, kiddo. You’re kinda exhausted, huh?” he said.

“If you go without me I’m gonna just follow anyway,” she insisted.

He looked up to meet her eyes, his brow furrowed just a little. Frisk pouted and sat up on her knees to hug him around his neck, putting a hand on the back of his skull and gently glowing. His shoulder blades fell just a little and he wrapped his arms around her. He sighed.

“You’re right. We should go together. Safer, huh?” he said.

“Right!” she said. “I’ll get Papyrus?”

“…Yeah. Meet you there?”

“Okay!” she said.

She kissed his cheek quickly and then scrambled off the mattress, scooping up her sweatshirt from the floor. She tossed her phone at him and scampered off, calling for Papyrus. Sans sighed and flopped back on the mattress and put his arm over his eyes. A chill took him. The CORE. He’d have to go back there, wouldn’t he? He sighed. Had to suck it up. We do what we have to, don’t we?

\- - -

Sans met Frisk and Papyrus outside the lab, leaning up casually against the wall with a drowsy look on his face. Papyrus frowned a little and dashed up to meet him.

“SANS. What is this all about? Why didn’t you just teleport with Frisk?!” he demanded. “What were you even doing? Oh my god, you didn’t go back to bed, did you?!”

Sans shrugged and Papyrus scowled. Frisk caught up and nudged him with her elbow. He looked at her quickly and she raised her eyebrows. He stared at her for a moment before his brows raised, too, and he whirled on Sans and picked him up into a hug.

“You are actually worried, aren't you?” he asked. “Never fear! The great Papyrus! Your coolest brother! The greatest puzzle solver in the whole underground! Will help you through whatever problem you come across. You know that, don’t you?”

“I do.” Sans grinned and patted his should. “Thanks, bro. Pretty obvious why you’re the great Papyrus, huh?”

“It better be! Nyeh heh heh!” He plopped him back down on the ground. 

Frisk quickly clung to Sans, hugging him close. She wanted to protect him. “S’gonna be okay,” she said quietly.

“Course it is,” he said. He jerked his thumb towards the door and they went inside.

Undyne was brooding near the computer and Alphys frantically typed at her keyboard. The fish monster noticed them first. Her ear-fins lifted and she turned towards Alphys and gave her a nudge. The lizard almost fell out of her chair, sending it rolling across the room in the process, and stumbled over. She made a beeline for Sans and grabbed his hands. 

“I need you,” she said. “You need t-to see this.”

She dragged him across the room without so much as a hello to the the others, and showed him to her computer. 

“What’s all the alarm about?” Papyrus asked.

“There’s something up with the CORE,” Undyne said.

Papyrus tilted his head. He looked at Frisk, but she shrugged. They came closer to the monitor. Sans folded his arms.

There were a lot of graphs and charts, with numbers and lines and colours that seemed to be fluctuating rapidly.

“I… I got a t-text. This morning,” Alphys said, hopping back onto the chair and typing something again, “that something w-was detected in the CORE. An, um… An alarm, I s-set up, a b-bit after you left, Sans. J-Just in case, b-but, it’s never, umm… I p-p-panicked. I c-came here to ch-check and at first everything looked normal, and then th-this!!” She gestured broadly to the screens. Her eyes were wide. 

Everyone looked at Sans. He seemed sort of calm despite it.

“Yeah, doesn’t look great,” he said.

Alphys gulped. “I w-was a-a-afraid of that. S-So… So, I’m n-not crazy, it’s…” She took a deep breath as if to steady herself. 

Watching them all look so worried, Frisk felt a hit of apprehension as well. The CORE going wrong again, that didn’t seem good. And Sans was nervous. That was definitely not good. Alphys began to explain something to Sans, but her words were whispered, rushed, and stuttering. Undyne leaned in, but Frisk and Papyrus were left a little on the edges. Frisk looked up at him and held his hand. He furrowed his brow just a little and then picked her up. He grabbed the rolling chair and placed her on it.

“You look like you’re about to fall over,” he said gently.

“It’s not so bad,” she said.

He nodded. He put his hands on his hipbones. “We will figure this out,” he said. “We always do.”

As if for the sole point of dissension, Alphys’s computer bleeped out an alarm that made most of them jump. Alphys squealed. Papyrus dashed over to get a closer look.

“What’s going on?!” he demanded.

“The… Oh… Oh, no.” Alphys looked gaunt and she quickly turned to Sans. “S-Sans. Sans, y-you know—?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“Th-That’s it, isn’t it…?” Alphys asked. “The r-red…?”

“Yup, sure seems like it,” Sans said.

“I j-j-just don’t know what t-to do! It’s n-never done this before!”

“Actually…” Sans raised his brows slightly. 

Alphys frowned, but her scales paled rather suddenly and a look of horror spread over her face. “You’re n-not saying… t-ten years ago, it was this?!”

“Guys, slow down a sec?” Undyne said.

“W-We don’t have t-time to slow down!” Alphys said quickly. “I-If this gets bad, i-it could blow th-the top off the m-mountain and t-take most of us w-with it! Look!” She pointed at a pale red line jerking and climbing higher slowly on something like a seismogram. “That’s d-determination. The levels are…” She simply shook her head. “S-Something went r-really wrong, we n-need to reset s-some of the switches, b-but—”

“Wait, that means there’s no way any of us can go in there, right?” Undyne said.

Alphys nodded. Undyne’s ear-fins pinned back and she folded her arms.

“Sans, tell us what you know,” she said sternly.

He shrugged. “Could get bad.”

“What happened last time?” she insisted.

“Not exactly sure,” he said. “But. After that is when all the time crap started for me. That flower kid popped in a few years later. Then the anomalies like Frisk.”

Alphys gulped heavily. “Wh-What d-d-do we do? S-Sans, wh-what did you d-do back then to f-f-fix it?”

He shrugged again. “Dunno.”

“What do you mean, _dunno_?” Undyne said.

“Lost two days worth of memories,” he said. “Can’t remember.”

Alphys rubbed her face and cursed under her breath. She paced anxiously. Undyne scowled at nothing and Papyrus looked between her and Sans, ringing his hands nervously. Frisk looked at all those grim faces, sat back in her chair and stretched her arms.

“Easy fix,” she said.

That seemed to catch everyone’s attention.

“Wh-What?” Alphys asked

“Well, I’ll go in, duh,” Frisk said, and she pointed at herself. “Um, pure determination over here. Right?”

“WHAT?!” Papyrus barked.

“B-But we don’t know what it’ll d-do to you,” Alphys said shrilly. “And… And l-look at you! You l-look dead on your f-feet! And it’s p-probably really dangerous!!”

“Right. But we know what it’d do to you guys, so…” Frisk pointed out.

“B-But it’s just throwing determination around l-like it’s nothing!” Alphys said. “It c-could affect you, but j-just differently than us!”

“Then I’ll go back in time and we’ll figure something else out,” Frisk insisted. “C’mon. We can do this.”

“This could split time again,” Sans pointed out.

“Could it?! That’s bad, right?!” Papyrus said.

Sans nodded. Alphys looked nervous. Frisk looked around the room and then sighed. She slowly got out of her chair and stretched.

“Okay, guys, listen,” she said, “I’m going.”

“WHAT?! Just like that?!” Papyrus demanded. “But, Frisk—!!”

“I’m thinking it’s Asriel. It’s gotta be,” she said.

“Oh.” Sans suddenly looked a little grumpy. “You’re probably right.”

“Seriously? How would that little punk do that?” Undyne asked.

“He can go underground and he’s pretty sneaky,” Frisk said. “But I’m not sure why he’d do something like this. I’m pretty sure it’s him, though, it’s kinda too weird not to be. So. I’ll go. It’s gotta be me, I’m the only human here, right? I can do this. I mean, I’d love for you guys to come with, but—”

“Of course we will! Of course!!!” Papyrus said, looking at the others as if for validation. “Right?!”

“Yup,” Sans said.

“Yeah, of course!!” Undyne said. “Right now? Now, right?”

Alphys looked nervous. Frisk nodded.

“OKAY!” Undyne grabbed Alphys under her arm and raced out the west door. “OUT OUT OUT!”

“My keys!!!” Alphys yelled.

Papyrus snatched her handbag from under her desk, slung it over his shoulder, and rushed out after them. 

Frisk sighed with relief. She was about to follow, but Sans put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him.

“Hey,” he said. “Look. This might go bad.”

“You think?” she asked worriedly.

“You know what happened last time someone screwed with the CORE. Right?” he said.

“Yeah.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Didn’t look like the readings were as bad as that time, though.”

“Good catch. They’re not.” His brow furrowed a little. “I’ve… never seen this. I don’t know what’ll happen to you.”

“Yeah, me neither, but it’s important,” she said. “Must be, right?”

“Maybe. Not as important as you, though,” he said.

“Hey, it’ll be fine!” she said brightly. “Even if something does kinda go wrong, I can out-determination everything! Even if time cracks or something, no one’s stealing this timeline. No way!”

Sans smiled. “Good attitude. But that’s not what I meant. You’re my sister, you dweeb.”

“Oh. Oh!” She grinned bashfully. “Aw, Sans, thanks. Don’t worry.”

“Can’t help it,” he said.

He rubbed the back of his skull. He took her by the shoulder. “Listen. I don’t trust this. Don’t even think about dyin’ in there, understand?” he said. “It starts to go wrong? At all. Go back. I don’t care how far. Full reset if you have to, just don’t die.”

“Wow, s-serious, huh?” she asked. “Okay. Count on it.”

He sighed and tilted his head a little. “Be careful,” he said. “Love you, alright?”

She nodded and gave him a hug. “Love you, too.” 

\- - -

The building of the CORE raised up high into the mountain, coated with mists of steam and the sharp smell of ozone, like the air before a storm. The topmost reaches, though, were mostly regulatory in function. The main, technical aspects and chambers of energy channeling worked tirelessly deep below. The actual problem, however, was in a control room at the lowest reaches of the CORE.

Generally, all it had ever been used for was to power it up or shut it down. There were more sophisticated controls farther up, and some things that could even be done remotely. This particular room, however, hadn’t been accessed in about ten years. There hadn’t been a need. That is, until now.

Frisk latched onto the starlight out in the hotel in front of the CORE, and they headed inside and down a hallway towards the right side of the building. She had never seen this before, but Sans had; it gave her a strange sense of nostalgia that wasn’t her own. Alphys hurried to show them the way back into the tower. 

There was a ramp that went downwards in a square spiral, and they followed it to what looked almost like a meeting room, with plastic plants in each corner and old sofas lined up against one of the walls. There were two elevators in the north wall, but Alphys took them past them and to a small, grungy door, unremarkable except for that it was locked with a card reader. 

Alphys had the key in her handbag, and let them in and brought them down a hallway to a smaller, slightly rusty, elevator. They all piled in and Alphys went to the number keys. Rather than picking a floor, she entered what seemed to be a code. The elevator creaked and lights on the walls brightened. There was a soft, pleasant dinging sound, and the door closed. The floor rumbled and they began to head down at a somewhat leisurely pace.

It began to get hot quickly. Undyne grumbled. Frisk felt a little sweat at her brow and she took her hoodie off. Papyrus make a shrill yelping sound behind her.

“Frisk! Your shoulder!” he said shrilly.

“What?” she asked.

“Whoa, shit, that circle is glowing,” Undyne said. “Sans, what the heck are you doing?”

“Nothin’,” he said.

“It’s blue!” she protested.

“Not me,” he said. 

“She’s m-maybe just reacting to the C-CORE,” Alphys said. 

“It’s fine,” Frisk assured them. “Doesn’t hurt, no worries.”

“Y-Yes! Yes, right, okay, we can focus on Frisk’s weird glowing skin strangeness once this is all fixed,” Papyrus said quickly.

The farther down they went, the hotter it got. Even Alphys began to huff a little. Soon, the elevator clunked onto solid ground and the doors slid open. Before them stretched a hallway, emergency lights lining the edges of the ceiling, making a path straight for an old metal door.

“Ah!” Undyne made a beeline for it. “Here, right?”

“Y-Yeah, but b-be really careful!” Alphys said. “You can’t g-go in there, okay?”

“Right.” Undyne grabbed the handle. 

It jammed when she pushed it down. She frowned and tried again. Didn’t budge. She pushed down on it with both hands and then took a step back, ear-fins drooping and a scowl on her face. Frisk passed Sans the hoodie and scampered up and jiggled the handle, too. 

“Yup. It’s locked,” she said.

“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Undyne joked.

“Wh-What?! Uhh…” Alphys got out her keys and fumbled with them quickly. “I…! I dunno if I have one, I’ve n-never had to go in here!!”

Undyne grabbed Frisk and moved her aside, and then clenched her fists. She grabbed the door handle, pushed down, and rammed her shoulder into it all at once. The door looked flimsy, but it didn’t give even a little. Undyne growled and rammed it again, but this time, Alphys grabbed her and pulled her back.

“W-Wait, wait!!” she said shrilly. “W-With those readings, I d-don’t want you to accidentally f-fall in there, okay?”

“So what do we do?!” she said. “GAH, I’LL JUST SMASH IT!!”

Her magic exploded out of her in vibrant spears, pummelling the door to little effect. Papyrus rolled up his sleeves.

“I, too, will smash it!” he said. “No door can stand up against the great Papyrus!” His magic bones slammed the door, but it didn’t seem to budge.

“It’s sealed,” Sans said.

“What was that, brother?!” Papyrus called.

Sans grabbed Papyrus’s arm. His magic faded and he looked at his brother curiously. He poked Undyne. She scoffed, roared in frustration, and kicked the door, hard. 

“Stupid door,” she growled.

Sans shoved in between them and ran his hands over the metal. “Mhm. Sealed. Magic. Nobody left a puzzle, so we’ll need a key.”

“A key?!” Undyne demanded. “We don’t have time for this!!! Where the hell are we going to find a key?!”

The ground trembled beneath them and there was a low grumbling noise through the door. 

“Okay, we SUPER don’t have time!!!” Undyne yelled. She bared her teeth and punched the door, over and over. “NGAAAAAAH!!! GET. OUT. OF. MY. WAY!!!” She dented it a little with her fists, but mostly, all she was accomplishing was giving the others a headache.

Frisk flinched. She felt a tingling through her shoulder. Her eyes went wide. She scooted over to Sans and stuck her hand into one of her pockets and patted around.

“Kid, what’re you doin’?” Sans asked.

“Just a sec,” she said. She felt some blunt points made of metal. Small. Strangely cold. Her heart thumped and she pulled it out. The dusty grey key. She looked at it silently for a few seconds. It was like she heard a voice in her head, telling her she’d need it. She gulped. “G-Guys?” she said. “Guys!”

Undyne stopped midpunch. Everyone turned to look at her and she held up the key.

“Wh-What’s that?” Alphys’s eyes went wide. “Where’d you g-get that?”

Sans recognized it. His eyes went wide. “Oh, no way. If that works, that is some messed up junk, kid.”

“Yeah, basically,” she agreed.

She hurried over and her fingers shook as she tried to slot the key into the old keyhole. It fit with a faint click. She gulped. She twisted it. It moved without effort and clunked into a horizontal position. She took a deep breath and smiled.

“O-Okay. There we go,” she said. “Guess it’s some messed up junk.”

When she turned back to her friends, they were all gawking, with the exception of Sans, who wore only a faint frown on his brow. 

“Okay, I guess I’ll go?” she said. “Anything I should know, Alphys?”

“I… I, uhh… I think y-you… umm… You’ll p-probably just n-need to um… ummm…” She couldn’t quite finish. She grabbed Frisk and hugged her tight. “C-C-Careful,” she said softly. “B-Be careful.”

“I will!” she assured her. 

“Y-You should just h-have to balance it,” she said quickly. “Th-There should be a switch, or a l-lever, you’ll… you’ll j-just have to l-level it out.”

“Okay!” she said.

The kid patted her shoulder and pulled back. She took a deep breath, but smiled despite her nerves. “Don’t worry, guys, I’ll be just fine!” she said.

“Of course you will, Frisk! But please watch yourself!” Papyrus said. He gave her a hug and she snickered and smooched his cheek.

“I’ll be okay, promise,” she assured him.

“…Doc? Hey. You, uh…? You sure it’s not safe for us?” Sans asked. “I, uh, couldn’t go with her?”

“Oh, n-no, no, Sans, don’t,” Alphys said quickly. “J-Just d-don’t, okay?!”

“Don’t worry, bro,” Frisk said. “And I super don’t want you to come if the determination might mess you up.”

“Right. Right.” He gave her a knowing look. “Watch it.”

She stuck her thumbs up.

“Hey, no worries!! You can do it, squirt!!” Undyne said brightly.

Frisk saluted, snickered, and then went to the door. She tried to ignore the heavy thump of her heart and the lump in her throat. She grabbed the handle and then waved at everyone to get back.

The door cracked open with a blast of hot wind and orange light. Frisk gulped, shielded her eyes, and pushed it all the way open. She hurried inside and pulled the door closed behind her.

She was left standing on a long walkway of red stone in a massive cave lit bright and hot by magma flowing below. There had once been railings, but some were broken and twisted by magic impacts, and at the end of the walkway, there was what looked like a console up against a massive pillar that plunged down into the magma, as well as reached up through the ceiling. Magic swirled around it in a spiral: churning, coloured wind, with the energy letting out an occasional, disconcerting crackle and spark. 

Frisk took a few cautious steps and the magic travelling up the pillar let out a loud crack, like the sound of a quick burst of lightning. The room rumbled and her stomach dropped. The sharp clatter of rocks made her jump. She clenched her fists. 

Nerves speeding her steps, Frisk hurried towards the pillar and console, but she stalled in her tracks when she saw a familiar little flower poke his head up near the controls. She wasn’t surprised in the least, but he seemed to be. He glared daggers at her.

“Oh for god’s sake,” he said.

“Az,” she said, “you gotta get away from there.”

“Oh, let me think. No,” he said.

“But you’re gonna mess everything up,” she said.

“Yeah. I know. Great, right? Call it a failsafe,” he said with a grin. “If you really want to stop me, fight me.”

Frisk shook her head emphatically. His grin widened and his eyes turned black.

“Well,” he said, “actually, this is pretty great for me. Because now no one can help you, sooo…”

He shot seed bullets at her with a smug grin— Frisk hopped back, but before they hit, her energy pulsed and her red shield took the attack. Asriel gawked.

“Wh… What?!” he yelled. He coiled his body with fury and zoomed back down to the ground. More of his magic jumped up around him and he shot it at her.  
She backed up, quickly, cautiously, minding the narrow path. 

The place shook again; Frisk stumbled. There was a metal clunking sound. Asriel cast a cautious look behind him. The wind picked up abruptly, the magic along the pillar churning faster.

“Oh, dude, what’d you do?” Frisk asked.

“Shut up!!” Asriel shot at her again, his magic like blades. 

She dodged. Stumbled when the ground shook. More stones clanged down off the broken railings. The air began to crackle. Felt like static. Energy brightened around them.

Frisk’s heart began to pound. Her soul brightened; her energy began to seep red into the air, unbidden. She grimaced. 

His attacks were fast, small; relentless, and she didn’t have much room. The ground shook again, and there was a grinding, cracking sound. The wind picked up, and Frisk covered her face with her arm for a moment and then looked at the pillar. It was starting to look a lot like a tornado. As Asriel winced in the wind; he snarled and attacked violently. Frisk brought the shield up as strong as she could, but for some reason, this time, it hurt. It held up, but just barely.

“Okay, fine, neither of us can get anywhere,” he growled. “Just. Go. Get out.”

“I c-can’t, Az,” she said.

“JUST LEAVE!!” he yelled. “JUST LET ME DO THIS!!!”

“Are you nuts?!” she demanded.

The place shook again and the wind began to roar. Spikes of stalactites began to tumble— Frisk dodged right as a huge chunk crashed down near her, knocking what looked like a bite out of the path and toppling down into magma.

She ran at Asriel. She jumped, dove— caught herself on her hands and flipped back onto her feet, and whirled to face him to block more bullet seeds. The shield shattered like glass. Frisk grimaced, but then turned on her heel and raced for the controls.

“No no no, you’re not stopping me, you’re not—!” Asriel was forced to flinch and cover his head as the place rumbled with a sound so deep it made their ears itch. 

Frisk covered her head. Her body was starting to hurt, and wisps of red were pulled away from her like smoke on the wind. 

Asriel rushed to catch up. The core sparked and lashed out with beams like lightning, and Frisk ducked, then slammed into the control panel. There were dozens of buttons and levers. It was an immediate mess.

“Asriel, what did you do?!” she shouted.

“Just leave it and get the hell out of here!” he yelled. “You aren’t supposed to be here. You’re _never_ supposed to be here!”

“It’s too late for that,” she said. “You can’t just destabilize this thing, don’t you know what happened last time?!”

“All I know, is that it’ll give me determination once it goes,” he said with a snarl. “I’m not telling you how to stop it.”

“You’re going to break time again!!” Frisk yelled. “We need to stop it!”

Asriel frowned. He watched more red energy pull away from her. The magic of the CORE arced again, and he winced, and was about to say something before a concussive blast inside the chamber knocked them both back, completely uprooting him in the process. 

He shrieked and tumbled in the wind, but there was nothing he could do. He cursed and tried to reach out his vines. It was too far, too fast, too chaotic. Couldn’t even see straight. He fell. 

Frisk sprinted for him and jumped to catch him in both hands, but the rumbling shook the room and more rocks fell. She put herself over him and tried the shield one more time. It popped up like a turtle shell over them as she held him and curled up. He stared back up at her with shock.

“F… Frisk…?” he said.

“If you get us killed I’m gonna be so mad,” she joked, but her eyes were watering. She winced with every impact against the shield. 

When Asriel looked at her, he could see the energy still draining away, torn by the CORE and taken into that tornado of magic. He cringed. “Can you hold it?”

“N-Not… Not for much longer,” she said. “Crap. Sans is gonna kill me.”

Asriel frowned. He hesitated for a moment, but then gently patted her chest with his leaves. “Just get out of here,” he said. “We’ll fight some other time.”

“Not happening,” she said. “You know about…? About those other anomalies, right? You know what they did here?”

“Of course I do,” he said with a frown.

“We can’t risk anything like that happening ever again,” she said. “You know it, right? C’mon, Az, we gotta stop this thing.”

He frowned deeply. She squeaked in pain as a heavy chunk of rock smashed down on the shield. She couldn’t hold it a moment longer. It shattered, too, and more red energy left her. She cringed and gently put him down, then got to her feet. 

“I’ll figure it out,” she muttered. She raced back to the controls before he could say a word.

He grimaced; rooted himself and hurried after her. 

She put her hands on the console. Almost as soon as she made contact, there was another energy burst. It hit her hard, felt like the wind was sucked from her lungs. She gasped and held tight to try to keep upright, but she couldn’t do it. She dropped to her knees. She heard a weird yelp behind her, and, as she panted for air, she whirled to see some of that red energy gravitating for Asriel. Her eyes went wide. The CORE pulsed again and her energy shot into him like arrows.

He winced and lurched over, and his little form shuddered. Her eyes went wide. 

“A… Az?” she demanded.

He took a deep, shaking breath and then looked up at her. She expected a snarl, but he looked shocked instead. It was like the world around them froze for a moment. He raised a leaf to his stem and out shone a tiny red point of light. A minuscule fleck of soul. Frisk gawked. Didn’t even know what to say. He gritted his teeth.

“Come on, Frisk!” he said. “You’re right! We gotta shut this crap down!”

He rushed over and used his vines to climb one of her arms, and then smacked her face lightly with a leaf. “Come on!!” he shouted. “At this point, we’re screwed if we don’t! Let’s go!”

“R-Right!” She stood up and rushed back to the console— it was still overwhelming. “What do we do?”

“Honestly?” he said, and he pointed to one of the heavy levers on the left of the apparatus. “All I did was pull that down a little and press a few things. I guess it fell down a bit on its own. It wasn’t supposed to go like this.”

“I’m gonna kick your butt,” Frisk said, grasping the handle tightly.

“Later! L-Later! Okay?!” he yelled. “Do it!”

She tried to push it up, but it was like it was weighted with an elephant. She grunted and used both hands. Asriel hurriedly moved off her and grasped the console as tightly as he could. He grabbed the handle with his vines and tried to push up, too.

“This… This was a terrible idea,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“R-Really?” she panted.

“Yeah. Really. Surprised, right?” He smiled tiredly and that red spark in his chest began to glow. “I thought… I thought if it went, I could absorb its determination, get stronger in a couple months, but… Screw it, that doesn’t matter now, right?!”

“Right!” Frisk said. She pushed it up as hard as she could. 

He did his best to help, wrapping his vines around her hand. 

Together, they moved the lever, a little at a time, even as Frisk’s energy leached away. Her eyelids started to get heavy.

“Stay with me, Frisk,” Asriel insisted. 

“Y… Yeah. We’re okay.” She put a foot up on the console and got her shoulder under the lever. “We got this.”

She was dizzy. Had to squint to focus her eyes. Black dots plagued her vision. She was pretty sure she was hallucinating Papyrus standing behind the machine. Skeleton hand on hers, reassuring her. Wasn’t real, but it gave her hope anyway. They pushed up until there was a heavy, settling _thunk_. The rumbling, roaring sound around them began to die down, and the ground started to settle. Hurriedly, Asriel pushed a few of the flashing buttons with his leaves in a very specific order.

Frisk collapsed onto her knees, breathing hard. She started to laugh quietly. Asriel slunk down beside her and hesitantly put a leaf on her knee.

“You…? You okay?” he asked.

She nodded, but, to his shock, her eyes rolled back and she toppled onto her side.

“Frisk?!” he yelped. He leaned over her face. 

She looked like she was asleep. He grimaced and put his head against her chest. He could still hear her heart Cautiously, he put a leaf against her and touched another against his stem. That little speck lit up inside him, and her soul reciprocated the glow. The shell around it was all but gone. It just felt very, very tired. 

“No no no, Frisk, come on!” he shouted. His eyes teared up. “You said we were friends and… and I believe you now! You idiot! Come on, you gotta get up!”

She didn’t move an inch.

He did his best to wrap his vines around her and he looked over at the station door. It seemed so far away. He gulped. Cautiously, he pulled her forward. Still, flecks of stone dropped down from the ceiling, disrupting what was now a peaceful hum of magic. It felt like an eternity before they even reached midway through the path.

“H-Hey!!” he shouted. “Someone!! Help!!!”

It was an excruciating few seconds before the door swung open, and the monsters waiting behind gawked back at him.

_ “_Help me, you idiots!” he wailed. 

Undyne snapped free first, and she barrelled down the pathway and scooped Frisk up. The flower let out a long, deep breath and wilted, exhausted.

“Shit,” he said. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“SANS!” Undyne yelled. “SANS, FRISK NEEDS HELP, YOU READY TO GET HER OUT OF HERE?!” She sprinted back towards the inside, ignoring the drooping flower.

“What happened?!” Papyrus watched her go with wide eyes, and then ran forward to Asriel. “Asriel?! You didn’t—?!”

“OF COURSE I DIDN’T!” he shrieked.

Papyrus froze. They locked eyes and the flower bent his head and started crying. Right away, the tall skeleton knelt down and, very gently, cupped his hands around him.

“It’s alright. It’s… It’s okay,” Papyrus said quietly. “Come on. Latch onto me.”

“Wh…? What?” he asked.

“You can’t stay here,” Papyrus said. “What kind of friend would I be if I left you?”

“We… We aren’t friends,” Asriel said quietly.

“Maybe not yet.” Papyrus grinned tiredly. “Come on. I, the great Papyrus, will keep you totally safe!”

Asriel grimaced, and Papyrus rolled up his sleeve up to the shoulder. and offered his arm. The flower stared for a minute and then, hesitantly, reached out his roots. He was careful when he entwined himself with the radius and ulna, and then curled around Papyrus’s upper arm so he was essentially sitting on his shoulder. 

“D… Does that… hurt you?” Asriel asked.

“Nyeh heh! Thank you for asking,” Papyrus said, straightening up. “No. Not at all.”

“Okay. Just… Just help Frisk,” he said.

When Papyrus returned, Undyne and Sans were gone. Alphys waited alone, shaking, wiping tears from her eyes. She looked surprised to see them.

“What? That’s… B-But that’s…!” 

“He tried to help, Doctor,” Papyrus said.

“I also caused the problem,” Asriel grumbled.

“Shush. As soon as you helped Frisk, you went from horrible to not horrible,” Papyrus said sternly. 

“O-Okay. Okay. It’s gonna be fine,” she said, taking a deep breath. “What happened in there?”

“I… I was… trying to destabilize the CORE. No one would notice at first, but it would overload in a few months, maybe, and I w-would… take the extra determination and… I messed up and it…” The flower shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Frisk put it back to normal anyway.”

Alphys stared at him blankly. Papyrus’s eyes lit up with amber and his consoling magic pulsed under where Asriel sat, and he slumped.

“I… I don’t deserve that,” he muttered. “If… If she hadn’t…” He took a deep breath and looked up at Papyrus. 

That skeleton’s expression was all sympathy.

“If she hadn’t had that extra determination, that might have…” Asriel gulped. “Sh-She might not’ve been able to… Shit.”

“Um… Uh… Th-This is going to sound b-bad, but… wh-why do you c-care?” Alphys asked. “Th-They… They told us y-you, um… That you c-couldn’t feel?”

Asriel frowned to himself. He used a leaf to wipe his eyes and grimaced. After a second, a glow came from his stem. Just a tiny little pinprick of red, like someone had rested a laser-pointer on him.

“Y-You got some of the extra?!” she demanded.

He nodded.

“W-We n-need to get out of here, right now,” Alphys said quickly. “Oh my god. Papyrus, let’s—!” She squealed as he picked her up. 

“Right. Out. Right now,” he said. “Don’t worry about a thing, you two!”

\- - -

“Out of the way, out of the way!” Undyne shouldered through curious, wide-eyed amalgams as soon as she entered the lab, having made a beeline back from the CORE, as fast as she could run. 

A few had made their way upstairs, but she had to race for a level downstairs, in the room where all the beds were. That’s where Sans had said he would be right before he vanished.

The elevator down felt painfully slow, and as soon as it opened, Undyne was sprinting again until she screeched to a stop on the smooth tile floors. The mash of dogs and the lanky bird were watching, seeming worried, from a distance, as a cold silence fell over the room. Sans sat on a stool, hunched over one of the large, pink-quilted beds. Undyne gulped and raced over, her ear-fins drooping.

“Hey! Hey.” She put a hand on the skeleton’s shoulder. “What’s up? Is she okay?”

He shrugged. “Dunno. She’s out,” he said. His voice was lower than usual. He wiped his eyes.

“Dude, you…? You need a minute?” Undyne asked.

He shook his head. “I’ll be fine. Heh. Sorry. Screwed up again.” He reached out a tentative hand and brushed some of the kid’s hair away from her face. “I mean… she’s my kid, I’m supposed to look out for her, y’know? Never shouldda let her go. Shouldda been me.”

“Dude, it’s not your fault,” Undyne said quickly. “Not even close. You know what would happened to you if you went in there? You’d end up like one of those melty guys, or worse! Then your family’s down one skeleton and then who the hell do we have to drive us nuts with puns and crap?!”

He chuckled and took a moment to wipe his eyes again before straightening up. He winked. “Glad you have your priorities straight.”

Undyne huffed out a tired laugh and rubbed her claws through her hair. “But I mean, she’s… alive though, right? She’s breathing.”

“Guess it’s better than nothin’,” he said. 

He leaned forward to rest his elbows on the bed and he tented his fingers. Undyne sighed and sat on the floor, her back to the bed, her hand to her brow.

“This is heavy,” she muttered.

“Yup.” He grimaced. “I really hope skeletons can’t secretly throw up. Because I’m, uh, really feelin’ it.”

“I’m sorry,” Undyne said. “B-But, I mean… Okay, this isn’t like monster falling down, right? Humans don’t do that. They get up. Don’t they?”

“I don’t know, everything I know about human medical stuff comes from her head, and she’s, uh, eleven. But, I…” He frowned. He looked thoughtful for a moment. 

Undyne raised her eyebrows. “Sup?”

“I… don’t think they fall down like us,” he said. “Sorry. Was just trying to check her memories. I think she was surprised when she heard about monsters doing it. Okay. That means it's weird. Humans probably don’t.”

“That’s good news,” Undyne said. “Right? I mean, it’s reversible. Isn’t it?”

“I’m just hopin’ like crazy that I’m overreactin’ and she’s just gonna wake up in an hour like it was nothin’,” he admitted. He rubbed the back of his skull. “Shit, what am I gonna tell mom?”

“We’ll think of something,” Undyne assured him. “Hey. C’mon. You gotta get out of that headspace, dude.”

Undyne sighed and got up, then sat on the edge of the bed to look at Frisk. She put her hand on the girl’s chest and used just a little healing magic. It didn’t seem to make much of a difference, but she kept on it anyway. She grimaced and her ear-fins drooped, but she turned back to Sans.

“Talk to me,” she said.

“Uh… About what?” he said.

“I dunno, anything,” she said. “C’mon. The more you sit in the quiet the more you’re gonna think this is your fault.”

“Huh. You know me better than I thought,” he said.

“I know, right?” Undyne laughed. “I guess it’s that missing year. Must be, right? I’m into it.”

Sans nodded. Undyne grinned, but then her eye went wide.

“Hey, wait a sec, you have it back now, right?!” she demanded. “You can see that year, right? Through Frisk? There we go! Tell me about that! What’s it like?”

Sans smiled tiredly. He didn’t really see the point, but he acquiesced. “It’s… good. New town. Starhome, I think.”

“Asgore,” Undyne laughed, shaking her head. “What, was Newest New Home taken?”

“I bet,” Sans said. “It’s all the monsters, and then some new humans, too. Everyone seemed okay. Nice place. I hope we build it like that again, actually.”

“And I bet people stop falling down,” Undyne said.

Sans nodded. “Nobody falls,” he said. “But it seems like we had to be careful coming back, you know? Humans could still mess us up if they wanted, but it looks like Frisk would help talk to the new guys, let them in on the rules, and if they… oh. Heh. There was a hug test. Accept a friendship hug from Papyrus and you’re cool. Actually, that’s not bad: humans usually freak out around skeletons, so if they could understand Paps is super nice, they’d suddenly kinda get what we were doin’ there. Not a bad idea.”

“So no accidents, then?” she asked.

“None,” he said.

“Okay, awesome! Tell me… Um… Tell me your favourite thing you’ve seen so far?”

“My favourite?” he repeated. “What, other than everyone actually being happy?”

“Yeah. I mean, I know it’s from Frisk’s point of view,” she said, “but you two hang out a lot, right? There must be something in there.”

Sans looked thoughtful for a few seconds. He rubbed his head. “Well, I think one of my favourite memories is something kinda boring, actually,” he said. “I, uh… I guess I would go teach at a human university. Physics. And Frisk, she’d always wanna come with. Even if she had normal school that day, she’d always be really excited to come with me and just sit there with a bunch of college kids, listen to me talk about crap she barely understood, even if she started falling asleep. I don’t know why but that’s, like, top three for me.”

Undyne grinned. “You are such a nerd.”

“Professor Nerd,” he corrected.

She laughed and rubbed her head. His posture sagged a little. She lightly punched him on the shoulder.

“There, that’s a bit better, huh?” she said. “Get out of your freaked out head for a bit. Feeling a little better, right?”

He stared back at her with surprise. “Y… Yeah, actually. Huh. How did you—?”

“Well, I just figured, you know, after you and Frisk stopped looking like a heavy metal album cover, you looked really happy, actually,” she said. “I thought maybe her memories cheered you up a bit. Right?”

“Somethin’ like that,” he said. “Thanks.”

She nodded. She hesitated for a moment, but then grabbed him into a hug. He wilted; tried not to shake, and he hugged her in return. His fingers gripped tight into her shoulders. She gently held the back of his skull.

“We both know humans don’t die easy,” she said.

\- - -

When Papyrus burst back into the lab with Alphys in his arms and Asriel on his shoulder, they were met with the sight of Undyne rifling through the fridge.

“Um… Undyne, wh-what’s going on?” Alphys asked as Papyrus put her down.

She stepped back, some cans of soda in one arm and an ice pack in the other. “Thought something cool might help the kid and…” Her eye focussed on Asriel. “The hell?!”

Asriel wilted immediately, tears in his eyes. Undyne stomped over, rolling up her sleeve, but Papyrus raised his hands defensively.

“Undyne, wait, he’s not bad!” he said.

“What do you mean?! He did all this!!” she roared. “Why’d you bring him back here?!”

“I’m sorry she got hurt,” Asriel said softly.

“Yeah, you better be!!” Undyne bared her teeth, but her expression softened as the flower began to cry quietly. “What’s he doing?”

“What does it look like, you freaky overgrown oarfish?!” Asriel barked. “I just… I just want her… to be okay.”

“The hell is this?” Undyne asked, genuine curiosity in her tone.

“He… I think he got some of Frisk’s soul or her energy or something in the CORE,” Papyrus said quickly. “He’s not all bad now!”

Undyne looked at Alphys. She shrugged and shook her head.

“If there w-were ever any notes d-detailing the CORE malfunction before, w-we lost them s-somewhere along the way,” she said. “I h-have no idea what it does wh-when destabilized. No one does. How is F-Frisk, anyway?”

“Totally unconscious,” Undyne said.

Papyrus looked worried, and Asriel immediately hid his face in his leaves and hiccoughed quietly. Alphys put a hand to her mouth. She nodded.

“Okay… O-Okay. L-Let me, uh…”

“Gonna need some medical equipment to monitor her soul.” Sans showed up behind them. “Careful with her, huh?”

Alphys whirled, took one look at him, and then gave him a tight hug. “Okay,” she said. 

She raced away, muttering her herself, and Undyne passed off the stuff she was holding to Papyrus and followed her. 

Asriel hesitantly looked up to meet Sans’s eyes, squinting through tears. Their look was long, quiet, and uncomfortable.

“So,” Sans said, “what changed?”

Asriel winced. Sans looked him down; the flower shrunk against Papyrus’s shoulder like gravity was crushing him. 

“This your plan?” Sans asked.

Asriel emphatically shook his head. “Th-This totally ruined my plan!” he protested. “You think I wanted to suddenly care about Frisk?! I needed _power,_ but now I—”

“At least you’re honest,” he said. “Now what the hell do we do with you?”

“We can’t kick him out!” Papyrus said hurriedly. “He’s so worried!”

Sans shrugged.

“I have to see her,” Asriel said.

“Gee, that’d be great, but for some reason she’s unconscious,” Sans said.

“Don’t make me beg,” the flower growled. “B-Because… Because I’m gonna get frickin’ pathetic. You need to let me see her.”

Sans’s expression stayed static; unreadable. “Welp. Okay. Get off my brother.”

“I don’t mind carrying him,” Papyrus said. “Brother, he’s…! He’s, well, I mean he’s a bit rude, but I think he’s telling the truth!”

Sans didn’t move an inch, just kept his eyes locked on Asriel. The flower nodded.

They moved him into one of Alphys’s clean, but chipped, teacups and Papyrus carried him. They were slow going downstairs to the room full of beds. There were a few of the amalgamates hovering curiously and Alphys and Undyne were already there. They were setting up an energy monitor next to Frisk’s bed. Sans took the ice pack to put on the girl’s forehead, but Papyrus froze up, staring at the scene in shock. Asriel looked up at him worriedly. 

“F… Frisk?” His voice was soft. He pushed through, handing Asriel off to Alphys unceremoniously and peering down at the unconscious girl with wide eyes. “Oh! Oh. She’s… She’s just sleeping, though, isn’t she?” he said hopefully.

“Um… Not quite, Paps,” Undyne said with an awkward smile. “But…! But I’m sure she’ll be okay.”

“She didn’t fall down, did she?” he yelped.

“Humans don’t do that, bro, don’t worry,” Sans said.

Papyrus stared for a little longer. He put a hand to his mouth and squatted down to look at her. “B-But… I don’t understand. She promised she’d be okay…” He reached out a hesitant hand to touch her face. His magic began to shine against her skin and the monitor reacted.

Everyone turned their eyes on it and Alphys smiled.

“Papyrus,” she said, “th-think you can do that for her for little bits at a t-time? I th-think it’ll help.”

“Of course! Of course I will, absolutely,” he said.

“L-Let me get you a chair,” she said hurriedly— she passed off Asriel to Undyne, who looked down at him with surprise.

The flower was still crying— didn’t seem to have stopped this whole time. “Shit,” he muttered. “Y… You guys gotta know, I n-never meant for this.”

“Well. Better than nothing,” Undyne said. She cut her eye at Sans. 

His expression was all but unreadable. He went to Papyrus’s side and put a hand on his shoulder and then gave Undyne a look that, this time, was loud and clear. She dipped her head. When Alphys came back with a chair, she took her hand.

“Meet you upstairs,” she said. She walked off briskly and Alphys stuttered out something inaudible as she was pulled away.

The brothers were silent for a little while, until Papyrus let out a quiet sigh.

“Sans?” he asked.

“Yeah, bro?” Sans said.

“…What do I do?” he asked softly.

“Whatever you think is right,” he said.

“She’s going to be okay, isn’t she?” he asked.

“Yeah, of course she is,” Sans said.

“Should I have—?” Papyrus muttered.

“Nope.”

“But what if I could’ve—?”

“Nope.”

Papyrus looked up at his brother with faint amber tears in the corners of his eyes. It broke Sans’s heart. He wrapped him in his arms, resting his head against his and glowing as bright as he could. Papyrus huffed and clung close.

“Heh… Nyeh… Sans, it’s… it’s okay, don’t strain, it’s—”

“Nah, bro, no problem,” he assured him. “S’all good, right? What the hell’s it for if not for this?”

Papyrus squeezed a little tighter and wilted as Sans gently rubbed his skull. “We… We need to stay together. Like always. Like before. When we were little,” he said quietly. “But now we’re three. We can’t not be three. Right?”

“Right,” Sans said. 

“She knows, right? So… So she has to wake up,” he said softly. “She’s definitely going to wake up.”

“Yeah. Of course she will.” Sans nodded. “Paps, there’s no way Frisk’d ever leave you.”

“Heh. I know. But I think you meant _us_, brother,” Papyrus said with a smile. He wiped is eye sockets and took a deep breath.“I… I’ll stay. I’ll stay with her. It’s okay. I’ll just stay. And make sure she’s comfy. And warm. It’ll… It’ll be just fine!”

“Yeah, bro, for sure,” Sans said. “You’re a great big brother, huh?”

“…Heh. Thank you, Sans. You are, too,” he said. “You’re right, she’ll… she’ll be okay.”

“Mhm. Goin’ upstairs for a minute, you okay here?” he said.

“Absolutely,” he said.

On the top floor, the others were waiting for him. Alphys was pacing, Undyne had her back to the wall, arms folded and a frown on her face, and Asriel was relegated to sitting on the computer desk. Undyne’s ear-fins lifted when she caught sight of Sans.

“Bad?” she asked.

He shrugged. She huffed.

“O-Oh my g-g-god,” Alphys mumbled.

“So, this is a pretty big hitch, huh?” she said. “This ever happened before, Sans? At all?”

“Not even close,” he said. He turned to Asriel. “Hey.”

“Y… Yeah?” he asked hesitantly, frowning.

“So you were settin’ it up for later, right?” he said. “Wasn’t supposed to get interrupted.”

He nodded. Sans looked thoughtful and folded his arms.

“Because usually, Mettaton’s goons wrecked the CORE’s sensors by now,” Sans said. “So no one would notice the imbalance, because the barrier’d come down usually a day or so later.”

Asriel grimaced and nodded again.

“So, what’s the point?” he said.

“Power. That’s all,” he muttered. “B-But… But you don’t understand, I… I feel.”

“Feel what?” Undyne asked, frowning. 

Sans raised his brows. “Hey, uh, give us a minute, huh? I’d like to talk to this guy for a sec.”

Asriel frowned worriedly, but held back from protesting as Alphys and Undyne wandered off to give them some privacy. The skeleton shoved his hands in his pocket and came in closer. Asriel recoiled a little, and Sans grinned.

“Don’t worry. Not yet,” he said. “Not gonna blast you.”

“No? Really? Kinda looks like you want to,” Asriel said.

“Heh.” Sans’s left eye flared with magic. “That obvious?”

Asriel gulped.

“But,” Sans said, “you’re not threatenin’ me. In fact, you haven’t threatened anyone. Haven’t done much but cry like a baby, actually. So, either you’re playin’ some garbage game or my brother is right.” He blinked his magic out. “I’d like to believe my brother is right. But I think you’ll understand I gotta reserve judgement until I talk to Frisk, huh?”

“Y-Yeah, I get it,” Asriel said, wilting where he sat. “I do. Really. But… But you’ll let me stay, right? I… I just wanna make sure she’s okay.”

Sans looked thoughtful. “Okay, uh, let’s get one thing straight. She doesn’t wake up, and you’re done, got it? Nothin’ personal. Gonna need that bit of soul or whatever it is back.”

“I…” He grimaced. “I understand.”

“Good. And if she wakes up and says you did this to her, well… let’s just say, you better be long gone, because if I see you again after that, you’re gonna have a pretty bad time.”

“Okay. I’m… I’m not worried about that,” he said. “I didn’t hurt her.”

The sad look on his face caught Sans off-guard. He shrugged. “Well, then you’ll have nothin’ to worry about. Didn’t think you’d care.”

“I… I have enough of her that I do,” he said. “About her. Not sure about the rest of you weirdos.”

“Heh. Fair enough,” Sans said. “Just try not to wreck anything, alright?”

Asriel nodded, and Sans sauntered out. The flower let out a deep, shaking sigh, and put his head down on the table.


	38. The ZZZ Arc

It was dark out there. Too black to see, not even a step in front or his own white hands. The light was gone, out; taken. It didn’t make sense. It was too real; felt too much to be nothing. It was daunting to take a step, not knowing if there was even ground to walk on. 

Sans took a breath. He’d been through worse. So much worse. But then why did it hurt so much?

He heard a voice, humming a song he could have sworn he’d heard before. Where was it from? Something grasped his hand. He couldn’t see it, but someone with hands bigger than his took him, squeezing his fingers. It felt like hands of bone. His mind reached for Papyrus, but no, that didn’t feel like him. He’d grown up patching every little scuff and scratch on that kid’s bones. He barely had a lasting mark. These hands, as they gently tried to guide him forward, felt like they were missing pieces. 

All of a sudden, amber light stung his eyes, and the grip on his hand slipped away. He squinted. Papyrus. He felt himself grin. His brother’s shape was in that light; an outstretched hand offering him a path. He wanted to take it. Wanted so bad to leave, but he cast a look behind him just in case.

“Big brother,” Papyrus said gently, the voice a little distorted as if coming through water, “you won’t find anyone back there. It’s alright. Let’s go.”

Sans’s shoulders dropped a bit. He turned back and took Papyrus’s hand.

In an instant, he was seeing pink blankets. He looked up from his folded arms and saw Papyrus reaching across the bed, his eyes warm with magic. He pulled his hand back from the top of his skull and smiled.

“There you are,” he said.

“Heh. Thanks, bro,” he said. “Got a bit lost.”

“Good thing I’m excellent at finding things then,” Papyrus said.

“Heh. Yeah. Sorry. I’m lousy company.”

“Not to worry, Sans. Did you sleep alright?” Papyrus asked. “I mean, obviously something went strangely, but—”

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Sans said. “Thanks, though. How’s the kid, any movement?”

“Well, no, not exactly.” Papyrus turned his gaze on Frisk and gently rubbed her head. “She’s still asleep. But! I mean, it’s only been eight hours and twenty-seven and a half minutes, that’s not too bad, right? I mean, you’ve slept for longer in one go than that. So…” He went quiet. His brow bent with worry and he sighed. “You couldn’t reach her, could you?”

Sans shook his head. 

“Oh well, maybe next time,” Papyrus said. “She must be very tired, right? I mean. Maybe she’s sleeping even in her dreams. You do that sometimes, right? Maybe that’s it.”

“Maybe.” Sans slowly got up and rubbed the back of his skull. He nearly dropped Frisk’s hoodie. It had been on his leg. He grabbed it and stared at it blankly for a few seconds. He held back a grimace and tenderly placed it on a stool beside the bed. “Be right back?”

“Take your time, I’m not going anywhere,” Papyrus assured him.

Sans shifted. Went to one of the wishing rooms close to the Hotland end of Waterfall, one where the path became a glowing pond, filled up with echo flowers. The dark settled his mind a little and he leaned back on the wall. Those glimmering rocks on the ceiling were still a comfort, even though he had seen what they had been use to represent, stark and real in the night sky.

He didn’t wish on them, though. Hadn’t since he was little. Didn’t see the point. He folded his arms to his chest and leaned back. Last time he’d been there was when that kid had said he was a hero to her. He felt a sort of tightening in his chest and he couldn’t help but sigh.

She’d be okay. She always was. Maybe it was just a shock to her system, whatever had happened. Maybe it was the same thing that happened to him. Maybe she was just too young to walk it off and needed the rest. He’d keep telling himself that and maybe eventually he’d believe it. She wouldn’t leave Papyrus. He definitely believed that. 

He supposed it was no use feeling guilty. He couldn’t have helped her. Couldn’t have gone in. He knew she didn’t need him for that. Never did, probably never would. Cheering her on was good enough for her. She’d never want someone sticking their neck out for her with something so obviously dangerous. Even so, his heart ached. It was exhausting.

He heard a strange buzzing sound that would have made him jump if he wasn’t so tired. Frisk’s phone. He reached into his pocket and grasped the thing tightly as he checked the screen. It was Toriel. He flinched; answered it.

“Hey, Tori,” he said.

“Oh! Sans, what a surprise! I should have started off with _knock_ _knock_,” she said.

He smiled a little. “I could just set the ringtone,” he said. “Save you the trouble.”

She laughed. “I do have one for you, though. Since you’re there.”

“Alright, shoot,” he said.

“Knock knock,” she said.

“Who’s there?”

“Little old lady.” she said.

“Little old lady, who?” he asked.

“Oh my, I didn’t know you could yodel!” she said.

He snickered. Her laugh was much louder.

“Good one,” he said.

“Hm.” She sounded satisfied, and he could hear the sound of water running and glasses clinking. “You must promise me you’ll come by again sometime. You will, won’t you? I would miss our chats if you did not. I know that this is another way to reach you, but I—”

“Hey. Course I will,” he said.

“Lovely. I look forward to it,” she said. “I was wondering, might I speak to, um… Frisk? That’s her name, yes? Gosh, I feel foolish asking that.”

“No worries. Yeah. She’s Frisk,” Sans said. “She’s actually in bed right now.”

“In bed?” Toriel seemed surprised. “Seems a little early, doesn’t it?”

Sans only had to pause a moment to think of an excuse. “Yeah, uh… You know, my brother… He and the kid, they get along real well. Y’know, all those puzzles he put up out here? He had her testin’ things, runnin’ around. Fun stuff. Tired her right out,” he said. “It’s, uh… been real good to have her around. That stuff from not gettin’ the guard job, it’s like it barely even matters to him anymore. So. That’s somethin’.”

“Aw, Sans, that’s sweet. That’s very good to hear,” she said. “But he wanted it for so long. Was that hard for him?”

“Not really,” Sans said. “She, uh, gave him some new ideas. And he’s happy just takin’ her places with him. I think he just really wanted someone to look up to him. Like, a real pal, you know?”

“Well, I suppose everyone needs to feel validated,” she said. “I’m so glad he’s feeling better now. That girl really does have a strange ability, doesn’t she?”

“Hm?”

“Just, to make people feel… loved. Hah. Listen to me, I only knew her a few days, and yet—”

“No no, it’s fine,” Sans said with a quiet laugh. “You’re right.”

“It’s just so strange. When I met her, it was like… I just knew, she was supposed to be mine, somehow. The moment I saw her. And when she called me _mom_, I just…” Toriel chuckled. “I’m sorry, I’m rambling. I… miss her, I suppose.”

“I get it,” Sans said. “Hey. Dude, feel however you feel. But. It’ll work out. I’m, uh… I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Sans, I hate to point this out, but you sound… Well. Exhausted. Are you alright?” Toriel said.

“Uh… Welp. Been better,” he said. “Just, uh, _bone tired_. Heh.” He winced. Why did he say that, of all things?

“Suddenly all those bone jokes make a _skele-ton_ more sense,” Toriel said, her voice gentle. “Funny. It never even occurred to me. I suppose it should have. Somehow, that’s not what I pictured.”

“What did you picture?” he asked.

“You know, I’m not sure,” she said with a laugh. “Just a voice and a door. It is nice to know that some of you are still around, to be honest. I… I thought all of you were lost in the war.”

“Nah. There’s still at least two of us _skulking_ around,” he said.

Toriel chuckled. “I suppose it’d only be fair for me to tell you what I am, then,” she said.

“I know what you are,” he said. “Know who you are, too.”

“Wh… What?” she asked. “Oh. I suppose Frisk must’ve…?”

Sans’s attention was drawn by some footsteps that were coming through the cave, then stopped. His eye darted to the side. Undyne. He was a little surprised, but not enough to look it. He raised a hand as a hello. She paused, nodded, and kept back.

“Actually, figured it out a while ago,” he said. “You’re the same kind as our King, huh? And you were the Queen. All that time ago.”

“Oh, goodness, I—”

“Heh. No worries. You’re still hidin’, huh? Don’t worry. Secret’s safe with me,” he assured her.

“Thank you,” she said. “But… you have no loyalty to Asgore?”

“Look, the King, he’s… He’s a good guy. He’s important to all of us. But. You and I, we’re pals, right?” he said. “Not about to hurt you like that. I mean, jeez, dude, I’m hidin’ a human from him, I’m not exactly citizen of the year.”

“Sans…” Her voice was fond and soft. “Thank you, sweetie. I’m—” She made a sort of abrupt squeaking yelp. “Oh! I apologize.” 

He could’ve sworn he heard a strange bubbling sound. 

“My sink is…! Oh. Darn. I will talk to you another time, alright?”

“Yeah, sure, go get it,” Sans said.

“Hah! I will. Call me anytime, alright? Have a good evening, my child.”

Toriel hung up. Sans stared at the phone a few seconds longer. Wondered what she’d done to her sink. He heard Undyne coming closer. She looked down at him, a slight furrow in her brow and her ear-fins drooping.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Been worse, I guess,” he said.

“That Frisk’s mom?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Asgore’s ex, huh?” she said.

He nodded again.

“I won’t say anything,” she said, “if that’s what she wants. Kinda rough, though.”

“The split wasn’t good,” Sans said.

“D’you know a lot about it? From Frisk I guess, huh?”

He shook his head. “Nah. From her. We’re old pals. Not that she’d remember.”

“Asgore talks about her sometimes,” Undyne said. “Still loves her, I think.”

“Yeeeeah. She kinda goes between bein’ over it and hatin’ his guts,” he said.

“Sheesh,” Undyne said with a tired laugh. “Bummer.”

She leaned against the wall beside him, turning her eye on the crystals in the ceiling. “Must be nothing compared to real stars, huh?” she said quietly.

“Still pretty nice, though,” he said. “Maybe it’s weird. But. What I’ve seen. Shouldn’t take our stuff for granted, y’know?”

“Heh. Guess you’re right.” Undyne folded her arms. “Need anything?”

“Nah.”

She went quiet and slumped a little. She cut her eye at him. He put his hands in his pockets. Undyne puffed out a sigh.

“So, I was thinking,” she said, “might as well get some sleeping bags or whatever.”

“Cool,” he said.

“And I got some music or whatever. Gonna draft up some new orders. Send a dog or something to watch my turf for a few days. Or however long.”

Sans shot her a curious look. She grinned a little.

“What? Not leavin’ our kid until she’s better,” she insisted. “And someone’s gotta keep an eye on that flower guy, right? If Paps is basically on permanent Frisk duty and Alph is workin’, that’s between you and me. Cool?”

“Gotcha.”

“Wanna walk with me?” she asked.

“Sure.”

Sans was a little surprised she let him set the pace. They didn’t really talk for a while, but the silence was just fine.

They came upon a huge, bleak cavernous opening, surrounded by jutting cliffs. Undyne paused and looked up at it. She tilted her head.

“Weird,” she said. “Didn’t fight here, this time. Pushed it early. Didn’t actually really fight at all.”

“Yup,” Sans said.

“You ever watch that?” she asked

“Second round, yeah.”

“I was kinda mean to her, huh?” she said.

“Doesn’t matter. She was never mad,” Sans said.

“Heh. What a weirdo.” She grinned and they began walking again. “I’m, um… I’m real proud of her, you know? Squirt’s tough. I mean. She’s tiny and weak as all hell, but her spirit is tough. Like a rock or somethin’. Hey. You think she’s gonna be okay, right?”

“Absolutely,” he said. “Has to be. Kid’s basically a time god, there’s no way this’ll keep her down.”

“Right. Right!” Undyne’s ear-fins perked high. “Yeah. She’s gonna be okay.”

Hotland was coming up quick and Undyne grimaced preemptively. She tied her hair back as they went. She flinched at the sudden heat and orange light that was what really defined Hotland closing in on them. She abruptly picked Sans up over her shoulder and sprinted for the door to the lab. 

Inside, Lemons and one of the strange, phone-speaking monsters turned to look when the door slammed open. Alphys, at her computer desk, did too.

“O-Oh! There you are! Um. S-Sans, I…” She stumbled out of her chair to greet them. “Oh, U-Undyne, did y-you end up needing help?”

“Nah.” She planted Sans back on the floor. “Just ran into each other in Waterfall.”

“Oh. Oh! S-Sans. Um…” She looked nervous. “S-Sorry. But, um… some of th-these guys, they, um… They d-do still get a bit antsy when y-you teleport from in here, so if, uh… If y-you wouldn’t mind…?”

“Oh. Heh. Yeah. Sorry, slipped my mind,” Sans said. The lie sounded a hell of a lot better than he just couldn’t bring himself to care.

“H-How, um…? How are you?” Alphys said gently.

Sans shrugged. She put a hand gently on his shoulder.

“Y-You know n-none of this is your fault, right?” she said. 

A small, wheezing cough caught their attention. Asriel was on Alphys’s desk, and had turned to look at them through squinting eyes. He was still sitting in that cracked teacup. He looked pretty tired, but he glared at Sans.

“You’re miserable,” he said. “I know you better than that. Just say you’re miserable.”

Sans put his hands in his pockets. Asriel looked frustrated. 

“It’s not your fault because it’s my fault. I ruined everything. And you’re miserable. Don’t think I can’t read that face of yours when you don’t move it, because I can!!” he insisted angrily. “Just yell at me! Curse me out! I can’t stand this calm guy act! I know you’re mad, I can see it in your eyes!”

Sans tilted his head slightly. “Hey. Doc. Got any tape?”

“Huh?!” Asriel said loudly.

“Oh, um…” Alphys got him a roll of silver tape from her drawer. “Um… H-Here?”

Sans nodded and ripped off a small piece.

“Wait, wait, wait, what’re you—?!” Asriel gulped heavily when Sans came close and grabbed his cup. “Wait wait, d-don’t…!”

Sans raised a brow. He covered a v-shaped, sharp-edged chip in the rim of the cup.

“Don’t what?” he asked as he smoothed it over with his thumb. “Why, you don’t enjoy cuttin’ yourself up, do you?”

Asriel gulped. He wilted. “I… I thought you w-were gonna…”

“You thought I was gonna what?” Sans looked a little puzzled. 

The flower shook his head quickly. “N-Never mind…”

Sans clunked him back down and handed Alphys back her roll of tape. “Anyway.” He smiled faintly and pointed across the room. “I’m actually kinda exhausted. Just gonna go sit down over there a bit, alright?”

“Y-Yeah, yeah, of c-course,” she said.

Sans stuck his thumb up and ambled off. 

Alphys sighed and rubbed her brow. She turned to look at Asriel.

“H-Hey, um… Uh… P-Please don’t antagonize h-him, okay?” she said quietly. “H-He’s r-really, really w-worried about Frisk.”

Asriel tilted his head a little. He grimaced. “That would make her sad, huh?” he said quietly.

Undyne folded her arms and frowned at the little flower. “What is your deal, anyway?” she asked sharply.

“Why do you care?” he asked. “Got nothing to do with you.”

“Hey. You were messing with my friends,” she growled. “Of course it does. And if it turns out you hurt Frisk—!”

“Hah! Like you’re one to talk!” he snapped. “How many times have you killed her? A dozen? Two dozen? More? I watched, and I’ll be honest, I stopped counting. Not like you’ll remember all the scars you left, those times she cried because you didn’t even know who she was—”

Undyne slammed her palms on the desk heavily around him and glowered down at him. “I remember every single one,” she said through bared fangs.

“G-Guys, guys, p-please,” Alphys squeaked, gently pushing them apart as Asriel tried to conceal the surprise on his face. “W-We can’t fight. We’re all staying t-together for now. Asriel. I… I know. You’re mad. I… I m-may never understand. b-but, if you really c-care about Frisk… Let’s all j-just try to get along, okay? N-Now. Do you need anything?”

Asriel looked up at the two of them. Undyne scoffed and stomped off, grumbling, in the way Sans had gone. The flower grimaced. 

“Um… W-Water?” he said.

Alphys nodded. She headed off, leaving him alone for only a few seconds before she returned with a cool bottle of water.

“Um, d-do you…? Do you want it in the cup, or…?”

“Yeah.”

Alphys gently poured the water onto the dirt in the teacup. He looked a little relieved. She stared at him for a long enough time that he started to give her a weird look. 

“What?” he asked.

“Oh. S-Sorry. I, um…” She pulled a chair over. “We’ve, um… We’ve never talked. Have we?”

“You haven’t,” he said.

“Oh. Oh r-right. Other timelines,” she said quietly. “W-Were… Were we… friends?”

Asriel frowned a little. “No.”

“O-Oh…” Alphys tented her fingers. “M-Maybe we, um… we c-could… um…”

“Look.” Asriel sighed. “You don’t want to ask. You don’t want to know. And you don’t want to be my friend.”

“Oh… Um… Okay.” She got up but, after a moment, she reached out to him and took his little face in her hand. She gently brushed under his eyes with her thumb and she smiled. “I know. I g-get it. It’s a-all my fault,” she said. “I’m s-sorry. But… B-But maybe, sometime s-soon, everything you’ve b-been through will mean something.”

Asriel frowned with confusion and Alphys pulled back bashfully.

“A-As long… As l-long as you’re here, and if… i-if you’re really on… W-Well, on F-Frisk’s side, th-then… Then come to me f-for whatever you need, alright?”

He still looked confused, but he nodded. Alphys smiled sheepishly and then scampered off, looking for Sans or Undyne.

She found them at the top of the escalator, both sitting on the floor with their backs to the wall. 

“Don’t let him get to you,” Sans was saying. “That’s just what he does.”

“You need to be one hundred percent honest with me right now,” Undyne said; she was frowning deeply. “Is she scared of me?”

“No,” Sans said. “You felt her magic, right? That should tell you all you need.”

Undyne sighed, but she nodded and smiled tepidly. She raised her hand to greet Alphys.

“Undyne, are you okay?” she asked quietly. “I’m s-sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Undyne asked. “I’m okay. That flower’s a little punk, though.”

“I sh-should’ve taken b-better care of him…” Alphys mumbled.

“It wouldn’t have helped. His mom and dad both tried,” Sans said.

“Uh. What?” Undyne looked between the two of them curiously. “Okay, double nerds, fill me in.”

Alphys sighed. She trembled as she sat down across from them. She looked nervously at Sans. His expression was kind of neutral, but he had to have known. She rubbed her forehead. Stress headache was already starting to throb.

“I… I made him,” she muttered. “I made him this way. If… I-If I’d known at the time, I… I w-would’ve… k-kept him with me. K-Kept him safe, t-tried to help. I m-might’ve tried t-to… T-To give him a s-soul on my own.”

“Wait. You did…?! Wait wait wait, how?” Undyne demanded.

“It’s, uh… a long story…” she said.

“You already started.” Undyne looked fascinated, and concerned. “Tell us.”

“W-Well, um… Th-The story actually starts w-way back. W-With A-Asgore’s kids. Asriel and… and Chara. W-We all know how it w-went, but Asgore t-told me a little more,” she said. “When Asriel died, h-his dust landed on a few seeds f-from surface flowers. Y-You know, the golden ones? Asgore s-saved some seeds, and p-planted some others. So… So, one day, A-Asgore came to me, asking for… a s-soul vessel. To put the, um… the h-human souls in. T-To break the barrier. S-Something alive, but w-without a soul. So… So… I thought… A plant, maybe.” She gulped hard and rubbed her head again. 

Undyne scooted forwards and held her hands. Alphys smiled faintly. She took a deep breath to steady herself.

“W-We wanted to try because… Because, honestly, th-the stories say if a monster t-takes seven human souls, they b-become a god, right?” she said. “W-We actually h-have no idea how that works or what it means. I… I wouldn’t be surprised if… if it would kill Asgore, to do that.”

“Wait, what?! For real?!” Undyne yelped. “He… He’s all set up just to die?!”

“W-We just don’t know what happens for sure!” Alphys said. “I mean… S-Sans, when you… When you and Frisk… um…” She looked at him as if asking for permission. 

He raised a hand slightly, gesturing for her to go on.

“S-See, you two are… are, l-like, on the same w-wavelength,” she said. “Th-That was good t-to know, that everything was f-fine in that case, but y-you guys had the advantage of t-time travel and… and the s-souls, the other ones? A-Asgore… Asgore t-took most of those himself… I c-can’t imagine there wouldn’t e-eventually be a struggle. A-And who knows what that d-determination would do to him.”

“So… that’s why you wanted a vessel,” Undyne said, eyes wide. “To save Asgore. Because he thinks saving us will kill him.”

“Yes,” Alphys said quietly.

Undyne frowned deeply. “Why didn’t he tell me?” she asked quietly.

“S-Same reason he w-wouldn’t tell anyone else,” Alphys said. “H-He’s the King. He thinks it’s his b-burden.”

“Won’t have to worry about it,” Sans said. “Once the kid gets up.”

“R-Right! Right, of course,” Alphys said, nodding vigorously. “Of course. Um. So, a f-few years ago, I took some of those old seeds. T-To see if I could grow one, to t-turn into the vessel. It, um… It involved injecting them w-with a ton of d-d-determination. On most of them, it did nothing, but on… on one flower, I noticed the readings began to change when I analyzed it. I was s-so excited. I could tell A-Asgore that… that some sm-small part of his son m-might be able to save us. B-But, before I could, the flower d-disappeared. I wrote it off i-in my reports as an all-around f-failure, but… but I saw, dirt on the f-floor. I saw a little c-crack in the tile. I d-didn’t tell anyone but M-Mettaton. And… A-And I was n-never sure what I had done… Until Frisk mentioned him when we w-were doing the whole time t-travel explanation st-stuff.”

“Wait. Hang on. You’re sayin’… you literally brought a monster back to life,” Undyne said. “Through what his essence was infused in. You brought him back to life powerful enough to time travel.”

“Uhhh…” She started to sweat and her voice went very high. “Yes?”

Undyne gawked. She was at a loss for words for a few long seconds. She looked quickly at Sans, though the skeleton hadn’t budged. Alphys winced.

“S-Sans, I’m… I’m so, so sorry,” she said softly.

“Why?” He grinned. “You’re gonna save all of us.”

“Wh…?”

“Alph, that shit is actually kind of amazing,” Undyne said. “Wow. Dude. You really are a genius.”

“What?!” she squealed. “B-B-But it w-went totally wrong!! And… And with no soul… He must’ve s-s-suffered so much.”

“He is super alive though,” Undyne said.

Alphys groaned and rubbed her brow.

“Hey!” Asriel called from below— his voice was a little tight. “C-Can someone bring me to see Frisk?!”

The three monsters looked at each other.

“Dibs not,” Sans said.

“I’ll g-go,” Alphys assured him. She got to her feet. “I… w-want to check her a-again, anyway. Oh. S-Sans. I did a bit, while you w-were asleep. She’s, umm… A-At least she’s stable. So…”

Sans nodded and stuck his thumb up. Alphys smiled a little. 

“Do me a favour?” he said, lowering his voice a little. “Don’t, uh… Don’t leave him alone with my brother.”

She bit her lip, but she nodded anyway.

When she reached her desk, she saw Asriel had managed to pull himself almost to the edge, but his little face was dewy with tears again. 

“O-Oh, are y-you okay?” Alphys asked gently.

“No!” he snapped, and he drooped. “N-No. I can’t… I can’t stop, I… I just… wanna see her again. Sh-Shit. Why does this hurt so bad?!”

“It’s alright.” She picked him up and held him close to her chest. “C-Come on, you c-can see Frisk for a little. I n-need to do some work d-down there anyway.”

They were quiet on the way downstairs. Alphys didn’t know what to say, and the only sound that broke the monotony of the elevator’s rumble was the flower’s small, involuntary sniffles. She clung tight to the teacup.

She patted Big Dog on the neck as she passed them in the hallway on the way to Frisk. As soon as they were in sight of the room of beds, and Papyrus, he waved at them.

“P-Papyrus.” Alphys hurried over. “H-Hey, how are you?”

“Well. Um. Not too bad all things considering,” he said. “Oh! Asriel! Oh…” His brow bent sympathetically and he held out his hands. 

Alphys passed him over and Papyrus gently held the little flower close. 

“Oh no, you’re still crying?” Papyrus asked.

“Sh-Shut up,” the flower grumbled. 

“Well, that’s a little rude,” he said, but he smiled. “It’s alright. You’re hurting, I understand why you’d lash out.” He brushed Asriel’s tears away. 

The little flower made as if to recoil, but couldn’t muster the will. He sighed. His gaze darted back to Frisk and he choked before he could help it. 

Alphys winced, but Papyrus didn’t hesitate even a second to hold the cup close to him and gently put a hand around Asriel’s stem and leaves, his fingers glowing reassuringly. Alphys couldn’t help a fond smile. She went up on the bed beside Frisk and gently put a hand to the kid’s chest and forehead. Her healing magic glowed in her hands, and she cast a glance at the machine monitoring Frisk’s energy. There was barely a blip. She frowned.

“Don’t worry too much, Doctor Alphys,” Papyrus said. “I wasn’t able to do anything, so I highly doubt anyone else will be able to. But! Do not let that deter you from trying. You never know.”

“Y-Yeah…” Alphys sighed. “Okay…” She brushed her fingers through Frisk’s hair. She sat there, just watching her for a little while. 

Though her face was a little ashen, and the skin darkened under her eyes made it look like she hadn’t slept in a week, the kid truly seemed like she had just drifted off. Gently, she kissed Frisk’s forehead and then slipped back onto the floor. 

Her eyes went to Asriel. He was drooping, staring at the kid, trying to lean a little closer. Without having to say a word, Papyrus scooted forward and held the cup on the bed. Asriel blinked with surprise and cast a quick glance behind him. Papyrus stuck his thumb up. Asriel gulped and stretched himself just forward enough to touch her hand with a leaf. Grimacing, he put another leaf against his stem, where the little glow of red brightened.

“C’mon…” he said quietly.

Nothing happened, though. She didn’t move. He sighed and gripped her finger tight.

Alphys didn’t really have too much to do down here, but she busied herself realigning the energy reader and taking measurements she already had for a few minutes. She kept an eye on those two, but really, Asriel seemed exhausted. Whatever Sans was worried about, Alphys didn’t see much cause.

“Hey, Asriel,” Papyrus said.

“What?” he grumbled.

“She’s not mad at you,” he said.

Asriel grimaced. “I… I know. So… So stupid. She should have been, I—”

“Made the right choice!” Papyrus said. “She’s very proud, I bet.”

“Ugh. Don’t say that. I’m just gonna…” He growled quietly. “I’m a total mess…”

“That’s just fine, don’t worry,” Papyrus said. “Hey. Can I ask you something?”

“No.”

“Oh. Well. Why did you tell me your name was Flowey?” he asked.

Asriel frowned. “I lied. Who cares? It doesn’t matter.”

“Were you hiding from something?” Papyrus insisted.

Asriel made a face. Papyrus smiled.

“Oh. You were. That’s okay. Don’t you worry about a thing, as long as you’re with us, I’ll keep you totally safe!” he insisted.

“That’s dumb. You can’t keep me safe,” he said.

“Nyeh heh heh! Watch me,” he said. 

Asriel pouted. Alphys busied herself for a few more minutes before wandering back over. Before she could ask for the teacup back, Papyrus quickly waved her over. She tilted her head curiously.

“Sit down for a minute, Doctor,” he said.

She was a little puzzled, but she did as he asked. He put his hand on her head and lit up his fingers with magic.

“Headache, right?” he asked.

“H-How did you know?” she squeaked.

“I am incredibly perceptive, you know,” he said. “You had a little twitch in your forehead. I’ve noticed it before on people who have skin and a headache at the same time. Just give me a few moments.”

“Th-Thanks,” she said softly. “W-We’ll go back up when he’s done, okay?”

“What?! I wanna stay,” Asriel protested.

“I know… B-But I need to d-do a little work,” she said. “M-Maybe w-we could keep each o-other company? G-Get you something to eat, what do you s-say?”

Asriel looked a little cautious. His brow furrowed. “Sans told you to keep me away from her, didn’t he?” he growled.

Alphys winced. “N-No. He didn’t. He’s c-careful, he’s n-not cruel,” she said gently. 

“Then why do I need a babysitter?!” he demanded.

“W-Well, other than the fact that, um… you’re in a cup? A-And there’s no earth here f-for you to m-move around in on your own?” she said. “I w-want to make s-sure you’re okay.”

“Nobody here trusts me. I get it,” he said.

“Don’t worry, Asriel! I trust you!” Papyrus said. “You helped my little sister and you have a red spot from her. That has to mean something good, I’m sure of it.”

Asriel looked a little hesitant to agree, but his face showed a glimmer of hope. Alphys smiled and held out her hand. Papyrus passed the little flower over. When he lifted his fingers away, the lizard’s headache went with them. Alphys sighed with relief. She got to her feet and gently patted his shoulder.

“You’re d-doing great,” she said gently.

In the elevator up, Asriel stared up at Alphys curiously. She seemed not to notice. He gently poked her with a leaf and she looked down.

“Y-Yes?” she said.

“So. What did he tell you?” he asked.

“I’m n-not sure I follow,” she said.

“What did Sans tell you?” he pushed.

“Oh. J-Just…” She looked embarrassed. “He d-didn’t want you alone with P-Papyrus. Sorry.”

“Papyrus?” he repeated. “…Huh.”

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

He shook his head. “No. No, that’s smart,” he said. “If… If he’s not convinced yet, then… that makes perfect sense.”

“You’re n-not upset?” she asked.

“No. I’d say the same, if I were him,” he said.

\- - -

As Alphys got back to work, keeping the little flower close, Undyne and Sans still held fast to the corner upstairs. He was quiet and looked exhausted. Undyne hadn’t said much either, but her curiosity had been pricked by Asriel’s words. Her ear-fins drooped a little. She nudged the half-asleep skeleton gently with her elbow. He looked at her with a brow raised.

“Tell me something,” she said.

“That’s a bit vague,” he said.

“About the past,” she said. “This weird kid, he knows the same time junk you do, right?”

“Bit less. But yeah,” he said. “Think he let his memories get erased through a few anomalies. Either that or he doesn’t hold up as well as I do, which honestly wouldn’t make sense to me. Why?”

“Guess I don’t want him jumpin’ me more with the garbage I did,” she grumbled. “So… Could I hear it from you first?”

“Uh…” Sans stared blankly for a few seconds and then rubbed the back of his skull. “Welp. I mean, if you’re talkin’ similar stuff, you already know it. You know Frisk’s timelines now, so…”

“What about before that?” she pressed. “This flower kid, he had timelines, too?”

“Mhm.”

“Tell me about them,” she said.

“Uh… Well, I don’t know everything he ever did,” Sans said. “Didn’t really follow him around. He probably was your, uh, kinda friend at one point. Probably killed you a bunch, too.”

“Oh…” She winced. “I, um, die a lot in these other timelines, huh?”

“Don’t feel too bad, everyone does,” Sans said.

“You, too?” she said.

His brow furrowed a little. “Maybe not as much as I’d like.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Undyne asked.

“Guess I’d just rather it be me than someone else,” he said with a shrug. “But then, I wouldn’t really want to put someone else through the end either.”

Undyne looked a little confused, but she nodded.

She sighed, stretched, and put her arms behind her head. “So, these other anomalwhatevers. They kill everyone, too?”

“Some of ‘em,” he said.

“What happened to them?” she asked.

“They left. Or got driven off.” Sans shrugged and winked. “Like I said. Maybe better not to go too deep into that. Hurts my head. Probably hurt yours, too.”

“Right, right,” she said, but she pouted a little. “Just one thing? Or, kinda, a thing and a followup?”

“Sure.”

“What did you mean by the end?” she asked. “Like, the same way Frisk said? They’d try to end _everything_?”

“Mhm.”

“Shit.” She frowned. “Why didn’t I help you? I was already gone?”

He nodded.

“What happened to me?” she asked

“That’s like, six questions,” Sans said.

“Sans.”

“Heh. In those timelines, it was… rough. Real rough,” he said. “And, you gotta understand. I couldn’t stop these anomalies, right? They just go back in time when they die. And sometimes, tryin’ to stop them early, would just make ‘em more determined. Stronger. Merciless. Learned that the hard way. Almost every time it got that bad, you’d try to stop the thing near the end of the road in Waterfall.”

“But I couldn’t do it,” she said with a frown.

“That thing, it’s strong. Takes you down in one hit. But. You know…” He shot her a grin. “You’re an actual hero. You weren’t about to just lay there and take it. You’re, uh, real determined. Got a second wind. And maybe you don’t hold up for much longer after the fight, but sometimes, you saved us.”

Undyne stared at him, surprise clear on her face. She started to smile a little. “Thanks, dude.”

He shrugged.

“You know,” she said, “I thought hearin’ about myself dying… Thought that would be worse, but… I guess, since I’m still here, not really any point in feeling messed up about it, huh? ‘Specially if I don’t remember.”

“Good attitude,” he said.

She went quiet; looked thoughtful. Her ear-fins drooped. “Do you remember?”

“Hm?” he asked.

“Dying.”

“Yeah.”

Her brow furrowed. He was surprised when she put her arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer. There was a grimace on her face. She didn’t ask a thing more, though. Didn’t say a word. But she held him for a little while and he was alright with that. 

She huffed and rubbed her temples. She pulled out her phone and her eye went wide. She laughed a bit dryly. “Late,” she said. “Want to help me cook dinner?”

“No,” he said.

“Pfft. Okay. Want to sit around while I cook dinner?” she asked.

“That I’ll do,” he said. “Thanks for talkin’.”

“Oh! I was about to say that.” She laughed. “Any distraction, huh?”

“Pretty much,” he agreed. “You might have to carry me.”

“Damn it, Sans.”

\- - -

The next time Sans went downstairs, it was with a plate of makeshift water sausage and ramen stir-fry.Papyrus was exactly where he had left him, but with his arms folded on the bed, staring hard at Frisk.

“Hey, bro, brought you some grub,” he said. “Undyne cooked. It’s not bad.”

“Oh. Thanks, but no thanks, brother, I couldn’t possibly eat,” he said.

“You sure? Gotta eat if you’re gonna keep being buff, dude,” he said.

“I know. It’s just… I’m not hungry,” Papyrus said. “Or. Maybe I am. But I feel… achey.”

“I get it,” Sans said. 

Sans put the plate down on another chair and rolled it over to Papyrus. He didn’t even give it a second glance.

“I just keep going from being sure she’s going to be just fine, to thinking I might never… No! No, that’s too negative, that will not help,” he scolded. “But… Tell me the truth. What’s going to happen?”

“Truth is, I dunno. Sorry, I know that’s a bad answer,” he said. “But you’ll keep her safe, huh? Just promise to take care of yourself, too, okay? Don’t want both my favourite kids passed out in here.”

“Heh! Sans. I’m barely a kid,” he said.

Sans grinned and shrugged. “Close enough, dude.”

Papyrus smiled to himself. It gave Sans a sense of relief. His brother stood slowly and stretched. 

“I’m not leaving,” he said quickly. “I’m just going to pace around the bed. To stretch my legs.”

“Mind if I hang out?”

“Please do, it’s too quiet in here,” he said.

Sans nodded. As Papyrus began to walk swiftly, he sat down on the bed and watched Frisk. His mind wandered a little. Maybe if he got closer, they could link up? The dream hadn’t reached her. Maybe something just a little stronger? He doubted it. But, it couldn’t hurt to try, could it? Carefully, he grabbed her under her arms and lifted her up. It was weird— wasn’t like her to not shift, or flinch, or make some noise. He didn’t like that her eyelids didn’t flutter.

He sat her little body against him and took a moment, concentrating, to bring some magic to his hand. He touched above her soul spot, but he felt nothing. He grimaced. He hated this. Absolutely loathed it. She shouldn’t be so quiet, and limp, and cold. He touched his forehead to hers and pulled her in close. His soul offered a beacon of help, but it felt like there wasn’t much there to receive it. 

“Kiddo, c’mon,” he said quietly. He tried again. Got nothing back. He was still too weak for this. His chest hurt. His eyes started to water. He had to stop— felt like there was a vice squeezing his ribcage. “Sorry,” he whispered.

He gently lay her back and wiped his face with his palm. Useless. As usual. He tucked her back in and brushed her hair from her face with fingers he couldn’t stop from shaking.

Papyrus had come to a stop and looked at him worriedly. He put a hand on his shoulder. “Brother, it’s okay. You tried.”

“Heh. You give it a try, later, okay?” he said. “She’ll probably start to come out of it right away.”

“A-Actually. I did try. Earlier? Nothing,” he said quietly. “So… I mean. I’ll try again, of course! But. Don’t feel too bad! I mean, if I couldn’t do it—”

“You’re right, how could I expect to?” Sans said.

“Well, yes, but I mean that in the best possible way,” Papyrus said quickly.

“It’s okay, bro. I know. I’m kinda crap at this stuff,” he said.

“No, no, that’s not it. Brother. You’re still low. You’re still not better yet,” Papyrus insisted. “Don’t worry too much. We will figure this out.”

Sans nodded. Papyrus wrapped him in his arms.

“You are not a crap. You are the opposite of a crap,” Papyrus said. “Please don’t be so hard on yourself. I really don’t like to see you upset.”

“I know, dude. It’s just…” He clenched his fist, but forced a smile. “Nah. You’re right. I’ll be fine.”

Papyrus raised his brows. He touched his forehead to Sans’s and glowed gently, and Sans couldn’t help but reciprocate. 

“Then why do you hurt so much?” Papyrus asked.

“Don’t you?” he said.

“…Yes. Don’t tell the others?” he said.

“Not a word,” he assured him.

Papyrus let out a long, deep sigh. He sat down again and leaned his elbows on the bed. He pouted a little. “It’s almost tomorrow, isn’t it?” he said.

“Might be already, I dunno,” Sans said, sitting down in one of the rolling office chairs.

“Hm… Well, Frisk has to hurry and wake up, we do training in the mornings, now,” he said. “…This is not helping. Hey, brother. Tell me a story.”

“Uh, what kind of story?” he asked.

“One about…! About a cool hero!” he said. “Frisk likes those, too.”

“Want me to get a book?” Sans said.

His brother shook his head. “No, don’t leave. Just make something up,” he said.

Sans looked thoughtful. He leaned back in his chair. “Alright. How about a story about… oh I dunno, you mightta heard of this guy. Skeleton hero. He’s pretty great.”

“Ooh, yes, okay, let’s hear about that one!”

“Alright. So, uh… Once upon a time, there was a little skeleton who wanted to grow up to be a Royal Guard,” Sans said. “He wanted it so bad he’d do anything in the world. He trained real hard every day, at magic, and at puzzles, and carryin’ his lazy sack-of-bones brother around made him real buff.”

“I can relate,” Papyrus said.

Sans snickered. “So. One day. That little skeleton was walking home from the store when he heard some, uh, scufflin’. And what was there? Some bigger kid monsters trying to steal a dog’s lunch money. So, that little skeleton went down there and did what any good hero would do.”

“And what was that?” Papyrus said.

“Well. First, he tried to reason with the bullies. Then, when that didn’t work, he summoned up all his magic and pushed those guys right into huge piles of snow. And totally rescued the dog’s ten G, by the way. But that little skeleton, he never hurt them at all. He knew hurting was wrong, and would always try not to. Even though it sometimes was the harder way. And because of that, he got a reputation for bein’ real heroic, and for bein’ a monster you could go to for help.” Sans kicked up his feet on the bed. “But see, this little skeleton, he had a big brother. And his brother, he wasn’t nearly as heroic. And because of that, he sometimes got himself into trouble.”

“Oh no! What kind of trouble?” Papyrus insisted.

“All sorts. See, the brother, he knew that the world could be cruel sometimes. And while the little skeleton hero always saw the bright and the good in everythin’, his brother could only see the dark. One day, it got so bad, that he disappeared right into it.”

Papyrus gasped.

“First, the little skeleton wasn’t sure where his brother had gone. He was real lazy, see? So it wasn’t too unusual for him to just vanish for a while. But soon, the little skeleton realized something must’ve happened. So he went looking. On, uh… On a quest, y’know, like heroes do. He travelled all through the whole underground until he found this pit. His bro, like a dope, had fallen right in and couldn’t get out. Worse, even. Didn’t even want to try.”

“Why not?” Papyrus asked. “Why didn’t he want to try?” 

“Welp… At the time. He thought… it was pointless,” Sans explained. “But big brother, he was a big idiot, too. It wasn’t pointless. The little hero knew that. And because he was so great, he went down into that dark place without a second thought. And you know what? He glowed like the sun.” Watching Papyrus’s face light up, Sans grinned, just a little. “His brother could finally see a light. And together they got out of that hole. And after that, the hero always glowed. He was too great not to. And he always lit his big brother’s way, so he wasn’t so damn clumsy anymore.”

“Wowie,” Papyrus said. “Did he every get to be a Royal Guard?”

“Well, that’s skippin’ ahead a bit,” Sans said with a laugh. “You know, I’m not sure yet. Maybe not, but whatever he got to be, it was the best.”

“Huh.” Papyrus tilted his head. “Did you just make that all up on the spot, brother?”

“Yeah, thought I’d give it a shot. How was it?” he asked.

“Well, the structure was a bit strange, and it was a little short with odd pacing, and I feel there may be some hidden allegory in there I’m not quite getting,” he said, “but, it was very nice. And heartfelt. And I enjoyed listening to it. Thank you.”

Sans nodded. He rubbed the back of his skull. 

Papyrus got up and switched to a chair closer to his brother. He put a hand on the top of his head and glowed gently. “Just a few seconds, brother,” he assured him. 

In truth, the headache was gone almost instantly. Lifted away in Papyrus’s golden-amber glow.


	39. The ZZZ Arc

It was snowing. The flakes were large and soft, and the ground looked as cozy as a huge duvet. Sans’s blue coat stood out bright, but was a soothing sight amidst the white that was almost blinding. He was working on a snowball half his size. Beside him, Papyrus— a twiggy little skeleton about a head shorter, with a bright red scarf around his neck— cackled and clambered up onto his shoulders. Sans grinned and turned, pretending not to be able to find him. Papyrus snickered and, after a few seconds and Sans shrugging widely, the little skeleton pulled his brother’s fuzzy hood up over his head. Sans laughed, beaming, and whisked him down and into his arms. They glowed bright together.

Frisk wanted to join them. Wanted it more than anything. She’d tried to get their attention, but they couldn’t see her. Couldn’t hear her, either. She was a ghost. But, they looked so happy. They didn’t need someone else hopping in anyway, did they? She felt a hit of hard heartache. All she wanted was to be with her brothers. But they’d be okay without her, wouldn’t they? They always were. It was her who needed them. She couldn’t cope otherwise. It hurt too much.

She almost accepted it for a moment. A view from the sidelines. But, after a few seconds, she felt a gentle hand on her head. Someone ruffled her hair. When she turned to look, there was a monster in a black robe, though there was a tear in it that was clear against the backdrop of snow. He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t recall where she’d seen him. His white, smiling face was turned towards her. She froze. She wanted to ask him something, but couldn’t bring herself to move or say a word. Cold fear struck her. 

Something of a change of expression came over that face, but it was too subtle to read. The monster man knelt down and gently took her hand in his and began to write letters in her palm.

_N - I - G - H - T - M - A - R - E_

Frisk frowned just a little. This was familiar. She didn’t understand. The monster tilted his head slightly. He brushed her hair from her face with his fingertips.

_T - H - E - Y - N - E - E - D - Y - O - U_

He repeated it several times until the words registered. Frisk’s eyes went wide. She gulped.

“Who are you?” she asked. “I… I know you from somewhere?”

He simply smiled. Not that there was much of a change in his face, but there was enough that she understood it this time. He pointed towards the two playing skeletons.

“But… they’re happy. They… They don’t need me…” she muttered. “I’m just… trouble. I… I just make people feel guilty, and… And…” Tears came to her eyes. She folded her arms tight against her chest. “I… I can’t do it. I can’t do anything right. If… if I had just… b-been able to save Asriel t-to begin with, n-none of this would have happened.” Her voice started to break. “I… I was supposed to fix the CORE and instead I just… made a mess and… S-Sometimes I wonder if it would b-be better if I wasn’t even r-real. If this time travel st-stuff never happened, and… and e-everyone w-would be so much happier. A-All I’ve done for… for a year is make p-people who had better stuff to do t-take care of me, and—”

The monster cupped her face and shook his head. He wrote in her hand.

_ N - I - G - H - T - M - A - R - E_

“But I…”

He suddenly looked a lot more adamant. He wrote in her palm again.

_ L - I - E - S_

“Lies? Who’s lying?” she asked worriedly.

_ Y - O - U - R - M - I - N - D_

Frisk stared. She gulped. He put his fingers to her temples. Suddenly, it was like there was ice inside her head. A deep freezing so powerful it hurt for a few moments. She winced and her knees buckled. The monster went down with her and put his hand on her shoulder.

It was like Sans’s memories suddenly kicked out of her and before her eyes. She could see him pulling her into his arms in their living room, her first day back with him. Saw herself breaking down. The emotions that came through were his, though, not her own. How happy he was that she was there, how overwhelmingly relieved he was to see her again; how heartbroken he was that he hadn’t acted sooner. He loved her so much that he didn’t even know what to say. Her big brother wanted her there, more than almost anything. But of course, she knew that. Why had she forgotten?

Frisk had to wipe her eyes quickly. When she straightened up, only her brothers were left, and they seemed to have noticed her now, somehow. Papyrus waved frantically. She was taken aback; her heart thunked. 

“P-Papyrus?” she said shrilly.

“Frisk! Frisk, come with us!!” he insisted. “You have to, it’ll be just the worst if you don’t!”

“Y-Yeah?” she asked.

“Obviously.” Sans grinned sympathetically. “Not feelin’ so great, though, huh? That’s alright. My dreams get worse when I get sick, too.”

“Really?” she squeaked. 

“Yup. We’re, uh, kinda alike like that, y’know?” he said. “Don’t sweat it. Things’ll be normal when you wake up, alright?”

“You think?” she said.

He chuckled. His smile was overwhelmingly sympathetic. “You’re goin’ kinda nuts, huh? You know no one’d ever ditch you in a million years.” Sans strolled up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “You remember that nightmare you had last time you got real sick? The one where you thought nobody actually liked you and they were just keepin’ you around for the timeline stuff?”

“Y… Yeah?” she said.

“You actually thought they’d just lock you in the dungeon and leave you so the timeline wouldn’t break. It was messed up. But remember how when you woke up you were on Undyne, and Papyrus almost started cryin’ he was so happy to see you up? And Sans grabbed you all that night when you were shakin’ so hard you couldn’t sleep, and mom read you that story about the kid goin’ to a magic school?”

Frisk gulped and nodded. Sans raised his brows. She wiped her tear-filled eyes again.

Papyrus scampered up to her. It was weird— they were almost the same height. He offered her both hands.

“Come on, don’t be stand-offish, you have to come with us,” he insisted. “We have to be three. We’re three now and that’s how it’ll always be. Forever and ever! Promise”

Frisk nodded and took his hands. She felt dizzy.

Frisk could see white. Or maybe grey. Wasn’t sure. Her eyes wouldn’t focus. She was warm, though. Her head was heavy, and her stomach hurt. She looked to the side. Beds. Lots of pink beds. Like a field of beds for a moment, until she stopped seeing double. Must’ve fallen asleep in the lab. Wasn’t sure why; her thoughts were fuzzy. She was a little sick and cold, and she could’ve sworn she was just outside in Snowdin a moment ago. 

She turned her head to the other side. Papyrus was there. His head was resting on his folded arms on the pink blankets. Slowly, she sat up, light-headed, and then scooted closer to him. She grabbed his shoulder and shook him.

“Bro. Bro, you fell asleep sitting up again,” she said quietly.

He didn’t budge. She yawned and blinked to clear her sleepy eyes. She shook him a little harder.

“Papyrus. C’mon, wake up, you goof,” she said. “Go to bed, don’t just sit there.”

She heard him make a small sound and then lifted his head, looking at her with groggy eyes.

“Jeez, Paps, you look exhausted,” she laughed. “You should try more lying down when you sleep, huh?”

He blinked. Then, he gawked and drew back like he had received a static shock. “I’m awake, yes? I’m not dreaming?!” he demanded, rubbing his eyes.

Frisk looked confused. “Not dreaming,” she confirmed. 

“OH MY GOD!”

He was on her right away, hugging her tight against him as he pulled her into his lap, glowing with magic, babbling something so quickly her tired brain couldn’t follow. He sounded happy, though, and his magic felt it even more so. She smiled and hugged him back. He curled himself around her, pressing his forehead to hers, tears streaming down his face— he was glowing so brightly it set them alight, like droplets of gold pouring from his eye sockets. It hit her like a punch to the gut.

“P… Papyrus?” she asked. “What’s wrong, are you okay?”

“Oh… Oh yes, I’m fine,” he said, his voice rasping a little. “I’m just happy.”

He began to laugh quietly. She smiled despite sympathetic tears coming to her eyes. She put her hands gently around the back of his neck and rested with him a little while. Red in her energy wrapping into his snuggly, forming a deep, warm orange. She noticed, felt a sting of shock; decided to just be happy and ignore everything else.

After a few seconds, he yelped with surprise, but then laughed even harder, the relief in his voice so clear that she felt it, too, even though she didn’t understand. But his energy, it just felt so overwhelmingly happy.

“Jeez, dude, are you okay? What the heck happened?” she asked quietly.

He tried to catch his breath. Took him almost a minute. Frisk waited patiently. He finally drew back a little and the magic dimmed down. He wiped his eyes, but then put his hands on her shoulders.

“Don’t tell the others because I was trying so hard to be positive, but I was so afraid you wouldn’t wake up!” he said.

“…Huh?” she said. She couldn’t for the life of her think of anything else to say.

“You went into the CORE! Don’t you remember?” he asked. “It was going weird because of Asriel, but then you stopped it and he dragged you out! At least, that’s what he said.”

“Oh…” Frisk’s eyes went wide. “Oh! Yeah, right! Sheesh, I’m sorry!” She rubbed her forehead. 

Papyrus gently put his hand on her head and his magic went straight to her brain, soothing the pressure behind her eyes right away.

“Yeah, that’s right, I think the machine stole most of that extra determination I had when I went to shut it down,” she said, “and I think Asriel got a little, and then I must’ve fainted. Maybe not in that order? It’s a bit scrambled.”

“So… So he really didn’t hurt you, then,” Papyrus said quietly.

She shook her head. “N-No, he realized pretty quick that he made a mistake.”

Papyrus let out a sigh of relief. “That is really good to hear. Oh my god, thanks for being okay. You slept through three days, we were all so worried.”

“Th-Three days?” Frisk repeated; her blood ran cold. “Jeez, bro, I’m so sorry to scare you.”

He shook his head. “All in the past! As long as you’re fine, it doesn’t matter.”

“What happened to Asriel, was he okay?” Frisk asked.

“Here’s the thing,” Papyrus said. “I… I think you sort of fixed him?”

“Huh?” Frisk stared back blankly. “What do you mean?”

“Well, the thing is,” he said. “He’s really worried about you. And that determination that hit him, I think that it was almost like a piece of your soul? So… it’s in him. And he likes you now.”

Frisk gawked. “Wh…? Holy crap!” she exclaimed. “Okay. What? Oh my god. That… That wasn’t part of the plan at all, but… b-but if… Oh jeez.”

“It’s okay. It’s all fine,” Papyrus assured her quickly. “As long as you’re safe.”

“Is everyone else okay?” she asked. “And why are we still in the lab?”

“Everyone’s fine, don’t worry,” he assured her. “Doctor Alphys wanted to keep an eye on you.”

“Oh.” Frisk rubbed her eyes. “I’m sorry to scare everyone.”

He ruffled her hair. Gently, and somewhat reluctantly, he let her back onto the mattress and then got up, rubbing the back of his skull. “Oof. Have not had a cry like that in a long time,” he huffed. “Okay. You need to stay right here. I’ll get Sans. He’ll want to talk to you. And I… uh… I will—”

“You should eat something,” she said brightly.

“Completely correct, Frisk,” he said. “I’ll be back soon! Would you like anything?”

“Something to drink would be great,” she admitted.

He rushed off, a bounce in his step, and Frisk took a moment to gather her thoughts. This definitely threw her for a loop. She rubbed her head and sighed. At least the headache was gone.

She flopped back onto the bed for a moment and covered a yawn. For just a second, the air tingled. She heard a step or two on the tiles.

“Kiddo?”

Quickly, she sat up again. Sans came into view, his eyes wide, his expression worried. He looked tired— much more so that usual. He was in the same t-shirt from days ago, with the Z’s on it. She smiled and waved, and hurriedly got off the bed. Pins and needles swept over her legs and she yelped and collapsed. Sans had her in his arms in an instant.

“Holy shit, kiddo, you okay?!” he demanded.

She began to laugh and she nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine! My legs fell asleep!”

“Oh for god’s sake.” He squished her close. “Don’t frickin’ scare me like that.”

“Sorry.” She hugged him tight. “Super sorry.”

“It’s… Heh. It’s fine.” He started to glow gently, relief seeping through his bones. “Welcome back.”

She did her best to glow, too. She felt a sort of linking in their energy and she sunk in against her brother. He shook for just a moment and then let his soul do the same. It was very comfortable; reassuring. But she could feel his heartache, too. It made her eyes water. She closed them and squeezed against him tightly.

“We’re fine. We’re all fine, right?” she asked quietly.

“Heh.” He patted her head. “Yeah. Hey. See that?”

She looked. Just like with Papyrus, their energies had morphed; shifted in colour. Together, they were a cool purple.

“Whoa,” she said.

“That’s new,” he said. “Purple. Nice.”

“Y-Yeah?” she asked.

“Mhm.” He grinned. “God, you are weird.”

“I’m glad I kept it!” she said. “When the machine started taking my stuff, I couldn’t really hold up the shield.”

“Of course you’d want the super hugs,” he said. “Dang, kid.”

She smiled and quickly ran the back of her hand across her eyes. “It ch-changed with Paps, too. Went orange.”

“Oh yeah?” He grinned. “You’re a real mystery, huh, kid?”

She snickered. He put his hand on her forehead and looked thoughtful for a few seconds.

“You’re still not feelin’ super well, huh?” he asked. “Kinda too warm. I think.”

“Um, yeah, maybe,” she admitted. “It’s not too bad. Wanna help me up? Legs are super tingly and I hate it.”

“Yeah.” He got to his feet and helped her back to sit on the bed. “It’s fine, we’ll just take it easy. You sure you’re okay?”

“I am super thirsty,” she admitted, “but yeah. Papyrus kind of filled me in. Sorry again for scaring you guys.”

“Well, it’s not like you can help that you passed the hell out,” Sans said with a grin. “Don’t sweat it. But, uh. Call Tori soon, alright? I ran out of reasons you couldn’t come to the phone.”

“Yeah. Okay. No problem,” she said. “Don’t worry.”

He sat beside her and ruffled her hair, magic tingling affectionately. “So, that kid,” he said, “he didn’t—?”

“Nah. He tried to help, I think,” she said. “I mean, I know it was his fault to start with, but he got the red bit in him and suddenly he realized his plan sucked.”

“Oh. Good. I can stop threatenin’ him,” he said. “Dunno if he’s legit changed or if he’s just manipulatin’, but he’s been mopin’ around since we got him.”

“Yeah?” she said. “Do you think it could be true?”

“Well, lemme put it this way,” Sans said. “Seems he cares about you. Still kind of an ass otherwise. But he hasn’t done anything stupid.”

“You think it’s okay?” she asked.

He shrugged. “You’ll have to tell me. But… Shit, it’s good to see you up.”

“Sorry again,” she said bashfully. “Should we go upstairs?”

“You okay to get up?” he asked.

“Sure! Don’t see why not,” she said. 

He nodded, grabbed her shoulder, and then, in the blink of an eye, they were on the ground level of the lab.

The place looked like a campsite. Scattered blankets, sleeping bags, a few books, and general food mess were all over the floor. Sections of the huge room were cordoned off by hanging sheets on makeshift frames. 

“Are you sure it’s only been three days?” Frisk joked.

“Heh. Well, no one really wanted to leave,” Sans said.

There was a sudden scuffling sound and, from behind one of the sheets, Papyrus stumbled out, arms full of soda cans and precariously carrying a mug by the top of it.

“Oh! Hey, good timing! Careful, it’s hot.” He passed her the mug, only to drop a few of the cans. “Oh gosh.”

“Thanks, bro,” Frisk said, holding in a laugh. “What’re you—?”

“Well, I thought maybe you might want something warm, but then maybe something cold, and then I couldn’t pick the flavour, and… Ah, never mind.” 

He hurried to pick up the cans as Frisk sipped the tea, only to drop more onto the ground. He gave up in a huff, released the rest in disdain, and then bent down to Frisk again.

“Forget it, I’m hugging you, alright?”He did so before she could reply, but she snickered anyway and put one arm around his shoulders. “I missed you. Did I mention that? I really, really missed you.”

“Aw, Papyrus…” She kissed his cheek. “Thanks.”

He began to glow again. Sans laughed.

“I think I remembered what tea you like!” Papyrus continued as he drew back. “More sugar than Undyne but less than Sans, right? Does it taste okay?”

“Dude, it’s perfect,” she assured him.

He nodded and grinned. 

Her legs were still tingly, so she sat down to drink her tea. Papyrus sat with her. He held back for a few seconds— which looked to be very difficult for him— before he put his arms around her again. She snickered and sat back against him quite contentedly.

“You didn’t leave for a second, did you?” she asked.

“Nope!” he said.

She smiled. “Thank you.”

Sans sat down with them. Didn’t say a word, but he looked relieved, and pretty happy, too.

“I guess everyone else went out?” she asked.

“Groceries,” Sans said. “Mettaton broadcasting stuff for Alph. She tried to keep workin’ while you were out. Asriel’s asleep.”

Frisk nodded. 

She took her time with the tea; it warmed her deeply. She almost felt like she could fall asleep again, but she resisted. She finished, then turned to give her brother a gentle, grateful hug. He snickered. 

“I’m really sorry I scared you guys,” she said.

“Nyeh heh! Little sister, don’t worry. Don’t even think about it for a second longer,” he said. “I certainly won’t.”

She laughed. She stood up and beckoned him down, and when he bent closer, she cupped his face gently and gave him a smooch on the forehead. He giggled, his bones flushing.

“You’re so sweet!” he cooed.

She headed over to her sleepy brother and gave him a kiss, too, before she sunk down and stuck her arms under his and pressed as close as she could. He laughed quietly. He held her tightly and warmly, letting his magic tell her how happy he was. It was like a sneeze, in a way. He couldn’t have held it back if he’d wanted to. It was a relief to release it. She snickered. 

“Good?” she said.

“Yeah,” he said.

She sat back and stretched her arms up to pop her back. “Guess I should see him, huh?”

“If you’re up for it,” Sans said.

With Papyrus trailing close behind, Sans lead her through a few of the blanket dividers until they reached somewhere near the middle of the room. He pulled back the sheet for her and she saw Asriel. He was in a teacup, slumped, facing away from the door. Maybe asleep. She edged up to him and leaned in close. She hesitated for a moment. Her heart started to beat fast. If it was true, then…

“Az?” she asked.

He shifted a little and the straightened up, blinking heavily for a moment. He seemed to notice her from the corner of his eye and he spun quickly. “Oh my god.” He started to grin. “You’re okay!”

“Yup!” She was startled when grasped her with his little leaves and squeezed; she laughed and hugged him gently. “You too, huh?”

He nodded and let out a deep sigh, his small form shaking. “I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes welling up with tears. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“I know,” she said. “Hey, don’t worry! I’m okay. Everyone’s okay. Right?”

He nodded. 

“You’re okay?” she pushed.

“Y-Yeah, I’m… I’m okay.” He pulled back and wiped his eyes carefully with a leaf. “Hah. God. You’re such an idiot. You should have left.”

“But then we wouldn’t be friends right now, right?” she asked, gently poking his stem. “That’s more important. We, um, we’re kinda friends, right?”

“Pffft, you’re nuts,” he scoffed, but he smiled. “I, um… I’ve… seen how you feel. J-Just a little bit.” He touched a leaf to the spot on his stem. A tiny red spot lit up bright. “And… Alphys told me. The stuff you guys are doing for me. I can’t believe that you were actually serious.”

“So… So wait, you know the plan, then?” she demanded.

He nodded. “I… I can’t believe you went through all that, for me. I ripped you apart a hundred times and I didn’t feel a thing. And even then…” He shook his head, laughed, and smiled. “You’re frickin’ weird, Frisk.”

“So… S-So wait, are you in?” she asked. “If… If you know the plan, and you don’t totally hate me, w-will you help?! You won’t mess around or anything?”

“There’s literally no reason for me to say no,” he said.

Frisk let out a disbelieving laugh and hugged him again. He smiled and his leaves gently patted her.

“I, uh… Hah. I don’t hate you at all, actually. I did. I was jealous. But at the same time, I… I, um…” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “I think I want you to stay. You know?”

“Don’t worry,” she assured him. “You look pretty tired, huh? You okay?”

“Hah. Speak for yourself! But… Yeah. Spent the last few days crying like an idiot, basically,” he said. “Suddenly have some emotions. Kind of a big switch from just… nothing.”

“You should get some rest, then! Want anything?” she asked. “Tea?”

“Isn’t that kind of like cannibalism?” he asked.

She stared blankly and then began to laugh. “Sorry! I guess you’re right.”

“B-But, um… maybe… hot chocolate would be okay?” He looked bashful. “You’re, um, pretty good at that.”

Frisk grinned and nodded. She gave him a quick smooch on the forehead and then turned and walked back past the blanket.

Sans was waiting, back to the wall, and Papyrus was ringing his hands.

“So?” he asked. “Is he good?”

Frisk smiled and nodded. Papyrus’s face lit up. He picked her up into a quick, tight hug, and then raced into Asriel’s section.

“Frisk said you passed!!” he said loudly. 

She snickered and Sans tilted his head a little.

“So it’s legit,” he said.

“Yeah.” She smiled and rubbed her head. “Wow. Never expected that. There go the rules.”

“Rules? What rules?” Sans grinned. “Seems to me we stopped havin’ rules as soon as your face started glowin’.”

She shrugged. He rubbed the back of his skull and laughed.

“This is nuts.” He sounded exhausted.

She nodded. “Help me find the hot chocolate?”

“Oh. Yeah.”

He brought her around to a kettle on a table where they had piled all sort of mugs and teacups, novelty and otherwise, and packets of hot chocolate, tea, and ramen noodles. She turned the kettle on. It was still warm from the tea.

“Do you remember anything?” Sans asked.

“Huh?” She gave him a confused look. “From when?”

“I guess maybe a better question is, did you dream?” he said.

“Oh. Um… Maybe? I don’t remember. I don’t think so,” she said.

“Alright. Good.” He settled his back against the table and folded his arms. He looked like he was a million miles away. 

Frisk tilted her head. She gently tugged on his sleeve.

“Hm? Sup, kiddo?” he said.

“Um. Do you need anything?” she asked.

“Nah. Had some tea earlier,” he said with a shrug.

Frisk frowned a little. Wasn’t what she meant and he knew it. She knew that look on his face even if it wasn’t overt. She pouted. She grabbed his sleeve again. “Sans?” she said.

“Mhm.”

“I love you,” she said.

He seemed to snap out of it, just a smidge. His smile became a little more earnest. He ruffled her hair gently.” “Thanks, kiddo, love you, too,” he said. “Need any help?”

“Straws, maybe?” she said.

“Gotcha.”

Didn’t take him long to find them, and Frisk waited for the water to boil.

“You had nightmares, huh?” she asked.

“And that’s all they were.” He shot her a smile. “Thank god, right?”

“Sans, I’m really, really sorry,” she said.

“Stop it,” he laughed. “You’re okay. That’s all that matters.”

“I just never meant to scare the heck out of you so much,” she grumbled.

“Dude. Obviously,” he said. 

She smiled a little. “D-Do you think Undyne or Alphys’ll be back soon?” she wondered. “I gotta see those guys. Gotta hug the heck outta them.”

“Soon, hopefully. They left an hour or two ago, I guess,” he said.

She nodded. The kettle clicked off and she prepared the hot chocolate. She blew on the top of it a little and plunked in a straw.

Sans lazily trailed behind and Frisk pushed through blanket curtains until she found Asriel and Papyrus. She put the mug beside him and pointed the straw towards him. 

“Careful, it’s hot,” she said.

“Oh. Um. Thanks.” The corners of his mouth twitched upwards. “…Thanks. Huh.”

“What?” she asked.

“I… actually feel… gratitude?” He grinned a little. “Well. This could be a lot worse.”

“Hm. Guess you might not be such a _bad seed_ after all,” Sans said.

Asriel froze at the sound of his voice and seemed to shrink. Sans grinned.

“Oh, c’mon, don’t gimme that,” he said. “Frisk says we’re cool. So. We’re cool. Okay?”

Asriel gulped. He stretched his stem up a little and tilted his head slightly. He looked at Frisk, and she snickered a little.

“Don’t be scared of him, okay? I know there’s a lot of history, but—”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Asriel said with a glare.

“Actually, Asriel, I think she knows everything, in fact,” Papyrus said.

“Basically do, Az,” Frisk said.

Asriel’s eyes went wide. “And… You don’t hate me?”

“No,” she said. “I don’t think anyone here hates the real you, dude. Right?”

“I certainly don’t,” Papyrus said.

Sans shrugged. “Hate’s not the right word.”

“What, you want something stronger?” Asriel asked.

Sans chuckled, his voice lower and his tone dryer than usual. “Kid, I don’t hate _you_,” he said. “If you don’t have a problem, I don’t have a problem.”

Asriel frowned; looked suspicious.“O… Okay,” he said slowly, and he nodded. “Okay. I’ll try.”

Sans seemed pleased. He turned back towards the curtain. “Kiddo, can we talk?”

“Oh! Yeah, of course,” she said. “Az, I’ll come back later, okay? Get some rest?”

“Hah. You don’t need to baby me,” he said. “I’ll try.”

“I’ll baby him while you’re gone!” Papyrus asserted.

Frisk followed Sans through the blanket-made rooms until they were near the east door. He handed her her phone.

“Oh! Thanks!” she said. “Ohmigosh, I gotta tell Alphys and Undyne, right?”

“That’s what I was thinkin’,” he said. He rubbed the back of his skull. 

She tilted her head. “Big bro, you need a hug?”

“…Yeah, kinda.”

She was happy to do so. He held her and rested his head on hers.

“Don’t fall asleep, I’m not sure I can hold you up,” she said with a laugh.

He snickered, his voice low and tired, and, after a few moments, pulled back and squished her cheeks. She laughed. 

“Hope you don’t mind,” he said. “I took some memories back while you were out. To see if it still worked.”

“Ooh! Glad it did,” she said. “Anything interesting?”

“I saw… the day after the barrier went,” he said. “When we realized, you know, it’s all done. But we couldn’t exactly just run straight out into the world. Asgore was already doin’ some plannin’, but you were exhausted. And so we went back home, with Tori, and she made a pie. It was… quiet. And you napped on me. Like Paps used to when we were kids. And all I could think of was how how happy I was with how our family was. And, uh… How proud I was. Of you. I’m… Heh. I’m glad I remembered that.”

Frisk beamed. “Dude, that’s super sweet.”

He rubbed the back of his skull. “It’s kinda weird. Almost everything I took back, it’s, uh, just kinda boring stuff? But I think I like that the most.”

“No, I totally get it,” Frisk said. “After all this? Boring stuff? It’s kinda the best.”

She sat down on the floor and Sans, looking tired as ever, put his back to the wall and folded his arms.

“Hey, uh, you didn’t happen to notice my coat or sweatshirt or anything while we were walkin’, did you?” he asked.

“Um. No, I don’t think so,” she said.

“Damn.” He laughed. “Can’t remember where I dropped them.”

She snickered. She took a look at her phone. She was surprised by the number of texts.

There was one from Napstablook, from the day before: “_Hey…….. my cousin said you got sick? I hope you feel better soon………”_

_ “hey its sans, thx 4 the mssge, kid wll b hppy 2 c it l8r”_

Frisk smiled. “_Hi there! It’s Frisk! I’m ok now, thank you!_” she replied.

Mettaton had also sent her some messages: “_SWEETIE TXT ME WHEN U GET THIS OK??? *~*~*~*_” he had said. “_I AM HOPING VRY HARD FOR U. OMG U R NOT ALLOWED TO DIE OK???_”

“_shes not gonna_” her own number replied.

“_SANS WHY WOULD U DO THIS U GOT MY HOPES UP SO HIGH FOR SMALL CUTE HUMAN CHILD AND THEN DASHED THEM OMG_”

“_o stap_”

“_BUT SANS_”

“_staaaaap_”

“_OK OK_”

Frisk laughed to herself. “Thanks for answering some of these for me,” she said, shooting an appreciative smile at her brother.

He shrugged. “I thought that’s what you’d want, so…”

She grinned and nodded.

“_hey Mettaton_” she texted, “_sorry to worry you! I’m ok now!_” 

She hurried to bring up Alphys and Undyne’s numbers, and sent them both a message together. “_guys I’m up! super not dead!! really sorry to scare the heck outta everyone. thanks so much for taking care of me while I was out like a dum idiot. See you guys back at the lab? <3_” She hoped they’d get it soon. 

She was about to put the phone in her pocket when she heard it buzz. She was actually expecting Alphys to reply first, but it was Undyne.

“_holy shit_” There was a pause of a few seconds. “_OMW_”

Frisk beamed. “Undyne’s coming back. Think she’ll be here soon, or do I have time to call mom?”

“Call mom,” Sans said.

Frisk nodded. She looked at her brother quizzically. He seemed mostly asleep. 

“Sit down before you fall down, huh?” she said.

“You’re a genius, kid,” he said with a quiet laugh.

He did, then pulled her over in his magic and plopped her closer so he could grab her. She snickered and called Toriel.

The phone rang for a while. She was almost afraid she wouldn’t pick up. Her heart leapt when she heard a click.

“Sans?! Did something happen?” she said quickly.

Frisk held in a laugh. “Not Sans,” she said. “Hi, mom.”

“Oh. Oh, thank goodness,” she said, and she let out a deep sigh. “My child, are you alright?”

“What the heck did he tell you?” Frisk asked.

“He said you were sick yesterday. I was quite worried,” she said. “And I had not heard from you in several days.”

“Oh! I’m sorry,” Frisk said. “Yeah. I was just calling to say I’m okay now, sorry for worrying you.”

“Thank you, my child. I was… rather concerned,” she said. “I thought… I thought perhaps Asgore had captured you and your friends were trying not to worry me. I suppose my imagination ran away with me.”

“Aw! Mom, no, don’t worry,” she said. “The Captain of the Guard is one of my best friends in the world anyway. No way Asgore could catch me without her. I’m pretty quick!”

“Hah… I am very relieved, honey,” she said. “H-How is Papyrus? I gathered he was pretty upset.”

“Oh! He’s tired, but he’s okay,” she said. “I think he, um… He didn’t sleep much while I was sick. He’s just hanging out with A… A-Alphys. Doctor Alphys. The Royal Scientist. In the lab, in Hotland. Which is where we are right now. Um…”

“Nice save,” Sans said quietly. 

“Shh,” she said, trying not to laugh.

“Hm? What was that?” Toriel asked.

“Oh, nothin’, Sans is just sitting with me and he said a thing, no biggie,” she said.

“Is he okay?” Toriel asked gently. “When we talked, he sounded… a bit low?”

“He’s okay, he’s like, half asleep, though,” Frisk said.

“No I’m not,” he said quietly. “I’m three quarters.”

The kid grinned to herself. “But, yeah, I just wanted to let you know, everything’s fine. Sorry to scare you.”

“Thank you, honey. I’ll let you get back to them, then,” she said. “I… feel like your friends need you, my child.”

“Oh! Okay. Cool,” she said. “Talk to you tomorrow?”

“Hah. Yes,” Toriel said gently. “Thank you, sweetheart, have a good night.”

“You too!” Frisk said.

She hung up and then yawned and leaned back into her brother, whose skull rather promptly bonked down on top of hers. She winced and tried not to laugh. After a minute or so of quiet, he stirred a little.

“Oops,” he muttered.

She snickered. “Mom’s worried about you.”

“That’s sweet of her,” he said. “Why?”

“Said you sounded low.”

“I think that’s just my voice,” he said.

“Can you go… Can you…” Frisk coughed and tried to make her voice deepen. “Can you go much lower?”

He laughed. “Just a bit,” he said. “Might be dangerous though.”

She grinned. “For serious, though, if you wanna go to bed…?”

“Nah. No. I’m okay,” he said.

“Really?” she asked.

“Mhm.”

Frisk laughed. She knew he was asleep again when his grip relaxed a little. She was okay with that. He looked like he needed it, more than usual. 

She let him basically use her as a pillow and browsed the UnderNet on her phone. There were a lot of photos of dogs on there. She had a message from the username she didn’t recognize: just a heart emote. She also had a post on her wall from Kid.

“_Hey, are u ok?? haven’t seen uDX_”

“_Yeah, sorry, caut a sick, I’m ok now =D_” she replied.

She played a little solitaire, suddenly jumping and recoiling into her brother’s arms when she heard a big, metallic bang. She felt Sans shift and he blinked groggily. Papyrus yelped from somewhere across the room.

“I’m up,” Sans mumbled.

“Paps, you alright?” Frisk asked.

“FRISK?!” That was Undyne’s voice. “WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“Oh!! Undyne!!” She got to her feet. “Where are you?”

She heard heavy boots thunking on the tile and within a few seconds, Undyne ripped a blanket down and scooped her into her arms, snuggling her as close as she could. Frisk smiled and hugged her tight, smooching her on the cheek and setting her soul alight. It didn’t quite sync like it did with her brothers, but it tingled warmly and she felt Undyne’s relief.

“Oh my god, dude,” she said quietly, and she began to laugh. “Guess we didn’t have to be so worried, huh?!”

“Guess not!” Frisk said. “Sorry to scare you guys.”

Undyne shook her head. “You’re alright, though, yeah?” Undyne pulled back just a little to look at her, quickly brushing the kid’s hair from her face with her fingertips. “You’re feelin’ okay?”

“Yeah! Just fine. Legs are kinda wobbly and I’m still pretty tired, that’s about it,” she said.

“Ugh, thank god.” Undyne laughed and kissed her forehead. “Frickin’ resilient little squirt, I’ll tell you what.”

Frisk snickered and Undyne beamed.

“You tell Alph?” she asked.

“I texted her but she didn’t text me back yet,” the kid said.

“Dang. Okay. I’m sure she’ll be here soon,” Undyne said. “Oooh man, it’s good to see you.”

“Thanks! It’s good to see you, too!” she said brightly.

Undyne chuckled. She gently put her down and then stomped over to Sans, who looked up at her groggily. “Alright. C’mere you bony weirdo,” she said. 

She lifted him up under his arms like Papyrus did and gave him a hug, to Frisk’s surprise. 

Sans laughed tiredly and hugged her back. “…Thanks, Cap.”

She snorted and she touched her forehead to his gently. “Doin’ this right?” she asked.

“Heh. Yeah.”

“S’all good, huh?” she said. “Big dumb panic over nothin’. Right? Good?”

“Yeah.” He grinned. “Put me down for a sec, huh?”

She did and he took one of her hands in both of his. His magic sparked along his bones. She stared at him for a few seconds and the scales on her cheeks flushed a shade darker.

“Dude. That’s… Hah. Thanks.”

“Yeah, well…” His grin turned bashful. “You were right.”

She beamed.

Undyne quickly whirled on Frisk and knelt down, grabbing her shoulders. “So is that little flower guy okay? He’s not a bad dude, right? He better freakin’ not be!”

“He’s not. Not anymore,” Frisk said with a smile.

Undyne grinned. “Hey, alright!! Good news.”

“What is good news?” Papyrus wandered over and immediately hugged onto Undyne. “You are not falling over so if you could please hold me up that would be great.”

“That tired, huh?” Undyne asked.

“The great Papyrus never tires! It’s just that sometimes my bones will not cooperate with my mind, and this is one such occasion,” he said.

Sans snickered.

“It’s true,” Papyrus protested.

“Sure is, dude,” Sans said. “You know, I think there’s a word for it but I’m not quite gettin’ it.”

Undyne snorted and patted Papyrus’s head affectionately. “S’okay, take a breather on me if you gotta,” she assured him. “The little dude, he okay?”

“He has fallen asleep,” Papyrus announced. 

“Like you should,” Sans said.

“Pffft, who do you think I am, brother, YOU?” Papyrus laughed. “I will be just fine. In a minute.” He started to slump. 

Undyne gently helped him to the ground.

“Maybe in two minutes,” he insisted.

Sans tried not to laugh too hard, and Frisk snickered and gave Papyrus a hug.

“Hey, give nappin’ on Frisk’s shoulder a try, she’s a decent enough pillow,” Sans suggested.

“SANS! You cannot just use our little sister as a pillow because she is squishier than your average skeleton,” Papyrus insisted.

“I don’t mind,” Frisk said.

“But you always say that! Would you even tell us if you did mind?” Papyrus insisted, but even so, he held her close. “I mean, I could throw you through a building and you’d still say you wouldn’t mind!”

“Well, I’d mind just a little,” she said with a laugh. “But it wouldn’t drive me up the wall.”

“Pffft,” Sans said.

“Uuuugh oh my god,” Papyrus said.

“You’re smiling though,” she teased.

“Sigh, I know,” he said. “I missed you.”

“I know, I’m sorry. But I promised I wouldn’t go again, huh? So. I won’t. Don’t worry,” she assured him.

Papyrus cooed and hugged her closer, and then rested his chin on her head. She snickered. 

“Dude, you’re makin’ me tired just lookin’ at you,” Sans said. “Why don’t you lie down?”

“Can’t, gotta make dinner,” he said.

“Dude, chill, I’ll make dinner,” Undyne said. 

“No no, I said, once Frisk gets up I’ll make it, that’s what I said, everyone else already took a turn cooking dinner so it is my turn, and—”

“Paps.” Undyne grabbed his face and he stared back at her sleepily. “I. Am. Going. To. Smooch. Your. Head.”

“Okay.”

She pulled him forward and kissed his brow. His eye sockets glowed faintly with amber. 

“I want you to chill. That’s an order,” Undyne said.

“Mkay,” he mumbled.

“I’m gonna pick you up now.” Frisk gently scooted away and Undyne lifted Papyrus up into her arms effortlessly. “Gotcha. Alright? I’m gonna take you to a mattress and you are gonna nap until dinner, okay? You can make it. Just sleep until then.”

“…Yes, Captain,” he mumbled.

Sans held in a laugh as Undyne ferried him away. Frisk bit her lip.

“He’s okay, right?” she asked.

“He’ll be fine. Just stayed awake for most of, like, four or five days,” Sans said with a shrug.

She rubbed her forehead. “I feel so bad,” she said quietly.

“Hey. Look. A little heartache’s not so bad a trade to have someone like you around. Okay?” he said.

“…That’s really sweet,” she said.

“Just true,” he said, putting his arms behind his head. “C’mon. Think about it. You’d feel the same, right? If it was one of us.”

“Yeah,” she said. “That’s true, but still, I—”

“We’ll be over it in a day. Chill out,” he said. “Any news from the Doc?”

Frisk checked her phone, and then shook her head. “No,” she said. “I just wish… I wish I didn’t cause everyone so much trouble.”

“Eh. Forget it,” he said. “C’mere.”

She didn’t even have to move; he took her in his magic and plopped her in his lap and grabbed her sleepily again. She was happy to let him.

“Gonna pass out?” she asked.

“Yeah probably. You mind?” he said.

“Heck no,” she assured him

“You’re a good kid,” he said.

“Truth is,” she said, “I’m still pretty tired, too.”

“Sleepin’ that long is a lot of hard work,” he said.

She snickered and cuddled close; felt him slump rather quickly. His hard, bony cheek rested on her head, and though one arm went limp, his other hand’s fingers stayed locked on her shoulder. She didn’t mind, though. She’d be happy sitting with him even if he accidentally headbutted her. 

She was quite comfortable where she was and didn’t move an inch until she heard Undyne’s voice getting closer; sounded like she was talking to someone, but she was keeping her voice relatively hushed. She brushed a curtain aside and walked out of the makeshift room. Frisk blinked her eyes open and turned enough to give her a curious look.

“Yup. Yep. Dude. Chill. Okay?” Undyne squatted down and pointed at the phone. “Here she is. Okay? I’m coming.” She passed it to the kid and jerked her thumb at the door. 

Frisk nodded and Undyne grinned and patted her shoulder affectionately before racing outside.

“Hello?” she said.

“O-Oh m-m-my god. Oh my god oh my god ohmygodohmygod…” Alphys’s voice came through loud and shrill. “F-F-Frisk, a-are y-you o-o-okay?!”

“Alphys!” The kid grinned. “Yeah! I’m okay. Are you okay? I’m so sorry to worry you.”

“Oooohhh… Oh F-F-Frisk, no… No, d-don’t s-say sorry,” she squeaked. “I’m s-s-so glad you’re… Oh my god.”

“Where are you?” Frisk asked.

“Oh! Oh, I’m… uh… I’m j-just at the CORE t-tower, with, um… W-Well, M-Mettaton was just here b-but he got y-your text and h-he kind of went nuts? B-But, like, in a g-good way.”

“Ooh, were you guys doing work?” Frisk asked. “Was it going okay?”

“It… Um… I-It was, actually!” Alphys said. “Oh… O-Oh, my god, okay, I… I sh-should… I’m r-really sorry, I sh-should—”

“Stop to breathe?” Frisk suggested.

“Y-Yeah… Hah… Oh, you’re a r-really good k-kid, huh? I’ll, um… I’ll s-see you as s-soon as I c-can, alright?”

“Yeah, of course!” she said. “See you!”

She hung up Undyne’s phone and put it gently on the floor beside her. Sans shifted and he pulled away from her a little. She heard the sound of the back of his skull clunking against the wall.

“Ow,” he grumbled.

She turned to see him rubbing his head and she smiled sympathetically. “Did you do something to it?”

He laughed. “Nah.” He rubbed his eye sockets with his palms. “Sorry, kiddo, I am outta it.”

“No way, really?” She smiled nonetheless and stood up to hug him around the shoulders. “Just chill, okay? Go to bed, too, if you gotta.”

“Soon,” he said. “Didn’t bonk you too hard, did I?”

“Nope!”

“Heh.” He gently held her face in both hands. “You put up with a lot of my crap, don’t you, kiddo?”

“Doesn’t feel that way,” she said.

He snickered and touched his brow against hers. He already felt a million times better, she could tell. Especially when his left eye lit up. She grinned and bonked her forehead on his. He laughed and grabbed her, mussing up her hair roughly. She flailed until she flopped over. She rolled onto her back on the floor and took a deep breath.

“So,” she said, “what’s next?”

“I dunno. Food? Bed?” Sans said.

“I just mean… You know. We have Asriel now,” she said.

“Deal with it tomorrow?” he said.

She stuck both thumbs in the air, and then put an arm over her eyes. Sans looked amused. Neither of them moved an inch for a quiet, relaxing while.

Frisk wasn’t so sure if she’d fallen asleep or not, but she knew she was definitely awake when she heard the door nearby crack open. She sat up sleepily. Alphys rushed into the lab, sweating, glancing around with darting eyes.

“Alphys! Hi!” she said.

The lizard whirled, almost tripping over herself, and she raced over, dropping to her knees. She slid a little on the tiles and wrapped Frisk tightly in her arms. Frisk sighed with relief and snuggled in close, glowing red.

“O-Oh… Oh man… O-Oh m-my god,” Alphys mumbled. She kissed Frisk’s head and nuzzled her snout into her hair.

“I’m so sorry to worry you,” she said.

“N-No, no no, d-don’t s-say that,” Alphys stammered quickly. “It’s… It’s… I should’ve n-never—”

“Now you don’t say that,” Frisk said with a laugh.

Alphys puffed out a sigh. “R-Right. Right…” She held her back just enough to look at her and cupped her face. “We m-missed you, Frisk.”

“Sorry about that, too,” the kid said. 

Alphys gently smooched her forehead. She scooted over and grabbed Sans, too, and kissed his cheek.

“Oh. Heh. Sheesh, Alphys,” he said.

“Oooh thank god,” she muttered again. “So… S-So… Is Asriel…? Is he…?”

“He’s good! Yup,” Frisk said with a grin. 

Alphys let out a deep, relieved sigh. “M-Mettaton w-w-was so happy to hear you woke up. He, um… M-Might come by? At some point? B-But he also said he had a surprise in p-progress? So, um. Who knows? But, um, Frisk? Can we, um, j-just…” She looked embarrassed. 

Sans cut his eyes at her. She gulped and laughed nervously.

“It’s n-nothing bad! Um. I just… w-wanted to take you d-downstairs, check your b-base energy levels? J-Just in case?”

“Oh! Did you figure out how to make the machine not mess up?” Frisk asked.

“What? Oh! N-No. This is, um… th-this is something a little d-different, it doesn’t m-monitor determination, exactly. B-But soul power and hum, or… um…”

“Heartbeat?” Frisk asked.

“Right! R-Right, that,” Alphys said. “Just…”

“Okay, sure, let’s go,” she said.

“W-Would you b-bring Asriel, too?” she asked. “I’d like to ch-check him, too.”

Frisk nodded. “Yup!” She got up and stretched.

She tiptoed past Papyrus and found her way back to the place where Asriel sat. He had nodded off. Frisk hunkered down a little to watch him and then, very gently, poked his stem with her fingertip.

“Hey, Asriel?” she asked.

“…Hm?” He blinked groggily. “Oh. What?”

“Alphys wants to do a thing, okay?”

“Ugh. Seriously?” he said.

“Sorry! I know, you gotta be tired,” she said.

He opened his mouth, but he didn’t say anything. He looked ashamed for a moment; cast his eyes downwards. “Not as tired as you. Fine.” He tapped the rim of the cup with a leaf. “Let’s move it.”

Frisk picked him up and held him close to her chest. She heard a door opening and followed the sound to the end of the blanket maze. Undyne had returned, too, and was giving Sans a nice cream. Alphys already held one that was bright blue.

“Hey, squirt. And, uh… you,” Undyne said. “Got nice cream, you want?”

“Sure!” Frisk said. “Az?”

“…Can’t hold it anyway,” he grumbled.

“Oh, that’s fine, we’ll share one,” she said brightly.

Undyne smiled and handed her the ice cream bar on a stick, a bright red berry flavour.

“Thanks a million!” Frisk said. “Alphys, you ready?”

The lizard nodded and offered her hand, and Frisk gladly latched on and let herself be led away.

Undyne couldn’t keep a smile off her face. She turned to Sans. He’d already finished his nice cream and was reading the wrapper.

“What’s it say?” she asked.

“_You have a great smile._ Huh,” he said.

“Oh yeah, it’s like you’re not even trying,” Undyne said with a laugh.

He laughed sleepily. She stretched her arms above her head and then wandered off, but was only gone for a moment.

“Let Paps know there’s some nice cream in the freezer for him, huh?” she said.

Sans nodded. Undyne grinned a little.

“It’s weird. Like nothin’ really happened to her, huh?” she said.

“Heh.” He slowly got to his feet and stretched his spine. “Yeah. That’s what I was hopin’ for.”

“Pretty glad, huh? Me too,” she said. “Phew. Well. Hope it never happens again.” 

“Won’t. Won’t let it,” he said.

“Mhm. Same,” she said. She offered him her fist and he bumped it gently with his own. She grinned. “Gonna make a tea, want anything?”

“Nah. Thanks, though.”

As Undyne went for the kettle, Sans strolled off through the blanket wall. A barrier of soft checkerboards and bubble patterns. He quickly found Papyrus, sound asleep on a mattress in one of the blanket rooms. The soft, makeshift walls muffled the outside sounds, making a cozy little alcove. Undyne had tucked him in, but he’d obviously rolled around a little afterwards. Sans pulled the blanket back up over his shoulders and plopped down on the ground to watch him for a little.

After a few minutes of quiet, Sans was about to get up, but he heard his brother shift just a little and stayed put. Papyrus’s hand snuck out from under the covers and latched gently onto his. His fingers were strong, even though he was clearly out of it.

“S… Sans?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah, bro, what d’you need?” he asked.

Papyrus stared at him groggily for a few seconds before sitting up a little. He reached out for a hug and Sans gladly gave him one. His brother slumped and they glowed warmly together.

“You gotta take care of yourself, alright?” Sans said. “Don’t want you to sleep for three days, too, y’know.”

“Heh. Nyeh heh. You sound a little like me, brother.” He snuck in closer. “…I’m sorry to worry you. You’ve had enough of that, I think.”

“Hey. As long as you rest,” he said, “I’m not worried at all. Alright?”

“Good. Good, okay, yes.” Papyrus nodded. He rubbed at his eyes as if to brush the groggy glow away. “Okay. Sans?”

“Mhm?”

“You look better,” he said.

“Yeah?” Sans grinned. “Guess I don’t feel like total trash.”

Papyrus smiled and snuggled his brother gently, though his grip was getting a little limp. “I… think I will go back to sleep for a little,” he said.

“Cool,” Sans assured him.

“Cool. Yes. Cool.” He lay down again and Sans pulled the blanket up over him. “Cool. I will. Sleep. For just a little. I… I’m really happy, big brother.”

“Yeah?” Sans said. “Good, I’m glad.”

Sans smiled fondly and gently rubbed his brother’s skull as he drifted off. He heard steps behind him and Undyne sat down beside him. She shot him a tired smile.

“You’re good,” she said.

“You, too,” he said.

She chuckled. “Hey.” She held his shoulder. “S’gonna be alright. Right?”

“Yeah, it’s… Heh. Yeah.”

Undyne grinned. “Heh. Never seen him so out of it,” she said. “But. When he’s sleeping… he’s kinda cute, huh?”

“He’s always kinda cute,” Sans said.

“He’s a good kid.” She patted his shoulder and then stood up to stretch, popping her back. “Get some sleep, huh? Like, in a proper bed and stuff.”

“Heh. Count on it,” he said with a wink.

**\- - -**

“What are you doing? Ugh, I’m dizzy just looking at you.” Asriel frowned at Frisk from across the room as Alphys gently placed sensors around him. 

She was sitting in one of Alphys’s office chairs in a small room with medical equipment inside, spinning slowly as the amalgam monster that looks like a long-necked bird gently pushed her. She wasn’t sure why they had decided to do that, but they seemed to be having fun, and it wasn’t making her too dizzy.

Alphys had already taken Frisk’s readings. She was still stable. Like nothing had been wrong. But, when she lit her soul up, that pinkish shell of determination was all but gone. It was now just a tiny outline around her red energy, barely visible at all. 

The monster behind Frisk finally stopped spinning her and she put a foot on the ground. She looked up as they peered down at her with their one giant eye. 

“Hey. Do you have a name?” she asked.

They tilted their head.

“I call that one Reaper, s-sometimes,” Alphys said from across the room.

“Really?” Frisk turned the chair to look at her. “Why?”

“W-Well… S-Sometimes, they were pretty grim when all this started,” she said. “And the, um… th-the wing shape?”

“Oh! Okay. That’s kinda cool, I guess. I probably would have used an eye pun. If you’d be okay with that, of course,” Frisk said with a laugh.

Reaper tilted their head the other way and blinked. Seemed a little puzzled.

“Like _Eyerene_, or _Eyeris_,” Frisk explained.

“Hah…” The bird bobbed their head up and down. “…_Eye_ see.”

“Pffffft!” Frisk clapped. “That was great! Twenty outta twenty!” She offered her hand and Reaper gave her a high-five in slow motion.

“Why twenty?” Alphys asked.

Frisk grinned. Asriel groaned quietly and Alphys caught on. She snorted and laughed softly, shaking her head.

“Well, glad t-to see your sense of humour is st-still the same,” she said with a smile.

She booped on her keyboard. Asriel shuddered for a moment. She looked thoughtful and then wrote something on a notepad.

“Alright. Th-That’s it. Thanks, you two,” she said. “Y-You both seem fine. We’ll check o-one more time tomorrow, b-but I’m pretty convinced that this’ll be okay.”

Frisk stuck her thumbs up.

“Hey, Az?” she said. “Shoot a seed at me?”

He looked puzzled for a second, but he summoned one up and, before Alphys could ask, he whipped it at her. She raised her hand, but her barrier didn’t come and it beaned her right in the forehead. She yelped and clutched her hands to her face.

“Ow ow ow,” she said.

“AAH! Frisk!!” Alphys rushed over. “Are you okay?”

“Oops,” Asriel said.

“I’m fine,” Frisk said, and she laughed a little. “Well. That didn’t work.”

“What didn’t?” Alphys asked as she pulled Frisk’s hands away from her face.

There was a little red welt on her forehead. The lizard tutted softly.

“My shield,” Frisk said. “It’s weird. I glow different now. But… maybe I lost the shield? I just thought… I kinda saw it breaking in the CORE. Which kinda sucks, actually, I was just gettin’ used to it. I hope Papyrus isn’t too disappointed…”

“Oh?” Alphys asked.

“We were training every morning.” She sighed. “It was fun. Oh well.”

Alphys cooed sympathetically. She put her thumb against Frisk’s forehead and her magic swelled gently into a tingling, healing glow. “D-Don’t worry. You’re… Y-You’re really strong, Frisk. If you can still glow like b-before, I’m sure you’ll get your shield b-back some time.”

“Hope so,” she said. “Um. Ooh. It’s kinda different now, though. The glowy thing, I mean.”

“H-How so?” Alphys asked.

“I’ll show you a bit later,” Frisk said. “It’s pretty neat. But I think it only works with my brothers.”

“Hey, are you nerds done over there or what?” Asriel asked.

“J-Just a second,” Alphys assured him. She passed her fingers across Frisk’s brow, as if brushing away some extra sparkles of magic as the healing glow died down. “There w-we go. G-Good as new,” she said with a smile. “I’m g-going upstairs, c-coming?”

Frisk cast a look at Asriel. For some reason, he looked a little apprehensive. She smiled.

“We’ll come up a little later. I should probably save again, anyway,” she said. “Thanks, Alphys.”

Alphys smiled fondly and gently patted Frisk’s hair before heading out. Reaper followed her closely.

Frisk rolled her chair over to Asriel’s table. She sat up on her knees and put her cheek on her fist.

“What?” he asked.

“Oh! It’s just…” She smiled. “I sorta can’t believe you’re here.”

“Oh.” His face flushed faintly. “Yeah. It’s, uh… different.”

“Tell me about it!” she said. “And I kinda can’t believe you stuck around.”

“Had no choice,” he said. “Sans wouldn’t let me go. Um. Not that I tried to go.” He tented his leaves; looked a little bashful. “I, um… c-couldn’t leave before I knew you woke up, anyway, so…” He shrugged. “Guess that’s it.”

“So are you gonna stay?” she asked.

His eyes went wide. “Wh… What?”

“Well, I mean… you remember we were friends, right?” she asked.

“I… remember. I mean, more like I feel it,” he said. “It’s a bit scattered, but yeah.”

“That’s great! So. I mean. If you want. I’d love if you stayed,” she said.

He stared at her for a few seconds. She was surprised when his eyes welled up. He quickly brushed his tears away and smiled a little.

“Well… For a while, I guess I could… Okay,” he said.

Frisk beamed. She reached out, her fingers glowing gently red. He recoiled for just a moment, but then reconsidered. He lit up the bright spot in his stem and Frisk gently held him. She could feel his uncertainty in his energy, but as he slumped, it grew weaker and a little more comfortable.

“What was that face for?” she asked gently.

“What face?” he said.

“You seemed really nervous,” she said.

“Oh. Uh. It’s… Nah. It’s nothing,” he said.

“While I was out, you talk to anyone? It wasn’t too bad, right?” she asked.

“Honestly? Mostly I couldn’t stop crying,” he said. “It… It wasn’t that I was sad. Well… I mean, it was, a little, but it was just, suddenly feeling anything at all, it was…”

“I know,” she assured him gently.

“Yeah. Well… I mean. Talked to Papyrus a bit, but he was with you the whole time,” he said, “and Sans said I wasn’t allowed alone with him until you were up. Papyrus is weird. He’s aways been nice to me, no matter what crap I said to him. Sans and Undyne were both kinda quiet. Didn’t talk much. Sans just a little more. Mostly just making crap jokes, and when I told him to stop he’d just do more. But, Alphys… she basically wouldn’t leave me alone. It, uh… wasn’t too bad. But that Mettaton guy kept coming by and glaring at me, so that was kinda stupid.”

Frisk snickered. She grabbed his cup and slipped out of the chair with him. “Well… Maybe they’ll warm up to you,” she said, “since you’re not being, y’know, murdery anymore.”

“Yeah right,” he grumbled. “Where’re we going?”

“I’m actually kinda cold,” she admitted. “Kinda wanna find my hoodie. You seen it?”

“Dunno, uh… There’s a ton of junk upstairs, maybe there?” he suggested.

“Ooh, awesome, thanks,” she said. “You don’t mind that we go together, do you?”

“Kinda want to rest anyway,” he admitted.

After Frisk made a small saving detour, they took the elevator back up. The place was quiet, but she thought she could hear Alphys and Undyne chatting. She heard Papyrus’s telltale cackle and her heart lightened instantly. They sounded busy, though, so she continued on until she found the blanket room Asriel had been living in.

“Need anything?” she asked as she placed him gently back on the table.

He shook his head.

“Cool. I’m going to bed soon, I think. I’m still really tired. So I thought I’d leave you with this,” she said. She gave him her phone. 

He looked surprised. She grinned.

“Just don’t troll on the UnderNet as me,” she said.

“Don’t gimme ideas,” he joked.

“If you want you can make your own account, I don’t mind,” she said, and she grinned. “I’m DisasterBlaster on there, okay? So add me if you do.”

“That’s not a bad name,” he said.

“Thanks! It was Sans’s idea,” she said.

Asriel frowned a little. He tilted his head. “You, uh… super trust that guy, huh?”

“Yeah, of course, he’s my brother,” she said.

“…You said that before. I don’t understand,” he said.

“What’s there to not understand?” she asked.

He went quiet for a few seconds. He grimaced. “Uh. You know. If you slipped up. He’d kill you.”

“That’s not super how this works,” Frisk said. 

“No? Bet he’s killed a hundred kids like you. Hundred times each. Who knows,” he said.

Frisk smiled and shook her head. “None like me.” She lit up her soul and grinned. “Didn’t they tell you? I’m the anchor. You know what that means?”

“You serious?” he asked, unable to hide his surprise.

“What? You honestly think I’d leave this place? Even if I knew how?” she asked. “This is my home. These guys are my family.”

Asriel still looked confused. He didn’t look convinced. Frisk folded her arms.

“You know I’ve seen all the timelines, huh?” she asked. “Every single one Sans remembers. It’s all in my head. Including the ones the… the time anomalies before me, the ones they tried to erase. They could never take all his memories.”

Asriel stared at her with surprise. “I… don’t understand,” he said again. “How do you know that?”

“We crossed the barrier,” she said. “I gave him my soul and we crossed.”

“Shut up, you didn’t,” he said.

“We did.” She smiled a little. “I know you don’t trust him. But he won’t hurt you. Okay? I know exactly how he feels about everything. Alright?”

Asriel gulped. He nodded. Frisk gently poked him.

“Also,” she said. “You can stop using that voice if you want.”

“What?” he asked

“The fake voice,” she said. “I know that’s not what you really sound like.”

He stared at her. He grimaced. “Don’t want to,” he said.

“Well, whatever makes you happiest,” she said. “You’ll get there. It’ll be fine.”

He frowned a little. Looked thoughtful. The corners of his mouth twitched up. “I’ll get there,” he agreed. “You still look like crap. You’re right, you should go to bed.”

“Tell me about it,” she agreed. She leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead.

He squeaked, his face flushed slightly.

“Sure you don’t need anything before I go?” she asked. “Lights off?”

He shook his head. Frisk smiled.

“Okay! Good night, Az,” she said. “I, um, can call you “Az”, right, you don’t mind?”

“Don’t mind,” he assured her.

Frisk left the makeshift room and began to quietly peek through the others, searching for her sweatshirt, or Sans’s. She heard some movement around her and the voices stopped. She guessed they were all heading to bed, too. Maybe Papyrus wasn’t, though. He’d probably want to cook something, even if everyone else had already fallen asleep.

The skeleton-patterned hoodie was on the floor, half-hidden under a sleeping bag. She grabbed it and searched just a little longer, but she couldn’t find his coat or any blue sweatshirts at all. At least she could bring him the one. He loved being cozy.

She found Papyrus near the table with the food on it, looking a bit contemplative.

“Hiya!” she said.

“Oh! Little sister!” Papyrus whirled on her and grinned, despite the fact that he still looked like he needed sleep. “Hello! Wowie! You still look exhausted! But! You look pretty happy, too!”

“Yeah! Just spent a little time with Az,” she said. “I’m really happy he’s with us now.”

“Nyeh heh heh! That’s just great! I’m so glad it turned out well and that you’re awake and that Asriel turned out to be good now! Just like I thought! Though…” His brow furrowed sightly. He bent down on one knee and gently ruffled her hair. “I was worried. I mean. I knew you’d come back. But. I wasn’t sure when, and… Heh. I’m just glad it was now. And not tomorrow. Or in a week. Or whenever else.”

Frisk hugged him and he grinned and squished her gently.

“Love you, little sister,” he said quietly.

“Love you, too,” she said.

“I! Am going to cook! If you’re interested,” he said as he got to his feet.

“Cool! Hey, you know where Sans’s jacket ended up?” she asked.

“Umm… I have not noticed it, no,” Papyrus said.

“Oh! Well. That’s okay. What about my hoodie, is that hanging around somewhere?”

“I think Sans still has it, actually.” Papyrus frowned thoughtfully. “Actually, now that I think about it, I think he brought it with him the most of the time you were asleep.”

“Wh-What?” Frisk stammered. “Really?”

“Oh, yes, he’d sometimes just sit there with it, kind of staring at it,” Papyrus said. “Maybe it had a hole in it? No idea what he was doing, honestly, but I’m sure it’s fine.”

Frisk’s stomach dropped. She tried to keep the look of dismay off her face. “Oh, um, okay, hang on, I need to go talk to him.”

“He just went downstairs a few minutes ago,” he said.

Frisk nodded and ran for the elevator.

It was quiet down there, reminiscent of a cave that hadn’t seen visitors for decades. Frisk spotted her big brother sitting on what had been her bed. He had his face in his hands. A little bit of blue light seeped through the cracks between his fingers. The small black hoodie was on a stool that had served as a night table, with a copy of the _Trident of Vengeance _on top of it. Frisk quietly moved in to sit beside him. She looked at his sweatshirt in her hands, and then sat up to drape it around his shoulders.

“Hey. C… Can I do anything for you?” she asked gently.

“I’m okay.” He sat up and wiped his eyes, shooting her a tired grin. “Just catchin’ my breath.”

“Want some space?” she asked.

“Nah,” he said. “No worries.”

Frisk tilted her head. She smiled and got up again. “I’ll be back.”

She scampered off and everything was quiet for a while. Sans didn’t mind, but if he were honest with himself, he preferred having her there. He put on his sweatshirt and smiled a little to himself. He had almost forgotten about that blue spot she had added.

He was at the border of nodding off when she came back. She offered him a large mug, a proud smile on her face.

“Oh. Thanks, kiddo,” he said.

“Hope you like it!” she said.

He took a sip. Stared at it. Took another. “Pretty good. What is it?”

“Hot chocolate,” she said as she sat beside him. “And I dumped some ketchup in it.”

“I shouldda thought of that.” He ruffled her hair. “You’re a good kid.”

She snickered. She swung her legs back and forth, and then stifled a yawn behind her hand. They sat together in a comfortable silence until he finished. He put the mug down and rubbed tiredly at his eye sockets. 

“Carin’ about stuff is hard,” he joked.

Frisk smiled sympathetically and sat up a bit taller to give him a kiss on the cheek. She reached over to grab the book on the stool and flipped through the pages with her thumb. “So, where were we? I keep falling asleep during this!” She shot him a smile. “I was thinking, maybe if you aren’t too tired, we could read together for a little?”

He stared for a moment. His cheekbones flushed blue and his eyes welled up, but his grin turned bright. He grabbed her close and his iris was shining again as he pressed his brow to hers. She giggled and glowed as bright as she could in return, and the spark between them glittered purple once more.

“Alright. Gimme that. You missed like ten chapters,” he said.

“Well, we gotta go back then!” she said.


	40. The ZZZ Arc

Papyrus had never made spaghetti on a hot plate before. He had also never made it out of ramen noodles. The noodles were quicker, but he had to be more careful with the sauce. He didn’t want to smash up a pot that wasn’t his. Alphys didn’t really have much in terms of dishes, but it seemed fine to dish the pasta out in mugs. 

Alphys and Undyne were both asleep when he went to check on them upstairs on Alphys’s bed. He left them cups of noodles and patted them both on the head before he left. 

Next, he visited Asriel. The flower looked tired. He was scrolling through Frisk’s phone.

“Oh. What do you want?” he asked.

“Well, I want to give you this!” Papyrus grinned as he put down the teacup of pasta. “I hope you enjoy it!”

“Uhhh…” Asriel looked nervous. “I’m not so sure if I—”

“Oh! Oh, I’m so sorry,” Papyrus said quickly. “The fork!!! It’s too big! Never fear! I will solve this!!”

He dashed out and back towards Alphys’s computer. He peeked through her drawers and around the fridge, and eventually came upon a plastic container of toothpicks. His face lit up and he grabbed it and bounded back to Asriel. 

The flower was making a bit of a face as he stared down into the noodles. Papyrus grinned and carefully held out a toothpick to him. Cautiously, Asriel took it and then looked into the cup. Papyrus grinned.

“Uh…” Asriel looked at him with a furrowed brow. “You’re not leaving until I try it, are you?”

“Nope!” Papyrus said brightly.

Asriel sighed. He stabbed a noodle and hesitantly took a tiny bit off the end. His eyes went wide. “Oh! It’s… Hey. It’s not bad.”

“Nyeh heh heh!! I’m glad you like it,” Papyrus said. “How are you feeling?”

“I, uh… Well. I am feeling,” he said. “That’s something. I’m glad Frisk woke up.”

“Me too!” he said. “So, heeyyy, are you living with us now?!”

“Uh. I, uh… Maybe?” he said.

“Well! I certainly hope so!” Papyrus said. “Frisk’s been working so hard for you, she must really care about you! And I’m sure we can all become really great friends.”

Asriel smiled, the expression a little awkward on his face. “Hey, uh. Thanks,” he said. “I know I was kind of crappy to you before, and—”

“Oh! Don’t worry about that at all!” Papyrus said brightly. “You just had some growing up to do within yourself, no plant pun intended.”

“You know I killed you, right?” he said quietly.

Papyrus laughed. “Well, of course you did! You were a little terror, am I right?” he said. “Sans told me he had quite a time dealing with your timeline shenanigans. Never fear! Not even turning to dust in multiple timelines can keep the great Papyrus down! Don’t you worry.”

Asriel frowned. “You’re… not mad.”

“No, of course not, why would I be mad?” he asked.

“Because I killed you,” he said.

“Why would that make me mad?” Papyrus wondered.

Asriel tilted his head. Papyrus was still smiling. 

“Because you were dead,” he insisted.

The skeleton squatted down to lean on the table and booped Asriel’s stem with a gentle fingertip. “Nyeh heh heh! Listen. I’ve always been certain that no bad timeline would ever be permanent. I mean, when were they ever, right? We’re all still here. Terrible things might happen over and over, but eventually, someone out there would make the right choice.” He grinned. “Maybe I didn’t know when, or how, but I’ve always felt that, ever since Sans told me that things kept changing and repeating. So! Don’t worry about it at all!”

“Huh.” Asriel didn’t seem to understand, but he nodded anyway. “Well. Okay. I’ll, um, probably go to sleep after this. That cool?”

“Yes, of course! Oh!!”

Papyrus darted away for a moment. He came back after a few seconds with a quilt in his hands. Before Asriel could ask, Papyrus wrapped it around the base of his stem and the cup he was sitting in.

“There! Nice and cozy, right?!” he asked.

“Oh. Um. Yeah. Thanks,” Asriel said. 

Papyrus beamed and patted him gently on the head. “Okay! Good night!”

The skeleton, with a bounce in his step, went back to put more noodles in mugs and then grabbed an armful, and the rest of the pot, too, and headed downstairs. He was met by amalgamates right away, and gladly passed the pasta to all of them before moving on to find his siblings.

As he expected, they were in the room of pink beds, on the large bed Frisk had been sleeping in. Sans was slumped back against the headboard; looked half asleep. Frisk was cozied up under his arm as she slowly read through the final lines of what he recognized to be chapter six of the _Trident of Vengeance_. 

“_The g… The gi…_”

“Gigantic,” Sans said.

“_The gigantic beast growled. Sylph growled right back and she s-summoned her trident. It shone gold in the deep cave and she could finally see the whole creet… creature. She grinned and charged right at it._ Ooh! There we go, that’s chapter six!” She grinned and Sans ruffled her hair.

“Not bad,” he said. “You goofed up less than ten words that time.”

She absolutely glowed with pride.

“Sans, what are you doing? Are you really having Frisk read to you?” Papyrus asked.

“Yup,” he said.

“Ugh, you’re so lazy!” he said, and passed him a mug of noodles. “Here.”

“Heh. Thanks, bro. Guess I can get the next chapter, right, kiddo?” he said with a wink.

She snickered and nodded. She closed the book and readily accepted the cup Papyrus gave her.

Frisk ate ravenously, her stomach seeming to have just realized she hadn’t had a thing in three days. The weird ramenghetti was delicious to her. “Bro, this is great,” she said.

“Really?! I’m so glad you like it!” he said brightly. “Sans, why is your face all shiny?”

“Hm?” Sans looked a little surprised and he wiped below each eye with his sleeve. “Better?”

“GASP. SANS. Were you crying?” he asked loudly.

“Dude.” He grinned. “Yeah, obviously. The emotions, bro, they just poured out. Of my eye sockets.”

Papyrus cooed and snatched him closer to hug him tight. Sans beamed. Papyrus glowed affectionately and used his sleeve to wipe his brother’s face. The short skeleton laughed and waved his arms.

“I’m okay.”

“Oh stop it, you like the attention,” Papyrus said.

“It’s true,” Sans said with a shrug.

“Everything okay upstairs?” Frisk asked.

Papyrus nodded. “Everyone went to bed. Or is eating pasta and will soon be going to bed,” he said. “I am thinking I will probably lay down as well. My skull still feels just a little heavy so I suppose a bit more R and R couldn’t do any harm! That stands for rest and ravioli, by the way, though I’m not sure where the ravioli comes from, but I’m sure spaghetti made of ramen could stand in.”

“That sounds great,” Sans said.

“You wanna go to bed?” Frisk asked. “I’m pretty tired, still. I could sleep.”

“Eh. Whatever you wanna do, kiddo,” he said.

“No, Sans,” she said with a laugh. “What do you want?”

Sans froze up for a second. He stared back at her and rubbed the back of his skull. “Well, I, uh… Maybe…” He looked kind of bashful. He carefully pulled her in close and she grinned and latched onto him.

“Hug time!” Frisk announced. 

He smiled fondly and gave Papyrus a cautiously hopeful look. Papyrus snickered and got up to dim the lights in the room before coming back to nestle in and wrap them both in his arms. 

“Nyeh heh heh! You are just a cuddle monster this evening!” Papyrus said.

“Welp… Yeah. Let’s go with that,” Sans said sleepily.

The skeletons both fell asleep quickly. Frisk was a little more awake than they were, but just barely. As she settled in, could feel Sans’s soul latching onto hers in that old comfortable way, but it sort of ached. It passed soon, though; became as cozy as it ever was. She looked at him. He seemed peaceful. She found herself reaching for her brother’s hand. Took it and held it tight, her small fingers knitting with his. She closed her eyes.

“I… should’ve made you that promise, too, huh?” she said softly. “Sorry. Don’t worry anymore, okay?”

\- - -

Frisk dreamt of stars, the night sky spreading out infinitely before her. It wasn’t daunting, though, or overwhelming. It was like that was exactly where she wanted to be. She walked through the dark, but it felt like she was on clouds. Maybe the ground wasn’t ground; maybe she just couldn’t see it. Maybe it didn’t matter.

Quiet, gentle magic resonated through her head and pulled her forward. Black shapes rose, only visible as they blocked glittering stars. She got closer; noticed movement. A gentle grasp of blue magic rested on her soul and she squeaked with surprise. She got pulled through the dizzying dark and plunked between her brothers. 

“There you are,” Sans said. “Pretty cool, right?”

Frisk smiled and nodded. She looked at Papyrus. Those dark eyes of his were glimmering with the starlight. He looked very peaceful. 

“Nice, huh?” she said.

“It’s amazing,” he said.

“Wait until it's real,” Sans said.

Papyrus snickered. “I like this a lot, though,” he said. “This… is really relaxing, actually.”

“Mhmm. Feels different,” Frisk said quietly. “Good job, Sans.”

“Me?” he asked.

“Well, I’m not doin’ this,” she said.

He smiled. In the dark, she could barely see his cheekbones go a little blue. He held out his arm and she cozied in against his side. His grin brightened.

Frisk felt her eyes getting heavy; something she hadn’t experienced in a dream before. The sky became like a star-laden blanket, and there was a snuggly warmth all around her. She could hear humming. A song that she might’ve known, a voice she wasn’t so sure if she did. She could’ve sat there forever.

\- - - 

Frisk’s eyelids felt heavy. She saw spots in the dark. Stars again? No. The lights were on. She made her eyes open and blinked groggily. She had snuggled herself up close under Sans’s chin. He was reading that black book with the stars on it, one handed, flipping the page with his thumb. His gaze shifted to her for just a moment before he registered that her eyes were open and he grinned.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said.

“Oh hey.” She smiled groggily. “Sorry, dude, you couldda moved me.”

“Didn’t want to,” he said. 

She snickered and shifted a little so she wasn’t on his arm, but when she went to rub her eyes, she froze as she saw that there were three lines, like claw-marks, up the back of her hand, between each of her fingers. They were shimmering faintly blue and gold.

“Uhhhh…” She stared at them and then pointed. “Um. Bro?” Her voice came out a little more shrill than she intended.

“Oh. Yeah. That’s been goin’ a while,” he said. 

He sat up and she hurriedly did, too.

“Wh-What do I do?” she squeaked.

“I dunno. Does it hurt?” 

“Um… N-No,” she admitted. “Okay, am I just gonna be a weird stripy mess or what?!”

Sans laughed. “I wouldn’t worry too much,” he said. “It went on and off while you were out. Alph took a few readings and it seems pretty harmless.”

“So it’s gonna stop?” she asked.

“Always did before,” he said.

She nodded and puffed out a sigh, and then stared at it intently. “Weird.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Any idea where they came from? ‘Cause, uh, I don’t recall doin’ it.”

Frisk paused a moment to think about it. She pouted and put her cheek on her fist. “Well… Okay. This might sounds a little weird and crazy?”

“What else is new?” Sans asked.

“So, when I was in the CORE and stuff, it got kinda nuts, right?” she said. “I was getting really dizzy trying to set it back to normal. And I… think I imagined someone in front of me. But there couldn’t be someone there, there wasn’t any room. But… I mean, I thought I was seeing Papyrus for a second, and he put his hand on top of mine to help me push. That’s…” She went quiet as she watched the magic glow fade down to nothing, as if the marks had never even been there. She gulped. “Th-That’s the only time I remember something weird happened to me.”

“Hm. Okay,” Sans said. “We’ll see if it reacts to him later, alright?”

Frisk puffed out a sigh and then flopped back again. “I am gonna go nuts,” she said quietly. 

“Nah,” he said.

“I don’t get it,” she said.

“Me neither,” he said.

“You’re not worried?” she asked.

“Nope.”

She sighed again and rubbed her temples. “I’ll try to copy you,” she said with a smile. “Hey. Sans? Thanks for being so chill.”

He looked amused and patted her head. “No problem, I, uh, wasn’t even tryin’.”

Frisk rubbed at her eyes with the heels of her hands and then scooted closer to him with a curious look on her face. “So. How’s the book?”

“Pretty great actually,” he said.

“Would you read it to me?” she asked.

He looked surprised and pointed at it. “It’s all science and space stuff.”

She nodded. He grinned and snuck closer so she could see the pages as he flipped back to the first chapter.

“Stop me if you don’t understand a word,” he said. “Okay. _Chapter one. The shores of the cosmic ocean._”

\- - -

Waterfall patrol was finally back to normal today, so Alphys had to make do without Undyne over her shoulder as she worked. She did have Asriel, however, and despite his efforts to the contrary, he wasn’t bad company. She hummed softly to herself as she pieced some data together on her computer. She cast a glance at Asriel. Still in his patched-up teacup and recently watered, he looked quite tired despite having slept somewhat soundly though the night. She supposed she couldn’t blame him: it was still pretty early in the morning.

“Hey, um… A-Asriel?” she said. “Um… So… You’ll let me know if y-you start f-feel, uh, loose or unstable, w-won’t you?”

“Uh. Sure?” he said. “Why? You think I might turn dangerous?”

“L-Listen,” she said gently. “I’m st-still piecing together what e-even happened to you. I j-just want you to be safe. Okay?”

He frowned a little; looked confused. He put a leaf against his stem and the little red dot lit up. “This is keeping me steady,” he said. “I… I’m not sure it’s a soul, but… I dunno, never mind, it’s stupid.”

“No, n-no, you’re right,” she said. “You know th-those tests I’ve been doing with you? I’ve been t-t-trying to figure it out. It’s… more determination. But it’s got an emotional, um, i-imprint? A-At least that’s what I’d c-call it. I’m gl-glad it unlocked, um, s-something good for you, you know?”

Asriel frowned. He sighed.

“I wonder… could she b-be…? Maybe…” Alphys tapped her fingers. “Hmm…” She laughed to herself and Asriel gave her a funny look. “I wish I knew a l-little more about the t-time travel r-rules,” she admitted, “b-because I w-would suggest maybe she’s doing an, um… A-An internal save?”

“Internal save?” Asriel asked. “What the hell is that?”

“Oh! W-Well, I… I guess you know all a-about saving, right?” She asked, and he nodded. “Well. It’s like… m-maybe that extra d-determination got, um, saved onto or something? Like… making a copy of s-some of Frisk’s energy. I mean… sh-she’s way more powerful than e-even she knows, I bet. A-And now she’s able to bring back m-memories that shouldn’t e-even be there. So…”

Asriel tilted his head. She shrugged and smiled.

“It’s, um… It’s just t-total speculation at this point,” she said, “but I th-think something l-like that might make sense.”

Asriel stared at her for a little, trying to read her face. He drooped and sighed. Alphys cooed sympathetically and gently rubbed his head with her thumb.

“D-Don’t you worry,” she said. “I know it’s a lot of stuff. But, we’re g-going to h-help you.”

He grimaced. He didn’t look so sure. He squinted and looked up at Alphys’s monitor. “Is that stuff all about Frisk’s soul?”

“Th-This is actually about her energy, m-mostly,” she admitted. “It’s a l-little different. Every time I t-try to do a real analysis of her s-soul, my machines c-can’t handle it.”

“Oh. What’re you looking at, then?” he said.

“Well… It’s just interesting, is all. I think… S-Something keeps p-pushing her energy more into interacting w-with monster magic. M-Maybe it’s just from when sh-she and Sans crossed the… Oh! Do you know about that?” She looked relieved when he nodded. “Right! Uh, anyway, so it’s not that h-her energy is b-becoming more monster-like, or anything, but it’s m-making it a lot more accepting o-of it. Heh, I w-wish I knew what that meant, but… I th-think she’d be happy.”

“Frisk’s weird,” Asriel grumbled.

Alphys laughed. “Well, yeah, b-but who isn’t?”

Through the blanket sheets, they heard the sound of the west door flying open. Then some stumbling and a high-pitched grunt.

“Papyrus, is that you?” Alphys called.

“Yes, Doctor! It is I! The great Papyrus! Back from— Whoa!!” He stumbled through one of the blankets nearby.

The cloth moved like there was a ghost battering it, and there was the distinct sound of him thunking to the floor. Asriel snickered, and Alphys got to her feet.

“Where are you, are y-you okay?” she asked.

“Ugh, I’m fine. Owie… There is far too much junk in here, let me just say that to start.” He pushed through the sheet closest to them and leaned up against the wall, trying to look casual. “What are you two up to?”

“Just checking s-some stuff. S-Seems these two are gonna be fine,” Alphys said, pointing back at Asriel. “Did you have a g-good time with Undyne?”

“Oh! Yes, Captain Undyne took me all over her Waterfall patrol again! Though I’m not actually allowed to do anything but walk with her unless there’s an emergency… But! I really enjoy it,” he said. “Asriel? How are you feeling today?”

He shrugged. 

“Ooh! Better question! What are you feeling?” Papyrus asked as he leaned on the desk.

“Kinda annoyed,” he said.

“Great! I’m so happy to hear that! Is that new? What did you feel before?” he asked.

“I don’t see why you care,” Asriel said.

“I’d like to understand you,” Papyrus said. “And since I don’t remember all our other adventures, or misadventures, or battles, or whatever else we did in your timelines, I’ll need to get to know you again. So…?”

Asriel sighed. “Okay. Well. Before, it wasn’t so much feeling… feelings? No happy, sad, anything like that.” He held out one leaf, and then another. “Bored, not bored. Success or frustration. And then relief from the frustration. That’s basically it.”

“Hm. Well. This is already better than that, then!” Papyrus grinned. “I’m so glad for you!”

“Uh, thanks, I guess,” he said quietly.

Papyrus grinned and stuck his thumbs up, and then turned to Alphys. “Undyne said she would be along a little later, though I’m not entirely sure what she’s doing. Should we get out of your scales, Doctor?”

“Oh! A-Actually, I was thinking, um… I’d, uh, l-like to keep F-Frisk j-just a bit longer, just in case something h-happens,” Alphys said. “I d-don’t think it will, but… you n-never know.”

“Alright,” Papyrus said. “Where is she, anyway?”

“Didn’t come up yet,” Asriel said.

“What?! Ugh. I’m going to go check on her,” Papyrus said. “I need to talk to Sans anyway.”

“About wh-what?” Alphys asked.

“What? Nothing! Nothing, never mind, it is nothing!” He raced for the elevator at a lightning pace.

Asriel and Alphys shared a confused look.

“Weird,” the flower muttered.

Papyrus went downstairs as fast as the elevator would take him and made a beeline for the room that was filled with beds. It was pretty quiet and smelled faintly like tea. He immediately picked out Sans and Frisk, still bundled up where they had fallen asleep the night before.

“Oh my god, have you two even gotten out of bed?” Papyrus demanded.

“No,” Frisk said bashfully.

“What are you even doing?” he asked.

Sans held up the star book. Papyrus tilted his head.

“Is that the book I found?” he asked.

“Sure is,” Sans said. “Love it, bro, thanks.”

“Yeah! It’s really great!” Frisk said brightly. “Sans was reading it out loud so I could hear, too.”

“Oh.” Papyrus couldn’t look cross for a second longer. “Well! I’m glad you’re both having such a good time!”

“Hey, Paps, c’mere,” Sans said.

Papyrus came to sit on the bed with them and his brother grabbed Frisk’s hand.

“This one, kiddo?” Sans asked.

She nodded and he took Papyrus’s hand, too. 

“Okay, like this.” He put Papyrus’s hand so he’d match up with the glowing lines and then let them both go. “Okay, bro, glow for her?”

“Okay, sure!” The magic lit up along his finger bones instantly. “Why?”

“Just a sec,” Sans said. 

They waited in silence for a few seconds. Nothing seemed to change. Not even a glimmer. He shrugged.

“Hm. Guess it’s not his.”

“What isn’t?” Papyrus asked.

“Remember those glow lines?” Sans said.

“Oh! Yes!” Papyrus held Frisk’s small hand in both of his. “Those didn’t hurt, did they?”

She shook her head. The skeleton sighed with relief and sat back so he could put his arms around her.

“How are you feeling, by the way? Both of you?” he asked.

Sans shrugged.

“I still feel a little, um… oogy? Is that a word?” Frisk said.

“Can I help?!” Papyrus demanded.

“Don’t worry too much,” she said, and then she started to grin. “Hey! How’d you like that dream Sans pulled up last night?”

“The dr…? Oh!! That dream! Yes! I thought that was really fantastic. Brother, you did a great job with that, actually,” he said. “Thank you for bringing me along.”

“Hey, no problem,” Sans said. “If our link’s gotta go more active, might as well do somethin’ kinda nice, right?”

“Right!” Frisk said.

“Too bad it wasn’t longer,” Papyrus said.

“Couldn’t risk it, bro,” Sans said. “When you generate a dream like that on purpose, you don’t actually feel like you, uh, got any rest. Best only to do it for little.”

“Oh. Wow, okay, that’s actually very reasonable of you. Was that really what it looked like outside?” Papyrus said.

“Sure was,” Sans said.

“Wowie! That’s really great,” he said. “Ooh, that’s so exciting! I can’t wait! Or, well, I guess I can, but still, it’s very exciting.”

Frisk snickered. Her brother patted her head gently and then leaned around her.

“Hey, little sister, your energy’s a little low, I think,” he said. “It’s been a long time since you ate last, how about we get you some breakfast?”

“That’s actually a super good idea,” she said.

“I know!” he said. “Head on up, I just want to fix up this messy bed first.”

“Ah, jeez, I’m gonna have to move, huh?” Sans said.

“Yes, Sans,” Papyrus said. “Come on, you can at least get off the bed, it’s barely a full step.”

“Do I have to?”

“YES.”

“Right now?”

“SANS!”

He flopped back dramatically and closed his eyes as Papyrus frowned. Frisk held in a laugh. She slipped off the bed on wobbly legs, her bare feet cold on the tile.

“Okay! I’ll go put the kettle on,” she said.

Sans stuck his thumb up and she grinned and scampered off. Papyrus sighed and hopped upright, and then glowered down at his brother, hands on his hips.

“Get up,” he said.

“Can’t hear you, bro, I’m asleep,” Sans said.

“Oh my god Sans you can’t be asleep, you’re talking to me right now!!!” Papyrus cawed.

“Heh. Guess you’re right.” Sans grinned up at him “Alright. Gimme five?”

“That is four minutes and fifty seconds too long,” Papyrus said. He sat Sans up, and the shorter skeleton blinked sleepily for a second before falling backwards again the moment Papyrus let him go. He scoffed and put a finger in the air, lifting Sans in blue magic along with it.

“Hey.” Sans’s protest was rather lacklustre. “I was… Eh. Never mind.”

Papyrus scoffed. He quickly busied himself tidying the bed and smoothing the sheets out. He took Sans’s book and put it tenderly with the other one on the stool at the bedside. When he turned to look at Sans, still floating, he was asleep again. Papyrus sighed, held out his arms, and caught his brother as he released his hold on his soul. 

“Sans,” he chided.

“I’m okay.” 

“I know you are!” Papyrus put him down gently. “Honestly, Sans.”

“How ‘bout you, bro?” Sans asked.

“How about me what?” Papyrus asked.

“Doin’ alright?”

“What?! Yes! Of course!” he said. “I had a nice sleep for a reasonable amount of time, a nutritious pasta breakfast, and a brisk patrol walk with Captain Undyne!”

“Oh. Cool. Sounds great,” Sans said. “Just thought you were frownin’ a little.”

“What? Pffft! What? No,” Papyrus said.

Sans shrugged and slowly took a few steps towards the hallway back to the elevator. He cast a glance back over his shoulder. “Alright. Gonna go dump some ketchup on somethin’ that’ll gross someone out, see you up there? Or are you comin’ with?” 

“I still have all these other beds to do!” he said. He gestured to other disturbed, pink blanketed beds where some amalgamate monsters must have rested during the night. 

Sans shrugged and was about to head on his way. Papyrus frowned a little and dashed only a few steps to catch up. He put his hand on his brother’s shoulder to grab his attention.

“Brother,” he said. “Actually, I’d like to talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure, Paps, what’s up?” he said.

“When I… When I felt your energy last night, I… felt…” He frowned a little and let out a high-pitched, long sigh. “Sans. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how bad you felt when Frisk wasn’t feeling well.”

“Oh. Hey. Don’t worry about it,” he said.

“But… But, I…” He hugged him. “Ugh. When I say I don’t like to see you upset, I mean I don’t want you to feel bad, not that I literally don’t want to see you when you’re upset!!! You know that, don’t you?!”

Sans started to laugh. “Papyrus.” He squeezed him tight, magic glowing affectionately. “You’re the best little brother a guy could ever ask for. Chill, alright?”

Papyrus’s cheekbones flushed. “You mean it? I mean, I know it’s true, but—”

“Course I mean it. Love you to death, y’know?” Sans grinned. “You know me, without you I’m totally lost.”

“Pfft, even if you were, I’d find you,” Papyrus said.

“That’s why you’re so great, right?” Sans said with a wink.

Papyrus grinned. He snuggled him and lifted him right off his feet. “Stay with me while I’m cleaning up?”

“Yeah. Alright.” Sans grinned. “I’ll try not to make more of a mess.”

\- - -

Shortly after Frisk put the kettle on, she heard scuffling nearby and Alphys emerged through a hanging sheet. She smiled and gave the kid a hug.

“H-How are you feeling?” she asked

“Oogy,” Frisk said with a laugh.

“H-Hah! Aww. I’m s-sure it’ll be better with just a b-bit more rest,” Alphys assured her.

“She already rested three days!!” they heard Asriel call.

Frisk’s face immediately lit up. Alphys pointed her in the right direction and the kid stumbled through the blankets until she made her way to the computer desk. Asriel had a bit of a frown on, but he was blushing the second Frisk lifted him up.

“Hey! Good morning!” she said brightly. “Sleep well?”

He shrugged. “Better than staying outside, I guess.”

Frisk grinned. “I’m making hot chocolate, you want?”

“Uh. Well…”

“Yeah you do!” She carried him back towards the table with a bounce in her step. “Alphys, you want anything?”

“O-Oh! No thanks, I’m f-fine!” she called back.

Frisk gently placed Asriel down on the counter and went to work, albeit groggily. “So, how’s this round been for you so far?” she asked.

“Huh?” Asriel said.

“You remember the first three times we met?” she asked. She yawned.

“Kinda,” he said.

“So, round four, what d’you think?” she said.

“Still kinda confused. But. I mean. Obviously it’s better. What a dumb question,” he said.

She snickered. She emptied pouches of powdered hot chocolate into four mugs and began to slowly pour in the hot water. The kettle was large and a little cumbersome in her small hands.

“What’ve you been up to?” she asked. “I mean, before this junk.”

“Nothing. Boring stuff. Why do you care?” he asked.

Frisk shrugged. “I know you visited mom and fell through her window.”

“Yeah, so?” he grumbled.

“Miss her, huh?” She smiled sympathetically. “Don’t worry. Once this is done—”

“Like she’ll even recognize me,” he grumbled.

“She might,” Frisk said with a smile. “Don’t worry. We’re gonna try to get your real body back, too.”

“That’s… That’s impossible,” he said, but, for a second, he didn’t look so sure. “But… I mean. Shit. I really hate bein’ a flower.”

“I know.” She plunked a straw into a mug and slid it towards him. “We talked all about that before. You don’t remember?”

He frowned for a few seconds, and then shook his head.

“That’s okay,” she said. “It all goes a bit wiggly after you grabbed everyone at the edge of the barrier, right?”

“…Yeah. Hey. How come you let me do that more than once?” he asked.

“You didn’t remember the second time you did it that you did it the first time, did you? Didn’t seem like you did.”

“No. It’s… Hah. Wiggly.” He smiled for a second, but then quickly groaned and slapped his own face. “Oh my god.”

Frisk laughed. “Sorry about all that.”

He looked thoughtful and cautiously sipped the hot chocolate. Frisk took hers, too, and pulled over a chair to sit with him. She leaned over onto the table. 

“Can I ask you something?” she said.

“You’re probably just gonna anyway, so…”

“Well, I was just wondering, did you do that CORE thing in every timeline?”

“Just the ones that looked promising,” he said.

“But it never went that crazy before?” she asked.

“Look.” Asriel sighed. “It goes like this. Alphys does that stupid game with you— or whoever, other anomalies, too— and Mettaton, right? Mettaton goes all loose cannon and tries to actually kill you, and in the process, wrecked a bit of the CORE. Just kinda superficially, but enough that it disabled a few sensors or something, you know? And the stairs. That’s when I set it. I made a mistake this time. Got impatient since normally it doesn’t take Mettaton so long to smash the place up.”

“Oooh, okay,” she said. “You said it was to get more determination?”

“Yeah. See. In old timelines, I learned about the CORE from Alphys. That it blew, and stuff, and if you mess with it the wrong way, it starts circulating determination in that bottom chamber,” he said. “Determination kinda comes along with magic, and the CORE can sort of amplify it, move it, whatever. I wanted it to change, just a little. So I could steal some extra determination for myself after the barrier dropped and people were all busy paying attention to other crap. I wanted to get stronger.”

“Strong enough to kill a human?” she asked.

“That was the plan.” He sighed, and then smiled sideways. “Thought it would work so well, too.”

“It did,” she said.

“What? You dumb or something? It didn’t work at all,” he said.

“Sure it did. You wanted to get a soul, right? So. We’re gonna get you one.” She gently patted his head and then got up again. “My phone still over there?”

He nodded, and she grinned and ran off, disappearing behind a wall of blankets. Asriel pouted a little and blew bubbles in his cocoa with the straw.

Just a few minutes later, announced by a pleasant elevator ding, Papyrus emerged, cradling his sleeping brother against his shoulder. “Hello! The great Papyrus has returned from the basement!” he announced. 

He could have sworn he heard a muffled Alphys greet him from somewhere. A hanging blanket nearby shuffled and Frisk popped out with a grin on her tired little face.

“Little sister! Ready for breakfast?”

She nodded and he plopped Sans down onto his feet before dashing off. The shorter skeleton was immediately at least half-awake and he patted Frisk on the head.

“Hey, when’d you get here?” he asked groggily.

She snickered. They heard a thump and Papyrus making a loud shrieking sound. Sans held in a laugh.

“You okay, Paps?” Sans asked.

“That’s it! I am cleaning this all up!” He ripped a blanket down from the makeshift holders and folded it precisely into a perfect square. “What a mess!!”

“Oh! I’ll h-help!” Alphys volunteered from somewhere.

They could hear more scuffling and cloth flopping to the floor.

“Don’t you drop that crap on me,” Asriel said from somewhere.

“Don’t you worry, you are perfectly safe!” Papyrus assured him. “HANG ON, LITTLE SISTER, I WILL FEED YOU FOOD IN JUST A MINUTE!”

Frisk laughed quietly and grabbed Sans’s sleeve. She led him to where Asriel sat. Almost instantly, the flower was recoiling, but neither paid much attention as the kid pushed a mug and a bottle of ketchup towards her brother. He grinned.

“Thanks, kid, good idea,” he said. He popped the cap off with a hollow thunking sound and then tipped the bottle into his hot chocolate. 

Asriel wrinkled his face up. “That’s gross. You’re gross,” he said.

“So judgy,” Sans said with a laugh. “Try it.”

“NO! Ew, ew ew!” he exclaimed. “Don’t even put that near me!”

Sans grinned and shrugged, and took a swig. Asriel gagged dramatically. He shuffled awkwardly away when Sans leaned his back against the table.

“What time is it?” he wondered.

Frisk handed him her phone. He winced.

“Sheesh,” he said. “Kinda early, huh?”

“It’s almost noon!” Asriel snapped.

Sans shrugged again and jerked his thumb at the flower. “So, uh, what’re we doing with uh, “Flowey” over here.”

“What?! Who says you’re doing anything with me?!” he said.

“He’s gonna move in,” Frisk said brightly. “If that’s okay.”

“Sure, but you gotta water him,” Sans said.

“Okay!” she said.

“Oh, I don’t mind watering him sometimes!” Papyrus called.

“Bro, she’s eleven, she can handle watering Captain Chaos,” Sans said.

“Yes, I know, but I like to help!” he insisted. 

Sans shrugged. He cut his eyes at Asriel, who was frowning even though his cheeks were a little flushed.

“H-How do you know about—?!”

“Kid, I know everything.” Sans winked. “Give or take.”

“Az, I told you,” Frisk said bashfully. “He knows everything I know.”

“How do YOU know about that?!” he yelped.

Frisk stared at him blankly. She was confused for a few seconds. When she had confronted Asriel before he opened the barrier, he had attacked her with what he’d called “Chaos Sabres”. He hadn’t mentioned it at first, but Chara had. It was something they’d played imaginary games with. She’d be a great warrior, and he would play as “The God of Hyperdeath”. It was a little silly as games went, but Frisk had had to live the real version. She was surprised that Asriel didn’t seem to remember any of that.

She smiled bashfully and shrugged. “Chara,” she said.

Asriel frowned. She, however, started to grin.

“Did you make an UnderNet account yet? That should totally be your username,” she said.

“What?”

“Captain Chaos,” Frisk said.

Asriel rolled his eyes

“Don’t bother, kiddo, this little punk still has the same sense of humour as the dirt he’s sittin’ in,” Sans said.

“Wh-What do you know about it, you…! You BONEHEAD!” Asriel yelled.

Sans grinned. “That’s the oldest one in the book.”

“Ugh, shut up, you’re the worst,” Asriel grumbled. 

“Guys, c’mon,” Frisk said quickly. 

“Don’t sweat it, kiddo,” Sans assured her, looking amused. His attention was drawn back to Papyrus as he yanked down more blankets and Alphys trailed behind him covered in them like a patchwork ghost. “He can call me what he wants. Won’t bother me a bit.”

Asriel grimaced. He opened his mouth but the concerned frown on Frisk’s face stopped him cold. He huffed and turned away.

“At least get me a bigger mug or something when I move in,” he said. “One that’s not held together with tape.”

“Can do,” Sans said. 

Asriel huffed again. Sans smiled a little wider and ruffled Frisk’s hair gently.

“That’s not a face you need to make for just words, kiddo,” he said, scooping up the other hot chocolate. “For Paps, right?”

He sauntered away and Frisk sat down and gave Asriel a worried look.

“You okay?”

“What? Yeah. Why would I not be?” he grumbled.

Frisk pouted. She pulled up a seat and stared at him. 

“What?” he asked. “Jeez, you still look like crap.”

“Thanks,” she said with a laugh.

He scoffed and scooted the cup a bit closer to her. He reached over and put his leaves on her hand. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. He just patted her knuckles and then drew back on himself and moped.

His melancholy didn’t last long, though, and they were both startled by the east door slamming open. Frisk immediately recoiled back into her chair, her heart speeding and the hair on the back of her neck standing up. Her anxiety dropped, though, when she saw a chrome body and tall pink boots flashing through the open doorway.

“HELLO, DARLINGS!” Mettaton said brightly.

“Hello there!” Papyrus said.

“Papyrus! Doll! You’re looking well! Now, where is…?!” Mettaton cast around and his face absolutely lit up at the sight of Frisk. “OOOOH! THERE YOU ARE!”

“Hi, Mettaton,” she said with a smile.

He bounded over and scooped the kid up under her arms, beaming. “How are you, little sweetie?!”

“I’m okay! Thanks for checking in,” she said.

He giggled and hugged her, giving her a few cold kisses on her cheeks and forehead. “What an absolute relief!” He quickly whirled on Asriel. “And YOU!?!”

“He’s good,” Frisk said quickly.

“Meh,” Asriel said.

“He’s meh,” Frisk corrected with a grin.

“Well. Phew. That’s good,” Mettaton said. “Because if he wasn’t—”

“Wanna get into a crime more hardcore than kidnapping?” Asriel asked, raising a brow. “Yeah. They told me it was you. You have no problems trying to murder a little kid, so I guess just a flower like me would be no problem at all.”

“He is a sassy little thing, isn’t he?” he said. “Hah! Joke’s on you, I don’t even remember that.”

“Oh.” Asriel seemed thoroughly disappointed.

“You sure this thing is your friend, hun?” Mettaton asked, lowering his voice conspiratorially.

“I’m right here,” Asriel grumbled.

“He’s definitely a friend! And a good one, too! He just needs a little help sometimes,” Frisk said. “That and he doesn’t totally remember. But! That’s not so bad, that’s like you, huh?”

“That is the truth.” He gently booped her nose with a fingertip. “I have a surprise for you, darling!”

“What kind of surprise?” she asked, trying very hard to keep all suspicion from her voice.

“I’ll text you! Watch TV at six tonight, okay? I promise you will not be disappointed!” He gently put her down and shielded his eyes as if searching for something in the far distance. “Oh, Alphie!!”

“Hmm? Wh-What’s up?” Alphys asked, poking her head out from behind a sheet.

Mettaton grinned and dashed over to her, scooping her up out of the blankets and rushing for the door. “I need you, darling, come with me!!!”

“Ack! O-Okay, um…! S-See you guys later!!!” she called. “Get some rest, a-all of you! D-Don’t leave until I’m b-back!!”

The east door slammed closed and everything went quiet. 

“Huh.” Papyrus wandered over with a plate of cold spaghetti and placed it in front of Frisk. “That was odd.”

“Thanks a million,” she said as he handed her a fork.

He nodded and then turned back to the mess behind him. “SANS! You cannot honestly be sleeping again!” he shrieked as he stormed back and away from them.

“I’m not sleepin’, I’m lazin’,” Sans said. He was laying on one of the now-exposed floor mattresses, looking quite convincingly like a sleeping skeleton.

“Stop lazing and help me fold!!!” Papyrus demanded.

“But bro, you love foldin’.”

“That is true but—! Ugh, Sans, you’re unbelievable sometimes.”

“Doctor’s orders, though,” he said.

“What?” Papyrus looked incredulous. “What do you mean?!”

“Doc said get some rest. So…”

“SANS.”

“What? Don’t wanna set an irresponsible example for the kiddo, huh?” he said with a wink.

“Oh my god Sans seriously this is ridiculous.” Papyrus sighed out long and loud. “FINE. But only because I know you fold so slowly anyway that you might as well not even be folding at all.”

“Thanks, bro, you’re the greatest,” Sans said.

“SIGH. I know,” Papyrus said.

“Is this how they always are?” Asriel asked quietly.

Frisk nodded and started twirling some cold pasta on her fork.

“Huh.” Asriel frowned a little. “Weird.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Frisk said with a smile.


	41. The ZZZ Arc

Alphys could never really make up her mind about how she felt about the CORE tower. On one hand, the sharp atmosphere and cool fog around it was a little refreshing. She imagined maybe that was what clouds on the surface felt like. On the other, it also sped the pulse in her soul with nerves. The thought of things that had gone wrong always lurked in the back of her mind. Something about the place always made her a little sad. She wasn’t sure why.

Mettaton, with express permission from King Asgore, had secured what seemed to have once been a little outpost for whoever ran the lab a long time ago. The room now had an elevated stage, cameras, lighting— the whole shebang— and was connected to his other little studios with built-in sets scattered throughout Hotland. Hidden behind doors the same colours as the walls were greenrooms, a control room, and what was essentially Mettaton’s living quarters. It hadn’t started out that way, but he pulled enough all-nighters working on his show that an area with a mini-fridge and a bed became a necessity. Despite the fans, the lackeys; a figurative skeleton crew, much of Mettaton’s work was a one monster show.

Now, he strutted about the place, pink high-heeled boots clicking across the polished floor as he took Alphys to a small elevator back behind the control room, passing by switcher boards, ancient computers, and only slightly newer, wired in television monitors. He punched in a code on the old, circular number keys on the wall, and there was a distant grinding sound somewhere in the building. He then went to something that looked like a stack of tape decks on a wide counter. One of them was running. He pulled a cassette from seemingly nowhere and popped it in one of the slots. He pointed at the switcher board.

“Be a doll and hit the green button over there?” he said.

Alphys jolted and rushed over, standing on her toes. She pressed the green button and it lit up. He pressed another button with a little arrow on it on his end and then grinned.

“Thanks for the help, Alphie. Seriously,” he said. 

“Y-Yeah, well, I h-hope it’s worth it.” She smiled slightly. “I’m, um… n-not much of an actor.”

“Nonsense, you did just fine,” he assured her. “Now, come with me! You said you wanted to look at the broadcast blaster, right?”

“R-Right now?!” Her eyes went wide, but she nodded nonetheless. “Y-Yeah, thanks, that’d be great.”

He nodded and slid over to the elevator. It opened to reveal a pastel pink interior decorated with rhinestones. Alphys tilted her head. She stepped inside.

Their destination was another control room, pink, silver, and blue, near the peak of the core, under magic-generated, clear shell. From there, through the mist, one could see almost the entirety of Hotland in one direction and a chunk of New Home in another. Alphys was awestruck for a few seconds. She had never been this high up before. Or, maybe technically she had, but it had never felt quite like this.

There was a lot less clutter here. There was just one large device perched in a similar way to a telescope, attached to a few different kinds of receivers. There was also a desk setup with a microphone and an audiometer, and a small mixer board with sliders that were backlit with rainbow colours. Mettaton beckoned Alphys to what had to be the “broadcast blaster”. It was something reminiscent of a long, black oboe, with gold and blue accents on little metal pieces, and an insert for what looked like a power crystal. Alphys’s eyes went wide. She stood on her toes, and then dragged over the chair from the desk to help her get a better look.

“Th-This is it?” she asked. “Whoa… It’s o-old tech, that’s for sure! B-But so well kept. D-Does the crystal give y-you any troubles? That… I m-mean, god, that looks like what, a g-gen three? I h-haven’t seen one like it s-since I was a kid.”

“It’s actually never been a bother, I just have to charge it with magic once every month or so,” he said. “The whole setup is actually really reliable. Especially when I need to get every single media device in the underground.”

“How’s the s-signal in Waterfall? Or Snowdin?” she asked.

“Fantastic,” Mettaton said proudly. “I had a few relays built. And, actually! Ever since you set up those cameras, I’ve been able to use those like a charm! I’ve heard some nasty naysayers call me a ditz, but! Even they would have to admit, I know my media. I know how to reach the people! Quite literally.”

“Th-That’s really great, Mettaton,” Alphys said.

“Thank you, I know. So. You really think this’ll help?”

“M-Maybe… Maybe for the big, um, f-fight thing Frisk h-has to do to b-break the barrier,” she said. “S-So what do I need to do to s-send the magic out?”

“Read her frequency, I guess. Input it into the blaster.” Mettaton shrugged. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Oh… Oh. Th-That might be a problem…” Alphys muttered. “E-Every time I try to read Frisk’s f-full energy, my machines j-just…”

She paused. She hopped off the chair, looking like she had something to say, but she began to pace instead. “M… Maybe I’m… M-Maybe I’m g-going about this all wrong.” She stopped and frowned to herself, folding her arms tight to her chest. “I thought… all I needed was th-the determination level, but… Hmm…”

“Ooh, having a thought? That’s a good look on you,” Mettaton said with a smile. “Let me in on it.”

“M-Maybe I could r-read that magic on her f-face separate. Oh!” She punched her fist into her palm and her brow furrowed with determination. “You know! I n-never even tried to see if she has a hum or not! Th-That might be the frequency I n-need! And! I might not be able to get the a-actual d-determination number, but if her soul hums, I c-can… I c-can—!”

“You can get an accurate estimate of her power,” Mettaton finished, and he smiled. “Sounds like you have a plan, my friend!”

“Th-Thanks for showing me this,” she said. “It r-really got me thinking. Oh! And… And I could… I mean, if I’m using old tech anyway, I have some relay d-disks that I could…! Oh! I need to f-find some stuff. I should get going.”

“Back to work already?” he asked.

“Y-Yeah. Yeah. I n-need to check the k-kids so that they can go h-home if they’re okay,” she said. “And m-maybe at the s-same time I can…! Oh! Okay. Y-Yeah, I should, um…”

“I’ll walk you down,” Mettaton said with a smile. “Very happy to be your muse, hun!”

\- - -

The scale of the disruption of the lab was much greater than anticipated. It didn’t bother Papyrus much, though. Cleaning made him invigorated, and in addition, he found Sans’s coat and his blue hoodie, the latter of which was very quickly placed around Frisk’s shoulders. They had been caught up with the pillows and sleeping bags in a mound of squishy sleeping material. Frisk cozied up with Sans on one of the rolling office chairs, reading his space book with him, as Papyrus occupied himself by inspecting diagrams of blue and orange lasers that Alphys had left in the way of his cleaning and running laps around the building. He claimed it was training. 

He had to have been finishing his forty-somethingth lap when Frisk’s phone buzzed. She waited, though, for Sans to finish chapter two before taking a look at the text. It was Alphys, saying that she’d be back soon.

“Alright, chapter three tomorrow? Or you wanna keep goin’?” Sans asked.

“We can stop,” she said. “But I really like this book, it’s super relaxing.”

“I know, right? Great find, Paps.” Sans grinned and Papyrus, leaning against the wall near the food table, stuck both thumbs up. “All this stuff about galaxies and whatever, it’s pretty amazing.”

“Oh my god, you guys are such dorks,” Asriel said.

“What can I say? Space stuff gets me kinda _starry eyed,_” Sans said.

Asriel groaned and Papyrus rolled his eyes, though he was sort of smiling anyway. Frisk grinned. She nudged her brother gently with her elbow and showed him the phone as he used his blue magic to slowly spin their chair.

“Finally,” he said.

“Finally what?” Papyrus said.

“Alph’s back soon. One more test for these dweebs,” he said as he mussed up Frisk’s hair, “and we can finally get back home.”

“OH! Oh, that’s great news,” Papyrus said. “Asriel, you are coming, aren’t you?”

“I have a choice?” he said.

“What would you choose?” Frisk asked, giving him a curious look as their spinning chair faced him.

He blushed almost instantly and looked down. “Shut up, you know what’s I’d choose,” he grumbled. He waved his leaves at her when she started to grin.

“Good pick, Asriel, we have the coolest house in the whole underground,” Papyrus said. “You will really enjoy it!”

“That’ll be really nice,” Frisk said. “Feels like we’ve been gone forever.”

“Oof, tell me about it,” Sans said. “Know what, though?”

“What?” she said.

“I need to get one of these chairs.”

“Won’t it get stuck on your socks?” Frisk asked.

Sans laughed. “Shit, you’re right.”

“SANS! Not in front of Frisk!” Papyrus scolded.

“What?” Sans asked.

“The S-H-I-T word!” he said, lowering his voice.

“What? Shit?” Asriel repeated with a grin. “Dude, is that really the worst you’re worried about? I know some way worse, like—!”

“Noooo no no no no, Asriel, come on, you are also a small child, you should not be using language like that!” Papyrus protested.

“Says who?” he said. 

“Says me! It alarms grown-ups and makes me look like an irresponsible bag of bones!” Papyrus insisted.

“Paps, I know most of the swears already,” Frisk assured him.

“GASP! Well! At least you have the good sense to not say them!! But still, mom will kill us, I just have this feeling,” he said.

“Okay okay,” Sans said. “I’ll tone it down. In front of mom.”

“SANS.” He frowned, folded his arms, and tapped his boot on the tile. “You are a bad influence.”

He shrugged. 

“Aw, Papyrus, don’t say that, I think he’s real important,” Frisk said. 

Sans looked taken aback, unbeknownst to her. Papyrus sighed.

“Yes, yes, I know,” he said, but he smiled. “Sans, look at your face!”

“Uh, I can’t,” he said.

“You know what I mean. Never mind. Asriel, you too! You can try to be a little polite, can’t you?”

“No promises,” he said.

Papyrus was about to scold him, but stopped short when Undyne raced into the lab, wiping her brow and letting out a large huff.

“PAPS! POP ME!” she shouted.

“Uhh…” he said, wide-eyed.

“Pass me a gross soda!” she said.

“Oh!” 

Papyrus tossed one to her and she ripped the top off the can and dumped the cold liquid down her throat. She sighed, crushed the can, and tossed it perfectly into Alphys’s garbage can as she stomped over.

“Hey, punks, what’s up?” she asked. “Nice to see you two conscious.”

“Hey, Cap.” Sans saluted with two fingers. “Hot enough for ya?”

“Oh god.” Undyne laughed. “It’s the worst!”

“How was patrol?” Frisk asked. “People miss you?”

“Eh, yeah, a bit. It was nice to get out again,” she said. She reached down and ruffled the kid’s hair, but then paused and laughed. She scooped her up under her arms. “Know what you need?”

“No?” Frisk said.

“Your dang hair brushed is what,” she said. “C’mon.”

Undyne tossed Frisk over her shoulder and she carried her upstairs. She kicked the cube that was Alphys’s bed so that it popped out and took its form, then sat with the kid. She had a brush in her phone, and immediately went to work with it. Very gently, though. Frisk had a few day’s worth of bed-head.

“Whew. Yeah, you need this,” Undyne said.

“Thank you!” Frisk said. “Hey, um. Can we talk a minute?”

“Heck yeah we can, what’s up, kiddo?” she asked.

“I… I just wanted to say thank you,” she said. “For taking care of Sans.”

“Taking care of…? I’m, uh, not sure I follow, squirt,” Undyne said, a puzzled frown crossing her face. 

“While I was out,” Frisk said. “I just… I noticed. The way he was acting with you. You must’ve really had his back, huh?”

“Well. Uh. I tried, I guess But he was the one who was so calm for most of the time.”

“He, um… Inside, he was pretty torn up, actually. Can I, um…? Ah, it’s hard to say.” Frisk folded her arms and took a deep breath. “Sans’s been through a lot of timelines, you know? Hundreds, maybe. There’s too many to count for me. And, I mean, since you guys didn’t super hang out to begin with, even though he became really good friends with you in a few of those, he always kept his distance because he didn’t want to weird you out.”

“Okay,” Undyne said; her expression still said she didn’t get it.

“There was one that was really bad. Well… Okay, not just one, but a specific one, that was really bad,” she said. “You… won’t remember. But you really, really pulled through for him. And I know that what you did for him, it reminded him of then, in basically the only good way that came from that time. So, um. I guess I just wanted to say, he really appreciates you.For how you helped him, and how you always are like, a super cool big sister to Papyrus. He kinda loves you for that, actually. And I’m really grateful, too, I’m so glad you could kinda settle him a bit.”

“Oh! Hah. Kiddo, that’s sweet,” Undyne said, though her brow furrowed. “What was so bad about that one where the one good thing was us becoming good pals?”

“I… um… I don’t know that he’d want me to say,” she said quietly. “He doesn’t talk about them for a reason.”

“Right. Right. Fair enough, I guess,” Undyne said. “…Guess something bad happened to Paps, huh?”

Frisk bit her lip. Undyne sighed.

“Alright. I can imagine. You don’t have to say anything,” she said. “I’m glad to help, seriously.”

Frisk smiled and nodded. She turned and hugged Undyne around her middle. She froze for a moment, then began to grin. She held the kid tight and smooched her head.

“Aw. Kid. Heh. To be honest. I missed this,” she said. “Do you, uh… Do you remember anything from when you were out? I mean, did you come out of it at all?”

“I think I had a weird dream before I woke up,” she said. “That’s it.”

“You know, your big bro, he was reading to you a lot,” she said.

“I know. You, too?”

“Eh. I got a chapter or so in,” she said. “That book is pretty cool, huh?”

“Yeah! It’s Kid’s favourite. Sylph reminded me a lot of you, so of course I really loved it,” Frisk said.

“Pfffft! Jeez, squirt, you’re making me blush!” Undyne laughed. “After what I did to you—”

“What? Took care of me and brushed my hair and showed me how to start being just a little bit tough and stuff?” Frisk smiled up at her. “You didn’t have to do any of that, y’know. Couldda just left me with my brothers, but I’m so glad you decided you wanted to be friends, too.”

“NGAAAAH! You’re too SWEET!!!” She lifted her up under her arms and grinned her big, pointy teeth. “You’re gonna make me sick, you’re so sweet! Jeez!” She held her close again and gently nuzzled her head. 

Frisk clung to her shoulders and her soul lit up and gently pressed in close. Undyne huffed. She lowered the kid again and she sat in her lap quite happily.

Undyne eyed Frisk a little skeptically. “You, uh… You know what I meant, though, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, of course,” she said. “Please don’t worry about that, okay? What got you thinking about that?”

“What? Nothing, nothing, I—”

“Oh. Asriel said something, huh?” Frisk frowned a little. “He still does that, huh? Just ignore him, he likes to just make people mad sometimes. He says it makes them dumb.”

“You psychic or somethin’?” Undyne said with a frown.

Frisk laughed and shook her head. “I just try to pay attention to stuff people do.” 

“Jeez, how’d you get so smart?!” Undyne demanded.

The kid smiled bashfully. “I’m not that smart. It’s just… On my own, I had to watch people real close to get by, you know? And when I got here, and I started to time travel, I learned a lot about people to try to make them happy and stuff.”

Undyne tilted her head. Her ear fins lifted high. “You are a weird little punk, huh? I dig it.”

“Thanks!” Frisk said cheerfully. 

As she started brushing again, Papyrus rather abruptly popped up beside them and snuck in close, watching with a strange sense of fascination.

“Uh, you need something, Paps?” Undyne asked.

“Nope! Not at all, please continue!” he said. “I’m just learning.”

“What’re you learning?” she asked.

“About hair brushing, of course!” he said.

“Oh.” Undyne chose to not ask about it any further. 

The kid was half-asleep when she finished. Papyrus snaked up onto the bed, too, and lifted her up under her arms. 

“Oh hi,” she said.

He plopped her in his lap and brushed his thumbs over the dark circles below her eyes. The magic in his touch tickled a little.

“Oh! Nothing happened. Those are not bruises, then?” he asked.

“Nah,” she said.

“Wowie, skin is really super inconsistent and weird, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Yeah, and no scales or nothin’ for protection,” Undyne said. “You’re just kind of, like… squishy. Humans are weird. Um. No offence, obviously.”

“Dude, I know,” Frisk said. She looked at her upturned hands. “We’re all really different, huh?” She grabbed one of their hands each in hers— Papyrus’s long, nimble white fingers were a big contrast to her little, light brown fists holding them tight, and to Undyne’s huge, strong, blue hand, fingers tipped with sharp claws. The kid grinned. “It’s kinda cool, right?”

“It is!” Papyrus beamed and he squeezed them both into a tight hug. “I’m so happy we’re all friends!”

Downstairs, Asriel strained to try to see up to the second level and pouted when he couldn’t. He could hear laughing, though. He looked at Sans, still spinning very slowly in his chair, but he seemed like he was asleep. He frowned a little and began to drag himself a little closer, but before he could even move a few inches, his little soul spot lit up blue and he and his teacup began to hover.

Sans was looking at him, one eye open and lit up, with a finger in the air and blue shimmering over his hand. Asriel froze; shook without meaning to. 

“Where’re you headed?” Sans asked.

“Wh-What? Nowhere, I…! I—!”

“No, I mean, I can just move you if you want,” Sans said.

“Wh…? What?” Asriel stared. “You’re serious?”

“Eh, sometimes,” he said.

Asriel hesitantly pointed to the other end of the table. He was quickly plunked down there and the blue lifted away. He sighed. 

“Jeez, dude, chill out.” Sans was grinning; looked like he was trying not to laugh.

“Y-Yeah right!” Asriel snapped. “After what you did to me, why would I ever—?!”

“What I did to you? Heh. Maybe you aren’t so bad at jokes after all,” Sans said. “You didn’t forget why I even fought you to begin with, right?”

Asriel opened his mouth, but he flinched and looked down at the table. “D-Don’t… Don’t tell Frisk,” he muttered.

“Dude, she already knows,” Sans said with a shrug.

Asriel looked horrified. He drooped.

“So… So she meant it,” he said. “She really has all your memories?”

“Yup,” he said.

“So she knows what it felt like when I—?”

“Yup.” Sans put his feet up on the table and folded his arms behind his head. “And I felt what you did to her, too.”

“Why doesn’t she hate me?” he asked quietly.

Sans shrugged. Asriel raised his head to meet his gaze.

“Why the hell would you do such a horrible thing to yourselves?” Asriel looked baffled.

“Horrible?” Sans started to laugh. “That’s a good one.”

“What?! No, I… I’m not joking!” he said shrilly. “I barely had any control of my body, I was just…” He grimaced and shook his head. 

Sans looked a little confused. He tilted his head to the side. “Nah, it was different when we did it.”

“How?” Asriel asked.

The skeleton shrugged. “Kinda the opposite of horrible, so I guess there’s that.”

Asriel looked like he wanted to push it, but as Alphys came in through the east door, pocketing her cellphone, he recoiled and shut his mouth. Sans stuck a hand up.

“Hey, Doc,” he said.

“Oh, hi!” She sounded surprised, as if she’d been lost in thought. “And A-Asriel! Hi t-to you, too, how are you?”

“Uh, fine, I guess,” he said.

“G-Great! Th-That’s great,” she said. “And Frisk?”

Sans pointed up to the second floor. Alphys smiled and was about to head there, but she stalled when she heard shouting and Undyne leapt down, carrying Papyrus over one shoulder and Frisk over the other.

“Hello, Doctor!” Papyrus said brightly.

Undyne plopped them both down and then scooped Alphys up. “Hey, babe, how’s it goin’?”

“G-Good!” she squeaked. “Good!”

They kissed and Undyne put her back on the floor, and the blushing little monster put her hand on Frisk’s shoulder.

“D-Doing alright?” She smiled when Frisk nodded. “W-Want to g-grab Asriel and c-come downstairs with me?”

“Yeah!” Frisk grinned. “If we’re okay, we can go back to Snowdin, right?”

“Y-Yeah.” Alphys smiled and took her hand. “Come on.”

The others tagged along to the basement, where Alphys brought them to a small room she’d set up for medical purposes. Asriel went first, with just a little node above the glowing spot on his stem. His levels were exactly the same. Frisk was happy beyond words for him. That piece of her wasn’t keen on leaving him any time soon.

When Frisk got hooked up, Papyrus insisted on holding her hand for the short time the reading was being done. He seemed nervous watching the monitor track her energy, so she held his fingers tight to reassure him. Alphys watched the levels closely, then smiled and gently pulled the nodes away from her.

“N-Normal,” she said.

There was a collective sense of relief in the air. Papyrus wiped his brow and grinned.

“Thank goodness!” He helped Frisk down from the table. “And now! We can go home! You are all welcome to come hang out if you’d like, but it has been an awfully long little while, hasn’t it?”

Sans nodded and leaned up off the wall, but Alphys stuck a finger in the air and smiled nervously.

“A-Actually…” she said quietly. “Um… I w-was, um… I was wondering. F-Frisk. I, um, ch-checked out the b-broadcast blaster Mettaton has, and I th-think working together w-with that m-memory magic on your face, it c-could be useful. I was w-w-wondering if we could d-do just a few more tests w-with that and y-your determination? Since you’re here?”

Sans frowned. Frisk looked worried and tilted her head.

“It’s important, huh?” she said. 

“Couldn’t it wait just a little?” Undyne asked.

“W-Well, it’s just… t-to move forward, there’s some data I st-still need and… um… W-Well, I can only g-get it from Frisk,” Alphys said.

“Oh! Um… I’m sure that’d be fine,” she said quickly.

“Kid, uh, let’s put a rain-check on that, huh?” Sans said.

“What?” Frisk looked back at him with surprise. “You don’t think I should?”

“If we’re voting, I also vote you don’t do it today,” Papyrus said.

The kid was taken aback. She looked excited for a second before Alphys made a sort of alarmed squeaking sound.

“B-But wait! I…! I think I have this f-figured out! And we h-have all the st-stuff right here, couldn’t we just—?”

“Maybe this, uh, isn’t really my place, but I’m kinda feelin’ like I gotta put my foot down on this one. Sorry, Doc,” Sans said. “She was just out for three days. Don’t wanna risk her goin’ down again.”

“Why would she…? What d’you mean?” Asriel asked.

“Last time Doctor Alphys tried to get a determination reading off Frisk, the machine didn’t quite like it and Frisk fell over for a little bit,” Papyrus explained.

“This whatever knocked her out?” Asriel said with a frown. “Okay, yeah, I’m with the boneheads on this one.”

“It w-was only for a few seconds, right?” Frisk squeaked.

“Closer to half a minute, actually,” Papyrus said. “Um. I don’t know, Frisk, if it did that to you when you were fine, I’m not sure I’d want to see it when you’re not quite fine. Doctor, that makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“Okay, y-yeah. I know. I understand. B-But… But this is something w-we really need to do.” Alphys tented her fingers nervously. “I th-think I know the, um, the n-next step.”

“That’s great, Doc,” Sans said. “It can wait a day or two, right?”

The disappointed look on Alphys’s face tugged at Frisk’s heart. She looked down a little nervously.

“M-Maybe I could?” she said quietly.

“Kiddo,” Sans said a little sternly.

When she looked up at him, his brow was a little furrowed, but more than anything else, he looked worried. She was taken aback. She gulped.

“S-Sans, if she says she can do it,” Alphys said, “maybe sh-she can? I m-mean, her m-magic levels seem stable.”

“She’s, uh, not made of just magic,” Sans said. “Look, she’s tough, but she’s not totally better yet. I know. You’ve been doin’ a lot for all of us. We couldn’t do this without you, y’know? But. Just this one time, I’m really gonna have to insist—”

“You’re right. You’re r-right. Of c-course.” The little lizard looked a little frustrated, but her frown was directed more at Sans than anyone.“It’s just that…! Frisk. You know you’re the m-missing piece here, right?”

“I… I know,” Frisk said quietly.

“Alph, c’mon, don’t put too much pressure on her, she’s just a kid,” Undyne said.

“B-But she’s not just a kid!” Alphys squeaked. “She’s not. We all know that. She is the key to e-everything. She i-is our way out! W-We have a responsibility to use her to f-fix this! Isn’t it s-selfish n-not…? N-Not t-to…?”

Frisk’s face fell and her eyes welled up, her heart beating hard. Alphys couldn’t finish, especially seeing the look on the kid’s face. She put her hands to her mouth in horror and rushed to grab Frisk’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s not… Th-That’s not what I meant. I mean… I m-mean…” She lifted Frisk’s face. “F-Frisk, I’m s-sorry. I d-didn’t mean… P-Please don’t cry.”

“Wow, way to go,” Asriel said dryly.

“D-Do…? Do you th-think I’m… selfish?” Frisk asked quietly.

“What?! No! N-No, no no no, of course n-not!” Alphys said quickly. “No, no, F-Frisk, no, I… I l-love you. I th-think you’re great. No, no, I sh-shouldn’t have… I d-didn’t mean you, I m-meant—”

“But you’re right,” Frisk said; her voice was still soft. “I… _am _the key to this. I’m sorry. I… I want to help. W-We could go n-now and—”

“No. Sans is right,” Undyne said sternly. “Kid. Go home and get some rest, okay? We’re not knockin’ you out again until we’re sure you’ll be okay after. Right?”

Alphys bit her lip, but she nodded and pulled Frisk into a tight hug. “I’m s-so sorry, I… I n-never meant to… to…”

“It’s okay,” Frisk said.

“Papyrus, take her home, huh?” Undyne suggested.

“Um! Oh. Yes! Yes, I will.” He gently took Frisk hand when Alphys let her go and, picking up Asriel, too, began to lead them out. “Come on, Frisk. See you all later.”

As soon as they left, Alphys almost collapsed onto a chair, burying her face in her hands.

“Uh. Welp. The hell was that?” Sans said.

“Why did I say that?! I d-didn’t mean…! I… Oh m-m-my god, what the h-hell is wrong with me?!” she squeaked. “Oh m-my god. Oh m-m-my god, I… I’m… h-h-horrible, I’m h-horrible…”

“Jeez, Alph,” Undyne said gently. “Chill out a second.”

“I m-made her cry!!!” She looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Wh-Why did I s-s-say that?”

Undyne gently rubbed her head. “Something else was bothering you, huh?” she asked.

Alphys bit her lip. “I-It d-d-doesn’t matter, it… Oh my god.” She took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes. “I w-wasn’t t-talking about her, I w-was talking about myself!! M-Me! I’m s-selfish. I screwed up. Sh-She’s never g-gonna… Oh no…”

Sans folded his arms and frowned a little as the lizard hiccoughed.

“Couldn’t even give her a day, huh?” he said.

“Sans, c’mon, she made herself feel bad enough,” Undyne said, her ear-fins drooping.

“N-No, he’s r-right, I just… I j-just…” She rubbed her face. “I’m sorry. It’s j-just…” She sighed deeply and sniffled. 

Undyne rubbed her back. She raised her brows and Sans grimaced.

“Ah. Look. I should go,” he said. 

“W-Wait. Sans. W-W-Wait,” Alphys said quickly. “I know, it’s… i-it won’t r-really make a difference, but… it’s j-just… I’ve b-been really worried for a f-few days about… about s-someone falling.”

“Hm?” he said, raising a brow.

“M-My, uh… M-M-My cousin’s g-girlfriend,” she said. “H-He, uh… We d-don’t really talk, b-but he’s b-b-been calling a bit, and… he s-said she’s been showing signs her HP rating is falling. Th-That’s just one monster. Th-There could be dozens more, and… A-And… I know m-maybe I w-was… pushy, but… I d-don’t want anyone else t-to fall b-because we’re trapped. Th-That’s all. I… know i-it doesn’t m-make up for anything, but… b-but… if th-there’s something w-we can d-do, shouldn’t we? A-As soon as we can? D-Don’t we have th-that responsibility?”

Sans didn’t answer at first, and she sighed and folded her arms tight to her chest and curled up on herself. 

“That’s a lot of pressure,” Undyne said. “For you. And for her.”

“Eh. You’re not wrong, though, Doc,” Sans said, and she shot him a surprised look. “She’d agree with you. Hell, I agree with you. And if it were a week earlier, I wouldda just said, y’know, go for it.”

“B-But?” Alphys asked.

Sans leaned against the table. “She needs someone to tell her it’s okay to slow down,” he said. “To not totally wreck herself for whatever big important reason. She… needs to know it’s okay to think about how she’s feelin’ every once in a while.”

“…Does she not know that?” Undyne asked.

“Heh. Too bad your headcanon about her isn’t true, Doc, ‘cause it would explain a lot,” he said with a wink.

“Huh?” Alphys wiped her eyes and blinked. “What d’you m-mean?”

Sans tented his fingers. “Notice how she, uh, got up from being knocked out three days and didn’t complain for a second about how she was feeling? She spent all her time comforting us knuckleheads,” he said. “Hell, I backed off so she wouldn’t see me losin’ it and she still found me and made me some freakin’ hot chocolate. Like. What do I do with her? She only cares when she gets hurt because it makes other people worry. It ain’t healthy.”

“…She’s so sweet,” Alphys said softly. “Oh god. I’ve n-never seen her look like th-that before. I… I s-said something really bad, didn’t I?”

“Welp. She’s heard worse from people who actually meant it, so I wouldn’t worry too much. She knows you weren’t tryin’ to hurt her,” Sans said. “But it’s a bit of a sore spot, yeah.”

“What?! What d’you mean?! What did they say?! Who?!” Undyne demanded.

Sans shrugged. “Some punk kids, I dunno.”

“Gimme their names, I’ll punt ‘em,” Undyne growled.

Sans laughed tiredly and shook his head. “Didn’t happen yet,” he said.

“…Wh-What happened to her?” Alphys asked quietly. “Oh, poor Frisk, I d-didn’t mean to…”

“Dude. I know. She knows. Tell you what, you’re definitely way more upset at yourself than she is at you,” he said. “But she, uh… Nah. Doc, it’ll probably just make you feel like trash. That’s not what I wanna do.”

“P-Please,” she said. “I want t-to understand. I want to… I d-don’t ever want her to think for another s-second that I… Th-That I think sh-she did anything wrong.”

Undyne nodded in agreement. “I know I’ve said some shitty things to her by accident, too,” she admitted. “It’s just… she is different. She’s really great. But super different. And if you guys are right, she’s the thing that saves the world. Right? That’s a lot to put on a kid, but I guess, that way that she is that you mentioned, Sans? It… makes it easy to forget for a second that really she’s just a little dweeb who wants hugs all day.”

Alphys snuck in close to Sans and held his shoulder. His brow furrowed a little.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said. “And, uh, don’t tell her I got this memory back on my end, huh? Didn’t want to refresh it for her. But… She was at school, y’know. In the, uh, future, I guess? And some of the monster kids found out she’d been livin’ with us for a little bit before the barrier went, you know how it is.”

“What, did they pick on her or something?” Undyne said.

“I dunno what set them off. Seems like, in her memories, it kinda came out of nowhere. Maybe some kid was jealous of how Tori treated her or somethin’, I have no idea,” Sans said. “But these dumb punks, they came at her, askin’ her why she didn’t just die. Why didn’t Asgore just kill her and let them out early. Why didn’t she just give him her soul. They told her if she really loved her monster family, she would have given it, and she was a selfish brat for not doing it. She called me and she was just, like… I think I’ve only heard her cry that hard one time before.”

Undyne’s brow was set in a deep frown and her lip curled up to show fang, and Alphys looked utterly horrified.

“Of course, they didn’t know what she’d done for them. Didn’t know she’d tried to do exactly that and couldn’t. Had no idea she was literally all that was keeping everyone ever from goin’ through the end of the world over and over again,” he said. “And of course, she didn’t say. Just called me to come get her. So, I did. Found her hidin’ in some empty classroom, just shakin’ like crazy. Brought her home, and she cried for like four hours. It was garbage.”

“Holy shit, dude,” Undyne said. “So what’d you do?”

“Heh. What do you say to someone can’t see their own value? I told her that she’s worth more than just what she’s made of or what she can do,” he said. “It’s not selfish to want to live. It’s the most basic want of almost anyone, right? But the kid, she’s kinda broken. She’s got no sense of self-preservation if her takin’ the pain means someone else doesn’t have to deal with it. That little dork actually agreed with those guys. Thought she was selfish. Maybe she didn’t want hard enough to give it to Asgore. I tried to set her straight but it’s somethin’ that still stuck with her, a lot more than I wouldda thought before gettin’ in her head. Only thing that got through to her was reminding her it’d totally mess us up to lose her, y’know? Maybe that was a bit of a guilt-trip from my end, but it was the best I could do.”

“Oh, F-Frisk…” Alphys said softly. “She t-tries so hard, doesn’t she? And I j-just… opened a wound and poured s-salt in it, didn’t I? I d-didn’t mean to make her f-feel like… Ugh. How can I make it up to her?”

“You don’t have to,” he said. “She already forgives you. Because you’re right. I just gotta convince her that I’m right, too.”

“You were looking out for her. It’s what a responsible big brother does,” Undyne said. “…I didn’t want to see her faint again so soon, either.”

“N-Neither did I!!!” Alphys squeaked. “I sh-should have j-just kept m-my stupid mouth shut.”

“Don’t be like that, Alph,” Undyne said. “It’s not like what you were worried about is invalid or whatever.”

“Y-Yeah, but…” She sighed. “Could have given h-her a day. Should have. I shouldn’t h-have pushed.”

“Hey. Chill. It’ll be alright. I’ll, uh, patch this up,” Sans said. “Hey. Tell your, uh, cousin or whoever, that barrier’s comin’ down. And soon, huh? Just say research’s goin’ real well. Progress within the month. Give ‘em a bit of hope.”

Alphys nodded. Sans stuck his thumb up and, in a blink, he had vanished.

Sans landed in the living room, not sure what to expect, but what he saw was a little confusing at first. Asriel was pouting, leaves folded like crossed arms, hunkered down in his cup in the corner of the sofa, and Papyrus was upstairs, his back to the wall near his bedroom door, a worried look on his face.

“Uh. What’d I miss?” Sans asked.

Asriel sighed, shrugged, and pointed upstairs. Sans trudged upwards and gave Papyrus a confused look. His brother pointed his thumb at the door, his brow furrowed. He knocked on it with his knuckles.

“Frrrriisssssk? Sans is here. Um. Are you okaaaay? Do you want someone to come in? Do you need any help?” he asked.

Frisk squeaked out something muffled that they couldn’t hear. They shared a confused, worried look.

“Kiddo?” Sans asked, leaning closer to the door. “You okay?”

“…Meh,” she replied quietly. 

“Can we talk?”

She made some noise somewhere. Sans sighed and put his hand on the doorknob.

“I’m comin’ in,” he said. He held up a finger to ask Papyrus to wait and then slipped inside.

Frisk was a lump under a hill of blankets, slouched and hidden. Sans sat on the bed with her and, after a moment, rubbed her back. She sighed.

“I’m the worst, huh?” she asked softly.

“Nah. Need anything?” he said.

“Well…” She finally peeked out from her cocoon, her eyelids a little puffy and those dark circles underneath quite stark. “I… I w-was just really excited to come home, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” he said, “that’s why I said somethin’.”

“I should have stayed,” she grumbled.

“Nope,” he said.

Her lip quivered. “D-Do you think I’m s-selfish?”

“Oh for f… Kiddo. No,” he said, trying to hide his exasperation.

“Sometimes I f-feel like I—”

“You gotta quit it,” Sans said.

She pouted. He sighed and moved to look at her properly, and she hunkered down farther into the blankets so not much more than her eyes were showing.

“Kid, c’mon You’re one of the best people I ever met. Don’t get so down,” he said.

She nodded even though she didn’t look like she bought it. 

Sans sighed. “Alphys didn’t mean—”

“O-Of course she didn’t!” Frisk huffed out a weak laugh. “I know. I know. It just… scared me. I am… s-something we need to use to get where we gotta be, but… I hate to hear it? Sometimes. I dunno, it… makes me feel kinda like I’m not, like, a person?”

“Shit. Kiddo. Oh my god.” Sans rubbed his brow. “Not that, too. Jeez. It was a super poor word choice, I know. But it’s not like that to anyone who matters. You’re our kid. You know that.”

She nodded. He wasn’t convinced. He started to glow and put both hands around her head, resting his thumbs on her temples. His energy was insistent; wanted her to understand. 

“Kiddo. I thought, with the way my luck goes, that I mightta lost you,” he said. “No way I could let you take a risk like that again so soon. Anyone’s selfish, it’s me, and I’m perfectly comfortable with that.”

“S-Sans, c’mon,” she mumbled, “you’re not—” 

“Doesn’t matter, anyway,” he said gently. “Don’t care. All that matters is you and Paps. And this is gonna sound, uh, pretty sappy, but, y’know, three days? I missed you like crazy.”

Her eyes began to water again but she was smiling, now, too. “J-Jeez, bro,” she said, wiping her tears gently with a knuckle. “Th… Thank you. That, um… That means a lot to me.”

He nodded and patted her head, and she sniffed and took a deep breath.

“CAN I COME IN YET?” Papyrus demanded.

“U-Um just a sec!” Frisk called, and she looked at Sans embarrassedly. “C-Could you help me?”

“Uh. With what?” he asked.

She looked very embarrassed all of a sudden. “I, um… I kinda f-fell in a puddle on the way home and my cl-clothes are all wet but I can’t find my box, and I, uh…” She pointed to the closet that was half open. “Nothin’ to, um…”

“Oh. OH.” Sans rubbed his brow. “Sheesh, kiddo, why didn’t you just say?”

She shrugged a little.

“Hang on.” He vanished into thin air, but was back in just a few seconds holding the cardboard box with clothes haphazardly thrown into it. “Left it in the lab. Whoops.”

Her face lit up as he plopped it on the bed beside her. “Thanks!” she said. 

He stuck his thumb up and shifted himself right outside the door again to give her some privacy. 

Papyrus gave him a confused look. Sans shrugged. 

“Hey, is she okay?” Asriel shouted. “You guys aren’t just messin’ around with her, are you?!”

“WHAT?! NEVER!” Papyrus announced. “Japes and gaffs are for fun times only, not to mess with small sad sisters. Um. What are we doing, Sans?”

“Just give her a few seconds, huh?” he said.

“What did you say to her, though? Is she okay?” Papyrus insisted.

He shrugged. Papyrus pouted and was about to knock on the door again, but it cracked open. Frisk peeked out in her clean, baggy clothes, with one of Sans’s blue hoodies acting an awful lot like a robe on her. She wiped her eyes on the sleeve. 

“Hey. Um. Sorry about that,” she said.

Papyrus’s face lit up. He offered both hands to her and when she took them, he held them tight and bent down to her. “Frisk, you look a bit better. Would you like to come sit with me for a little?”

Frisk nodded, so he lifted her up under her arms, cackling and bounding back downstairs. 

He sat beside Asriel and gently held the kid in his lap.

“Jeez, you’re still shaking like a leaf,” Asriel said, putting his leaf on her hand and smirking a little. “I should know. Why’d this mess you up so bad?”

“Heh, th-that wasn’t bad,” she said; she shot Sans a grin and he stuck his thumb up. “I guess I… I j-just… I dunno.”

“Well, that just explains everything,” Asriel said dryly.

Frisk snickered tiredly.

“Can we all go easy on her, please?” Papyrus squeaked. “She’s hurting so much.”

“It’s not bad,” Frisk insisted.

“Hah! Say that all you want, your soul doesn’t lie to the great Papyrus!” he said. “If you’d like to talk about anything, please! Tell us! Or… if you’re uncomfortable, just don’t tell us and I promise we won’t push! Right?”

Asriel rolled his eyes. “Guess not. Jeez, first day back and already such drama!”

“I’m sorry!” Frisk said shrilly.

Asriel shrugged and shook his head. Papyrus huffed out a sigh and nuzzled against the kid gently. 

“Love you,” he said. “Hey. You know. Maybe you’d like a little tea? It’s soothing, right?”

“Y-Yeah, thanks,” she said.

Papyrus grinned and got to his feet and gently put her back down before rushing off. “Anyone else?” he asked.

“Sure.” Sans sat with the kid at put his hand on her head. “Thanks, bro.”

“None for me, don’t even ask,” Asriel said.

“Oh? Not a tea-drinker? It’s very healthy!” Papyrus said.

“Yeah. But it’s made of flowers,” he said.

“Oooohhh… Whoopsies.”

Frisk snickered and wiped her eyes on the back of her hand again. “I should really go back, huh?”

“What? Kid. No.” Sans smacked his brow. “C’mon. Get a clue, would ya? Don’t want to see you pass the hell out. Again. Jeez, dude.”

“Oh…” Her cheeks flushed a little. “Is that really okay?”

“Frisk. Listen.” He picked her up in blue and hovered her to stare right into her eyes. “There’s this old saying, maybe you heard of it? Don’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm.”

“WHAT?! FRISK! DEFINITELY DO NOT DO THAT!!!” Papyrus said.

“Do you get it?” Sans said.

“I, um… I think so,” she said. “But… I don’t feel like that’s what I’m doing?”

“Maybe to you, but on the outside it looks like you might be, uh, reachin’ for those matches.”

“WHAT?!” Papyrus yelled

“Not literally, bro,” Sans said with an amused grin before turning back to Frisk. “I get it. Stuff’s a big deal. But you’re not totally okay yet. I know you’re not. And believe it or not, we love you too much to see you hurt yourself like that again when you can wait a day or two. Got it? So chill out.”

Frisk seemed taken aback for a second, but then nodded and Sans pulled her up into his arms and squished her. She gripped him tight. Asriel was right: she was still shaking.

“I guess you’re right, bro. I’d… I’d super hate for you guys to be worried or sad about it.”

Sans sighed and laughed quietly, patting the kid’s head gently. “Welp. Better than nothin’.”


	42. The ZZZ Arc

A plethora of mugs speckled purple-blue carpet with flecks of extra colour. Red and white, stripes and spots. Bone patterns, leaf patterns, bubbles, and hearts, often faded and a little scratched. Maybe cracked at least once and stuck back together with careful fingers and a lot of patience.

Asriel rubbed his chin as he looked at them, brow furrowed. Papyrus, laying on his front, slowly kicked his feet back and forth in the air and watched him hopefully. 

“Well…” Asriel said slowly. “At least none of them are taped together.”

“Of course! We take the utmost care with our mugs, here!” he said. “See? Even the ones that were broken are fully functional once again!”

“You guys sure you don’t have any flower pots?” Asriel asked. “You know, they’re a lot more breathable, they’re better for the soil…”

“Nope. Nothin’,” Sans said. “Do I look like I keep plants, dude? Can’t even keep track of a pet rock.”

“It is very very cold here,” Papyrus said with an apologetic smile.

Asriel looked thoughtful. He leaned over the mugs and, suddenly, began to blush a little. He looked away, but he pointed at the one that was white, cracked, and had a red heart on it. Frisk began to grin.

“That one?” she said.

“It’s, uh… It’s one of the biggest ones, so…” Asriel frowned at her. “Don’t gimme that look.”

Frisk grinned. Asriel scoffed, but Papyrus grinned and picked up the mug he’d chosen.

“Okay! Excellent. I will get you some dirt, be right back!” 

Papyrus dashed out into the cold without a second thought. Frisk yawned and stretched her arms, and then blinked heavily. She tugged on Sans’s sleeve. 

“You have my phone, maybe? Know what time it is?” she asked.

Sans patted himself down slowly and then pulled her phone from his pocket. “Uh. Dunno. Almost six, I guess?”

“Ooh!” She reached in between the cushions for the remote and then flicked on the TV: a prerecorded gameshow was in its last round. “Mettaton said to watch at six.”

“Huh. Weird,” Sans said.

“You actually like that guy, huh?” Asriel said.

“Yeah,” Frisk said. “He’s good. He’s just a little weird.”

“You know he’s a ghost?” he asked.

Frisk snorted and put her face in her hands. “Dude, you can’t just go saying that stuff out loud!”

“Oh. Uh. Whoops?” Asriel hardly looked apologetic. “Well. Guess it doesn’t matter if you already knew.”

“Huh. Didn’t realize you’d be so willing to screw things up for the Doc,” Sans said as he sipped lukewarm tea. “Thought you two were kinda gettin’ along.”

“Huh?” Asriel looked confused. “What d’you mean?”

“Y’know, since her whole, uh, thesis and job application were built on giving a robot a functioning soul, which didn’t actually happen, and if it got out, then…” He raised his brows. “Get it?”

“Oh. Jeez. Uh…” Asriel grimaced. “I forgot about that. Uh. Okay. Fine. I’ll shut up, don’t gimme that look.”

“Hm.” Sans raised his mug approvingly. “Good choice.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Asriel grumbled.

Frisk smiled at him and he looked at her suspiciously.

“What?” he asked.

“Thanks, dude, proud of you for trying,” she said.

He tried to hide a look of surprise and shrugged. They both jumped a little when the door opened again loudly and Papyrus came back in, his finger bones marred by brown earth.

“There you go!” He put the mug down on the floor beside Asriel, and then went to the kitchen. “And let me get you some water!”

They heard the tap running. Asriel looked at the new mug curiously, and then cautiously stretched out a few vines to grasp it. He lifted some roots, shifted them to the new spot, and then, once he was satisfied, he moved the rest of himself to sit in the cold dirt. The vines receded. Frisk watched with wide, curious eyes.

“Can you just grow new parts like that all the time?” she asked.

“Takes a little energy,” he said, “but just that isn’t too hard. Ooh. Look, I can also do this.” He sprouted a few vines and, frowning with concentration, some little thorns popped up along them.

“Oh, wow,” Frisk said. 

Asriel shrugged and both receded back into him after a few seconds. 

Papyrus came out of the kitchen again, a small glass of water in hand. He knelt and, very carefully, poured it on the soil in the heart mug. “Good?” he asked.

Asriel nodded. The skeleton grinned and patted him on the head with two fingers. He scooped up some of the extra mugs and went back to the kitchen with a bounce in his step.

Rather abruptly, the TV screen went black. Frisk looked puzzled and went for the remote, but her phone buzzed at the same moment. Sans checked it.

“Mettaton wants to know if you’re watching,” he said, and then began to type. “Y-U-P. Send?”

“Y-U-P,” Frisk said.

As Papyrus began to clean up the rest of the mugs, a theme song they recognized started up. Frisk felt a chill and looked at Sans. He actually seemed pretty interested.

“Hey. Wait. Isn’t that…?” Papyrus said.

In an instant, a big title card of _UNDER GROUND HEARTS The Super Special Special_ shot up through the dark screen. Frisk gawked.

“He didn’t,” she said in disbelief.

“Oh. Oh man. He did,” Sans said with a grin.

“What is this?” Asriel asked, frowning, but then quickly looked back over at them, gawking. “Oh no, it’s not that horrible show, is it?!”

“Oh. My. God,” Papyrus said. He sat down where he stood and the show began.

Mettaton’s voice crackled through the speakers. “This episode is dedicated to a very special little girl who’s been having a rough time of it! SO! Sweetie, if you’re watching, and you better be watching! I hope you, and all our fantastic viewers out there, enjoy! UNDER! GROUND! HEARTS!”

As a pre-recorded audience applauded, Frisk shrunk down in the cushions. Mettaton appeared as a rolling box robot in a wig in a set that was a kitchen. Frisk didn’t recognize the character who was cooking with plastic fruit in a frying pan. All of a sudden, a fake fire erupted from the fake fruit, and Mettaton’s character fake fainted. Suddenly a strange puppet creature appeared to save the day accompanied by heroic music. It was short, and slightly yellowish, wearing a blue and pink striped shirt, and was pretty clearly played by Alphys. A title card flashed across the screen:_ INTRODUCING!! KRISP!! THE OUTTER SPACE SCIENCE KID!!_

Frisk tried to hide behind Sans’s arm, but he already had a huge grin on his face.

“What the hell are we watching?” Asriel said.

Sans started to beam. “This is gonna be awful,” he said with a sense of glee that sent a chill through the kid.

“Oh my god.” She covered her eyes. “If he wanted to kill me, couldn’t he just blow me up?”

The episode was absolutely horrendous, but even Asriel couldn’t help but laugh along as the very strange story progressed. When it ended with “Krisp” flying into space and regular programming started up once more, Frisk couldn’t help but feel totally shellshocked. Sans had barely stopped laughing the whole time. 

“I can’t believe that’s canon now!” Frisk squealed. “What was that, even?! I didn’t even know who half those characters were.”

“Oh, Frisk, you didn’t see the last season did you? Season four?” Papyrus asked.

“No, only season one like fifteen times!” she said.

“Oh my god, did you guys actually keep up with this?” Asriel said. “That show was always trash.”

“Well, I mean. They tried. I think. Or, Mettaton tried.” Papyrus smiled. “I mean, it’s funny, isn’t it? Oh. But yes, Frisk, season four, that was Janice, a magic chef whose cooking often lead to dramatic plot twists at the end of season three. And then Chad the reckless spy with a heart of silver, and you of course remember Susana and Tragic Bill.”

“I can’t believe he’s back, I don’t even know what to say,” she said. 

“He actually came back in season three, episode fourteen, I think,” Papyrus said. “It was contrived. Turns out the dream sequence was all a dream after all! Who would have thought?”

“What?!” Frisk yelped. “But the dumb relationship drama in that episode after the funeral was the whole basis for the rest of the junk in season one!”

“Heh. Yeah. Uh. You’re actin’ like they thought this through at all, kiddo,” Sans said.

“Did Diane ever come back?” she said.

“Eh, middle of season two,” Sans said, grinning. “Jeez. What a mess.”

“How do you guys know all this?!” Asriel demanded.

“Asriel, you need to know, we do not have a lot of TV shows,” Papyrus said. “Even the worst of the worst, I’ve seen a dozen times.”

“Ugh… Y… Yeaaaaah, me too,” he admitted. “I kinda blocked this one out though.”

“I do not blame you,” Papyrus assured him.

“Ugh, I can’t believe that puppet thing that was supposed to be me is so terrible!” Frisk said, rubbing her head.

“Terrible? But she… um… it? Whatever. She saved the day! Several times!” Papyrus said. “I mean yes, it was a strange flappy mouth puppet, but it was sort of cute, right?”

“But Krisp was such a… a… what do you call it, where it just shows up and solves all the things right away for no reason?” Frisk insisted.

“Deus ex machina?” Sans suggested.

“Yeah, that!” she said. “She just swoops in and saves the day the whole time! Like, she’s super powerful and just does all the stuff and then flies into space, it’s weird.”

“Kinda like you in real life, though,” Sans said.

“No it’s not,” she squeaked.

“Kinda is,” he said. “Except you’re the edgy version with all the emotional problems.”

“Pfffft.” Frisk laughed and nudged him with her elbow. “Gimme a break.”

He chuckled and ruffled her hair, and less than a second later, her phone buzzed with a text. Sans checked it and passed it to her. It was from Mettaton.

“Oh no, he wants to know if we liked it,” she said.

“Well, I’m sure there’s an, um, delicate way of telling him?” Papyrus said.

“You could just say it sucked,” Asriel said. “Honesty is good.”

“I’ll, um… Uh… Ah jeez, I’ll just tell him we loved it.” She texted with a wince on her face. “There. Sent.”

“Frisk the dirty liar,” Asriel said.

“Asriel! Don’t say that! She’s just trying to save his feelings!” Papyrus said.

“Yeah, kid,” Sans rested his arm on the kid’s headand his eye lit up. “Maybe somethin’ you could take a lesson from.”

Asriel gulped and recoiled. Frisk laughed a little and nudged Sans again.

“C’mon, dude, it’s okay, it’s a little true,” she said.

“Okay, that’s it, kiddo,” Sans said, squishing her and tapping her forehead with a finger. “No more self-deprecation today, got it?”

“Self-deprewhat?” Frisk repeated.

“Stop sayin’ you suck,” Sans said.

“Oh…” Frisk’s cheeks flushed. “S-Sorry.”

“No, jeez, don’t say sorry, just…” Sans groaned and rubbed his face, and let out a tired laugh. “Kiddo, what the hell am I gonna do with you?”

She smiled bashfully and shrugged.

The worried look on his face gave her pause. Papyrus jumped to his feet.

“I know what to do with her!” he said. “Little sister! How would you like to cook dinner with me? I know. I know. You’re tired. But just come sit with me! And maybe you can stir the sauce a little if you want. And we could even call mom at the same time. That would cheer you up, right?”

Frisk smiled and nodded, and slipped off the couch. She picked up Asriel, too. “You okay to come?”

“Sure, uh… I probably won’t, uh, say anything if you call, though, but—”

“Don’t worry,” Frisk assured him.

She grabbed a chair to awkwardly drag into the kitchen, and plunked Asriel onto one of the counters. He looked up at the sink with confusion.

“Why?” he asked.

“Why what?” Papyrus asked.

“Never mind, I don’t care,” Asriel said.

Papyrus stuck his thumb up. As he got started, Frisk sat cross-legged on the chair and called Toriel on speaker.

“Knock knock,” Toriel answered.

“Um. Who’s there?” Frisk asked.

“Yeah,” Toriel said.

“Yeah who?” the kid said.

“Oh my,” she said, “I didn’t realize you’d be so excited to talk to me!” She burst out laughing and Frisk couldn’t help laugh, too. 

Papyrus groaned.

“Hello, my child!” she said brightly. “And I believe I hear Papyrus, too!”

“You do indeed! The unmistakable voice of the great Papyrus!” Papyrus said. “Good to hear you, mom, despite that horrible joke! We are cooking together, it is very exciting.”

“I’m mostly just sitting,” Frisk said.

“Sitting is an important task!” Toriel assured her. “Observing and learning can be just as important as participating. How are you all doing?”

“We’re, um, okay,” Frisk said.

“You sound a little low, honey,” she said.

“N-No, no, I’m okay,” Frisk insisted. “Um! Hey! I’ve, um… I’ve got one! How did the skeleton know a storm was coming?”

“Oh, I’m not sure!” she said.

“He could feel it in his bones.”

Toriel began to laugh and Papyrus groaned again as he dumped pasta into a pot.

“You two should not encourage each other,” he said.

“Sorry, bro, didn’t quite hit your _funny bone_ yet?” Frisk asked.

“GAH!” he squawked.

Toriel laughed loudly and, finally, Sans wandered into the room with a groggy look on his face.

“Sounds like I’m missin’ a party in here,” he said.

“Sans! Hello!” Toriel said brightly. “Did you hear the knock knock joke?”

“Did. Pretty dang good, Tori,” he said.

“I thought you’d like it!”

Papyrus kept cooking and squawking, more so as Sans and Toriel began to bounce jokes off each other. Frisk was laughing, but when Asriel caught her eye, she noticed there were tears streaming down his face. Hurriedly, she got up, but he smiled and shook his head. She pulled him down from the counter anyway and held him close as she got back in her seat. She was surprised when he leaned in closer, and the look on his face, his eyes focussed on Sans, was sort of awed.

When they said goodbye and the pasta was almost ready, Asriel finally let himself laugh and wiped under his eyes with his leaves.

“You okay?” Frisk asked. 

He nodded and, possibly for the first time in his life, gave Sans a genuine smile.

“Whoa, kid, got somethin’ on your face?” Sans said.

“Shut up,” Asriel laughed. “Just, um. Thanks.”

“Uh, you’re welcome?” he replied.

“Haven’t heard her laugh like that since before we… Since before I died.” Asriel wiped his eyes again. “So. Thanks.”

Sans smiled a bit wider and shrugged. “Who wouldda thought an old queen and someone like me wouldda had somethin’ like that in common, huh?”

“Yes, very strange, Sans. I can’t believe you’ve found two people who like those awful jokes,” Papyrus said, ladling sauce over piles of plate noodles. “Oh no. Asriel. You don’t too, do you?!”

“Nah, I’m gonna _punish_ you with puns, dude,” he said with a smirk.

“GAH!” Papyrus threw his arms in the air and stormed out of the room. “UN. BE. LIEVABLE!!!”

Sans grinned and Frisk’s face lit up. She clapped. Asriel looked sheepish.

“Full of surprises, huh?” Sans said.

“Tell me about it,” Asriel agreed. 

“He’s not just gonna leave that pasta, is he?” Frisk asked worriedly. “Paps?”

“Papyrus, come back! I was just joking, dude, I’m not super into it!” Asriel called.

“Thank goodness!” He came back in and grinned. “Well, I just pulled a goof on all of you, I wasn’t actually gone! I was just around the corner. Nyeh heh heh heh heh!”

“Ah, got me, bro,” Sans said, and he cut his eyes at Asriel. 

“Uh. Yeah. Good, uh, goof there,” he said. “Gimme those damn noodles.”

\- - -

Frisk hated to admit it, but even as Papyrus and Asriel still seemed pretty energized, she was exhausted and felt sick to her stomach, despite dinner warming her a little. Worry, guilt, and uncertainty hurt her head. She had half a mind to go back to the lab again, but she tried to shake herself out of it. It wasn’t a good idea, she told herself.

As she began to slink off to bed, Papyrus immediately noticed and jumped over to meet her.

“FRISK! What is going on? Are you going to bed? OH! You’re tired, aren’t you? You look quite tired,” he said.

“Um… Y-Yeah,” she said.

“Hey! I have an idea.” He jerked his thumb at Sans, asleep on the couch. “Since our brother is out like a very lazy light, how about I read us a book tonight?”

“Y-Yeah?” she asked.

“Yes?! Excellent! Nyeh heh heh! Asriel! Come on! What would you prefer, Fluffy Bunny or a puzzle mechanics book?” he asked.

“What?! Oh. Uh. Jeez. Those both sound kind of terrible,” Asriel said.

“HEH! I am convinced I can change your mind!” he said brightly. He scooped him up and bounded up the stairs into their bedroom.

Frisk sighed quietly. She rubbed her brow. Her head felt heavy.

“Hey. Kiddo.” 

She jumped at the sound of Sans’s voice and he smiled apologetically. 

“Chill out, huh?”

She smiled sheepishly. Sans pushed himself upright and walked up to her, hands in his pockets.

“What?” she asked.

“You look like crap,” he said. “Gonna get some rest, right?”

“Y-Yeah.” She nodded. “I’m, um… Yeah, I’m still pretty tired.”

He patted her head gently. “Heh. Sorry,” he said.

“What for?” she asked.

“Do me a favour, huh?” he said. “Don’t do anything crazy. Just stay in tonight.”

“Huh?” she squeaked. “What, you think I’d—?”

“Mhm.” His brow furrowed a little. “Just, uh… Maybe stay with us. Okay? Don’t make me worry. Heh. Sorry. That’s a bit manipulative, huh? Just don’t want any stupid crap to happen to you.”

Frisk’s heart thunked. She grimaced and immediately hugged him tight. “Okay,” she said quietly. “I promise.”

He smiled and ruffled her hair.“I know. It’s tough,” he said. “Hey. Lookit me?”

Frisk looked up at him and he squished her cheeks and grinned.

“You look like a, what d’you call it?” he asked, tilting his head. “A raccoon.”

She snickered and lazily batted him away. “Okay, okay, I’m going to bed!”

“Good kid. Try to sleep, huh?” he said.

She headed for the stairs, sticking her thumbs up, and he copied her.

\- - -

Frisk couldn’t sleep. Even after a bedtime story, and resting securely in her big brother’s arms, her brain was abuzz and the feeling like there was a hole in her gut persisted. How could she just lay in bed while Alphys was probably still working? How could she rest when they still had so much to do? She’d been gone— useless— for three days. She tried to relax, but, alone with her thoughts, she swung between wanting to cry and feeling like she might be sick. She felt small. Tiny. She felt like nothing. She had to repeat to herself that it was okay. Whatever she was, she had a mom who loved her, and brothers who, despite her nightmares, didn’t want to be without her. She had friends who were like family, too. Why wouldn’t it stick?

She couldn’t see much in the dark but the gentle amber of Papyrus’s soul through his t-shirt and he synched up to her. It was so cozy and warm, and he always felt so safe. He’d loved her since the day they met. Skeletons were funny like that, it seemed. She didn’t understand, but she was so grateful. She pressed in closer, listening to the slow pulse of his hum. Just a few notes.

She bit her lip and reluctantly pulled back and away from him. She sat up and squinted in the dark. She could make out a little of Asriel’s silhouette near Papyrus’s computer, where the small flower slept on the desk. It was all pretty quiet. It made her ears hurt. She had to take a breath to steady herself and she slipped out of bed.

Silently, with guilt like a boulder inside her little body, she put on her heavy hoodie, scarf, and sneakers. If she could just get it done, maybe if she fainted again, she’d be up by morning and no one would be the wiser. Alphys was always good at keeping secrets. She’d be there and back before anyone even knew.

Her hand faltered at the doorknob. She saw that look Sans had given her again in her mind. Her stomach knotted. He’d forgive her. He’d probably even understand. But, she stalled. She couldn’t. She’d promised. She dropped the thought like a hot coal. She sighed. Nevertheless, she stepped out into the cold. There was something else that could set a thought at ease.

Her feet took her back towards Kid’s house, but she went farther and farther, checking windows until she saw a glimpse of who she was looking for: a fluffy, beaked monster in a house that wasn’t his, sitting in what she could barely make out was the glow of a TV. She knocked on the door and what seemed to be a snow beast opened it and gave her a puzzled, friendly smile.

“Uh. Hi?” he said. “You lost, squirt?”

She shook her head. “Is Snowy here?” she asked. “I have a delivery for him.”

The monster nodded and backtracked inside. “YO!” he called. “SNOWY, THERE’S SOME TINY KID HERE FOR YOU!!”

Snowy came to the door quickly: a poofy, teenaged snowdrake. He looked a little confused.

“Oh. Hey, you’re that little punk who laughed at my jokes,” he said. “_Ice_ to see you.”

“Heh. Um. Hey. This, um…” She noticed the snow beast watching them from around a corner. “This might be a bit weird, can we talk in private?”

“Uhh… Sure?” he said.

She waved him outside and he stepped out into the dark with her and tilted his head.

“Alright. What is it?” he said. “Didn’t want a private show, did you? Because, um—”

“No, I have something for you,” she said. She pulled the folded paper from her dimension box and offered it to him. 

He took it hesitantly and looked at her quizzically.

“Open it,” she said.

He did. Then, the young monster froze. He eyes went wide and glassy. “Wh…? Where’d you get this?”

“It’s a gift for you,” she said; suddenly wished she’d have saved, but she pushed on regardless. “From… From your mom.”

“M-My mom?!” he repeated shrilly. “She’s okay?! We heard she got up and then nothing for s-so long. What happened? You saw her? How is she?!”

“Whoa, whoa,” Frisk said quickly. “I… I don’t have that many answers but… she’s gonna be okay. Maybe not the same. But definitely okay.”

“Okay? Yeah. Yeah. Alright. When can she come home?” he asked.

“Soon,” Frisk assured him.

“But you saw her. She gave you this?” he insisted.

“I saw her. Yeah,” she said.

“H-How’d she look?” Snowy said.

Frisk flinched. His eyes went to the ground.

“That bad, huh?” he asked.

“She’s up, though,” Frisk said quickly. “It’s… It’s not that bad.”

Snowy smiled a little. He nodded. “Oh! Hang on just a second!”

He dashed back inside and vanished for a couple minutes. Frisk put her back to the wall and folded her arms tight to keep warm. When he came out, he had a grin on his face, a small folded paper scrap in one hand and an old joke book in the other.

“Would you bring her these? If… If you see her again?” he said. “You don’t have to say anything from me or nothin’, this’ll be enough.”

“Of course,” Frisk said. She took his things and slipped them into her phone. 

He grinned and gave her a big, fluffy hug. “Thanks so much, you, uh… Whatever you are!” he said. “Owe you.”

“Nah,” she said; she patted him on the shoulder when he let her go. “Everything’s gonna be just fine. Have a good night.”

Snowy went back inside with a bounce in his step. Frisk took a small detour to the starlight near the inn, and then walked home feeling a little lighter. She got in and took off her outside clothes, but before she could trudge up to bed again, the bedroom door was flung open and Papyrus barrelled out the room with a worried look on his face. He froze at the top of the stairs as he saw her coming up.

“Oh! Little sister, there you are!” he said. “I was worried for a second there.”

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly.

“Where were you?” He raised a brow. “Oh wait. I know. Yoooooou couldn’t sleep, could you?”

She shook her head. He scampered down and picked her up gently under her arms, and ferried her away to the couch. He plopped her down and sat, crosslegged, facing her with somewhat serious expression on his face.

“Want to talk about it?” he asked.

Frisk folded her arms and sighed quietly. Papyrus pouted and then bent over to get closer to her eye line.

“Tell me what’s on your mind. You know you can talk to me about anything at all!” he said. “You’re clearly still bothered. It’s all over your face.”

“Well, it’s just… Um…” She didn’t know why she was so hesitant. “M-Maybe it’ll sound stupid, but—”

“Oh, Frisk, it won’t sound stupid,” he assured her. “Even if it does, I can fib for you if it’d make you feel better.”

She snickered. “Thanks. It’s just… I feel… bad. A-About freaking out in the lab, and… I feel like… I dunno. Never mind.”

“Frisk,” Papyrus said. “Come on. You’ll feel better, I promise.”

He looked so sure. Frisk nodded stiffly.

“Um. Well, it’s just, I was really excited to get to go home. And when Alphys said she, um, wanted me to do that extra thing, I was a little disappointed but I thought maybe it’d be okay, sort of? I mean. I was still feeling kind of sick, though, but I could suck it up, y’know? But when Sans said he didn’t want me to, it felt… good. Like, really good. I don’t know why, but I felt like someone saying that to me was really nice.” She tented her fingers and her cheeks flushed a little. “But I really wanted to help, too? But when Alphys said that thing about using me, and how I’m not just a kid, I guess it just brought up a bunch of stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” Papyrus asked gently.

Frisk grimaced. “I… I know my soul is weird, and important, and all that stuff, but a lot of the time, people who talked about getting the last soul for the barrier, all that kind of thing, it was like that was all there is. Like I wasn’t even a person. Y’know? It’s my soul and I don’t matter, I guess. A-And I guess that hurts because I k-kinda agree? Maybe it’ll always be that way.”

“But you do matter,” he said.

“My powers matter, I guess,” she said quietly.

“I’m not sure I understand. Do you not like being the anchor?” he asked worriedly.

“No, no, I love it. It makes me glad that I can keep everyone safe,” she assured him. “Anyway. I dunno, I guess. It was hard. Because I know a hundred percent she never, ever meant it like that. Alphys is super nice. But just the, um, the memories are what hurt. And I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to help. But helping would make you guys sad, so what do I do? If I can’t help— if helping hurts— what good am I? You know?” She huffed and pouted. 

Papyrus’s brow furrowed deeply. “No,” he said, folding his arms. “I don’t understand.”

“…Huh?” Frisk said.

“I. Don’t. Get it,” he said.

“Wh-What’s not to get?” she squeaked.

“Nyeh!!” He rubbed his head like he had a headache. “This makes no sense! How could you actually think any of that?!”

“Wh-What?!” she said, eyes wide and worried. “B-But I—!”

“Look. Frisk.” He cupped her face. “I don’t know what terrible people put those thoughts in your head, but I want you to ignore them! They’re wrong! One million percent wrong. And anyone thinks you’re not a person clearly does not have eyes and is also wrong!”

“P-Paps, I—” she stammered.

“You are the most important little kid in the whole world. Really and seriously. You know why?” he asked.

“B-Because I’m the anchor?” she asked hesitantly.

“PFFFT! No. Silly. Because you’re my sister. That’s why,” he said. “Obviously.”

She blushed and when she smiled bashfully, Papyrus grinned and pulled her into a hug.

“There you are,” he said, glowing gently. “It’s alright. Hey. You know. Even if you’re having some trouble seeing it right now, you really are fantastic. You’re one of my most favourite people in the whole world! And I love you so much. Okay?”

“Aw, jeez, Papyrus.” She laughed quietly and clung close to him. “I love you, too. B-But I… I’m not sure what to do.”

“Let’s take a rest, first. We’ll get you back to your regular self, then if you must go through ridiculous energy trials, then at least you will be prepared! And hopefully won’t faint again.”

“Yeah, hopefully!” she agreed with a laugh. “I guess Sans was right to try to make me stop today, huh?”

“Well, I certainly think so,” he said. “Laziness wins out! It brings safety this time, strangely. Come on, back to bed?”

She nodded and he scooped her up.

When Papyrus tucked her in and settled down again, she wasn’t willing to give him much room. She clung almost right away and he cooed and put an arm around her shoulders. She felt her soul light; felt it sink in against his and he sighed sleepily and petted her hair. Their glow went deep orange and he snickered and put his hand over the spot in his chest.

“It’s a nice colour, isn’t it?” he said.

“Yeah,” she said. It was so hard to keep her eyes open.

\- - -

Frisk stood in the snow again, before a large ball that had been rolled half-way into what might have been a snow monster.It looked familiar. It made the back of her head itch. It felt like she’d just been there. 

There were footprints in the snow, and she followed them around to the other side where she saw a strange, large track and some tiny ones, her own size. She blinked. Something pinged in her. A shadowy form. Reassuring. It was suddenly like someone was watching her. She turned around, but snow stretched out in endless white. It felt very lonely. She didn’t know where to go.

Very suddenly, a gloved hand grabbed hers and she spun to look straight at Papyrus. He beamed.

“Nyeh heh heh heh! There you are!” he said. “I tried to reach out and I found you here! What’re you doing all alone, little sister?”

“Uh. I’m, um…” She didn’t know. “Sorry.”

“Come on, come on, you need to come with us,” he said brightly. “Sans is doing stars for a bit again! Now, let me just…” He put his hand to his chest and let out a small pulse of energy. His face lit up. “I knew it!” he said proudly. 

He pulled her with him a few strides, and the place shifted seamlessly to a snowy path framed by the dark trunks of old trees. It seemed like there was a single golden flower in the middle of the way forward.

“Asriel?” she asked.

He turned with surprise, and before either of them could say a word, Papyrus scooped him up in both hands.

“And now that’s all of us!” he said. “Come on.”

“Wh-What are you doing?” he squeaked.

“Stars! Sans is making stars! Have you seen them?”

Eyes wide, Asriel shook his head. He looked completely baffled. Papyrus beamed. 

“You’ll absolutely love it. Trust me. Now…” He carefully cupped one hand to hold the little flower and then grabbed Frisk with his other. “Hopefully, I can…!”

With an audible pop, the three of them were suddenly in a dark place, black smeared with purple and blue, pinpricked with light. Asriel’s jaw dropped. Sans appeared before them and grinned.

“Hey, so, uh… Thought this might be a good time-killer for a little,” he said. “Since I’m havin’ a bit of trouble and I’m thinkin’ maybe, like, two of you might be, too?”

“…Is this sky?” Asriel demanded. “Like, night sky?”

“Pretty close,” Sans said. “Hey, kiddo, you wanna gimme a hand?”

“Oh! Yeah!” Frisk said.

She took a moment to think of what she wanted them to see, and then concentrated hard and pictured the view from the top of Mount Ebott: all the constellations she could remember, and the wisping clouds glowing through silver moonlight. Almost instantly, it reflected back at them in the dream, adding a little punctuation to the vast star field Sans had created. 

Papyrus gasped and pointed. “What’s that?!”

“That’s the moon,” Frisk said. “It’s like, un, a big rock, right? And it circles around the planet. And it kinda glows. Well… I mean, it doesn’t glow glow, but it has the sun’s light bouncing off it all the time. And so it shines like that.”

“Wow…” Papyrus breathed. “And those things, that’s… clouds?”

“I remember clouds,” Asriel said quietly, “but I never saw night. How are you two doing this?”

“Magic,” Sans said with a grin. “Just for a bit, though. Or else sleepin’ doesn’t have a point.”

“What if I don’t wanna go?” Asriel sounded a little dazed.

“We just fade it out,” Frisk said. “Goes right into sleep time, usually. I, um, I think. It’s a bit weird. But I like it.”

Asriel didn’t take his eyes off the sky, but he reached out for her. Papyrus gently passed him over and he wrapped his roots around the girl’s hand.

“They need to see this,” he whispered. “They… They need to see this.”

They sat together for a while, quietly. When the dream finally faded, Frisk felt herself falling towards sleep, a heavy, warm lethargy taking her. But, instead of dark consoling her into slumber, her eye refocussed on trees with a heavy, oppressive, dank green pressing down on her from above. Two shadows towered over her, with no features but glaring eyes. She felt fear right down to her bones and backed away. She closed her eyes, repeated to herself that they weren’t real, even as thoughts of her failures poked her mind. She could hear them, though they weren’t speaking.

_ Failure. Stupid kid. Weak. You let everyone down. They’d be better off if you never even existed._

She covered her ears and ran, deeper into the woods, but she felt like they were following her. She couldn’t get away. The trees were turning white as bone, and the ground was becoming snow. She could still hear their words in her head. Of course she could. It was a dream.

She stopped in her tracks and turned to look. Nothing behind her, but the voices remained. Her attention was caught when what she had thought was a tree lifted up out of the ground. It was a hand instead. She whirled, and through tear-blurred vision, saw herself. That bone dragon she and Sans had become, facing her down, one eye glowing bright blue, the other one vibrant red. She gulped and they cupped their huge hands around her; gently touched the tip of their bony snout against her forehead.

“Don’t forget,” they told her.

\- - -

Sans stared up at his ceiling. It was early. Too early. He didn’t know why he was awake. Felt like it had been a long night. Papyrus could be heard carefully shuffling about in his room and then, within the next few seconds, his door swung open loudly and his brother stormed in.

“SANS! Up! I need! A spotter!” he announced. 

“Oh. Uh. Okay. I spotted you.” He pointed at him. “Good?”

“No no no, that’s not what I mean,” Papyrus said, folding his arms and tapping his foot. “I need to do some training but Captain Undyne is not answering her phone.”

“I’m not a good replacement, dude,” Sans said.

“Better than nothing!” He scooped him up. “Come on!”

“Y’know Frisk would be better,” he said.

“She is still exhausted, I can just tell by looking at her,” Papyrus said. “I am extremely perceptive, you know. I didn’t want to bother her.”

“You tell her we were goin’?”

“No! Of course not. That would involve bothering her,” he said.

Sans pointed at the floor, and his brother put him down. 

“What? Are you going to bother her?” Papyrus asked.

“Better than her gettin’ up and worryin’ when she can’t find us,” he said. “Meet you outside.”

Papyrus beamed. He strode out of the room with a bounce in his step. Sans shifted to the other bedroom.

It was still mostly dark in there, but Papyrus had rigged up a small light near the closet to act like a night-light. Asriel was still asleep on the desk. It was a strange sensation to see that weird kid there and not feel an overwhelming sense of dread or suspicion. If he had a little piece of Frisk guiding him, he couldn’t be too bad anymore, could he? 

It was strange to him, now, that he could see him from Frisk’s point of view, too. That little extra hit of sympathy. He’d still have to play it by ear, though. Comfortable was something he wasn’t willing to risk. Not yet.

He went to check on the kid. She was curled up on her side, shivering, despite being snuggly tucked in. He wandered to the closet again to get an extra blanket for her. Even when he put that over her, she still trembled. He put a hand on her shoulder.

“Kiddo?” he asked. 

Nothing. He gently shook her. Still nothing. He felt a pang of shock. Was she locked in?

Worriedly, he turned her onto her back and cupped her face with both hands. He concentrated hard, his magic trying to tug on hers. Something snagged within just a a few seconds. She let out a little gasp, like he’d pulled her from water, and her eyes opened.

“You okay?” he asked.

She blinked heavily up at him and looked relieved. “Th-Thanks,” she said.

“How long you been in there?” he asked.

“Just started.” She sat up, rubbing her head. “Jeez. My head…”

Sans looked at his hands. His brow furrowed a little and he put one on either side of her skull. His magic was cool and she slumped a little. 

“Sorry, that’s all I got,” he said.

“No, it helps,” she assured him.

“Better than nothin’, I guess. What happened?”

“I… I had a nightmare. And… And I woke up for a sec, but when I fell asleep again, one of our kind of dreams started up. It was… a battle, I guess. With Undyne. I got in right in the middle of it and she kinda stabbed me. Reset, and I’m in front of that huge cave in Waterfall, and so I just kinda sat down, trying to wake up and stuff, and then you grabbed me.”

“So you still had control.” He looked relieved. “That’s good.”

She smiled and nodded. She scooted closer to him and hugged around his ribcage tightly. “Thanks,” she said again. “You got me.”

He couldn’t help a grin. “Welp. Guess I finally got somethin’ right. Been writin’ it all down?”

“Oh! No, I’ll do it, though,” she said.

“Get some rest first, huh?” he said. “Hey. So, Paps asked for my help, we were gonna go outside. Still pretty early though. You okay here?”

She nodded. He grinned and dumped one of the blankets over her head. She laughed and bundled up snuggly. He got off the bed and vanished. 

Asriel yelped. “Where’d he…?! Did I just imagine that?” he squeaked.

Frisk snickered and untangled herself from the blankets. She got to her feet and gently picked him up. To his surprise, she took him back to the bed.

“Good morning. Never seen him do that?” she asked.

“Well, I thought he was doing something weird, but I never… Huh. So he just teleports, then,” Asriel said quietly.

“Mhm.” Frisk scooted back against the headboard and wrapped herself in a blanket, holding Asriel close in her cozy cocoon. “Sleep okay?”

“Dunno. Not really. I mean. Those star things, that was nice, but…” He grimaced. “I dunno. I felt… stuck, after.”

“What d’you mean?” she asked worriedly.

“Well, I saw… Nah. It’s stupid, never mind,” he said quietly. Even so, he cuddled up to her just a little. “Wasn’t real.”

Frisk smiled sympathetically and, very carefully, held his little form with one hand.

“I get it,” she assured him. “We’re probably kinda alike like that. Hey, if it happens again, try to find me, okay? I’m gonna go back to sleep. Wanna stay, or—?”

“What? Up like this?” he said, his face flushed a little. “I mean. Yeah. Okay. Just don’t drop me.”

“I won’t! Trust me, I’m an expert at falling asleep in weird spots.” She grinned. “Had a lot of practice!”

\- - -

“Now, see, if I do this…! SANS! You aren’t even looking!”

Sans groggily looked at his brother, standing in the snow, hands on his hipbones and scowling right at him. He grinned. “Sure I am, bro. Show me again?”

Papyrus stood up straight and rubbed his hands together, took a deep breath, and then spread them apart, a long trail of small bones floating vertical between them, alternating blue and white.

“Hey, that’s lookin’ great,” Sans said.

“So, say I’m in a fight,” he said. “And I go like this, instead?” He changed the pattern and the bones started moving up and down. “See, then it’s blue blue white blue white white white and then blue the other way, then white again back the first way. It’s not too bad, right?”

“Right,” Sans agreed.

“So, that’s fine for the ground but…” Papyrus sighed. “Undyne wants me to try to use one attack to cover a lot more space. I’m not sure what to do. Hmm…” He paced back and forth, wearing away a swath of snow. “If only I could make a bone that pointed all directions at once. Like a disk or… Hmmm…What to do?”

“Huh.” Sans grinned sleepily. “Dunno, dude. Makes my head _spin_.”

“Why did you put unnecessary emphasis on that word?” He frowned and tilted his head. “Whatever. Let me show you my layout at full size! Quarter-speed, that should be safe.”

Sans stuck his thumb up. 

Papyrus’s hopped back a few paces and his magic swelled. Bones appeared, mimicking the model, moving at Sans slow enough that he could step over the low ones quite easily, though the one that came back the opposite direction did trip him up. He flopped back into the snow and put his arms behind his head.

“SANS! Oh, come on, they were so slow!” Papyrus said as he raced over. “You okay?”

“Mhm.”

“Well. Okay. I guess that’s a good sign. If even a slow version could knock someone over…” Papyrus mused. “What did you think?”

“S’good, bro. Blue ones were my favourite,” Sans said.

“Of course they were! You didn’t have to move,” Papyrus said, rolling his eyes. “Just wait until I get orange magic working properly. Then I’ll really put you through the ringer!”

“Should come natural to you, bro, your colour is so close,” Sans said, closing his eyes. “I’m sure you’ll pick it up in no time.”

Papyrus looked rather gleeful. “Think I could do green, too? Like Undyne? Or bright green! Ooh! What about yellow?”

“Sure, dude, do a rainbow,” Sans said.

“Nyeh heh heh heh! That’s a great idea!” Papyrus said, grinning. “Some of those other colours I actually don’t think I’ve ever seen before, but I’m sure I could figure it out! Sans. You can’t secretly do orange, can you?”

“Nah.”

“Hmm… Now that I think of it, I’m not sure I’ve even ever seen purple or red in a battle. Have you?” Papyrus asked.

“Welp. Red’s gotta be determination, right? So, uh, Frisk, obviously,” he said. “But I think only boss monsters have that. You could always, uh, ask the King, or Tori.”

“Oh. Would I have to become a boss monster, then?” Papyrus wondered. “Is that even possible?!”

“You could just try to get a magenta goin’, I’m sure nobody’s gonna be picky when that much magic’s comin’ at ‘em,” Sans said.

“Hmmm… Magenta. That’s for inspiration, right?” he said. “It’s pretty rare. I mean, I’ve never ever even seen it, so it must be, right?” 

“Mhm.”

“And purple?” Papyrus pressed.

Sans stuck his hand up.

“What?” Papyrus said.

“Got it,” he said.

“Got what?”

“Purple.”

“WHAT?! What do you mean?! Oh, you do not, I’ve never seen that before in my life!” Papyrus said, incredulous. 

Sans laughed. “Okay.”

Papyrus let out a loud huff. He leaned down over his brother, hands on his hips and a scold about to come from his mouth, but his expression softened almost instantly. “Sans. You really look exhausted. What have you done to yourself?” He picked him up and gently put him on his feet. “You didn’t stay in the star dream too long last night, did you?”

“Mmnope, don’t think so,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “Hey. How was the kid, she get through the night okay?”

“Ah. Um. Not quite, brother,” Papyrus said apologetically. “She got up and we had a bit of a talk, actually. Before you brought us to the stars.”

“Hm?” Sans raised his brows. 

Papyrus looked just a little worried. “Well, I found her coming back inside; she looked a little cold and had that sort of worried look? You know the one. And I tried to ask her about what was bothering her, but I’m not sure I totally understood, brother,” he said. “She explained it a bit, but what sounded like to me like she…” He waved his hands in the air as if trying to pull a thought from it. “It sounded to me like she was very upset with herself. She said something like she couldn’t see the good in herself if she couldn’t be helping? I didn’t understand. I think she’s fantastic. How can she not also think she’s fantastic?”

Sans sighed. He’d been afraid of that. He nodded his head towards town and they began to amble; Papyrus forced himself to slow to his brother’s pace.

“Y’know, sometimes some people just, uh, have some trouble gettin’ their head in a good place,” Sans said with a shrug. “She was alone a long time, huh? That kinda thing does stuff to a person. Not to mention she kinda feels like a failure for—”

“A failure?!” Papyrus yelped with surprise. “Why?!”

“For havin’ to pull us back in time,” Sans said.

“Well, that’s just ridiculous,” Papyrus grumbled. “There was no choice. Obviously. And we’re all still together. And… And I love her. I don’t want her to feel like a failure, that’s a horrible feeling! I mean, I’m assuming. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that. But still! I don’t want that for her. It’s not as if that was even remotely her fault, anyway.”

“Dude, I know. Can’t really talk someone outta how they feel, though,” Sans said with a shrug. “Stuff’s been buggin’ her since before we even met her.”

“Could I make her realize that she’s not a failure, though? I’d like to!” Papyrus said. “Gosh. It’s just, it makes the inside of my ribcage hurt a lot when she says things about how she doesn’t matter. She matters to me!”

“Welp. If anyone could help her, bro…” He grinned. “Everyone needs a pal like you.”

“I know, right?!” Papyrus said.

“So, uh…” Sans scratched his chin. “D’you think she, uh, went to the lab?”

“The lab?!” Papyrus repeated. “There’s no way! She couldn’t have been missing for more than fifteen minutes, so unless she stole your shortcut powers, brother, there’s no way.”

“But she did go out,” he said.

“Yes. She was chilly when I got her,” Papyrus said. 

Sans grimaced a little. Papyrus tilted his head.

“Are you upset with her?” he asked.

“No,” Sans said. “I’m just… I dunno, worried, I guess. I just don’t want her to do anything stupid.” He laughed at himself and rubbed his brow. “Jeez, this feels weird. I haven’t worried this much about someone since you were her age, dude.”

Papyrus snickered. “I’m sure I didn’t get into as much trouble as that,” he said. “I can do a great many things, but time travel is not one of them! I think.”

Sans laughed. “Yeah, better not be, bro.” He came to a stop. “Here we are.”

Papyrus looked at him with confusion, and then glanced around. He was immediately frowning.

“Grillby’s?!” he demanded. “Sans, I am not going in there!”

“Oh. Okay. See you at home, then,” he said.

“Wait, wait wait,” Papyrus said quickly. “What are you even doing?”

“Gettin’ breakfast. I dunno,” he said.

Papyrus pouted. He paced the length of the building quickly. He rounded back on his brother and pointed a finger at him.

“If I go in there,” he said, “you will not try to make me eat anything weird? And you will not slip whoopee cushions onto my seat if I stand up?”

Sans shrugged. “Try not to, dude.”

Papyrus huffed, took a deep breath, and stormed inside. Sans grinned and followed after him.


	43. I Can’t Remember The...

Frisk’s skin prickled with goosebumps. Her eyelids felt heavy. She blinked them open and saw a field of white, and a wall of black forest. Her heart sunk. 

Her bare feet hurt a lot in the cold of the snow, something she’d never noticed before. She turned to get her bearings. She stood before the door to the Ruins, the purple stone glimmering with a pinch of magic, an old figure of the Delta Rune barely visible, worn almost flat by wind and snow. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she whirled quickly, surprise quickening her pulse. A tall monster in all black with a white, smiling face. She was startled, but the sight of him made something in the back of her mind tingle. She felt like she was forgetting something. She knew him from somewhere. Her dreams…? Yes! Of course! She’d seen him in dreams before. That made sense to her, at least a little.

“Um, h-hi! Wh-What are you doing here?” she asked. 

He didn’t answer. He looked faintly disappointed. He bent down and took her hand in his. There was something apologetic in his expression. Maybe he couldn’t speak. She wasn’t sure. Those stripes between her fingers lit up. Her eyes went wide.

“Y-You? You did that? Why? What is it?” Her heart thumped. “Did you d-do the circle on my back, too?”

He held her palm upwards and wrote letters. It took her a moment.

_ A - C - C - I - D - E - N - T - S - O - S - O - R - R - Y _

“You’re… sorry?” she repeated, and he nodded. “It was an… a… ack… Oh! Accident. It was an accident. S-Sorry, I’m not too good at reading.”

He nodded again. She smiled a little.

“It’s okay. It’s no big deal,” she said. “It’s nothing bad, though, right?”

_ N - O - T - B - A - D_

He patted her hand gently. His fingers were freezing, but she was reassured anyway. She sighed with relief and nodded.

“Wh-What are you doing here, though? Who are you? Why do I keep seeing you? Why…? Why does it feel like I keep forgetting?”

He looked, suddenly, a little sad. He wrote in her palm again.

_ H - E - L - P_

“Help? You need help? Do I need help?” she asked. “Oh… I’m sorry, you can’t talk, huh? That’s too many questions. Um…”

He shook his head. His hands carefully probed around her and, after a moment, he pulled a pen from somewhere. Grey cap and grey ink. Frisk tilted her head. He held it out to her. She reached out hesitantly and he pushed it closer. As soon as her fingers met the plastic, the ink started to change to red. She pulled back with alarm, but he quickly grasped her hand and moved her back. She looked up at him worriedly. He seemed insistent. She gulped and, when she grabbed the pen again, red seeped through like a stain, and the grey was quickly replaced. 

He let the pen go and suddenly seemed very excited. He said something fast, and he sounded happy, but his scrambled voice and distorted words disturbed her a little. Even so, she was glad for him, whatever had happened. Her head began to spin like a sense of vertigo. She stumbled on numb feet and he jumped with shock. 

Hurriedly, he took her by the shoulders and held her steady. He took the pen and her right hand, wrapping her fingers around it carefully. He guided her to her opposite palm and began to write strange symbols on her skin with shaking fingers. He looked her in the eyes and nodded steadily before he made sure she had a tight hold of that strange pen. He patted her head, gently bumped his brow against hers, and then rushed away into the trees. 

Frisk blinked and shivered. She looked around. She was at the Ruins door. Confused; heavy-headed, she tried to get her bearings but saw nothing but white. Her feet hurt from the cold. Her arms too, now that she thought about it. She clung tight to a red pen and, with trembling hands, she slipped it into the pocket of her baggy shorts. It didn’t feel right, and her head felt foggy and strange. She felt as if she were forgetting something— like she was supposed to be doing something. 

She tried to shift herself, but it didn’t work. This only added to her confusion. Her heart dropped. Was she not dreaming? How did she get here, then? That pain in her feet, that was real? She gulped. She patted herself down. No phone. She felt like she was going to be sick. She started walking.

\- - -

With water splashing up around her and a breeze chilling her scales, Alphys curled around the backpack in her arms and huddled up to Undyne. The boat from Hotland to Snowdin didn’t take too long— maybe twenty minutes if sailing was steady— but even so, Alphys was anxious to get there. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do or say, but she knew she wanted to see Frisk, work-free. Checking in on Asriel was also high up on her list. She couldn’t help but feel responsible for the little guy.

As they meandered through Waterfall, along a dark, sparkling river, in the wooden boat of the shrouded riverperson, Undyne yawned and rolled her shoulders back. Alphys smiled at her and looked at the backpack.

“Th-Think she’ll like it?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” Undyne said.

“I h-hope so.” Alphys smiled bashfully. “Y-You think she’ll forgive me?”

“Hey. Dude. You heard Sans, right?” she said. “She’s definitely not even mad at you.”

“Y-Yeah, but I hate that I m-made her feel bad,” she said. “S-So! So I’ll m-make it up to her. R-Right?”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” Undyne said, grinning a little. “She’ll be happy enough to see you, I bet.”

“Y-You th-think so?” Alphys asked hopefully. 

Undyne nodded and chuckled. She squeezed Alphys fondly. “Don’t worry so much, huh?”

The little lizard nodded as her cheeks went a bit red.

They sat for a little while longer, as the boat passed through a tunnel and under dark stone. Alphys jumped when her phone began to blare with an upbeat Japanese pop song. She fumbled with it quickly and then looked between Undyne and the riverperson as she stashed it back under her coat.

“It’s, um… It’s not r-rude if I answer, is it?” she squeaked.

“Tra la la,” the shrouded monster answered in a sing-song voice, “talk all you want, I don’t mind a bit. Though that song is lovely. Tra la la…”

“Th-Thanks,” Alphys said gratefully, and she picked up the phone. “U-Um, moshi moshi?”

“Heeeeyyy, Alphie, darling!” Mettaton said brightly, loud enough that she had to hold the phone a little ways back from her head. “I juuuust got to your place and you’re not here, strangely enough!”

“W-We’re going to Snowdin right now,” Alphys said. “What’s, um…? Wh-What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing! Just the ratings for last night’s episode. It. Was. Excellent!!!”

“O-Oh y-yeah?” Alphys smiled sheepishly. “I w-was t-t-too embarrassed to w-watch…”

“But you were the star!” Mettaton insisted. “You know, I may actually bring Krisp back sometime, she was very, very well received!”

“B-But she f-flew into space at the end!” Alphys squeaked.

“Pshaw! So what?! I’ll just write that she flew back or some other nonsense,” he assured her. “Who cares? It was great television, so… Oh. Oh my.”

“What?” Alphys asked.

“Um. Alphie. Hun. Doll. These, um, cameras still going all through the underground and such? On your big screen?” Mettaton asked. “Are they live?”

“Uh. Y-Yes? Why?” Alphys asked.

“Oh. Urm. Darling, you might want to hurry up getting to Snowdin,” he said. “It looks like our little sweetheart may be lost in the snow?”

“Wh… What?!” she yelped. “You don’t mean F-Frisk?!”

“Ummmm, yes? She looks quite cold and, and seems rather underdressed for the weather.”

“What?! You d-don’t see S-Sans with her? Or P-Papyrus?”

“Noooope, not a skeleton in sight. Don’t see them on any screen, actually,” he said.

“Dude, what’s going on?” Undyne said worriedly. 

Alphys gulped and held up one finger. “Where is she?”

“Looks like she’s just passing some ice sheets, I believe,” he said. “OH! Oh no, honey!”

“Wh-What?! What happened?!” Alphys squeaked.

“Get up, get up, there you go,” Mettaton muttered, but he yelped quite loudly. “Oh, Alphys, if you can hurry up, that would be great. She can’t seem to keep her feet under her.”

“R-Right. Right. Okay. Okay. I’ll call you back.” She hung up in a hurry and stumbled forward a little. “E-Excuse me?! Please. W-Would it b-be possible to g-go a little faster?! Our f-friend is in trouble in the snow! Sh-She’s very young!”

The riverperson held out their hands and waved them as if urging on the reins of a horse. The boat sunk back in the tail-end and sped forward.

Alphys yelped and toppled back, and Undyne grasped her close.

“What the hell is goin’ on, dude?!” she demanded over the sudden burst of rushing water.

“M-Mettaton s-saw F-Frisk out in the sn-snow without a coat!” Alphys squeaked. “Sh-She might be lost! H-He said sh-she f-f-fell!!”

“What?!” Undyne demanded. “Oh shit, we gotta get there, then!”

She stood up, hair billowing in the wind, and squinted ahead into the light of snow coming up fast. She jumped off the boat the second she could make it. “Thanks for the lift, dude,” she said quickly. “Alph, which way?”

Alphys pointed away from town. Undyne nodded and sprinted off as fast as she could. Alphys squeaked and, dragging her backpack, scrambled from the boat and ran after her.

Undyne was already out of sight as Alphys hit the main street. Her head was spinning and she began to run. She almost fell over when, out of Grillby’s, came the two skeleton brothers, right in front of her. 

“Doctor Alphys?” Papyrus asked.

“Whoa there,” Sans said, a frown on his brow. “Sup, Doc?”

“F-F-F-Frisk is—!”

“In bed.” Sans’s expression shifted at the panicked look on Alphys’s face. “She’s not in bed.”

Alphys shook her head.

“What?! Where is she?!” Papyrus demanded.

Alphys stammered incoherently and pointed down the road, out of town to the west. Sans and Papyrus shared a look of worry and, quickly, Papyrus scooped both of the shorter monsters up and began to run.

Undyne, already, was racing through the snow, kicking up powder in a sparkling spray, her eye wide and glaring all around her. She leapt over several puzzles blocking the way westwards and kept going until she came upon a small, quivering lump in the snow near the edge of a cliff and a patch of ice. 

Without hesitation, Undyne grabbed the little body up into her arms. There she was. Limp and shivering, and cold as the snow around her.

“Kid?!” she demanded.

Frisk slowly opened her eyes. She smiled weakly. “Th… Th-Thanks,” she said softly.

“Shit, dude.” She held her against her body tightly. “What happened?! Why’re you out here?!”

“I… I, uh…” Frisk couldn’t seem to finish. Her teeth were chattering. 

Undyne headed back up the road with her held tight. “Okay, okay, later. Let’s get you warm first.”

The kid’s weak little hands clung as tight at they could to her shirt. Undyne sighed.

“S’gonna be okay,” she assured her; somewhat assured herself as well. “Get you home?”

She picked up the pace and, within a minute, Papyrus was heading up the road right towards them, a little smudge of white and red in the distance.

“DID YOU FIND HER?!” he shouted. “IS THAT WHAT YOU’RE HOLDING?!”

“YEAH!” Undyne shouted back. She was made to stop dead in her tracks as Sans appeared before her without warning. 

He pulled off his coat and Undyne knelt to let him drape it around the kid. “Shit, kiddo, what happened?” he asked.

She was shivering too hard to talk. Sans held his arms out and Undyne passed her over. 

“Takin’ her home,” he said. “Thanks a million.”

In the house, Sans immediately moved the kid onto the couch and held her as tight as he thought was comfortable. She let out a little, shaking sigh. It struck him abruptly that he wasn’t very warm.

“Uh… Don’t worry, kiddo,” he said. “I’m sure Paps will be back soon, huh?”

She didn’t answer, but pressed herself in closer anyhow. He waited with her for a minute, but it didn’t seem to be helping. Even her trembling breath against him was chilled.

“Hey. Stay on your own for ten seconds? I’ll get you a blanket,” he said.

She nodded again. He let her go and vanished. When he came back, she was laying, curled in the fetal position, huddled up under his coat. He tucked a cozy blanket around her and sat down on the floor, gently patting her shoulder. She shot him a bashful smile.

“S-S-S-Sorry,” she said.

“Heh. Knock it off. What happened?” he asked. “Not like you to go out without shoes. Or a coat. In your pyjamas.”

“…S… S-Sorry, I…” She huffed and shook her head.

“Dunno, huh? Like last time?” he said.

She nodded. He frowned. She laughed weakly.

“Th-Thought I might h-h-have to… t-t-t-to go back,” she said. 

“That bad huh? You sound kinda like you’re in a tiny earthquake.”

She laughed again. “A-A-Actually, th-this i-i-isn’t that b-bad,” she said. “If I st-stopped shivering, th-th-that would b-be b-b-b-bad.”

“Jeez, kiddo,” he said. He grinned and rubbed her head. “Know I told you to chill out but this wasn’t quite what I meant.”

She snickered.

“So you don’t remember what happened, then,” he said.

“N-N-No,” she said. “I… I w-w-w-was… I-I w-w-was…”

“Okay okay, shush, it’s fine, wait it out,” he said.

She huffed and squished her eyes shut, squeezing herself against the back cushions. 

“Uh…” Sans frowned a little. “Look, uh, I know I can’t really do much in the way of heat, but you want me to—?”

“H-H-Heck y-y-yeah,” she said.

He slunk up with his back to the sofa’s arm and grabbed the kid and her bundle, pulling her in against him so she had him to one side and the cushions shielding her back. She breathed out a shuddering breath.

“S… Sucks,” she muttered. “S-S-S-Sorry.”

“Nah. Ch… Hah. Was about to tell you to chill out again, might be a little, uh, insensitive, huh?”

She snickered. He smiled.

“Sorry,” he said quietly.

“N… Nuh-uh,” she scolded.

He laughed. “Ah, you’re a good kid.”

She squeezed him a little tighter.

“FRISK?!” Papyrus all but kicked in the door, holding Alphys under one arm and dragging Undyne by her hand. “Oh. My. God. What happened?!”

“Hey, perfect timing,” Sans said. “Wanna help me melt this Frisksicle?”

“Oh my god.” Papyrus ran over and swooped her away, his magic brightening in a burst, and sat down, pulling her close. “Don’t you worry for a second longer, little sister, I’ve got you.”

She stuck her thumb up.

“Wh-What happened?” Alphys squeaked. She clambered up onto the couch, too. She cupped the kid’s face as she sat with her back to her brother’s chest. 

“D-D-Dunno,” Frisk said. “S-Sorry, g-g-guys.”

“Isn’t the first time this happened,” Sans pointed out.

“What?!” Alphys yelped. “You don’t th-think it’s…?!”

“Yup. Got a weird horror movie kid again,” Sans said with a grin.

“SANS! Don’t say that! Horror movies are awful!” Papyrus yelped. “Don’t listen to him, Frisk, you are not a creepy spooky horror movie kid!”

Frisk snickered. Alphys let out a deep, relieved sigh and smooched her on the forehead. She winced a little.

“You’re f-freezing!” she squeaked. “H-How long were you out there?!”

Frisk could do little more than shrug.

“So wait, what happened?” Undyne asked.

“Mysterious junk,” Sans said. “Happened before. Frisk passed out near the Ruins door. Couldn’t remember why. Same sort of thing, kiddo?”

Frisk nodded.

“Oh. G-God. I’ll have to check the r-recordings, then,” Alphys said. “O-Oh! Mettaton! M-Mettaton might…! C-Can I use s-someone’s, uh—”

“Our room is open,” Papyrus said. “Watch out for Asriel!”

“Oh m-man, I h-hope I d-d-didn’t drop him!!” Frisk squeaked.

“I’ll check!” Alphys called as she went up.

Frisk sighed and pouted. Sans laughed.

“C’mon, don’t make that face, everything’s fine,” he assured her, and as she opened her mouth, he pointed at her. “And don’t you say sorry.”

She looked a little embarrassed. Undyne sat on the arm of the couch and reached over to ruffle her hair. 

“Just focus on gettin’ warm,” she said.

“I j-just can’t b-b-believe th-this happened t-t-twice!” Frisk squeaked.

“Well! It won’t happen a third time! I promise,” Papyrus said. “You know the rule of threes? Forget it! Never again! Though, to be honest, two is too many. Do you know why you went out without shoes on?!”

She shook her head. He huffed, but pulled her in closer and nuzzled her head before resting his chin on her. Sans snickered. He pushed in closer and moved some of the blankets.

“So, pal, let’s see how much of a magic tiger you are this time,” he said.

Frisk laughed.

When he lifted her hands, though, from under the big sleeves of his coat, his expression changed. She frowned with confusion.

“What’s that face for?” Undyne asked for her.

He smiled sideways and let the sleeves fall again. “Y’know…” He vanished and appeared closer to the table, and then disappeared again, talking from the kitchen. “We’ll deal with that later.”

“Deal with what?” Papyrus asked.

Frisk looked between them with a frown and flopped the sleeve to try to get her hand out.

“It’s fine,” Sans said as he appeared on the couch again, pen and paper in hand. “Don’t even worry about it.” He grabbed Frisk’s hand and held it facing him, then awkwardly crossed his legs and tried writing on the paper across his knee. 

It was even more of a mess than usual. She tried to lean forward to look. He moved Papyrus’s hand to cover her eyes.

“Oh c-c-c-come on,” she grumbled.

“Uh. Brother?” Papyrus asked.

Sans finished writing, pulled the sleeve back over the kid’s hand, and shot Papyrus a grin.

“No big deal,” he said. “Take her to the kitchen and wash her hands, huh? Warm water.”

“Oh, uh, right! Come on, Frisk!” He whisked her up and away to the kitchen as she squeaked. 

Undyne shot Sans a confused look. He folded the paper and dropped it down the front of his shirt.

“What the hell was that?” she asked.

“Tomorrow,” he said, kicking his feet up.

Undyne was about to press, but they heard some splashing and a high-pitched coughing sound rather suddenly.

“ACK, FRISK! BE CAREFUL!” Papyrus cawed. “I know it’s warm, but—!!! Ooooh boy. Okay. No, no, come down now!” 

He ran out of the kitchen again with what was presumably Frisk in his arms and barrelled up the stairs, small drops of water trailing behind him. Sans watched with amusement and then turned a curious eye on Undyne.

“Good thing you guys came along. Whatcha doin’ out here anyway?” he asked.

“Ah, Alph wanted to surprise the kid,” she said. “Give her some junk, make ramen, no work talk, y’know.”

“Hm,” he said. Sans put his arms behind his head and leaned back.

“Don’t seem overly concerned,” she said.

He shrugged. “Paps has her,” he said.

“Not just that,” she said.

“What? I don’t look concerned?” He pointed at himself. “This is my concerned face.”

Undyne laughed quietly and shook her head.

After just a few moments, the kid came downstairs with Asriel in her arms, still looking shaky and her hair a little wet, but she seemed a lot better in some new clothes. Asriel, on the other hand, looked a little dazed.

“H-He said he can’t r-remember what happened,” Frisk said as she carefully came to the floor. “H-He said h-he woke up, but he felt weird, and c-couldn’t remember, th-then he got dizzy, I was gone, and h-he fell asleep. Right?”

“Right,” Asriel agreed, his little face set in a frown. “And I have a killer headache.”

“Wait on Paps, h-he can f-fix it, no problem,” she said.

“Here, pass him over, I’ll try,” Undyne said.

“WHAT?!” Asriel yelped.

“Shut up, don’t be a baby, I’m not that bad,” Undyne said.

Frisk snickered and passed him over, and Undyne put glowing fingertips against his head.

Sans, though, looked a little perturbed. “So… whatever happened. It took you.” Sans sat up, his brow furrowed. “Took you right out of bed.”

“I… I guess?” She frowned. “I… can’t remember what happened.”

“Sans. Dude. How do we protect her if no one remembers this thing?” Undyne growled.

“Welp,” he said. “If it’s what I think it is—”

“What do you think it is, though?!” Undyne pushed.

“Same thing that Frisk saw when she went into the light in the lab,” Sans said. “She called him shadowman. You remember that, kiddo?”

“Um… A little?” she said. “It’s weird, I… It’s kinda faint. Like a normal dream? But I think he gave me that key, didn’t he? To the CORE.”

“That’s what you said.” Her brother nodded. “I’m not sure he actually means to be so creepy. Seems like he’s somehow intendin’ to help, for some reason.”

“Whether it meant to or not, that whatever could’ve really hurt her,” Undyne grumbled. “Don’t care that she can’t die.”

“Did the m-message say?” Frisk asked; she sat down beside him as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “S-Sans, c’mon, I know it was a message. Had to be.”

“Tomorrow,” he said.

“Why?” she squeaked.

“Not urgent. Take a break,” he said. “You need one, kiddo.”

“I took a break for three days!” she protested.

“Okay, then I need a break,” he said.

She sighed and looked at Undyne for help. The big monster shrugged and shook her head. Frisk pouted a little, but she took a deep breath and nodded.

“Okay. Okay, fine,” she said

“Uh, is this crap normal for you guys?” Asriel said.

“No,” Undyne said, “but it sure as hell is getting more common. I don’t like it.”

Asriel huffed and covered his eyes. Frisk looked thoughtful for a moment. She got back up and went to the bedroom again, but she was back after just a few seconds. She sat beside Sans and pulled out her phone. Undyne leaned over to look. 

“What’re you doin’?” she asked.

“Texting him. I think,” she said.

“Wait, what?” Undyne said. “…You have this thing on UnderNet?!”

“I think so,” Frisk said. “Let me just…” She typed to him, asking him if he met her at the Ruins door. She wasn’t expecting a reply right away, but she certainly wasn’t expecting the message to bounce back, saying that the account didn’t exist. She squinted at the screen. She could still scroll back through all the old messages. It had to exist. She tried again and got the same error. “Whaaaat is going on?” she muttered.

“Wait, is that that number that sent you weird math crap?” Undyne asked. “You think that was him, too?!”

Frisk nodded. Undyne put her hands on her head.

“Dude, how long has this been going on?!” she demanded.

“Um… Almost since I got here. I think,” Frisk said. “Sans?”

“Mhm?”

She scooted over on her knees and stared at him steadily. He opened one eye.

“It wasn’t bad, right? It wasn’t creepy or ominous or—?”

“Hey, good word use,” he said. “No. I mean. I guess it’s creepy by default. But, no. It wasn’t bad.”

“Okay.” She sighed and squirmed over to sit in his lap, and then flopped onto him. “Uuuughh.”

He laughed and patted her head. Undyne grinned a little and then looked down at the flower she held.

“You better yet?” she asked.

“No. You’re not very good at this,” he grumbled.

Undyne laughed loudly and grinned her big fangs. “Not really, I’m much, much better at stabbing,” she said. “Don’t suppose you’d like to see that instead?”

“N-No,” Asriel squeaked, shrinking down into the mug.

“Then shut up and be patient,” Undyne said. 

Despite his complaints, Asriel was starting to fall asleep under Undyne’s touch, and didn’t budge again until Papyrus threw the bedroom door upstairs open and bounded down to meet them.

“THINGS. ARE. WEIRD!” he announced.

“Oh, no kidding?” Sans said groggily.

“G-Guys! Guuuyyysss!” Alphys trundled down the stairs after him and took a deep breath, clutching a pile of papers to her chest. “M-Mettaton was at the l-lab, I had him l-look through the f-footage. It… It d-distorts a little. L-Like we saw last time. F-From h-here to the Ruins. I a-also c-called up the sh-shops along m-main street. N-No one s-seemed to n-notice anything.”

“Great,” Frisk said.

“So why would you go outside without shoes, kiddo?” Sans asked.

“Maybe the mystery monster carried her?” Papyrus suggested.

“Or I thought it was a dream,” Frisk said. “If… If it was that, uh… that shadowman guy, and I guess it probably was, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him while I was awake before and remembered it. So I couldda assumed it was a dream.”

“Either way, I don’t like it,” Undyne growled. “What the hell is this guy?”

“Some other, um, anomaly or something, maybe?” Asriel suggested. “Sounds like weird time crap, am I right?”

All eyes turned on Sans. He shrugged. 

“Don’t super care yet.” He leaned back and closed his eyes.

“Seriously?” Undyne said.

Sans shrugged again.

“I still don’t even get what the hell is going on,” Asriel said.

“Welcome to the club,” Undyne said, and she turned to Sans and frowned. “Uh… Dude, is he asleep?”

Frisk leaned her ear against his chest for a second, and then nodded. The others all groaned.

“That’s one way to shut it down,” Undyne said with a laugh; she held Asriel out to Papyrus. “Work on his headache, huh?”

“OH! Yes, of course,” he said. “You’re both okay then? Frisk?”

“Yeah, mostly,” she said. 

The kid gently slipped away from her brother and pulled her blanket over him. She smiled sheepishly. “So, um, what’re you guys doing here, anyway?” she said.

“OH!” Alphys squeaked. She hurried over to that backpack she brought and put her papers near it. She unzipped it and her cheeks flushed. “Um… F-Frisk, well… I felt so bad about yesterday and—”

“Oh no, please don’t,” Frisk said quickly. “It was all my fault, I—!”

“No. No, Frisk,” Alphys said. “I p-put something on you I shouldn’t have. And I didn’t mean t-to. I was u-upset with myself and i-it sounded like I m-meant you, and… it just w-wasn’t good, you know?” She smiled anyway and she pulled something large, white, and marshmallow-like from the backpack. She carried it over to Frisk and held it out to her with a smile.

It was a big, white, round plushie. Well-made. It was a large dog creature, with six legs, a snowdrake’s snowflake-like headcrest, a long, thin tail that curled at the tip, and little sickle-shaped wings.

“Th-The, um… The monsters in the lab all wanted me to add a little s-something,” Alphys said. “Th-They really like you, y-you know? And… And I knew y-you didn’t really have any t-toys, and I know it might not r-really be your thing, but—”

“You guys made this?” Frisk said.

“Stayed up all night on it,” Undyne said with a grin. She put a big hand on Frisk’s head and gently ruffled her hair. “Y’know… maybe you’re not just a kid or whatever. But a kid is definitely part of what you are,” she said. “And you’re _our_ kid. That’s important. Maybe it’s weird, or whatever, since in this timeline we’ve only known you for a little and stuff, but we all want you to be okay.”

“Undyne…” Frisk squeaked. Her eyes welled up and she took the big plush tenderly. “Alphys, I… I love it. It’s super cute. Thank you.”

“Oh! Oh g-good!” Alphys said with a big smile. 

“Told you,” Undyne said.

“Wowie! Let me see?” Papyrus said.

He came close and knelt down, and Frisk showed him and Asriel. She started to smile and her brother grinned bright.

“That is very strange and adorable. You all did a good job! Little sister, is that your first toy?!”

“I… I guess it is,” Frisk said.

“That’s fantastic! OH! Gosh. I almost totally forgot. We got some food, so, if you’d like…”

“Oh! I w-was wondering if anyone might w-want some ramen? I, uh… b-basically filled m-my boxes up with the st-stuff, so…” She smiled sheepishly. “Burgers and noodles?”

“Sounds preferable to me!” Papyrus said. He passed Asriel off to Frisk and headed for the kitchen. 

Undyne held out her hand. Alphys tossed a phone, and she followed Papyrus.

Alphys smiled and put a hand on Frisk’s shoulder. “L-Love you, alright?”

“Love you, too!” Frisk squeaked.

“You guys are such saps,” Asriel said.

Frisk snickered and he rolled his eyes.

“That was not a plant joke,” he grumbled.

“Yeah it was!” she said with a big grin.

“Uuuugh, I didn’t mean it!” he protested.

Alphys chuckled. She held out her hands. “A-Asriel, could I s-see you for a minute?”

He looked mildly suspicious, but he nodded. She lifted him up to her eye level.

“S-Sorry to not bring you a-anything this time, b-but—”

“I don’t care,” he said with a confused look on his face.

Alphys laughed. “But! I h-have an idea.” She brought him to the table and set him down, and then scampered back to her bag to fetch some papers. “J-Just oooone second.”

She began to gently squeeze around the base of his stem, forming her index finger and thumb into a loop. Frisk came over to watch curiously. He frowned.

“What the heck, dude?” he demanded.

Alphys jotted something down on the paper and then smiled brightly. “D-Don’t worry. Y-You’ll like it, I p-promise.”

“We can share Fluff if you want,” Frisk said.

“Fluff? Really? You couldn’t come up with something even more generic?” Asriel asked.

“Aw, man, but Sans is the name guy and he’s asleep,” Frisk said. “Fluff is cute, right?”

“You couldda called him Bark, or Woof, or hell, just Dog,” Asriel said.

“Such sass you’re givin’ me,” Frisk laughed.

“Hey, you’re the one who wanted me to move in,” he pointed out.

The kid snickered and nodded, and then stood on her toes to smooch him on the forehead. He squeaked, and she put the big plush beside him. It was a bit taller than he was, and he immediately sized it up and frowned. 

“Fluff looks like he could lay off the pies for a bit, huh?” he said.

“It’s great! He’s so round!” Frisk said. “Alphys, seriously, I love it.”

“I’m so glad.” Alphys had a sort of soft smile on her face. She gently held the kid by her shoulders. “F-Frisk, I n-never meant to hurt you.”

“I know,” she said. “I… I was hurt ‘cause of stuff I remembered, it wasn’t you, it was—”

“You know we a-all think you’re so b-brave,” Alphys said gently, brushing some of the kid’s hair from her face. “You’re important. But not just b-because of what you are. B-Because of who you a-are, too! I know it… i-it must be s-so hard sometimes. And I d-definitely didn’t make it any easier. Th-That’s why I’m sorry.”

Frisk shook her head again. Alphys laughed and kissed her gently on the forehead. 

“You’re a g-good kid, you know th-that?” she said.

\- - -

Alphys kept strictly to the mantra of no work talk for the rest of the day and, despite the confusion, things seemed to calm down a bit. They had ramen noodles in broth with eggs, and food from Grillby’s as Papyrus took them through some graph paper puzzles he had made the night before Frisk had had the accident in the CORE. Asriel seemed focused on remaining pointedly disinterested, but Frisk caught him trying to follow along every once in a while. 

It was strange. It didn’t really feel all that different having him around. Maybe it just hadn’t struck her yet, she wasn’t sure. 

She was finally starting to feel a little more like herself. Some of the lethargy was leaving and the thought of practicing battles again with Papyrus and Undyne in the morning when they offered filled her with excitement. Uncomfortable thoughts still nagged, incessant and rasping, in the back of her mind, but only in the quiet. She busied herself with her friends to drown them out.

As they were playing video games on Undyne’s old console, Frisk decided she really wanted to lay all her thoughts out about what her dreams had been about. She wanted to know more about this shadowman creature. It was hard to picture him in her mind, but she knew she’d seen him. In her dreams, in the blue light in the basement; she remembered describing him to Sans. At the same time, it felt distant, and separate. If it was him in the waking world, too, maybe that made sense. Maybe there was something wrong with him. Maybe he couldn’t make someone remember without directly touching their mind. Even then, it was a weak, lingering thing, like the scent of days-gone smoke caught in a sweater.

Frisk watched from the side of the room as Undyne and Papyrus competed in that same fighting game they’d all played before. Asriel was watching from Alphys’s lap, and he seemed to be getting really into it; almost aggressively so. She looked at Sans. He hadn’t moved almost all day. He seemed like he had slept for most of it. Frisk wouldn’t have been surprised if he just wanted an excuse to not talk about what he saw. He’d said it wasn’t bad, though. She wasn’t sure what to think.

She fetched her dream journal from her phone, along with the little CD player and headphones, and looked at the one entry she’d made. It didn’t seem like nearly enough. There was so much more she recalled from before then. She tore out the page she had written one dream on and, as she ate cold pasta and listened to perky J-Pop, started again from the most recent one she could remember: a few weeks before she had come back in time.

A few were nonsense. Many were memories she was forced to watch or play actor in with Sans. A few were the ones they had crafted together. But ever since she had come back to the underground, as she wrote out her dreams, she began to notice something. Shadowman. She still wasn’t sure why she called the monster she saw in her mind that, but it felt familiar. A lot of the dreams she had more recently, he was in them. Forcing herself to think about it dragged it back into the light.

She frowned at the paper when she got  nearer to the present . There were a lot more than she had expected. It made her feel a little nervous. Why was he there all of a sudden? Was it even sudden? She couldn’t recall. She had a sneaking feeling that maybe she’d seen him before, but where?

She tapped her fingers against the table. Maybe if she could just picture him right. Maybe someone else might recognize him. She turned to look over her shoulder to look for Papyrus. He was throwing his arms up in defeat as Undyne claimed yet another victory.

“Paps, do you have some crayons or something to draw with?” she asked.

“Pfffft! Crayons?! Of course!! Hang on, Alphys, take over!” He tossed his controller to Alphys and Asriel as he dashed over to join Frisk, and casually produced a meticulously kept boxed set of crayons— all different brands, labels smeared by water damage, but aligned in a perfect gradient. He put them on the table with her and grinned proudly.

“Wow, thanks!” she said.

“Of course! The great Papyrus always comes prepared for any emergency, be it battle, cooking, or anything else you can think of!” He patted her head. “You may use them whenever you like, of course! What are you planning on drawing?”

“Shadowman,” she said.

Papyrus tilted his head. “Shadowman? Who’s that?”

“I’m not really sure. Maybe the thing that took me today. Apparently that’s what I called this weird kinda monster guy I saw in my dreams when I was sorta passing out in the lab that time we were looking for books,” she said.

“Oh. Well! Good luck, little sister.” He patted her on the head again and hurried back to the game.

She went to work on her picture in black crayon. She wasn’t sure quite how to convey him, at first, since he was mostly pitch black, but she supposed that the white of the paper could work. She scribbled in a rough body shape, making sure to leave a gap in his cloak. She wasn’t sure why she remembered it, but was like a piece had been cut away. She coloured black around him, too, but left a white outline. She had no idea how to draw hands, but sort of indicated long, white fingers. His face, however, was a lot more clear in her mind. A big smile and dark eyes. And those fractures in the face, one going down his cheek and the other up across his brow.

When she looked back at the whole picture, she had to admit that it was a little spooky. But at the same time, the shadowman felt kind of familiar. It felt like it made her brain itch. She continued on, writing dream after dream, remembering little snippets. Her fingers slowed at the recollection of a dream she’d had right before she woke up in the lab to find Papyrus almost unconscious from exhaustion at her bedside.

She remembered seeing her brothers in the snow, remembered feeling so painfully useless and horrible, like she didn’t even deserve to spend a single second with them. Like it’d be better to not even be real. She could feel her eyes heat up. But she remembered something else, too. That shadowman again. She recalled, but even though he’s been straight before her, it was like she’d only seen him from her peripherals. He had held her hand and told her that she was just having a bad dream. He brought some of Sans’s memories to the front for her before she’d awoken. She gulped, hard. She didn’t understand. She had to stop for a moment and try not to let any tears hit the paper. She knew they loved her. So why did it hurt so bad? Why did she still feel like this?

She cast a hesitant glance over her shoulder. Her friends all looked so happy together. Even Asriel fit right in. She stuck out like a sore thumb. She bit her lip, but that plush dog monster caught her eye, staring back at her like a cute, mutant snowball. That had to mean something, didn’t it? You don’t just make a stuffed toy for a kid who doesn’t matter. Right?

She finished up, listing things up until that morning, closed her book, and sighed to herself. She didn’t know what to do. Her chest hurt. 

She slipped by the others during a game changeover and pretended to watch until they got distracted again. She snuck up to the bedroom slowly, hoping no one would notice. She didn’t really want to be alone, but she didn’t want to cry in front of them again, either. Worrying them was the last thing she wanted to do. She almost just wanted to hide in bed, but she was scared to fall asleep. She didn’t want to dream again, either. She was stuck.

“Frisk?” Papyrus’s voice coming up the stairs made her jump. “Frrriiisk?” He opened the door. 

She did her best to dry her eyes.

“Frisk, are you going to nap?! You forgot your…” He went quiet as he held her round plushie out to her, a frown crossing his face. “Little sister, what’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing!” she stammered. “It’s… It’s nothing, it’s…” She drooped. 

Papyrus put the dog on the bed and folded his hands. He sat down on the floor and took her into his arms. He didn’t say anything, but he clung to her and lit his soul, syncing so close she could feel it go deep orange before she saw it. She choked and clutched to him tighter. 

Her brother ran his fingers through her hair. She sniffled, tears streaming down her face until her throat went dry and her eyes stung. She huddled up against Papyrus, and he waited for her to catch her breath.

“It’s hard. Isn’t it?” he asked gently. “Tell me how you feel. If you want.”

“I… I feel… scared,” she said. “And useless. And awful, and like a weirdo, and like maybe it’d be better if I was never even—”

“Frisk. Come on. Please don’t think like that,” Papyrus said.

“But… But I feel like I’ll never belong!” She looked up at him with wide, watery eyes. “Never! I… I don’t even know what I am, h-how can I f-fit in somewhere when I don’t e-even… wh-when I d-don’t even…”

“Frisk. Hey. Listen.” Papyrus put his hand over his soul spot, where it blazed orange back at her. “You see this, don’t you?”

Frisk gulped but she nodded. He smiled fondly.

“This is special,” he said. “You can feel how I do, right? Just like I feel how much you hurt right now.”

“Y-Yeah. But… But it’s like… I keep thinking, it can’t be real. But it is. How come?! Why c-can’t I just… be happy?” She hid her face in her hands. “I… I d-don’t want to feel like this! I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Papyrus went quiet for a little; just clutched her little body close to his. She shook, panted, trying to catch her breath, though her chest heaved and her jaw hurt from gritting her teeth.

“I… I j-just… s-s-sometimes I just… I think of how, if none if this had happened… everyone would b-be safe and… y-you guys wouldn’t n-n-need someone like me and… m-m-maybe that’d be better,” she muttered, and she took a long, deep breath. “A-And with all this stuff that keeps happening, it’s l-like all I d-do is cause trouble. And n-now I’m scared to go t-to sleep in c-case I wake up freezing in the freakin’ s-snow again? I don’t know what to do. I… d-don’t want to b-be such a b-burden on everyone.”

Papyrus _hmmed_ quietly. “Can I tell you something, Frisk?” he said gently.

She nodded.

“Before I met you, I was pretty lonely, actually. Besides Sans, everyone is always so busy. It’s hard to get someone to give you the time of day. I wanted so bad to be noticed. I wanted someone to hang out with, and teach, and do puzzles with, and all of that. I wanted someone to think I was cool. And I started to think, maybe… maybe it’d never happen,” he said. “And then you showed up. And you just… loved me. Right away. It was kind of amazing. Here is a small someone who likes the same things as me. I thought you were so cool. When you said you wanted to stay when I asked, I was so, so happy. Because I loved you, too. As in, right away! After the first puzzle, even. You changed everything.” He lifted her face a little and gently wiped her tears away. 

She sniffled and tried to do it herself, and he smiled fondly.

“I’ll always need you. You’re never a burden or whatever you think,” he said. “You’re my sister. You’re one of my best friends! I love you so much. Your head isn’t in a good place right now. Things are strange and crazy, and it’s not fair that you have to do this alone. I understand. I’ve seen Sans get like that over and over. But listen. Things are objectively better with you here. It doesn’t matter about all that time stuff.”

“Y… You really th-think so?” she squeaked.

“I know so!” He got that old, familiar grin on his face. “You think we’d like you any less if this stuff wasn’t happening? HAH! Of course not! So. Please. Try to remember that whenever you feel bad.”

She sniffled and nodded, and wiped her eyes again. “R-Right. It’s just… s-sometimes I still feel kinda like a… a fish outta water.”

“Oh,” Papyrus said, putting on a very serious face, “I think you mean a _Frisk_ out of water, don’t you?”

Frisk stared at him with shock for a few seconds. She couldn’t help it; she burst out laughing. Papyrus beamed.

“Pretty bad, wasn’t it?!” he said.

“Awful!!!” she exclaimed. She threw her arms around his shoulders and he cackled and hugged her tight.

“There we go, much better,” he said. “I think I’m getting pretty good at this whole big brother thing, aren’t I?”

“Mhm!” she said. “You’re good at everything, bro.”

“Nyeh heh heh! Well. Yes. Of course. I’m not the great Papyrus for nothing, you know,” he said with a wink.

“Don’t t-tell everyone I had a big freakout in here, huh?” she asked quietly.

Papyrus’s cheekbones flushed a little. Frisk rubbed her head.

“They’re, um, all just outside the door, aren’t they?” she asked.

“Uuuummm… Yes. Yes, they are definitely right out there,” he said.

Frisk couldn’t help but laugh, even more so as she was sure Alphys squeaked and there was some scrambling sounds from the hallway. The door flung open and the tearful little lizard barrelled in and hugged Frisk as tight as she could. She was babbling and stammering so hard she could barely be understood. Undyne strode in a lot more calmly, with a sympathetic smile on her face. She dropped down to sit on her knees and gently ruffled the kid’s hair.

“Jeez, dude, had no idea you were having such trouble with this,” she said. “Hey. You know we all kinda think you’re great, right?”

“I-I’m n-not normally like this! At… At least not this bad…” Frisk squeaked. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s day again, I—”

“It’s not like that at all, little sister,” Papyrus assured her.

“I’msorryI’msorry!!” Alphys babbled, nuzzling her head. “I love you, I’m s-s-s-sorry!”

“GUYS?!” Asriel shouted from somewhere. “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! FRISK?! YOU OKAY?! WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“Just give her a moment, Asriel!” Papyrus called. “She’ll be okay! Won’t you?”

“H-Hope so,” she said as she squeezed Alphys. “Stop crying so much or I’m gonna start crying again!”

“I’m sorry!” she squeaked.

“Big pile of crybabies, huh?” Sans walked in lazily, holding Asriel, and shot Frisk a grin.

She smiled bashfully.

“Jeez, kiddo, don’t make me build a raft,” he said.

“Sans!” Papyrus scolded.

Frisk laughed anyway, though. 

Asriel seemed to squirm a little, like he wanted to reach her but couldn’t. Sans sat on the floor and passed the flower to her, and the little guy clung to her protectively.

“What did they say?! What happened?!” Asriel demanded.

“I’m just a mess,” she said.

Asriel looked skeptical. Alphys still didn’t want to let Frisk go. Undyne looked like she was trying pretty hard not to laugh. She grabbed Papyrus, Frisk, and Alphys up in her arms and squished all of them. 

“Got ya, you bunch of nerds.” She grinned; paused when she caught Sans’s eyes. She nodded. “Hey,” she said. “Got an idea that’ll cheer you up. PAPS.”

“Yes, Captain?!” he asked quickly.

“You, come with me. Alph, too, I need you both,” she said. “You two, small nerds, stay with the sad nerd until it’s ready, okay?!”

“Sure thing, Cap,” Sans said with a lazy salute.

As soon as they were gone, the silence was only interrupted by Frisk’s timid sniffling. Asriel’s leaves pinched into her a little as he grasped her hand.

“What happened to you?” he asked.

She shook her head. “It’s like… It’s like all these bad ideas keep getting in me,” she said. “A-And the worst part… Or maybe it’s not. Half of it I think is true. But the other half I know isn’t true. And that’s the worst. Because it tells m-me, like… like that you guys would be better without me, and—”

“Whoa, whoa, you’re not stayin’ on that train,” Sans said. “Let’s derail it, okay? I’m doin’ a thought-heist.”

“Holy god you’re a dork,” Asriel said.

Sans took Frisk by the shoulders. “Kiddo,” he said.

She knew what he was going to say. She smiled sideways and nodded, resigned. He grinned. He pulled her in and gently bonked his head against hers. She laughed and he ruffled her hair as he sat back again.

“Stole it,” he said.

“Huh?” she said.

“My skull’s pretty big inside, huh? Totally empty, too. As if that wasn’t obvious,” he said with a grin, tapping the side of his head with a finger. “So. Just think, whenever you get like that, gimme a bonk. I’ll hold that crap for you. Don’t want it in your head.”

“B-But I wouldn’t want it in yours, either!” she protested.

“It’s all fake,” Asriel grumbled.

“It’s the ritual that does it, dude, jeez,” Sans said, rolling his eyes. “Kiddo. It’s not mine. Won’t bother me at all to store it away. Okay?”

Frisk looked thoughtful. She nodded.

“What?! You bought that?” Asriel yelped.

“Believe it or not, it kinds helps to hear that,” she said bashfully.

“Good.” Sans nodded approvingly. “Because, y’know, I know it’s tough, but I really think you were always meant to be here.”

“What? I thought you thought destiny was fake, dude,” Frisk squeaked.

“Not destiny,” he said, shaking his head. “Think about it like this. The universe, in its smallest form? Made up of particles and stuff. And some pieces took people ages to find them. But they’re just as crucial as everything else. They were always there. They just weren’t found yet. Got it? The way we matched up, that means something. Couldn’t just be anyone, y’know? You belong with us. That’s what I think.”

Frisk went quiet for a moment. She set Asriel down carefully and grabbed her brother. She gently knocked her forehead against his. “Bonk,” she said.

“Gotcha, kiddo,” he assured her with a grin. “Hey. You know. Maybe that message would do you a little good.”

“Message?” Her eyes went wide. “F-From my hand?”

“Finally,” Asriel said.

“Yeah, it just… Welp. Ignore the instructions. Maybe take the advice?” He pulled the note out of the front of his shirt and offered it to her. “If you think you’re okay.”

“Why’d you hide it then?” she asked as she took it.

“It’s still weird as hell,” he said. “Didn’t want you to deal with this today, but—”

“Already on the drama train,” she joked.

She sat down again and opened the note, copied in Sans’s handwriting. Asriel looked at it with her, squinted, and then glared at Sans.

“Is this some kind of joke?” he asked. “It’s just scribbles.” 

“Welp. I was writing on my knee,” he said.

“I… I can read it,” she said. “It says: _Sorry. Very sorry. Thought you were strong enough. Not yet. But you will be. Promise you. Find your song. Stay determined_. _Good luck little one._” 

She looked up at Sans. His brows raised.

“He… didn’t mean to hurt me,” she said.

Sans leaned over and tapped the bottom of the paper. There was an arrow drawn to a heart shape and a scribble, where Sans had written, “_he drew the delta rune 2 but theres no way im doin that_”.

“The Delta Rune?” Frisk said.

“Huh? What about it?” Asriel said.

“It… was on the original message? Right?” Frisk said.

“Yup,” Sans said.

“Why?” Asriel asked with a frown. “What does the Delta Rune have to do with her?”

Sans shrugged. “Maybe nothin’. Couldda just meant where he took you. Ruins. Right?”

Frisk nodded. “Yeah. There again.”

“Maybe it had something to do with mom,” Asriel muttered, frowning thoughtfully. “She wears it on her robes. I mean, back when I was… Well. It used to kinda be the Dreemurr thing. But, um, read that last bit again?”

“Um. Find your song? Stay determined?” she said.

“That’s… kinda weird,” Asriel said.

“Why?” Frisk asked.

“Well. Uh. Back when… Back when things were, uh, normal. I guess. For me. Uh… Chara, she has…” He frowned. “She had a red soul. Kind of like yours. And whenever she’d feel kinda down, dad would tell her to stay determined. She, uh, maybe took it a bit too much to heart eventually, but, you know… I guess it’s just weird that it’d say the same thing.”

“Really? Oh…” Frisk looked thoughtful. “That explains a lot…”

“Huh? What?” Asriel asked. 

“Oh. Um. It’s just that, when, um… When Chara was with me, every time I died, I heard Asgore saying something like that in my head,” she said. “I thought it was hers.”

Asriel stared at her. He looked down and laughed quietly. “That’s dark,” he muttered, and he took a deep breath and shot her a tired smile. “Weird that the letter’d say that too.”

“Dunno, kid,” Sans said. “Might not be that weird. Think I probably said the same thing more than once. Just sorta feels logical to say to a human that’s havin’ a bad time, if you’ve heard any stories about ‘em.”

Asriel shrugged. Frisk sighed a little and got up again. She bonked her head on her brother’s, and then squished in against him. He patted her shoulder. 

“Careful, huh? I’m, uh, a bit hardheaded, y’know.”

“We’ll know it’s bad if I start getting bruised,” she joked.

\- - -

“Captain, are you sure this is a good idea?” Papyrus wrung his hands worriedly as Undyne hovered over the oven with an intense look in her eye.

“Sure, Paps, we got this!” she announced. “I mean. It’s supposed to bake at three-fifty, right? So. If we just crank it up, it should go super fast!! Right?!”

“Right! That does make sense!” he said. “How high can we go?”

“Pretty high, we just gotta watch it super close.” She turned to look at Alphys. “Right?!”

Alphys had her face in her hands, as if she couldn’t bear to look. “Y-Yeah, I’m sure, that’s, um… f-fine,” she squeaked.

“Right?! Good! Okay!” 

Undyne squatted and glared through the glass on the oven door. Papyrus copied her exactly. 

“It’s changing colour,” he said.

“Sure looks like it,” Undyne said. “Hey. Think she’s alright?”

“Yes, probably,” Papyrus said.

“You said some real nice stuff,” she said. “You’ve been doin’ real good for that kid.”

“I know. But thank you,” he said. 

“Just kinda worried about your bro downplaying the stuff a little,” she admitted.

“Oh, no, don’t worry about that, that’s just how he talks,” Papyrus assured her. “Frisk knows. Actually. He’s been very good at talking to her about that kind of thing for a while. I was quite surprised, but then again, due to his laziness, he always sounds very calm. I’m sure that helps.”

“Good to hear it,” Undyne said. She squinted and sniffed. 

Alphys squeaked and hurried up to the oven and pulled the door open. “That is d-definitely gonna b-burn!” she said. She grabbed a pie pan from the oven with her bare hands and hurriedly put it on the counter, blowing on her fingers. 

They looked over their creation, a browned pastry oozing with goo from the hastily patched sides. Papyrus clapped his hands.

“Well! That looks edible!” he said.

“Yeah! Didn’t even burn it!” Undyne said.

“N… Not much, anyway,” Alphys said with a smile.

“Don’t forget to turn it off.”

They whirled to see Frisk, holding Asriel, behind them. She pointed at the top of the oven, and Undyne leaned over to do as she suggested.

“Hey, punk, feelin’ a little better?” she asked.

She nodded. Alphys sighed with relief. Papyrus smiled bright and showed them the pie.

“Look! Frisk! It is a combination of all your favourite things!” he said.

“O-Oh yeah?” she said, and she grinned a little. “But it doesn’t look like you baked yourself into a pie, bro.”

He looked surprised, blushed, and then began to laugh loudly.

“You nerd,” Asriel scoffed.

“He means it has, like, every food in the house in it,” Undyne said, grinning. “Um. Hope you like it?”

Frisk smiled, despite the thought of it being somewhat horrifying. Didn’t matter, though. She’d eaten worse. And at least this was made with love.


	44. I Can’t Remember The...

Frisk was getting very tired of feeling so tired. Everyone was still up and having a good time downstairs, but she decided she’d try to get to sleep away from the sounds of the TV. She was just about to settle in when she heard a sharp knuckle rap on the door, low. 

“Come in, bro,” she said.

Sans was in front of her in a blink, and she laughed.

“Five steps is too much, huh?” she said.

“Wouldda had to open the door,” he said with a grin. “I was thinkin’, if you’re hittin’ the sack…” He held out the space book and her eyes lit up. 

“Ooh! Story time?” she asked.

“Yeah, figure maybe help knock you out a bit better tonight,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said.

His expression shifted, and he looked a little concerned. “Hey. Uh. So, I wasn’t even gonna bring this up, but after what happened, I was just a little worried, I guess. You went out last night, huh?” he said. “But. Not for long. So what happened? Wasn’t him again, was it? Or…?”

“Oh! No, no. I, um… I was…” She sighed and looked at her hands. “I was still all freaked out and I couldn’t sleep. So. I thought… Mrs. Snowdrake gave me a thing for Snowy before I passed out for a bit, and I thought, since I kinda wanted a walk anyway, I’d just go bring it to him.”

When she looked up, she was surprised to find Sans looking legitimately startled. “What?” she asked.

He started to beam. “Ah, kiddo, you’re good. C’mere, you nerd, I’m huggin’ you.”

Frisk readily clung to him and he squeezed her close.

“Proud of you,” he said.

“Wh-What? Really?” she said. “Why?”

“You didn’t go,” he said.

She was puzzled for just a second before it struck her. “Of c-course not! I promised. Right?”

“Yeah. But. I mean, you don’t have to listen to me, I was just kinda hopin’—”

“Hey.” She looked up at him with a sense of certainty on her face. “You know, when you said that I never let you down? Well, I don’t wanna start, y’know? Especially not over something as little as me feeling like crap over some junk. So…”

Sans stared at her for a few seconds before he began to laugh. Really hard, too. So hard that he almost doubled over.

“What? What’s so funny?” Frisk asked. 

The genuine confusion on her face made him laugh even harder.

“Oh. Oh man. You’re serious.” He tried to catch his breath and wiped an eye, but couldn’t help but snicker. “You… didn’t want to let me down? Of all the things…”

“Why’s that funny?” she insisted.

“Kiddo. Ah. Heh. Never mind.” He took a deep breath and grinned at her. “You’re hilarious. What the hell am I gonna do with you?”

“C…? Could I have another hug?” she asked.

He snickered and lifted her up under her arms, and she was immediately clinging around his neck and shoulders. He couldn’t have helped his soul syncing with hers if he’d tried. It was nice.

\- - -

Frisk fell asleep sometime after Papyrus and Asriel had joined them, with the thoughts and stories of ancient human scientists and old magical discoveries. In chapter three, the author lamented the pilfered library one the edges of the old monster capital city, the knowledge that might have been lost. Despite that, Frisk loved hearing about the place itself: could imagine its high walls with intricate pillars and painted murals, and bookcases crammed full of tomes that would have reached straight to the ceiling. 

She dreamt of a place like that, too. For once, it was no memory, no anxiety, no shadowman. Just a nice, warm place with a cool breeze that gently ruffled pages of scattered books left open on old desks, and the faint smell of sweet coffee.

\- - -

“Frisk…? Friiiisk? Hey! Frisk!” Frisk opened her eyes and blinked heavily. She was on the floor of the bedroom, staring at the dark ceiling. Must’ve fallen out of bed. She heard a clunking sound.

Asriel looked down into her face, his eyes shining very faintly red. “You hit your head or somethin’?” he asked.

“Mmno I don’t thiiiink so,” she said groggily. She looked up at the bed; saw Sans half slumped off, somewhat catlike. She recalled she had probably fallen asleep in a similar position. She smiled bashfully and sat up, rubbing her head. “Whoops.”

“Great,” he said. “I need your help.”

“Um. Okay. What’s up?” she said.

“I…” He sighed. “I need you to let me go.”

“Let you go?” she echoed worriedly.

He nodded. “I need you to put me back in the ground. I need to go back to the Ruins. It’s one of the only places I can get sunlight. If I’m lucky.”

“Oh. Oh, jeez, okay,” she said. “Y-You’ll, um… You’ll come back, right?”

“Got nowhere else to be,” he said. “Just, uh, gimme a day or two, okay?”

“That long?” she asked.

“Depends on when the light comes through that cave and if it’s raining on the surface or not, honesty,” he said, and he smiled tiredly. “Told you. I hate being a flower.”

Frisk gently picked him up. She headed for the closet and squinted around in the dark. 

“What’re you doing?” Asriel asked.

“Just, um… hang on…” 

Frisk put him down again and groped around in the low light. After a moment, she found something that might be useful: a pair of sneakers. They weren’t Sans’s: he went for velcro when he even bothered to change out of his slippers. Too big for her, but too small for Papyrus. Something from when he was younger. As Asriel looked on with confusion, she stole the shoelaces.

Downstairs, where she wasn’t afraid to turn on a light, she took out her phone and fashioned one of the shoelaces into a sort of sling around it, and the other into a strap. She held it out to him. He tilted his head.

“You’re… giving me your phone?” he said.

“Yeah, just want you to be able to call home if something happens,” she said. “I have Paps’s number in there, so you should be okay. And there’s some food, maybe a crabapple or something in the box if you want it.”

Asriel stared blankly at her for a few seconds. Frisk looked at him with confusion, and then down at the phone. 

“Oh no, would it be too heavy?” she asked.

“No. No, it’s just…” Asriel shook his head and beckoned with his leaves. “Gimme that.”

She put the phone around him like a little backpack and he protruded a small thorn to give it somewhere to hang. 

“Works, I guess,” he said. “Where’d you learn that?”

“Um. I dunno, I just kinda made it up,” she said.

“I guess I just mean it’s sort of creative, is all,” he said. “Doesn’t seem like something you picked up from the boneheads.”

“Oh. Um. Dunno, I guess it’s just, where I came from and stuff,” she said with a sheepish shrug, “I just kinda had to make do with whatever I could find. You, um… You know how it is.”

Asriel tilted his head. He leaned closer to her. “Where the hell are you from, anyway?”

“Nowhere important,” Frisk said.

“There used to be a town near the mountain. Not too far. That’s where Chara came from. Are you from there?” he pushed. 

She shook her head. Asriel looked confused.

“Farther?” he asked. “Why did you come here?”

“Oh, um… I guess I just sorta heard about this place, and I didn’t want to be where I was anymore, so…” She shrugged. 

Asriel frowned. “That’s a pretty crappy answer. And a really stupid idea.”

“Sorry,” Frisk said shyly. 

“Well,” Asriel said with a bit of a grin, “I guess it’s good for us you kinda have terrible ideas, though, huh?”

Frisk blushed a little and she nodded.

She got her winter gear, left a note on the couch, and took Asriel outside. To his surprise, she began to walk down the road.

“Uh. You could put me down,” he said.

“Um. Well, I just thought, um, we could walk together? To the door?” she said, but she stopped anyway. “If you don’t want to, I’ll put you down.”

“Oh. Uh. No, no, that’s okay, we can go together,” he said.

Frisk grinned and he blushed brightly and scoffed.

“It’s j-just I’m tired, that’s all!!” he protested. “And I’m lazy. So… Don’t give me that face.”

The streets of Snowdin were quiet and empty, Frisk’s footsteps crunching through the snow the only things to break the silence. The place smelled faintly like warm wood-fire smoke. It was pretty relaxing. Frisk yawned quietly to herself. Asriel looked up at her quietly. He rubbed his head.

“Uh. I guess it really is kinda early, huh?” he said.

“That’s okay,” Frisk assured him.

“Doesn’t anything make you mad?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” Frisk said. “Does the sun come really early through that hole?”

“Depends,” Asriel said. “I just, uh…. You know. Sans.”

“What about him?” Frisk asked.

“He’d probably try to stop me,” he said.

“What?” Frisk asked with a laugh. “Why? That makes no sense, dude.”

“He’s always trying to block me off,” he grumbled. “You said you had his memories, right? You have to see that.”

“Um…Yeah, I guess he did mess around with you a bit, didn’t he?” she said.

The flower scoffed and rolled his eyes, but Frisk smiled nonetheless.

“But you’re not like that anymore. He doesn’t have any reason to do that kind of thing now.”

She stopped at the glittering starlight near the inn to save and Asriel watched quietly.

“Kinda miss that,” he said.

“Oh yeah?” she said as they walked on. “I guess it is kinda reassuring.”

“Yeah, well… I mean. I guess, since you’re not kinda hellbent on ending the world or anything, it’s not so bad if it’s you doing it.”

“Can I ask? What was up with that?” Frisk said. “That was all Chara, right? In the other timelines. I mean. I get that she wanted to end the world. But what would that do? Why did she want that so bad?”

“It’s… Ah. It’s hard to explain,” Asriel said quietly. “My memories are… Well… Let’s just say, I didn’t keep all of them. Didn’t want to.”

“Sorry,” she said.

He shook his head. “You… You must hate her, huh?” he asked quietly.

“Um… That’s a strong word,” Frisk said. “I, um… Well. I didn’t hate the version of her that was with me. I mean. She did keep trying to scare me. Maybe enough to hurt someone? I’m not sure. But she was kind of helpful, too. And how much she cared about you, that was… that was really important, you know?”

Asriel looked up at her with wide, hopeful eyes. “Sh-She didn’t hate me?”

“No, of course not,” Frisk said. 

“But I was weak!! I… I…” He sighed. “I really messed everything up.”

“I dunno, dude, I wouldn’t be so bummed about not ending the world,” she said. 

“Hey. You know what it’s like. To… To have someone you wouldn’t want to live without, right?” he said. “Someone you’d do anything for. Right? Even if maybe you knew you shouldn’t.”

Frisk looked thoughtful. Asriel sighed.

“If one of your, uh, brothers told you to do something weird that didn’t seem quite right. And he told you it was for the good of everyone. You’d do it, wouldn’t you?” he pressed.

“I guess I would,” Frisk said.

“That’s how I feel,” he grumbled. “She was my sister.”

“Az, I’m sorry,” she said gently.

He sighed again and shook his head. “No. Don’t be. Don’t…” He chuckled darkly and rubbed his brow. “I almost said, _don’t tell her_. Sheesh. But. In what I remember, timelines where she got control. She… She kind of scared me. Do you see those?”

“Yeah. Up until… You know. Up until Sans…” She felt her throat tighten and she winced, and had to wipe her eyes quickly. “Sorry. I kind of feel it when I think about it. Yeah.”

“Oh. God. Sorry I brought it up,” he said.

She laughed and shook her head. “I’ve died a bunch. It’s only worse because it’s him,” she said. “When you, um… When you didn’t feel anything. You said you wanted to end the world, too. Was it to make her happy?”

“I just wanted to be done,” he said. “I’m really tired, Frisk.”

“Maybe just hang in a bit longer?” she said hopefully.

He laughed and patted her hand gently with a leaf. “Yeah, sure will. This is different as hell, so. It’s better. I mean, at the very least, it’s interesting.”

Frisk snickered. They passed by some of Papyrus’s puzzles, unchanged and unmaintained since before they’d gone to the CORE. The cold was starting to set in, but with Sans’s old hoodie and the scarf Papyrus made her, Frisk was still somewhat cozy.

“You ever done any of Paps’s puzzles?” she asked.

“Pfft, only all of them,” he said.

“Thanks. I’m sure he loved that,” she said.

Asriel was clearly taken aback. He went quiet for a little while. He looked like he wanted to speak, but he couldn’t find the words. He made a face and took a deep breath.

“Hey, could you tell me?” Asriel asked. “What was it like? When Sans took your soul. He told me something. But. I gotta know. What was it like?”

“Oh! Well. I mean. It was super nice,” Frisk said, unable to keep a small smile off her face. “It felt kind of cozy. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was super weird, too, but to finally really get my big brother, it… it meant a lot to me. And it meant a lot to have him really get me, too.”

“Get? What’s there to get?” Asriel asked.

Frisk shrugged. “Also, just being a big skeleton dragon thing was super awesome, so…”

“Why a dragon?” Asriel asked, looking baffled. “Isn’t he just, like… a short skeleton? Where’d dragon come from?”

“Dunno!” Frisk said. “I mean, I’m sure it was probably freaky, too, but I dunno, I thought it was cool.”

“So you… thought it was nice,” he muttered. “He didn’t freak out when you took over his body?”

“Took over his body?” she repeated, eyes wide. “N-No? Mostly we were working together. I only really took most of the control maybe twice.”

“Oh.” He frowned. “Well. Okay.”

“Sorry, were you expecting something else?” she asked.

“Never mind. Don’t worry about it.”

He went quiet again for a while as they walked. He looked like he had a few things on his mind. Frisk yawned again. They were getting close to the door now. She could see the bridge and Papyrus’s wide blockade.

“I don’t get it,” he muttered.

“Hm?” she asked. “Don’t get what?”

“How’d you do it?” he said. “Give him your soul, I mean. And have it be okay. I mean, I guess I got when he said he was glad about it, but you too?”

“Well, I mean, I actually kinda had to have Undyne stab me, and—”

“No no, that’s not what I mean,” Asriel said. “You… fused together. But you were both okay. How?”

“Um. I don’t know. Maybe it’s because our souls were kinda linked anyway,” she said. “Those weird dreams of memories and stuff? I’ve been stuck in those since I started saving. It’s like they remember the energy of the other anomalies that came here. I dunno. Anyway, Sans and me, we dream the same thing a lot. It couldda been that. And that I super love him and I’d never do anything bad to him.”

“Jeez, Frisk, clingy much?” Asriel joked. “How long’s it been? A few weeks? A month?”

“A year and a bit,” Frisk said. “Maybe it doesn’t sound like a lot, but it feels like most of my life.”

“A… A year?” He frowned up at her. “You’ve been down here a year? How many times did you reset?!”

“Oh! No, I…” Frisk couldn’t keep the surprise from her face. “They didn’t tell you about that?”

“Tell me about what?” he said.

Frisk came to a stop. The Ruin’s dusky stone doors loomed. She squatted and began to clear away a little snow, just enough to for some ground to peek out amongst all the white. 

“How about I tell you when you get back? It’s sorta a long story,” she said. “You are coming back, right?”

“Duh,” he said.

“Promise?” she said.

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I promise, okay?”

Frisk grinned. She gently kissed his forehead and she helped him down onto the ground. He grimaced, blushing. He raised a leaf to wave.

“I’ll call,” he said.

“You better,” she said. 

He smiled sideways and then disappeared into the earth, as if he’d never been there at all.

\- - -

Sans was putting on his coat near the door when Frisk got home. He froze halfway, and then sighed and dropped the thing to the floor.

“There you are,” he said.

“I left a note,” she said sheepishly.

Sans looked confused. She pointed to the couch. Her brother grinned and rubbed his brow.

“Oh. My bad. You okay?” he said.

She nodded and began to take off her outside clothes and hung them up near the door.

When she turned back, Sans was on the sofa, reading her note. 

“Trust him, huh?” he asked.

“Think so,” she said as she plopped down beside him. “I think he’ll come back.”

He stuck his thumb up and leaned back, closing his eyes. Frisk snickered. She stretched and then curled up against the back cushion.

“He was asking about you,” she said.

“Oh yeah?”

“Mhm. About when you took my soul and stuff,” she said. “Seemed like he was having trouble understanding why I thought it was a good thing.”

“Had kinda a bad time, huh?” he said.

“Yeah.” Frisk looked a little sad. “Chara must’ve been really serious about doing whatever she was doing to do that without being able to go back, huh?”

“Yeah, see, that’s an example of determination gone wrong, I’d say,” he said.

“Scary,” Frisk muttered.

“Tell me about it,” Sans said, his grin sort of apologetic. “Kind of a relief about her, huh?”

“Hm? Oh. Yeah,” she said, “but I feel a little bad about it. Asriel really loved her.”

“Didn’t stop her from killin’ him,” Sans said.

“…Yeah,” she muttered. 

Frisk sighed. She folded her arms to her chest. She didn’t understand. She wasn’t sure she wanted to. “Hey, Sans?”

“Hm?” he said.

“If you knew. Like… How it would be? With the memories and everything. Would you still have done it?” she asked.

Her brother smiled drowsily. “Yeah. You?”

“Yeah.” She grinned. “Thanks, bro.”

He shrugged, but he chuckled quietly. “Turns out we’re both kinda screwed up, huh?” he said. “Guess that’s why it worked so well.”

Frisk snickered. 

She got up and grabbed his hands, gently pulling him to his feet. He blinked groggily.

“You should go back to bed!” she said. “Bro, why you even awake anyway?”

“Oh. Heh. Kinda fell,” he said.

Frisk grinned. “Me too!”

\- - -

There wasn’t much in the ways of glimmering sunlight yet deep in the Ruins. Too early? Not likely. Could be clouds up there. He just needed a little, but he supposed he could wait for it. Though, it had been over a week. He was starting to feel a little shaky.

The flowers here now gave Asriel a weird sense of regret and nostalgia. He breathed out a trembling sigh. “You really are gone, aren’t you?” he said quietly. 

The silence made him ache. He felt like, if he imagined hard enough, he would hear her whispering to him. He did that sometimes— put her voice in his head. 

Back then, she agreed with him. Anything he did, it was them or him. Kill or be killed. It was the only way. She was proud. But now, his mind said something else. She glared, called him weak and pathetic. It was his fault they died. She was right.

He sighed and brushed tears away from his eyes. He took the phone and laid it out in front of him, careful not to disrupt the strings Frisk had tied. Waiting for the sun was a bore. So was the UnderNet, but it was better than nothing. 

Everything was strangely pleasant. No real problems. So many monsters posting happy photos. Papyrus seemed to post a lot of photos of himself, posing. Frisk seemed to be the only one who would uplike them, though Alphys would always leave a comment. 

He noticed some videos Frisk upliked, too, sent from Undyne’s account to an account called _notsans. _He watched one for a few seconds before he realized it was a battle. He couldn’t help the sting of surprise. He checked another: same thing, but from a different angle. Monsters were watching. They’d been excited. Their songs twisted together in a strange, energetic way. 

He’d known Sans a long time. Knew his habits, his hang-ups, his quirks, for the most part, even if he was still a bit hard to read. It didn’t seem like him. He had let someone talk him into fighting Undyne for, what looked like, fun. Asriel frowned a little. Had Frisk done it? Sans could’ve been killed, even in a sparring match. What was she doing? Did she really have that cautious skeleton so wrapped around her finger? What about everyone else? What about him? He had trusted her with his life.

Asriel frowned again and put a leaf to his brow. He tried to steady himself, and let that red spot of caring determination warm him. The paranoid thoughts began to drift away. Frisk wasn’t Chara. If there was some big plan, it wasn’t like that. She lied sometimes, sure, but they were kid lies. She wasn’t some master manipulator. Wasn’t her. Couldn’t be. He didn’t like that he doubted her like that.

Everything felt strange, now. Mistrust lingered, and yet he was starting to ache, being apart from her. It was just that speck of red, he told himself. It was still hers. That was all it was.

When the first glints of sunlight began to cast little sparkles on the petals of golden flowers, Asriel moved himself to where he could get the most of it and stood up taller, fanning his leafs forward. He hated that he had to do this, but the warmth it brought him was a relief. It shook any heavy grogginess from his mind. He felt more awake all of a sudden.

The sunlight’s glow didn’t last long, fading beneath unseen clouds after less than an hour. It wasn’t much, but enough to last him a few days, at least. He could hear, very faintly, a drop of water smack one of the leaves around him. Then another. He looked up, squinting, and then grew out the thorn again to sling the phone around him again. He heard the pattering against the plants. Must’ve been windy out there. A storm, maybe. 

A big cold drop plunked down between his eyes. He yelped, shuddered, and then shook like a dog. He backed up to the edge of the field of flowers, but he still watched the rain. He didn’t realize he’d fallen asleep until he heard footsteps. He awoke with a start and ducked down.

He saw white fur. He felt faint. Toriel was dainty and careful as she stepped through the flowers, humming softly. She poured a small sprinkling from a big silver can over the petals, making them glisten like jewels. 

“Hah. Looks like you’ve already had a little drink today,” she said. “Well! More can’t hurt. Let’s make sure you all get a little something, hm?”

Asriel watched as she made the rounds. As she got close, he hurriedly ducked under the soil. He could hear the water pouring; felt it down his stem. Suddenly, he worried about Frisk’s phone. He waited until he heard her pawsteps heading away and the humming start to fade.

He popped out of the ground again and took a deep, shuddering breath to steady himself. He felt like he could cry. He didn’t, but his whole body hurt.

He weighed the options. He could just leave. He wasn’t sure he wanted to. His leaves trembled a little as he took the cellphone down to the ground again. He pulled up Papyrus’s number and began to type.

“_hey bonebutt tell frisk to save for me_” he said.

The message wouldn’t go. He squinted at the screen and then frowned: no reception. He grumbled to himself, grabbed the phone and went back underground. Closer to Toriel’s house did the job. The message sent.

“_ASRIEL?! Is that you?!?!11! Where are you?!?!_” Papyrus replied almost right away.

Asriel sighed to himself.“_who cares just tell her_” he sent.

“_Weeellllll she is asleep but I’m sure she’d be happy to help you but why are you not in the house and where are you?_”

“_if i tell you will you tell her?_” he replied.

“_Of course!_”

“_ruins. thinking of seeing my mom_” he said reluctantly.

“_Nyeh heh heh!!!! Outplayed by the GREAT PAPYRUS!!!! I’ll let you know when Frisk has saved!_”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe he types out his dumb laugh,” Asriel grumbled. He couldn’t help a weak smile, even so. It was kind of funny, wasn’t it? 

He waited, but after just a few seconds, got another message.

“_Hey! It just occurs to me! You and Frisk have the SAME EXACT MOM!!! RIGHT?!!?! You’re like siblings! That’s so cute! No wonder she always wanted to look out for you. You’re very lucky Asriel!!_”

Asriel felt like a weight thunked him downwards from his very core. He didn’t want to hear that. He had enough troubles dealing with how he felt about Frisk without that sort of thing in his head. He supposed it was nice to feel anything at all, but…

“_okay Asriel we have been to a place and did a save! Captain Undyne is here too and we were thinking of training, should we wait?!? is what you’re doing quite risky?!?_” Papyrus told him.

“_dunno_” he replied.

“_sigh okay be careful_” Papyrus said. “_you’re welcome!!!!_”

Asriel slung the phone around him again and ducked beneath the soil. He knew the way; travelled underground a little ways farther until he emerged before Toriel’s front door. He looked up at it with wide eyes. It towered above him like a mountain. He gulped. He didn’t have to do a thing. He stayed there for a long while, sure that he should go, but unable to force himself to.

Against his better judgement, he tapped on the door. The sound was faint and impotent. He frowned with frustration and looked around for something. Maybe a twig or a small stone. Maybe he should just throw himself through the window again. Maybe this was stupid. No, he told himself. It would be fine. If it wasn’t, he had a reset in his pocket. He gulped and used the phone to knock on the door before tossing it aside and out of sight. He heard footsteps.

The door opened and Asriel suddenly felt sick. Toriel stuck her head out and looked around with a confused frown.

“Hello?” Toriel asked.

“Um. D-Down here,” Asriel said.

His mother looked down, her warm, violet eyes going wide with surprise. “Oh! And you are…?”

He begged himself not to cry. He tried to keep his face steady. “Um, h-hi. I’m, uh. Flowey? And I just—”

“Wait a moment. I know you.” She said, and his heart sunk as she frowned. “You were the one who—?”

“A-Attacked the human? Y-Yeah. Yeah. I know. I, um… I wanted to say. I’m sorry for causing trouble,” he said. “I was just… scared. And confused. S… Sorry.”

“Oh! Well. That’s very brave of you to apologize,” Toriel said gently, and she knelt down. “I do not think I’ve seen a monster like you before. Where are you from, little one?”

“Oh. Uh. Home. I mean. The Ruins, um…” He looked embarrassed. “I travel a lot.”

“Ah. No wonder,” she said. “Please, be careful, alright? It’s important to not act rashly like that. That human might end up being a good friend to you one day! Or. If she had been just as scared as you, she might have turned you to dust.”

Asriel gulped. He nodded, and his eyes went to the ground. He couldn’t fight back the tears this time.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I’m s-sorry.”

“Oh! No, little one, no harm done,” Toriel said reassuringly.

“I just… I just… I messed everything up,” he said, his voice tight. “I didn’t mean to. I r-really didn’t. I… I thought I… could do the right thing.”

Toriel frowned sympathetically. She put a gentle hand around him and her fingers rubbed up and down his stem. He felt sick and he started to sob. Toriel cooed gently and sat down, scootching a little closer to him.

“Oh, honey. It’s okay,” she said. “Everyone makes mistakes.”

“N-Not like I do,” he growled. “I… I can’t even go home…”

“…Ah. I see. This isn’t just about what happened,” Toriel said softly. “Would you like me to call someone for you? Your parents?”

Asriel choked out a weak laugh. “No. N-No. It’s… They can’t help me,” he said. “I… don’t know what to do.”

“Hm. Well. It seems obvious to me,” Toriel said. “Little one, you must have someone who cares for you? Whose advice you trust?”

He sniffled pitifully. “I… I guess.”

“Talk to that person. Relax with them; get a hug,” she said. “Read a good book together.”

“Wh… What if… they’re not there?” he asked.

“Oh, hun, I’m sure they will be,” she said gently. “Are you sure you don’t want me to call your parents?”

He shook his head. He went quiet and she sat with him patiently. She had always been good like that. There was no judgement in her presence. Only sympathy.

After a few minutes, he looked up at her with big, glistening eyes. “Th… Thank you,” he said. “I should go.”

“Would you like to come in for some tea or cocoa?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Th-Thanks. F-For everything.”

She nodded and, hurriedly, he went underground.

He waited until he heard her close the door before popping up to grab the phone again. He rushed away, tears blurring his vision, to a small balcony that overlooked the ruins of Home. With trembling leaves, he punched in Papyrus’s phone number. The phone rang twice.

“Helllllooo there, you’ve reached the great Papyrus, how can I—?”

“Get me Frisk,” he said.

“Hm? OH! Asriel! Yes, of course, give me a second, I’ll just… Hey, what’s wrong?” Papyrus asked.

“Frisk,” he growled. “Now.”

“Hold onto your petals, my little pal! I need to go get her. What happened?”

“Nothing!! J-Just…!! Just get me Frisk,” he said.

“Okaaaay, it’s just, it sounds like you’re crying. Are you crying? Do you need some help?”

“Why are you stalling?!” he snapped.

“It’s just that Frisk is in the middle of a battle with Undyne right this second and I’m worried if I call out to her she’s going to get smacked right in the head again,” Papyrus said apologetically.

“O… Oh,” Asriel sighed. “Okay. Never mind, I just—”

“Wait wait wait, don’t you hang up,” Papyrus insisted. “Talk to me. I am, after all, the great Papyrus! I am great at everything, you know! Which includes listening to your problems!!! Hmmm?”

“You’re such a dork,” Asriel said under his breath. “I… don’t want to… Uh… I-It’s just…”

“It’s alright, just relax,” Papyrus said, “and tell me whatever you want to. We can even just sit here in the quiet, if you want! Just know that I, Papyrus, your great new friend, will be right here to give you whatever support you need.”

Asriel trembled. He slumped over the phone. “I saw my mom,” he muttered.

“Oh! How did that go?”

“HORRIBLE! She’s… She’s so nice,” he muttered.

“That doesn’t sound horrible,” Papyrus said.

“I want to reset,” he said quietly.

“Oh?” he said. “Why though?”

Asriel grimaced. “It… It’d be better if she never saw me.”

“Really? You think so? I don’t think you could’ve done that much harm,” he said gently. “And besides. Resetting won’t change how you feel, will it? It won’t make you feel any better.”

Asriel hated to admit it, but the bonehead was right. He sighed, his whole form trembling.

“Anyway,” Papyrus continued, “I’m sure it was nice to see her, wasn’t it? Mom’s a very nice lady. And she loves you very much, I bet! Even if she didn’t know. So! Please don’t worry so much.”

Asriel sniffled. He heard a little bit of shuffling and a faraway sound of Papyrus cheering and saying something upbeat that he couldn’t make out for all the rest of the noise.

“Okay!” he said as he put the phone close to his head again. “Here she is! See you at home love you bye!!!”

Asriel scoffed and rolled his eyes. He heard the phone change hands.

“Hey!” Frisk sounded a little out of breath. “You okay?”

“No,” he grumbled.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I heard from Paps. You wanna talk about it?”

“No.” He put his head down on the phone dismally. “I dunno. I… I d-didn’t think it would b-be so hard.”

“Of course it’s hard,” she said gently.

“How could you know?” he grunted. “You can’t understand how this feels.”

“Az, when I came back… She’s my mom and she didn’t even know who I was. Of course I understand,” she said sympathetically. “I know what it’s like to have the people you love most in the world look you in the eye and have no idea who you are.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” he asked.

“Well. Maybe. It’s nice to know someone’s been through the same thing, right?” she said.

He went quiet. If he were honest, it did make him feel better. He sighed. “You could be right,” he muttered. “I, um… I need some time?”

“Sure, whatever you need,” she said. “Might be at the lab today, okay? So just call. We’ll meet you. Okay?”

“Y-Yeah. Okay. Sure. Whatever,” he said. “…Hey, Frisk?”

“Yeah?” she said.

“Uh…” His face flushed. “N… Never mind. See you.” He hung up before she even said goodbye.


	45. The Petulant Flower Arc

Undyne had very pointy claws. Frisk couldn’t help but notice as her scaly blue fingers prodded carefully around her face. She tried to hold as still as possible, but it was hard not to squirm.

“Jeez, kid, not quite on your game today, huh?” she said.

“Yeah, I guess,” she said, but she smiled. “Good thing Papyrus was.”

“As always!!” Papyrus was in the kitchen, and the kettle was already boiling. “Not to worry, little sister. In any case, it wasn’t tooooo bad.”

“Yeah, well,” she said, wincing a little as Undyne started healing one of the marks on her forehead, “you’re not the one who’s covered in bruises, bro!”

“Nyeh heh! I guess you’re right!” he said. “Don’t worry. You’ll be better again in no time!”

Undyne frowned, concentrating hard. She stuck her tongue out. “Hey, Sans?”

“Hm?” He was leaning against her back, half asleep. “Waddyuwant?”

“If I need it, could you boost me?” she asked.

“Mmnope.”

“Seriously?” she asked. “It’s for your sis, gimme a break.”

“Can’t,” he said. “Can’t heal.”

“What? Not at all?” She looked over her shoulder. “For real?”

“Yup. I’m at two.” He held up two fingers. “Lost it at three.”

“Shit, dude,” she said. “How’d that even happen? I mean, like, what the hell did you start at?”

“Five,” he said.

“FIVE?!” she yelped. “Paps, no way you started at five, too?!”

“Nnnnoope!” he said. “Just Sans! Like I have always said! Sans is the weakest monster! Even at his strongest, he was the weakest monster.”

“Mhm,” Sans said.

Undyne frowned. She looked back at Frisk questioningly. The kid tilted her head. 

“He serious?” Undyne asked, her tone a little incredulous.

“Yup,” she said.

“Holy shit, Sans, then how the hell strong were you BEFORE?!” she demanded.

“Dunno, never fought before,” he said.

“You’re a real weirdo, huh?” Undyne said with a laugh.

“Mhm.” He grinned and looked over his shoulder. “Got moral support covered, though.”

“Oh yeah?” Undyne said.

“Yup, I’m great at lendin’ a hand,” he said.

“Oh no don’t you do it!” Frisk squeaked.

“Alright, alright, jeez,” he laughed.

“Frisk, does that really alarm you so much?” Papyrus asked as he returned and passed out mugs of hot chocolate. “It doesn’t hurt, I promise!”

“I’m just always paranoid something will happen to it by accident,” Frisk said.

Papyrus cooed and snickered, and then sat on the arm of the sofa behind her. He looked over her skin and gently shifted her bangs to check the bruise Undyne was working on. “Hey, that’s not too bad at all, it’s almost gone!” he said brightly.

“Hah! Well. One outta, what, twenty?” Undyne asked. “Hope you’re okay with being a training exercise, squirt.”

“It’s no big deal,” Frisk said. “I don’t mind at all.”

“Not to worry, Captain. It takes a little while for your magic to readjust itself to healing a human. Even for me, at the start! It looks like you’re doing a good job, though,” Papyrus said.

“Thanks!” She frowned and dialled it up a notch, so the energy prickled visibly around her shoulders. “I’m gonna get it!!”

They sat around, watching TV and drinking hot chocolate until Frisk was all patched up. Undyne grinned with pride as the final, purplish spot faded from the kid’s shoulder. 

“And that’s it!” she said. “Hah! Not bad! Alright!” She got up to stretch and Sans immediately toppled over sideways, dead asleep and taking up most of the couch. 

Papyrus scoffed. “So. Lazy.” He turned to Undyne with a smile. “So, what now, Captain? Another battle? Keep trying to push Frisk’s shield?”

“Ummm… Y’know, I’m not sure, Paps. The more we did that today, the more she got hit. Kid, think you should go back to relying on jumping, huh?”

“Yeah, I know.” Her eyes darted to her brother and she tented her fingers. “Maybe it’ll come back on its own?”

“I’m not sure, Frisk, many powers take hard work and training to master!!” he said.

“R-Right,” she agreed.

“In fact, you might even want to try training twice as hard!!” he announced. “OOH! We could do a new regiment! I’m sure we could…!!” 

Papyrus seemed to lose his train of thought and he scowled as Sans clumsily heaved himself upright.

“Sans.” Papyrus frowned even more as Sans draped himself over Frisk’s shoulders like a drowsy skeleton cape. “Sans. I was talking.”

“Hm? Oh. Sorry, bro.” He didn’t even look remotely awake. “Didn’t hear ya.”

“Jeez, dude, ever heard of personal space?” Undyne asked, holding back a laugh.

“Personal space? Wassat?” He grinned and opened one eye. “Kid, you ever heard of that?”

“Ummm, nope, I don’t think so,” she said.

Seeming satisfied, he rested his chin on her head and closed his eyes. Undyne snickered and checked her phone. Her ear-fins drooped and she smiled bashfully.

“What, what?” Papyrus asked.

He hopped up to peer over her shoulder. He had to stand on his toes just a bit to see. “Oooooooh. Is that your giiiiiiiirlfriend? Nyeh heh! That is a joke. I know it is.”

“Stop, stop,” Undyne said with a laugh. “Oh. Hey. She, uh… Actually, never mind.”

“What, what?” Papyrus asked again. “Can I spy on your messages?”

She showed him her phone and he took it with excitement. He quickly skimmed through some texts.

“GASP! Frisk—!”

“Come on, Paps, give her a little time, huh?” Undyne said.

“Couldn’t we at least read it?” He pouted and his eyes seemed to shimmer. “It might be important, right?”

“Aw jeez, don’t gimme that face,” Undyne said, grinning sideways as she patted the top of his skull. “Alright, fine.”

“YES! Okay! Alphys has sent several messages!” Papyrus said, standing up straight and puffing out his chest, as if he were delivering a very important missive. “She says she’s repaired her reader machine! And she thinks she knows how to read the skeleton face glow stuff on your face, Frisk! Sounds like she’s been working a lot since last night!”

Frisk looked thoughtful. She leaned back a bit and she tilted her head up to look at Sans. “You hear that?”

“Hm,” he replied.

“Looks kinda like you got a plan, kid,” Undyne said.

“I was actually thinking. If Alphys is ready and everything, I’d maybe go back to the lab today,” Frisk said.

“Ooooh,” Papyrus said.

“Squirt, you sure you’re up for that?” Undyne asked, her brow furrowed. “You can stay home and rest another day if you need it. No one’ll mind. Promise.”

“Well, it’s just… I feel better than the day I went into the CORE. And I really, really want to start moving this forward,” she said. “Um. I-If that’s okay with you guys.”

Undyne folded her arms and raised her brows as she cast a look at the skeleton beside her.

“That’s very brave, little sister,” Papyrus said. “But. Are you sure?”

“Well… Not totally sure, but I feel like I gotta do something,” she said. “Besides. Worst thing that happens is I do a small reset. Right?”

“Sans, what d’you think?” Undyne said. “You even up?”

“Mhm.” He reluctantly sat up a little and pulled back to stretch. “Sure. Text her or whatever. We’ll get there eventually.”

“What?! Sans, you’re just going to let her go?!” Papyrus asked.

“Sure,” he said, folding his arms behind his head.

“But go with her though!!! You can’t make her walk all that way!” he insisted.

He shrugged. “Just let me know, kid.” He closed his eyes again.

Frisk patted herself down and then turned to Papyrus. “Could I borrow your phone again?”

“Of course!” He handed it off to her and she began to text Alphys. Papyrus watched, wringing his hands for a moment. He sat beside her and held her shoulder, his long fingers gripping tight. “D…? Do you want me to go with you? Surely having the great Papyrus with you is better than not having the great Papyrus with you! Right?”

She looked up at him with a sympathetic smile. She offered him his phone back, and when he took it, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and snuggled close. “Don’t worry,” she said gently.

“Worry?! Pfffft!! WORRY?! I’m not… worried, I…” He squeezed her. “I just don’t want you to fall down again.”

“I’ll be okay,” she said.

“I, um, hate to remind you, but you said that last time, too,” he muttered.

“But I was okay, wasn’t I?” she said. She pulled back and smiled at him confidently. 

He melted; touched his brow to hers, grinning despite himself. “You were. Alright. I trust you.”

“Thanks!” She kissed his cheek and grinned at him. “Won’t let you down, I promise.”

“ALRIGHT!” Papyrus leapt to his feet. “I! The great Papyrus! Will run on ahead and meet you there! Okay?! SANS!!!”

“Hm?” Sans asked.

“Take care of her, okay?!”

“Yeah yeah.” He waved his hand and shot Undyne a look. “See you?”

She stuck her thumb up. “Okay! C’mon, Paps, we can do a few training segments on the way. I gotta do a quick round in Waterfall anyway.”

“OH! Okay!” the skeleton said brightly. “Sounds exciting!”

The two tall monsters were outside again in just a few seconds. Sans sunk back into the couch and groaned. 

“What?” Frisk asked with a laugh.

“Nothin’,” he said. He rolled onto the floor and slowly stood up, rubbing the back of his skull. “Wanna get this over with?” He offered his hand. 

The moment after she grabbed him, they stood in the lab near Alphys’s computer.

She was in her chair; almost fell out of it it, her phone in her hand. “ACK! G-G-Guys!! Um…!” She stumbled up and greeted them with a hug. “Oh! F-Frisk, you’re cold!”

“We were doing some training,” she said.

“How w-was it?” Alphys asked.

“I lost my shield,” Frisk said. “Papyrus thinks if I work really hard I’ll get it back, but I’m not so sure.”

“Aw… I’m sure whatever happens, it’ll b-be okay,” Alphys said. “Are…? Are you sure you want to…? Sans? Is she okay?”

He shrugged. She smiled a little.

“Well… N-Not bad enough that y-you’ll try to stop me this time,” she said. “A-Alright. But p-promise you’ll d-do one of you s-save things first, okay, Frisk? J-Just in case?”

“For sure,” she agreed. “Can we go do it right now?”

“Oh! Um… Um, yeah! O-Okay!” Alphys said.

Downstairs, the pale monsters were ambling around, content, it seemed. Frisk saw Mrs. Snowdrake and her heart sped. She reached for her phone before she recalled she didn’t have it. Nonetheless, she raised a finger to ask the others to wait, and scampered over to her.

“H-Hey,” she said.

The droopy monster turned to her and smiled faintly. Frisk smiled back.

“Um! I s-saw Snowy,” she said. “He’s okay.”

“Snowy…?” she said quietly; her smile widened. “Snooowy?”

Frisk nodded. “H-He, um, gave me something to give you but my phone is, uh…”

The monster tilted her head and blinked slowly. She didn’t seem to understand. “From… Snowy…?”

Frisk nodded and gave her a hug. The monster cooed and wrapped her drooping wings around her.

“From Snowy,” Frisk said.

Mrs. Snowdrake laughed slowly. She sounded happy. When Frisk pulled back and patted her gently on the shoulders, the monster smiled and gently clapped her wings together before waddling off, humming gently.

Frisk detoured to touch a patch of light, and Alphys took her to the room she had tested her and Asriel in just a few days ago. That large, ring-like machine that was supposed to record determination was shoved at the back against a wall, and there were more modified pieces of medical equipment near a low, cushioned table with a white sheet over top. Alphys beckoned to her and, thought she felt a sudden rush of nerves, Frisk allowed her to guide her back to the seat in that machine. 

“I f-found something a l-little useful last night!” she said. She pulled a strap from the chair and slid it down the side and stretched it out. She buckled Frisk into the seat and grinned proudly. 

“I… I th-think it’s from, um, a car? That should keep you safe,” she said. “Not too tight?”

“No, just fine,” Frisk assured her.

Alphys rushed around the machine, typing things into a few small inputs with quick fingers. “So. S-So. I think… I think when I a-asked Sans to h-hold onto your s-soul last time, I r-really m-messed it up. I f-forgot his own d-determination levels w-were so high. It w-wasn’t that the m-machine failed completely, it was th-that it was trying to r-read two strong sources at once. B-But… I did a c-couple touchups, t-too.” She quickly pulled out some cables and nodes and began fixing them to Frisk. She handed her one, as well. “On your skin, above your soul spot, like l-last time.” 

Frisk nodded and did as she asked.

“So,” Sans said, “what changed?”

“Hm?” Alphys asked.

“The computer still couldn’t handle it last time, right?” he asked.

“Oh! Y-Yeah. Um… You know, it’s f-funny,” she said. “R-Remember the, um… the last weird m-message I got on my c-computer? Upstairs? That I couldn’t read?”

“Mhm,” Sans said. “You’re sayin’ it was a fix?”

“Part of it was a r-really complicated debug,” Alphys said. “It’s basically allowing the machine to process an ab-absurdly high… well, p-practically infinite number, actually, outside of its n-normal parameters. I thought I had it, but… b-but I made a little error that s-sort of… Well. It f-fixed it. Whoever they are… Whoever’s s-sending those? They know th-their stuff.”

“Wow, jeez, that’s lucky,” Frisk said. “Or… maybe not lucky, I guess, that sounds kinda planned. Like last time, I guess!”

“Hm.” Sans smiled. “Welp. Good to know, I guess.”

“Y-Yeah,” Alphys agreed. She gently, but firmly, grabbed Frisk’s wrist and slid in a sterilized needle. 

It barely stung, but Frisk had to look away from it anyway. 

“S-So! I think this should be good,” the lizard said. “R-Ready? Do you want a minute?”

“No, do it quick,” Frisk said. “If I pass out, I want to be awake again by the time Paps gets here.”

“Oh, Frisk…” Alphys gently patted the kid’s head. “D-Don’t worry. We’ll m-make sure you’re okay. R-Right, Sans?”

Sans stuck his thumb up and rested his back against the wall.

Alphys pulled a screen off the machine and dragged it over to the skeleton.

“W-Watch her vitals for me? Okay!” She ran back to the machine and hovered near another screen and starting trigger. “R-Ready?”

“Yeah,” Frisk said. “Do it!”

Alphys took a deep breath and set the machine aglow. Frisk braced herself and that cold energy entered her with force. She pressed her back into the seat and clamped her eyes shut. Everything was overwhelming immediately. She could hear one humming note of magic; it took up all her senses.

“Ooh! It’s working! It’s w-w-working, okay!” Alphys said. “Much quicker! A-Alright! Sans, how is she?!”

“Um… number’s dropping?” he said. “Oh. Uh. Doc?”

“Hang on. H-Hang on,” she said. “W-We… We almost…”

There was a pleasant beep. Alphys squeaked happily.

“Doc,” Sans pressed.

“Just g-going into verification phase and—!”

“Yeah, nope,” he said, “we’re not…”

Sans raised his hand to grab the kid’s soul, but by the time he did, they were standing back in the room of pink beds and the soul his magic clung to was in the kid standing a few feet from him with a puzzled look on her face. Frisk met his eyes. He groaned and put a hand to his brow. She started to laugh. 

“Wh… What?!” Alphys yelped. She looked around quickly. She seemed a little disoriented. 

Sans rubbed the back of his skull and let his magic fall away.

“Whoops,” Frisk said. “Sorry, guys.”

“…Wait. Wait w-wait, did you JUST D-DIE?!” Alphys shrieked. 

“Yeeeeeah,” Frisk said. Her smile was bashful and her cheeks a little flushed from embarrassment.

“Oh my god I’m s-s-so sorry!!!” Alphys said. Her arms were around Frisk and she snuggled her face against the kid’s head. 

Frisk held in a snicker and patted her arm. “Don’t worry!”

“Oh my god, S-Sans, you w-were so right,” Alphys muttered. “There was no way sh-she could’ve… Oh I’m s-so sorry. I… I g-guess I… I’mj-joining that st-stupid club, huh? I c-can’t believe I—!”

“Alphys! It’s fine!” Frisk assured her again. “I’m a little surprised, though, it wasn’t quite that bad last time.”

“You’re takin’ damage faster. Not totally recouped, I guess,” Sans said. “Done?”

“Aw, but I wanna finish,” Frisk said, pouting.

Alphys simply sniffled as a reply. Sans looked thoughtful. He shrugged and looked at her with his brows raised.

“Could skip verification phase,” he said. “Pull her out right then, give her a bit of a heal? Pour a soda in her face.”

“Hah, gross!” Frisk said.

“Better than nothin’,” Sans said with a grin.

“Are y-you sure y-you’re okay?!” Alphys demanded.

“Mhm!” Frisk hugged her. “No worries! So can we try again?”

“W-Well. If, um… If you’re super sure?” Alphys said.

“I’ll get the soda,” Sans said.

He vanished before Alphys could protest and, almost instantly, Reaper and Big Dog flailed into the room. The little lizard’s phone went off and she leaned against the wall as if she were close to collapse. She checked the screen and slowly began to text.

“Guys!” Frisk said, waving her arms. “C’mere, you goops, gimme a hug!”

The big oozing dog was on her in an instant, gripping her between their two frontmost paws and snuggling against her as she laughed and patted their neck. Reaper turned most of their bendy body almost completely upside down watching her. She waved them down and they slid to the floor on their stomach, blinking that giant eye at her with confusion. She kissed the end of their beak and, after a few seconds, their cheeks flushed grey.

When they let her up, she stretched. She watched as Reaper pulled Big Dog’s tail and flailed around the room as they bounded after them. Frisk snickered. Alphys sighed and rubbed her brow. 

“Frisk… I’m so sorry,” she said again.

“Hm? Oh! Oh, no, don’t even worry,” Frisk assured her quickly; pointed to Alphys’s phone. “They okay?”

“Hm? O-Oh! Oh! Yeah. I, um… t-told them it was n-nothing to worry about,” she said quickly, pushing it back into her pocket. “Just a little accident.”

“Take your own advice,” Frisk joked.

Alphys laughed weakly. “It’s h-hard, sometimes. Sure you, um, d-don’t want to call it a day? 

“Nah, I think we can do this,” she said. “Maybe just a teeny bit slower this time?”

“R-Right,” Alphys said.

Back in the little medical room, Frisk put herself in the seat and buckled up, and Alphys hooked her up a little more slowly; cautiously. When she took her wrist to insert the needle again, she paused. Her fingers traced gently over the kid’s veins. 

“Hah… I… I f-forgot there wouldn’t be a hole,” she said, and she looked up into Frisk’s eyes. “You… really are a-alright, aren’t you? It… I-It all heals up.”

“You’ve really never seen me bite it before, huh?” Frisk asked worriedly.

“I… I m-mean. I knew,” Alphys said. “I mean… I guess with the w-way my memories sort of r-repeat in a f-few spots, Mettaton m-must’ve… but… I don’t know…”

“Oh, jeez, don’t feel bad about that too,” Frisk said with a sympathetic smile.

“Well. I m-mean… He used m-my weapons,” she muttered.

Frisk shrugged. “He does what he wants,” she said with a grin.

“V-Very true,” she said. 

She suddenly looked a little nervous. Frisk tilted her head.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“Um… H-Hey…” Alphys bit her lip. “M-Maybe, uhh… M-M-Maybe this isn’t a good time, but… Uh… About, um… A-About Mettaton?”

“Uh-huh?”

“W-Well… um…” She tented her fingers. “Y-You, um… You do know about him, d-don’t you?”

“About…? Oh! Yeah.” Her cheeks flushed. “Yeah, I um… accidentally found his house and diary collection. On my second time.”

“OH!” Alphys’s cheeks flushed and she began to laugh. “Oh! M-Much… Much l-less sinister than I th-thought.”

“I didn’t tell anyone,” Frisk said, “but Sans knows now. And Az knew. I think that’s it.”

“Th-Thank you s-so much,” she said.

“Whu-oh, big secret discussion time, huh?” Sans sauntered in, a soda can in each pocket and an open one in his hand. “Don’t be so paranoid, Doc.”

“B-But… Um… Okay.” She rubbed her headspines. “Thanks.”

He stuck his thumb up as he took his spot on the wall again. “Don’t die this time, huh, kid?”

“Hah! I’ll try not to!” she said. “Let’s try again!”

Alphys looked a little nervous. Nonetheless, she carefully attached the needle to Frisk’s wrist again and then pulled back. She retrieved the vitals monitor and handed it to Sans and returned to the machine. 

“Okay. O-Okay. Um. R-Ready?” she said.

“Yup!” Frisk said.

Alphys hesitated a moment, but then powered up the machine again. Just as before, Frisk shrunk back into the seat. Sans looked at her vitals. They were dropping fast again, but not as quickly as last time, like seconds and milliseconds draining down from twenty.

“Um. Um. Almost. A-Almost,” Alphys muttered. “Alllmoooost…”

Sans couldn’t help the tightness in his chest as her number closed in on ten, then eight, then five. He knew she’d be okay, but still… “Doc, she’s gettin’ low,” he said.

“W-We have it. A-Almost. Almost,” she said again.

After a few seconds, that pleasant ding sounded again and this time Alphys hurried to switch the machine off. Sans let out a sigh he didn’t realize he’d been holding back. The kid was stalled at a half point. She was limp in her seat.

“Ah, shit,” he muttered. He ditched the monitor on the table without much care for where it landed. He unbuckled the seatbelt, holding her steady as she slumped, and pulled her into his arms. 

The feeling of her small shoulders slowly rising with breath against his hand was immediately a relief. Alphys hurried to unhook the needle from her dangling arm.

“Sh-She’s… She’s breathing, r-right?” she squeaked.

“We’d be back in the other room if she wasn’t,” Sans said.

He ferried her over to that low, soft table and sat on it with her, cradling her limp little form against his shoulder. He lowered his head to listen to the pulse he knew should sound in her chest. It was very slow. He thought, for a second, that he heard something else, too. He frowned.

“Kid?” he asked. “Hey. Kiddo. Get up.”

“Oh… Let me…” Alphys sat with them and gently put her hands on Frisk’s cheeks, magic glowing bright. “J-Just… Just a second…”

Sans’s eyes darted away to that measly point five as it slowly begin to climb. When it reached two, he put a hand on Alphys’s shoulder. “Hang on,” he said.

She looked confused, but she paused and drew back a fraction. He raised a hand, fingers crackling with blue, and touched it to Frisk’s brow. It let out an audible _zap_. The numbers dropped by a half point, and her eyes shot open with alarm.

“Jeez!” she squeaked.

Alphys looked like she could have melted and Sans grinned.

“Hey, there we go,” he said.

“Aw… Did I pass out?” the kid asked weakly.

“Dropped like a rock, dude,” he said. “Welcome back.” He propped her up and she pouted, clinging tight to his arm to support herself. 

Alphys hurriedly began to unhook her and held her hand all at once. “Y-You’re okay, right?”

Frisk nodded, but she looked a little dizzy nonetheless. Sans pulled one of the cans from his pocket and popped the tab for her.

“Drink this junk,” he said. “You’ll feel better.”

“But it’s so sweet,” she grumbled.

“Kid,” he said.

She laughed. “Okay okay, gimme that.”

She slowly began to sip the overly-sweet soda. Alphys let out a long sigh and put her hand on the back of Frisk’s neck, magic swelling into a warm, lemon-coloured light. She shot Sans a worried look, but his expression was pretty relaxed. She tried to relax, too.

“Is that helping?” Alphys asked gently.

“Mhm!” Frisk said. She tipped back the can and tried to finish as quickly as she could. She took a deep breath, and smiled at them.

“Thanks, guys,” she said. “Sorry. Hope that wasn’t the worst. Wasn’t out too long, was I?”

“Nah,” Sans said. “Less than last time.”

“Th… That was scarier than when y-you died,” Alphys grumbled; her cheeks instantly flushed. “Oh g-god, what a horrible thing to s-say, I’m s-s-sorry.”

“Don’t be, it’s true,” Sans said. “Holdin’ up alright, kiddo?”

“Think so,” Frisk said. “Tired though. Not too bad. Get what you needed?”

“Yes. Finally.” Alphys smiled sheepishly. “Just need to r-read it. Th-Thank you so much.”

“Hey. Just doin’ my job,” Frisk joked. “Didn’t take too long, huh? So that means you’ll be able to figure out the soul stuff soon?”

“Yeah, I th-think so,” Alphys said.

“That’s so great!! What’s next?” Frisk asked.

“Oh! O-Oh, no, F-Frisk, that’s okay, w-we can—!”

“Just lemme know what I have to do,” the kid insisted.

Alphys sighed. “I… I w-want to r-read the magic on, um… On your f-face,” she said.

“Oh! That’s sound way easier!” Frisk said. “You don’t have to zap me at the same time for that, right?”

“N-No, I don’t, um… I don’t th-think so, it sh-should just be a recording,” she said. “Th-Then, once I get that, I… I sh-should be able t-to replicate a bit of it as a s-signal and… And! It’ll be r-really helpful.”

Frisk looked up at her brother. He shrugged. 

“Wait for Paps?” he suggested.

“Ooh. Right,” she said, and she pointed to the right side of her face. “He does the other half.”

“Oh! Oh, r-right, that goldish glow,” Alphys said. “I w-wonder why that one h-hasn’t shown up as much.”

“Not super sure,” Frisk admitted.

Slowly, Sans got to his feet, and he caught Frisk’s soul in blue. She squeaked and he floated her up and jerked his thumb at the door. 

“Catch you upstairs, Doc?” he said.

“Y-Yeah, of course. B-Be right there,” she said.

Frisk was half-asleep by the time she and Sans reached the top floor again. He plopped down with his back to the wall and Frisk squeaked again as her feet hit the ground. She stumbled over and sat close beside him. She blinked heavily and kneaded her eyes with her knuckles. He fished another soda from his pocket and held it out to her.

“Again?” she asked.

“Do me a favour,” he said.

“Ugh, fine.” She jokingly rolled her eyes and popped the tab, and the soda hissed like a snake. “Next time we bring milkshakes.”

“Now that’s a good idea,” he said.

Frisk drank slowly. She still wasn’t a huge fan of it, but she had to admit, she felt better with every sip. “Hey, Sans?”

“Sup?” he said.

“Thanks for letting me do the dumb thing,” she said.

“Pffft, like you need me to let you do anything,” he said.

“You know what I mean,” she said. 

“Welp. You were mostly ready,” he said. “Pretty funny when you die and your reaction is just _whoops, _though.”

She grinned, though her cheeks flushed just a tint. “I’m just really glad Alphys finally has the number or whatever,” she said. “Maybe we’ll finally be done soon. And I can break the barrier again with Az, annnnd things might start getting back to normal.”

“Normal?” Sans grinned. “What the hell is that?”

Frisk snickered. “Good point. I guess… I dunno. I just wanna be… done? I’d love to be done. For everyone, y’know?”

“I hear that,” he said.

She held out the half-can to him. He shrugged, took it, and knocked it back. 

“Kinda jealous,” she said.

“At least I’m good for one thing,” he joked.

She snickered, but couldn’t help the yawn that followed. She blinked heavily and rubbed her eyes. He gently poked her. She poked him back, and he poked her again. She laughed sleepily and awkwardly fumbled her way over into his lap and flopped onto him dramatically. He snickered and patted her head.

“Out for the count?” he asked.

“Maybe just for a little,” she said. “Getting a little sick of feeling like this, though.”

“Won’t last long,” he said. “Think this set you back much?”

She shook her head. “Nah. I feel only a bit worse than this morning. I’m… I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

Something in her tone was just a little worried, though. Must’ve been tough, Sans thought. It was still only a few days ago that she was completely out. This misadventure and some memory-manipulating creature dragging her out into the snow the day before really couldn’t have been helping the way she was recovering. He tossed the can and held her, snug and cozy. She gratefully rested in his arms for a little and closed her eyes, and dozed off within seconds. He fell asleep, too, but it didn’t last long. 

The ding of the elevator roused them, and Alphys came back to join them, dragging one of her smaller, wired energy-reading devices on a wheeled stand behind her. She also had a big journal and a pile of notes under her arm.

“Y-You two okay?” she asked.

“Yuuuuup,” Sans answered groggily. He looked at Frisk. 

She was awake— he could tell by the way her back tensed up— but was pretending not to be. Didn’t bother him a bit.

“She’s resting?” she asked.

Sans nodded. Alphys sighed with relief and went to her desk. She laid out the books and papers, and hopped up on her chair and began to write. Sans stayed quiet for a while, listening to the scratching of her pen on paper; gently rubbing Frisk’s head while completely unwilling to move otherwise.

“Sans?” Alphys asked.

He looked over at her, heavy-eyed. He’d almost fallen asleep again. “Hm?”

“S-So, um… S-So I’ve, uh, just been adding to m-my notes about, um… A-About human souls?” she said. “I w-was wondering… How, um…? How long have you and Frisk b-been, um, able to do th-that glowing? Like, when you were asleep?”

“Uh. Dunno. Since we crossed the barrier, I guess,” he said.

“Right. Right,” Alphys said. “But… y-you’ve been linked for longer than that, right?”

“Think so,” he said. “Since her first save, at least.”

“Hmm…” Alphys noted something down in her book. “Okay. Th-Thanks.”

“Works with Paps, too,” he said.

Alphys nodded and wrote a few more things. “I, um… I’m a little excited f-for the d-data,” she said quietly. “I know, I mean, I d-don’t n-need it as much now for… you know, wh-what I was working on b-before she g-got here, but still. It’s s-so interesting t-to me.”

“That’s cool,” Sans said. “Is that whole book that stuff?”

“Ummm, y-yep. Yeah. It’s, um, most of my, um, r-research about every, um… E-Every human we’ve c-come into contact with s-since we got trapped,” she explained. “Or at least their s-soul properties.”

“Right,” he said. He held the kid a little tighter. 

“Have a little of y-you in here, too,” she said. “S-Since, um… S-Since I have your r-readings and you and F-Frisk have that bond. Y’know. Hope that’s not t-too weird.”

“Nah. Used to being a science experiment,” he said with a wink. “No worries.”

Alphys chuckled. She twirled her pen between her fingers and turned back to look at him. “H-Hey, so… how you f-felt. When you came back?” she said. “F-From the barrier thing, I m-mean. Do you, um…? D-Do you feel any d-different?”

“No,” he said.

“S-So… The feeling. The, um, l-linking, it hasn’t… d-decreased?”

“No,” he said again— he saw Frisk smile a little. “Pretty okay with it the way it is.”

“G-Good. That’s good,” Alphys said.

She went back to writing and Sans relaxed. He felt Frisk’s soul starting to stick to his as she dozed off again. His left eye began to glow before he could help it. He was a little surprised with himself, but he supposed it was alright. He watched Alphys boot up her screen, though couldn’t see what she was looking at from where they sat. 

“S-Sans?” Alphys turned to him, but looked surprised. “Oh! Y-Your, um…! Uh. I, um… I was just w-wondering. H-Have you noticed a-anything else change?”

“Yup,” he said.

She stared at him. He pointed at Frisk. Alphys had a hopeful smile cross her face. He gently nudged the kid. She squirmed a little and opened her eyes. 

“Oh… Hey, bro,” she said slowly. “Sup?”

“Doc wants to see the new stuff,” he said.

“New stuff?” she repeated.

“Yeah, new soul stuff.”

“Oh. OH!” She was immediately more alert and she flopped back out of his lap and stumbled to her feet. “Yeah! Sync up with me.”

“Pffft, okay, sure. No problem.” 

His soul brightened blue. Frisk grinned and lit hers up too, then hugged tight onto his arm and pulsed stronger. They both went purple. Sans couldn’t help a grin. Alphys gawked and stammered something incoherent and loud.

“Cool, huh?” Frisk said.

The lizard almost fell from her chair and ran over, stalling a little ways away with wide eyes. She dropped to her knees, gawking. She hesitantly reached out a hand, but then drew back with her fingers shaking.

“H-H-How?!” she squeaked.

“No idea,” Sans said. “Dig it, though.”

“Yeah! Red and blue make purple,” she said. “And with Papyrus’s, we do this really nice orange. I’ll show you when he gets here.”

Alphys looked like she’d seen a ghost. She stumbled back and raced for her desk. Frisk shot her brother a confused look. He shrugged. 

“Wait. Wait wait wait. Okay, u-um, you’ve j-just, um… You j-just turned my whole, um…” Alphys dragged some notes and the book she’d been scrawling in from her desk, and raced back over, almost falling over her own feet. “Um. R-Right. You just t-turned my whole e-everything upside down? Okay, one. Th-That’s amazing. N-Not monster, d-definitely not monster. And two. Frisk. You see colour? I m-mean, in our souls? N-Not in general, I mean—”

“Um. Yeah?” Frisk looked confused. The purple died away and she shot Sans a puzzled look and sat down. “Am I not supposed to?”

He shrugged again. Alphys rubbed her brow.

“Wh-What colour is mine?” she asked.

“Bright yellow,” she said.

“And Undyne?” she pressed.

“Like, super bright turquoise,” Frisk said. “Like, blue turquoise though? Not green. Like… Almost, what’s it called? Cyan? Close to that.”

Alphys’s eyes were like saucers and she rushed through her book at breakneck speed. “Th-That’s… amazing,” she said. “F-Frisk, most humans see our souls as white, I…W-Wait. Oh! O-Oh!!”

“What?” Frisk asked.

“Twice! It’s happened tw-twice,” she said, pointing to some scribbled notes in her book. “H-Here. Two of th-the humans before you, F-Frisk.”

“Huh?” she asked.

“Wh-While I was researching the other human souls, I l-learned about some th-that were from a l-long time before. Two o-of them were, um… W-Well they were nice. K-Kind of like you, Frisk. And those two, um… w-well, as far as I know, they, um, passed away a-after living with us a little while. Th-There’s records of them b-both being able to s-see monster s-soul colours. B-But, I mean, the others, it’s not l-like there was a chance to a-ask them, b-but—”

“Which ones?” Frisk asked. “I mean, um, which souls, I guess?”

“The, um… Th-The g-green one and the p-purple one. Huh. F-Funny, they actually f-fell one after the other,” Alphys said. “B-But… That was a l-long time ago. F-Frisk, unfortunately, a-after them was, um, a human with quite a high l-level of violence, and, um… w-well I guess th-that’s why you f-found that p-people here were s-so scared the f-first time you showed up.”

“Oh.” Frisk didn’t like the thought, but she knew it was nothing personal. “Y… Yeah.”

Alphys paced, frowning in thought, before whirling on them with a big grin on her face. “It must have b-been exposure,” she announced. “Th-The longer a h-human stays w-with monsters, th-the more their s-soul must adjust to b-being around them. T-Tell me, Frisk, d-did you notice the c-colours when you first g-got here? I mean, the very v-very first time.”

“Um…” Frisk thought back. “Not really, actually. But at the same time, um… None of the monsters I met early in were using special techniques or they were wearing thick clothes during a battle so… um. I guess I first started noticing it when I caught Papyrus wearing normal clothes the first time. He was trying to comfort me about whatever and I noticed his soul get really bright through his shirt. I guess most monsters aren’t as bright as skeletons like that, though, right? Since skeletons don’t have skin or anything. Right, bro?”

“Basically,” he said with a shrug.

“So… w-wait, is all of it in colour, or…?” Alphys asked.

Frisk tugged on Sans’s sleeve. He conjured a basic bone on the end of his finger.

“White,” she said, and he shifted it to the more ethereal looking blue kind. “Blue.”

“Wow! O-Okay, then, there’s n-no… no difference in how you would see it t-to…! Well!” Alphys smiled. “You’re r-really j-just like a little monster s-sometimes, aren’t you? Th-That’s great!”

Frisk absolutely beamed.

Their attention was caught as the west door crashed open, and Papyrus sprinted in with a worried look on his face. Frisk waved and her brother raced over and grabbed her.

“Are you alright?!” he demanded.

“Yeah! You?” she said.

“Me? Um. I’m fine,” he said. 

“What were you up to?” she asked brightly.

“Oh! Um. Just… Just patrolling! With Captain Undyne!” he said quickly, “And we did a little half-battle. But what happened?!”

“Oh! No worries,” she said. “I just fell down the escalator.”

“Oh no! Frisk, that’s a bit clumsy, isn’t it? You’re okay now, aren’t you?” he asked.

“She a broke a thing,” Sans said, pointing to his own forearm. “Thought she might as well go back, it was only a few minutes.”

“Ooh. Good call, brother,” Papyrus said. “Uh. What are you all doing, exactly?”

“Did my determination reading,” Frisk said proudly. “And actually, you’re just on time!”

“Fantastic! What for?” he asked.

She patted the floor. He sat down with her, and she held his hand tight and lit her soul up.

“Alphys wants to see,” she said.

“Oh!” He unzipped his sweatshirt and copied her. “I see!”

After just a moment, their colours both shifted to a deep orange. She grinned. He cackled and scooped her up into his lap.

Alphys snuck a bit closer. Over her shoulder, Undyne had sauntered in, following Papyrus’s trail. She folded her arms and raised her brows. Frisk waved at her and Alphys quickly looked over her shoulder and squeaked a surprised, incoherent greeting before turning back. 

“P… Papyrus, c-can I…? Oh… Th-This is awkward, b-but… C-Can I… s-see your…? I m-mean…” She sighed and her cheeks flushed. “T-Take off your shirt? Please.”

Undyne stifled a laugh, but Papyrus nodded and pulled off his sweatshirt as Frisk scooted out of the way, and then the t-shirt underneath. His soul shine took up a large portion of his chest cavity. Alphys snuck in close and she shot him a questioning look. He nodded. She gently put her hands on his ribcage and seemed to concentrate very hard. Frisk leaned over to look curiously.

“Wow, Paps, look at that,” she said. “Your soul’s so big.”

“Of course it is!” he said brightly. “I am quite a big skeleton, after all!”

“Guess skeletons are perfect if you wanna study a soul, huh?” Undyne said. “Look at that, you can see everything. Heh. Cool.”

“Yeah, too bad probably the whole sample size is in the room already,” Sans said.

After a minute or so, Alphys turned to look at Frisk. “How l-long can you two h-hold that?”

“Umm… I dunno, actually,” Frisk said. “It’s not like it’s hard, though.”

“Right! Very simple, actually,” Papyrus said.

The lizard bit her lip and nodded, and then pulled back from Papyrus. She blushed a little. “R-Really warm,” she said. “Thank you, P-Papyrus.”

He nodded and put his salmon-coloured tee back on and they let the glow fade down. Alphys smiled.

“A-Alright! Done for today?” she asked.

“You don’t want to finish the readings?” Frisk asked.

“Oh! W-Well… I mean. Are y-you okay to do that?”

Frisk nodded. Alphys looked at Sans. He shrugged and pointed back at the kid. Alphys took a deep breath. She put on a big smile.

“A-Alright! I’m s-sure it’ll be fine! W-We’ll hook you up, and I’ll make sure n-not to kill you th-this time!”

“This time?” Papyrus repeated.

Frisk held in a snicker, but Sans couldn’t help but begin to laugh, and hard, too. Alphys’s face turned stark red.

“Uhhhhhhhhh…”

\- - -

The rest of the scans and tests proceeded without incident. All that was really involved in the memory magic was some glowing and some nodes on Frisk’s temples and chest. Alphys was thrilled. Frisk, too, felt a big sense of relief. Soon, they’d know the right components to make the soul for Asriel. All that had to happen now, theoretically, was data analysis.

Frisk felt a little weird. All at once, the goal felt more attainable and relaxed, and yet more urgent. As Asriel had said, he hated being a flower. Equally, she hated the idea that he was miserable. Anything she could do to lessen his sentence— if there was even hope of that— was what she had to shoot towards. But, having him with that little piece of her— having him with them at all—made her feel so much better. Both for him, and to know the future she had come from could never repeat itself.

Her mother wouldn’t disappear into the snow. Undyne wouldn’t be smashed to bits by a creature the size of a building, doomed to melt into sludge of determination even if her battle was won. Their home wouldn’t be demolished by the thirst for power of someone who could have once been a friend. Papyrus would never forget her again, nor would Sans have to wait through the uncertainty of a full-on reset. She’d never have to be apart from them. Everyone was safe.

\- - -

The hour was getting later and later. Frisk didn’t know why she was bothering to look out the window. Aside from blowing snow, nothing much changed in Snowdin. She was’t even sure if, as she watched out for Asriel, that she would even see him if he did come back. She wanted to put those “if’s” out of her mind. He’d come back. But still, she worried about him.

She rested her head on her arms and readjusted the big earphones. She turned up the music a little. It made her feel better. After around three songs, she thought she heard her name and she turned in her seat. Papyrus was hovering behind her, ringing his hands. She pulled one of the earphones off.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“Are you still waiting?” he asked. 

“Yeah. Have you heard anything?” she asked.

“Nnnnooo, not so much. No,” he said. “You know, I even texted him at least fifteen times and stiiiilll nothing! Oh. Except when he called me a numbskull around four hours ago.”

“Aw, jeez, sorry he’s rude,” she said.

“Hm? Oh! Nyeh heh heh, no, don’t worry about that at all, little sister,” he said. “He’s just insecure and only has a very limited amount of insults he thinks are at all effective. Which, of course, they aren’t. But. That’s okay. And, of course, you don’t have to apologize for him!”

Frisk snickered. “You’re so good, bro.”

“Thank you!” He came closer and knelt down to match her eye level out the window and he folded his arms. “Want some company?”

“Yeah, of course I do,” she said.

He grinned and bounced over, stealing her out of her seat and holding her close. She took off her earphones and offered them to him. He put them on with a curious furrow in his brow. After a few seconds, he began to cackle.

“Where did you get this music?” he asked loudly.

“Undyne,” she said. “She gave me a bunch of CDs with her old player.”

“It’s so peppy!” He grinned. “Great for jogging laps, I guess!” 

“Can I hear your music sometime, bro?” she asked.

He looked surprised. His cheekbones flushed a little. He pulled off the earphones. “My music?” he repeated. “W-Well. I mean. Yes! Okay! Why not!? I mean. It’s not like it’d be very devastating if you hated it or anything, I’m sure it’d be just fine, so… Wait. Did we really live together a whole year and I never showed you my music?”

“Never!” she said.

“Gasp! Well. Okay. We’ll fix that,” he said. “I wonder why…”

“Music is really personal sometimes, right?” Frisk said. “I notice a lot of people seem kinda embarrassed showing what they like.”

“Gosh, could it have been that I was worried you wouldn’t like it and that you would somehow by some horrible accident think I was less cool than extremely super cool?” he said.

“I hope not,” Frisk said. “Because I’ll always think you’re extremely super cool.”

“O-Of course!” he said, grinning sheepishly. “How silly. I couldn’t have thought that.”

He plunked the earphones back over her head and she grinned. She put them around her neck and turned the music down.

“I got a note from whoever took me, you know,” she said. “It said I need to _find my song_. Whatever that means.”

“You think it means to listen to music?” Papyrus asked.

Frisk shrugged. “Maybe there’s a secret message. Or. Ins… Inspiration?” she said. “I’m not really sure what to think.”

“That’s okay. We’ll figure it out,” Papyrus assured her.

She leaned back into him with a thoughtful frown on her brow.“Think he’s okay?” she asked quietly.

“Hm? Oh. I’m sure he is,” Papyrus assured her. 

“Later, could I maybe, um—?”

“Of course you can use my phone,” he said.

She laughed. “Thanks.”

“Hey. So.You know, since you were asleep for three days, I haven’t really done many new puzzle builds,” he said.

“Oh yeah?” she said.

“Well, it’s not quite as fun without my assistant, is it?” he said with a grin. “What do you think, are you up for it? And we can even listen to some music!”

“Well…” Frisk turned her gaze out the window, but then looked up at him. “Yeah. Okay. That sounds great.”

“Of course it does!!” He jumped to his feet and grinned at her. “All my ideas are great!”


	46. The Petulant Flower Arc

It wasn’t pleasant spending the night out in the open again. Asriel was chilled and a little grumpy. He wasn’t confident in returning to the Snowdin house yet. He wasn’t sure why. He also didn’t know why Papyrus kept texting him. Saying mushy things, telling him how the day was going, on and on and on. Added to that, little messages from Frisk. She told him about her tests at the lab, and how they were getting closer to helping him. It was hard for him to believe.

There was a little more sun shining this morning down onto the golden flowers. It made them sparkle. Those vacant, pretty things— he hated them. He felt sick looking at them. He got another text: Papyrus wishing him a good morning. He got a photo. It was that skeleton and Frisk, grinning, forming their hands into hearts. He groaned and closed it quickly and pouted. He sat with a deep frown on his face for a minute or so before he brought the picture up again. 

Frisk and Papyrus were out in the snow, near one of his puzzle set-ups. He could also see Sans way off in the background. Frisk looked tired despite her smile. Whatever had happened yesterday that made her travel backwards in time probably hadn’t helped her out. Why did that make him feel like crying?

Footsteps startled him and he ducked down amongst the blossoms. Once again, he saw Toriel entering the cavern with a watering can in hand. She wasn’t exactly like clockwork, but it was a certainty that she would show up at some point every morning. He’d watched her long enough to have known that. She began to water the plants, humming gently to herself. A song he knew much too well. He flinched. She was giving the flowers a few drips too much to drink, as was par for the course with her.

He ducked underground, but he knew her sharp ears would have caught the sound. 

“Is someone there?” she called. “Hello? Please, don’t be frightened, it’s safe to come out!”

Asriel froze. He felt everything about him shake. He was drawn to her like a magnet. Cursing himself, he rose above the earth again and awkwardly waved to catch her eye. She looked surprised, but she smiled when she saw him.

“Oh! Little one, I didn’t notice you.” She put her watering can down and walked over to him. “Have you been out here all night?”

“Um. Y-Yeah. Kind of,” he said.

“My child, I would have opened my door to you if I had known.” Her brow was bent into a sympathetic frown. “Have you still not been home?”

“No,” he said. 

“They must be worried about you, don’t you think?” she said.

He shrugged. She sat down beside him, though still gave him a little space. 

“Would you like to talk about it?” she asked. “Sometimes it helps.”

He shrugged again and curled up, silent for a long while. She didn’t push. The quiet made his head hurt; he couldn’t help but want to fill it.

“It’s just…” He sighed. “I don’t know…”

“I think you might have an idea,” she said gently.

“It’s complicated,” he grumbled.

“When is it not?” she said. She smiled at him. 

He grimaced. “Do you… think you could be friends with someone who hurt you?”

“I suppose it depends,” she said. “How badly has this friend hurt you?”

Asriel laughed. “No. I hurt her.”

“And she’s upset?” Toriel asked.

“No, no, she’s… She says she’s not,” he said.

“You don’t believe her?”

“I don’t know. I think I do,” he said. “I want to. It’s just… I dunno. I wouldn’t forgive me.”

“Ah.” Toriel nodded. “If you stay around someone who says they forgive when they don’t, it can be very trying. For both of you. But… I’m sensing that you’re not sure, is that right?”

“I guess,” he admitted. 

“Has she given you reason to doubt?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“I think I can see it in your eyes, little one,” Toriel said. “You don’t trust easily, do you?”

Asriel shrugged again. She chuckled.

“I know. Once it’s been broken, sometimes trust is hard to mend, isn’t it?” she said. “It doesn’t matter who did it. It affects everything.”

He winced. Toriel reached out and gently patted his head with one finger.

“Have you eaten?” she asked gently.

He shook his head.

“Well.” She smiled when he looked up at her. “What would you say to joining me for a late breakfast?”

“Uh… Well…” he mumbled.

“Come on,” she said. “I’d say we could both do with the company.” She got to her feet and looked at him, her ears perked expectantly. 

He gulped and, though the very thought of it made him feel heavy, he began to follow her. She grinned brightly and, when she turned back to lead him, he felt tears in his eyes despite a bit of a smile creeping onto his face. 

\- - -

Papyrus tapped his foot impatiently, snow crunched down into a firm layer where his boot pressed, a frown on his face. Frisk, on the other hand was grinning, crouching in beside a puzzle’s reset button. 

“Oh, come on, Sans, it’s not that hard!” Papyrus chided.

Sans cupped his chin. He stared at the puzzle laid out before him in the snow with tired eyes. There was a litany of switches that had to be changed from X’s to O’s, blocked off in little pathways by piles of snow and rocks— no teleporting allowed. He made as if to move and then reconsidered and stayed exactly where he stood. Papyrus grumbled quietly. He’d been doing this for close to ten minutes. Again, Sans began to move, then stopped.

“Oh come on!!!” Papyrus cawed.

“Give him another minute,” Frisk said with a laugh.

Sans raised a finger. “What do I get if I get it?”

“The satisfaction of having completed a masterpiece puzzle by the great Papyrus and his fantastic assistant Frisk.”

“Oh,” Sans said.

“Why?” Papyrus asked suspiciously. 

“I was thinkin’—”

“I am not cleaning your room,” Papyrus said.

“What, and mess up my mess?” Sans grinned. “Come to Grillby’s with me.”

Frisk face lit up, but Papyrus scoffed and cawed in disapproval.

“No? Huh,” Sans said. He resumed looking quite indecisive. 

Papyrus frowned. Frisk raised her hand.

“How about, if he gets it in one go, we all go to Grillby’s,” she said. “But we won’t make you eat anything weird.”

Papyrus folded his arms tight. “Okay. Fine. It’s not as if you can trounce our puzzle so easily, though, brother!”

Frisk grinned and gave Sans a thumbs-up. He seemed pleased. He pondered for another minute and then slowly began to move around the switches. Papyrus watched with baited breath. Their brother seemed slow and methodical, but, within about a minute, he walked out the other end with all switches pressed. Papyrus cackled with glee and whisked Sans up into a hug before his face fell and he let out a displeased squawk, dropping him back into the snow.

“BAH! I can’t believe you actually did it in one try!!” he said.

Sans stuck both thumbs up and Frisk whooped excitedly. Papyrus let out a loud, exaggerated groan and began to stomp back off towards town. Sans snickered and waited for Frisk to scamper over. He offered his hand and she gladly clung on. 

“Not a total _numbskull_, huh?” he said. “Bet those’ll get even better the more Paps _bones_ _up_ on ‘em, huh?”

“I HEARD THAT,” Papyrus called as Frisk giggled.

Grillby’s was warm and welcoming, though Papyrus had his arms folded tight and he was pouting as much as someone without skin could convey. It wasn’t too busy, but a dog was playing cards with himself at a table near the back, and Dogamy and Dogaressa were sharing burgers nearby. A booth was vacant and they took it. Sans kicked his feet up across one of the cushioned benches and Frisk gladly snuck in beside Papyrus. 

“I need to increase the challenge of my puzzles, I should not have put myself in this predicament,” he grumbled. “FRISK! He didn’t cheat, did he?! You’d tell me, wouldn’t you?!”

“Course he didn’t cheat! Why do you think he took so long looking at it, bro?” Frisk said, gently nudging him with elbow. “C’mon, I thought you loved when people solved your puzzles.”

“Siiiigh, I doooo,” he said, putting his elbows on the table. “Finnnnee. Well played, brother.”

“Heh. Guess I was actually on my game this time,” he said with a wink.

“Uuuugghhh,” Papyrus groaned. 

A little more light warmed the area as Grillby approached them, carrying a large, thick book in one hand and a notepad in the other.

“Oh, hey, special treatment?” Sans said, grinning.

Grillby shrugged one shoulder and held the book out to Frisk. She took it with a bit of confusion on her face, and he pointed at the seat. 

“Ooh!” Frisk put it down and shifted to sit on it, getting a much better view over the table. “Thanks, Grillby, you’re the best.”

The fire in his cheeks went a little blue and he nodded, and turned his gaze on Sans, raising his brows.

“Two burgs, two fries,” he said.

“And milkshakes?” Frisk asked hopefully.

“And milkshakes,” Sans said. “Thanks, dude.”

Grillby nodded, and Frisk beckoned him downward. He bent and she whispered something to him. He nodded again after a moment.

“Thanks so much, really appreciate it,” she said.

He seemed to smile and then turned and headed back to the bar.

“What was that secret secret?” Papyrus asked.

“Hm? Oh, nothing!” Frisk said. “Got anything back from Az yet?”

“Ummm…” he put his phone on the table. “Nnnnooo? No. Still no.”

“Aw,” Frisk grumbled.

“I’m sure he’ll come back!” Papyrus said. “Right, brother? He will.”

Sans shrugged. “Who knows with that kid?” he said. “But. I dunno. Thinkin’ he will for you, kiddo.”

“Maybe.” She tented her fingers. “I hope so.”

“I’m sure he will!” Papyrus insisted. “Did you know him for very long? You must’ve been quite good friends!”

“Well, I guess. I hope he’d think so, too,” Frisk said bashfully. “B-But… I dunno. He doesn’t really remember. Maybe it was Chara in my head, maybe not, but I felt really close to him right away. I mean, after he stopped trying to blow me up and everything. He’s, um… He’s actually really sweet. The real him.”

“The real him? What do we have now, the fake him?” Papyrus asked.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “Maybe this is just how he is now. I dunno. He’s just kinda grumpier and less trusting, I guess. I hope maybe I can make him see that we can all be friends. He doesn’t have to be so on guard, y’know?”

“Maybe,” Sans said, “but, uh, you think you see shapes in the dark and your mind runs away with you sometimes, you know?”

Frisk nodded. Papyrus frowned.

“I’m not sure what that has to do with anything, brother. Did Asriel get lost in a cave or something?”

“Heh. No, bro, it’s fine, forget it,” he said.

Sans’s gaze was caught on something behind them and he groaned and sluggishly made his way out of the seat. Frisk scrambled off her book and onto the floor with him.

“Don’t leave,” she told Papyrus.

Papyrus stuck his finger up as if to protest, but gave up as they left and went back to pouting.

They were only gone for a minute, but they came back with food. Papyrus scoffed, but was taken aback when Frisk clunked a big, somewhat brown something in a tall, fancy glass in front of him.

“What the heck is that?!” he demanded.

“Try it,” she said. “Promise you’ll like it.” 

He poked the glass suspiciously and shot Frisk a curious look as she clambered back up to sit beside him. He frowned and she gave him a big, innocent smile. He sighed deeply and continued eyeing everything with catlike caution as Sans and Frisk started to eat. Tentatively, he edged ever closer to the concoction in front of him until he put the straw in his mouth and took a sip. His eyes seemed to light up.

“Coffee flavour!” he squeaked.

“You like it?” Frisk asked.

“Well. I mean. Yes, I guess, it’s not too bad,” he said, and had a little more. “Thank you, Frisk.”

Sans’s grin was quite smug; Papyrus scoffed and turned his head up with distain. Frisk was starting to suspect that her brother mostly disliked the place out of principle.

At the front of the building, the door opened with a bit of a crash, letting in light and a blast of cold air. Frisk leaned around the booth to look. She recognized two knights in dark metal plate from Hotland. One looked a little like he was a dragon under that big helmet, and the other’s long rabbit ears stood out quite brightly in contrast to his armour. Frisk didn’t know them well, but they were both friendly, but pretty shy, too. A nice couple, she thought.

Dogamy and Dogaressa got up from their seats and rushed forward, circling the two newcomers with interest. 

“You smell like friends!” Dogamy asserted. “Are you guards, too?”

“Totally,” the rabbit-eared one said. “Hotland division and stuff.”

“Wow! Interesting,” Dogaressa said. “We’re Snowdin division! What brings you to our territory?”

“Oh! We’re, like, looking for Sans the skeleton? The King totally said he lived here, right, bro?” He looked back at the other monster, who nodded silently as a reply.

Sans sluggishly slumped in his seat.

“Oh! I think he’s just there, actually,” Dogamy said, and he sprung over to their table. “Oh. Sans. Sorry, you weren’t hiding, were you? Is it okay that I sniffed you out?”

“No problem,” he said, resting his chin on his fist. “Good dog.”

Dogamy’s face lit up and his tail wagged hard as he pranced back to Dogaressa, grabbing her paws in his. “He said I was a good dog!”

“Wow!” she said. 

“SANS!” The armoured monsters stomped over to the table. “There you are!”

“Here I am,” Sans agreed.

“We were worried,” the rabbit said. “Didn’t see you at your post for a few days, dude.”

“Oh. Yeah.” He jerked his thumb at Frisk. “My kid was sick.”

“Your kid?” The monster looked at his partner and then back at Sans. “We, like, didn’t know you had a kid.”

“Kid sister,” Sans said.

“He found the kid!” Dogaressa volunteered. “So lucky!”

“True,” Sans said. He grinned when Frisk snickered and bashfully waved a hand at him. 

“Oh! Well. Okay,” he said; his companion stuck his thumb up. “So. You’ve, like, been working more in Snowdin, then. Were you here for that human scare? Was everything, uh, okay?”

“Human scare? Pfffft, that’s overblown!” Papyrus said, resting his elbow on Frisk’s head. “Nooooo humans here at all!”

“Oh? What was it, then?” the guard asked.

Sans and Papyrus both froze for just a second. Frisk pointed her thumb at herself. 

“It was me. I was lost,” Frisk said.

“Oh really? That’s a shame,” the dragon-like monster said softly.

“Yes! Yes, you see, our sister, she’s a little bit of a rare kind of monster annnnd because she’s so unfamiliar,” Papyrus said in a hurry, shifting his arm around Frisk’s shoulders somewhat protectively, “some people thought maybe she was a human! Very silly! 

“Yeah. Guess you are, like, totally an unusual monster, aren’t ya?” the rabbit-eared monster said, squatting down a bit to look her in the face. “What kind are you?”

“Weird puppy. Or squishy skeleton,” Sans said. “Depends on the day, really.”

Frisk laughed and she nodded.

“Oh. Okay. Weird squishy skeleton puppy,” the guard said with a nod. “Don’t worry, Sans! We’ll totally report back to the King for you!”

“Uhhh…” He grinned sideways as Papyrus shot him a wide-eyed look. “What for?”

“He was worried,” the other guard said quietly.

“Totally worried when you didn’t show up!” the rabbit-eared one said. “So! We’ll let him know, the human scare was no big deal and that you’re, like, just watching your Snowdin post and taking care of your sick sister!”

His friend nodded and pulled out a cellphone to start texting.

“Oh. Heh. Thanks,” Sans said. “Yeah, guess I shouldda done that.”

“Dude, forget it, sick sisters are a totally acceptable reason to skip work,” the rabbit said quickly. “Like, don’t even sweat it. The King’ll understand, for sure. Hey, sick little sister, get better, okay?”

“Um, thank you,” Frisk said with a sheepish smile.

The monster was about to straighten up, but Frisk put a hand on his shoulder and waved him closer. He tilted his ear towards her when she beckoned to him again.

“Um. Hey. So. That guy? You should tell him how you feel,” she whispered, pointing at the other guard.

“H-Huh?!” He blushed down to his eartips. “Wh-What?! Like, how did you—?!”

“Go up to the counter and share a milkshake. Trust me,” she said.

“Uhhhhh… W-Well… Like… That’s totally weird and specific, but okay.” He straightened up and turned to his companion. “Uh… Want to? Um. Like. Split a milkshake?”

“…Yeah okay,” the other monster said.

They headed away and Frisk smiled proudly. Sans laughed and rubbed his brow. Papyrus looked at Frisk with confusion, and then stretched a bit to look behind them back at the counter, where the two guards now stood. 

“Wait, what just happened?” he asked as he settled again.

“Playin’ cupid again, huh, kiddo?” Sans said.

“He just needs a little push,” Frisk said.

“What?” Papyrus pressed.

“Those two guys, they really really like each other,” Frisk said. “But the dragon one, he’s really really quiet and shy. And the rabbit one totally misses the fact that his friend really likes him, too. Just needs to be convinced to make a move, that’s all.”

“Is that from the future?” Papyrus asked.

Frisk nodded.

“Well! That’ll make them happy, won’t it?” Papyrus said. “Are they future friends, too?”

“Actually. I don’t know them very well at all,” Frisk admitted bashfully, “but they were really happy together in the future. So… I dunno. Did I do the right thing?”

“I’m sure you did, little sister,” Papyrus said.

“Yeah, I’m sure it was frustrating for Alphys to watch them dance around it for so long,” Sans said.

“She shipped ‘em?” Frisk asked.

“Super hard, dude,” Sans said.

“Is there anyone she doesn’t ship?” the kid wondered.

“Hopefully you,” Sans said. “And hopefully Paps.”

“Where would she even ship me to? Wouldn’t I notice that?” Papyrus demanded.

“Paps,” Frisk said at a conspiratorial whisper, “it means in her stories she pretends people are dating.”

“Pfffft, hah!!! How nerdy!” he said. “And weird!”

“What else is new?” Sans said with a grin.

\- - -

Papyrus actually finished off the coffee milkshake, and Frisk picked up one more for the road before they began to head home. Halfway, though, it occurred to the kid that she should stop and do a save. She waved her brothers onward and doubled back to the inn. Once she reached the glowing tear, however, she had second thoughts.

She hadn’t heard from Asriel since yesterday. If something bad had happened to him, and she couldn’t undo it— the thought of it made her ill inside. Wasting her time on a little extra walk didn’t bother her. 

She headed east back down main street and towards home. Around the mailboxes beside the house, she thought she heard a bit of a crack. She looked around. Maybe an icicle had fallen. She was about to continue on when she heard a small cough. 

She whirled around and, to her surprise, she saw Asriel behind her with a weak, embarrassed smile on his face. “Asriel!!” she said shrilly. 

He looked shocked when she rushed to him and dropped to her knees in the snow. She cupped his little head with one hand and his stem with her other.

“I’m so glad you came back!” she said.

“Y… You are?” he asked.

“Yeah, duh!” she said. “How are you?”

“Um. I’m, uh… I’m okay,” he said.

She grinned. He stared at her blankly for a few seconds before tears welled up in his eyes. He bowed his head and sniffled.

“Ooh, no, come here,” she said gently.

She beckoned him towards her. With hesitation in his movements, he slithered up onto her knee. His roots and extra little vines clung tight, and she gently rubbed his head with her thumb as he sniffled. 

“S-Sorry…” He croaked. “L… Long day.”

“Don’t worry,” she assured him. “Want to go inside?”

“C… Could we just stay here for a little?” he said.

“Yeah,” she said.

\- - -

Sans was already fast asleep on the couch to nap off breakfast when Frisk brought Asriel— swapped back into a mug— into the house. Papyrus gasped loudly and dropped to his knees to hug them both.

“Welcome home!!!” he said brightly. 

“Uh… thanks?” Asriel said.

“Did you get my texts?” Papyrus said, and Asriel nodded. “You didn’t text me back.”

“Uh… Yeah. Sorry,” he said.

“Oh well! You must’ve been busy!” Papyrus said. “How did meeting with mom go?”

“Um… It was fine,” he said. “Um. Frisk?” He pointed up the stairs. 

She nodded. “Paps, we’re just gonna talk in our room, okay?”

He tilted his head, but he seemed to catch her meaning quickly by the look on her face. He stuck his thumb up. “Alright! I will just be. Here. Or maybe outside. I’m not sure. Until you’re done! Okay? I’m just a phone call away! Or, you know, just come find me.”

“Thanks, bro,” Frisk said.

She took Asriel upstairs and presented him with the extra milkshake as they sat on the bed together. He looked at it suspiciously. 

“It’s good for your bones,” she said.

“I don’t have bones,” he said.

She shrugged. He hesitantly tested it, and then nodded.

“You’re okay?” she said. “Was…? Was it okay? With mom?”

He nodded and smiled just a little. “We, uh… We actually had breakfast together.”

“What?!” Frisk couldn’t help a grin. “No way! That’s so great! How do you feel?”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “Good. But awful. But… good?”

She nodded. “Thanks for coming home.”

“Not really home,” he muttered.

“I know maybe it doesn’t feel like it yet,” she said, “but I hope we can change that.”

“Still don’t totally get why you’re so invested in me,” he said.

“I’m your friend,” she said, and she smiled bashfully. “Hope you’re my friend, too?”

“…Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he grumbled.

Frisk beamed. He waved his leaves at her as if to shoo her away, but he was smiling a little. She snickered.

“So, tell me,” he said. “How, um…? How are you feeling? What was up with the reset yesterday?”

“Oh. Lab stuff. Wasn’t totally ready. Kinda died,” she said. “I’m okay. Hope it wasn’t annoying.”

“Sheesh. Yeah, okay, that’s what I thought,” he said. “Sorry.”

“Nah,” she said. “So you got all the sun you needed?”

“Yeah. Should be okay for a few days,” he said. “It’s such a pain.”

“Just hang in a little longer,” she said.

“You keep saying that,” he said. “You don’t actually think you can get my body back, do you?”

“Well. Kind of?” she said. “I mean. I’m not sure if you remember, but in a few different timelines, you managed to get it for a little.”

“Wh…? What?” He stared at her blankly. “I did?”

“Okay, we gotta get on the same page,” she said; she lay down on her stomach. “How far do you remember before the resets?”

“All of them?” he asked, and she nodded. “Well. First one with you, got the souls from Asgore, killed him, killed you, but you kept coming back and I guess kinda inspired the souls I took to fight back. Then…” He frowned a bit. He crossed his leaves. “I’m not sure,” he said. “The next two are a bit muddled.”

“Yeah? How?” she said.

“I… I’m not sure,” he said again. “I remember you. I remember feelings. I remember you made friends with so many people. Enough for them to come to you when you tried to get to Asgore. And I… took their souls, right? Then I remember a lot of… emotions? And you reset.”

“I don’t get it,” she said. “Why don’t you remember those ones as much?”

“I dunno. Maybe something happened that I didn’t want to remember,” he said. “Why did you go back?”

“Huh?” she asked.

“I mean. I tried to make you reset, right. Did you give up?” he asked.

“No. We finished,” she said. “That’s probably where those feelings come from.”

“Finished?” he asked. “You broke the barrier?”

“You did,” she said.

“Me?!” His voice went shrill. “You’re joking.”

She shook her head.

“I… I don’t understand,” he said. “How did I…?! I was bluffing when I…!! Why did you go backwards, then?!”

Frisk grimaced a bit. She sighed. “Trip to drama town?”

“Uh… Sure?” he said. 

“Kay, so… I’m not sure if you’d… Well. I mean. I’m not blaming you, okay?” she said quickly. “So please don’t… I mean. I know it wasn’t _you_ you, you know? I mean—”

“Just tell me,” he said. “What’d I do, kill everyone again?”

“Um. Y-Yeah,” Frisk said quietly.

Asriel’s eyes went wide. “…Well, shit, that was a bad joke, then,” he grumbled. “What happened?”

“What I can figure out is that, um, I think your determination from the CORE plan worked sometime after the barrier went down,” she said, her heart already starting to speed uncomfortably. “I think you killed someone. A human, I guess. I don’t know when, though. I just know that it’d been almost a year and you showed up in our new town and you just started killing humans and taking their souls. You kinda turned into a giant flower thing? You were smashing buildings. And you were trying to kill me to get the timeline, I think. Y-You, um… You got mom. And Undyne. And—”

“Okay, okay.” He reached up to her and brushed tears away from her eye. “You don’t have to finish. I get it.”

“S-Sorry.” She wiped her face on the back of her hand. “I just… I knew I shouldn’t have left you.”

“Left me?” he repeated.

“When… Wh-When we met, like, for real. And we sorta were friends after the first time,” Frisk said, “I talked to Sans about it and we agreed to reset to the start one last time to try to save you.”

“What?! Sans did?” he yelped.

She nodded. “We planned for, like, weeks, even. I… I tried everything I could think of back then,” she said. “And most of what Sans could think of. But even then, I didn’t have enough time after the barrier broke. And I couldn’t loop forever. You started to turn back, and you told me to leave and… and not to come looking for you. And I listened. I… I’m so sorry, I should’ve tried harder. I wish I c-could’ve saved you.” She sniffled a little and had to wipe her eyes again. 

Asriel frowned. He grabbed her hand as tight as he could. “You saved me,” he said. “You already did. Okay?”

“W-Working on it,” she said with a smile.

“No. I mean it,” he said, and he tapped his stem. “This? Whatever the hell this is? This is okay. It’s… I mean. Being a flower sucks. A lot. But… I feel. I remember what it’s like to be… me, just a little, y’know?”

Frisk let out a little, hiccoughing laugh. “I’m so glad,” she said.

He bumped his brow against hers gently, and she snickered and gently held him. She glowed without meaning to. He smiled.

“Crybaby,” he said.

“I know, I know,” she said. “Thanks for coming back.”

\- - -

The data was in. Finally. A heart of red on Alphys’s monitor shone back with data that seemed impossible. But there it was. There wasn’t a speck of Frisk’s soul that wasn’t determination. It was more than enough to dissolve every monster in the underground. Possibly every monster that had ever existed. Her soul could barely even be qualified by numbers. It simply _was_. No wonder her computer had problems understanding it.

Human souls weren’t normally like this at all. Alphys had seen her share over the years. None of them had even come close. 

The one part that could be ranked was that little bit of extra. Alphys felt a little worry upon seeing it, at first. From what she found in her primary numbers, combining magic, determination, and solidarity, it didn’t seem to be enough. But, combined with what Asriel already held, it seemed like it might be. The determination, at least, was somewhat accounted for. It was a huge relief. She’d get around to figuring that out a little later.

She spent time just staring at it, starry-eyed. She’d never even imaged a soul like that. It was beautiful to her. She took a photo of the screen and texted it to Undyne with a bunch of text hearts. She texted it to Frisk, too.

“_look at this!! =^.^= !!!<3thank you for everything!!! <3 <3 <3_” she said. She rested her cheek on her fist. She felt a bit giddy. Their key out, glowing like a beacon, couldn’t have belonged to someone better.

“_is that frisk’s?_” Undyne texted.

Alphys couldn’t help a smile. “_yeah! it’s perfect, isn’t it??? ^__^_” she replied. “_i almost cant believe it. we’re actually going 2 be on the surface sooooon!! isn’t that amazing??? LOL i’m getting butterflies_”

“_yeah. real great. you’re doing awesome_” Undyne said. “_but pace yourself, ok?_”

“_ok yeah of course!!! <3 arigaatoooouu_”

“_lol np_”

Alphys sighed contentedly. But, she couldn’t just sit there staring at the rendering of that red soul all day. Somewhat reluctantly, she moved onto the much more medical looking portions of data recorded from the energy Frisk carried in lines on her face. The blue ones had a waveform that was very close to Sans’s. If that was the case, even though she didn’t have reference, she could hypothesize that the others would closely mimic Papyrus’s. That was good to know. She and Mettaton could make a signal from the broadcast blaster out of that.

She played it and watched the energy peaks, blue and then gold. But, for a moment between then, her screen seemed to flicker. She frowned and cranked it backwards. Blue, flicker, gold. 

“Huh.” She played it again and saw the same thing. “That’s… weird.”

Back to the start once more. She tapped one of the arrow keys on her keyboard, watching the waveforms one frame at a time. Then, she saw the blip. Existing in the space between the two signatures she had intended to record, it seemed as if a third had tried to edge itself in, but wasn’t sure where to go. Alphys squinted and tapped the arrow key a few more times. The waveform was gone in just five frames. It wasn’t one that she recognized, and the pattern was small. Quiet. Tentative, almost.

“Wait,” she muttered. “That couldn’t… Waaait, wait, wait.”

She isolated the waveform and placed it in a new window. She told her computer to run a search for matches, but the little loading bar that popped up was moving at a snail’s pace. She drummed her fingers impatiently on her desk, but staring at it seemed to make it move slower. She slipped from her chair and started to prepare lunch. Ramen noodles, as usual.

She picked a packet boldly proclaiming its soupiness, with special snail-flavoured broth. She’d read that that wasn’t entirely authentic, but she liked it anyway. As the noodles were boiling away, she was a little surprised to hear a knock on the east door. Couldn’t be Mettaton: knocking wasn’t really his style.

“It’s open!” she called.

When the door opened, in strode Asgore in his purple cloak and armour, looking quite regal even if he had to duck just a little for his long horns to fit through the gap. He smiled warmly at her despite the surprised look on her face.

“A-Asgore!” she stammered.

“Alphys! Howdy!” he said brightly. “My, it sure is hot out there, isn’t it? Each time, I think I recall just how warm it is, and it turns out, it’s much warmer than I thought!” He chuckled at himself. 

Alphys smiled bashfully. “Y-You could take m-my elevator from the high road, I d-don’t mind.”

“Oh, I know, but I do enjoy the walk, honestly,” he said.

He bent down to give her a cozy hug. She smiled and patted his shoulders until he pulled back and straightened up.

“How are you?” he asked.

“Oh. Good. G-Good.” She went back to her hotplate and stirred her soup cautiously. “Um. You know, uh… w-working hard!”

“You always do.” He smiled and reached into his cloak. “I’m sorry for barging in unannounced, but I have something for you.”

Holding it tenderly in his hands, he held out a small mug patterned with yellow triceratopses and blue brachiosauruses on a tropical background. “I thought you might like this,” he said.

“Oh! A-Asgore, that’s… That’s really nice.” She took it from him and smiled. “Th-Thanks. It’s cute.” 

She walked it over to her desk and he followed her curiously. She placed it amongst some other little knick-knacks near her computer, battered and old, but precious nonetheless.

“How has it been going?” he asked. “I feel like we haven’t spoken in a long while, my friend.”

“Oh! W-Well… Well, actually! It’s going well!” she said. “I, um… I’m m-making a lot of progress on the, um… the final soul?”

“What?! Really?” His eyes lit up. “Oh, Alphys, that’s fantastic news! Tell me about it?”

Alphys blushed a little and nodded. She held up one finger and raced away, and then pushed a chair back from a group for him. He sat, though his eyes were on what was left around the room. Alphys was suddenly keenly aware of the junk that she still had around, leftover from the blanket dividers and housing an extra three monsters.

“Have you been having many guests?” he asked.

“Hm? Oh! Y-Yeah. Yeah,” she said. “Undyne’s b-been, um… She’s b-been staying over sometimes.”

“Oh ho ho ho!” He grinned. “I think I get the picture.”

“Wh-Wha…?” Alphys squeaked.

“Undyne put up a little status a little while ago,” he said with a wink. “I didn’t know you two liked each other! But that’s so sweet! I’m very happy for you both.”

Alphys’s scales went a bit red in her cheeks and she snorted out a high-pitched laugh. “Th-Thanks,” she said. “I’m… I mean. W-We’re happy. Um. B-But, yeah, n-not just that, I mean—! M-Mettaton comes b-back for repairs, and Sans and h-his brother h-have been over a lot.”

“Oh!! That’s good to hear,” he said. “You know. I was worried about that boy. Sans, I mean. I actually sent a few guards to check for him. He’d been missing from his post for a while, you see.”

Alphys froze. “O-Oh?” she squeaked.

“Mhm! Turns out it was nothing to worry about at all. Well, I mean, apparently his little sister was ill, so that’s horrible, but I was glad to hear things were okay otherwise,” he said. “Have you met her? His sister, I mean? I had no idea.”

“O-Oh!!! Oh. Y-Yeah. I mean. Yes. I’ve m-met her,” Alphys said. “Um… Y-Yeah. She’s really… really nice.”

“I had no idea his parents had returned,” Asgore continued. “I don’t think I’ve ever met them, have you?”

“Oh. Oh, no, he’s, um… H-His sister, she’s adopted,” Alphys said.

“Ah, how nice!” Asgore said. “That’s really sweet. How are they all getting along?”

“R-Really well,” she said. “They all l-love each other a lot. Probably c-couldn’t, um, separate them if you t-tried.”

Asgore smiled brightly. “That’s all great news, isn’t it? Any amount of happiness people can find here, well… I’m always glad to hear it.”

Alphys nodded. She got a second bowl and ladle, and began to dole out the soup.

“Oh no, Alphys, you don’t have to—” Asgore began, but she laughed and shook her head.

“Don’t worry about it,” she assured him as she passed him a bowl and chopsticks. “Snail flavour.”

“Interesting,” he said with a chuckle. “Thank you.”

She nodded and slurped up some noodles as she hesitantly snuck back into her seat. The huge King was much more dainty and delicate than she was. He smiled brightly.

“You know, it’s not bad!” he said. “So I suppose the scares in Snowdin and Waterfall, those weren’t anything?”

“Th…? The scares?” Alphys repeated.

“Someone thought they saw a human,” Asgore said.

“OH! Oh. N-No, that… Th-That wasn’t anything.” She hoped she didn’t blush with shame. “I-I would h-have told you if I s-saw a h-h-human. N-No. It was just a… a f-false alarm.”

Asgore sighed out deeply. He sounded relieved. He smiled a little, though he looked, for some reason, guilty. “Well, I’m very glad no one was hurt,” he said. “Um! Anyway! H-How has your work been going? Well? Tell me all about it!”

“Mhm.” Alphys swallowed, hard, and rushed to sort out her thoughts. “R-Right. Um. Well. S-See, um… I, um, figured out that, uh, I c-could mimic the structure of soul w-with, um… extra d-determination. I, um, told you all about determination a while ago, r-right?”

“Right,” he said with a nod.

“S-So… Um… Sans’s sister, actually… has a surplus? S-So… So. I mean. Okay, I know it sounds awful, d-doing experiments on a k-kid!” she said quickly. “B-But she r-really wants to help! So… S-So I’ve been just studying h-her soul a little. And I need t-to figure out how to g-gather some magic and influence them through, um… u-um this thing c-called s-s-solidarity th-that I—”

“Sorry, what is that? Solidarity?” Asgore asked. “I know the word, but…”

“Oh! S-Sorry! It’s what I c-called the f-force that makes magic stick together. L-Like when two m-monsters make a baby,” she explained. “So. Um. I’m getting there! Soon. S-Soon. We’ll… We’ll be free. I know it.”

Asgore looked so relieved that he might cry, despite the smile on his face. Alphys put her bowl aside and gently held his giant paw.

“I… I know, th-this must’ve been so awful,” she said quietly. “Th-The waiting. And n-not knowing when a human m-might show up and… A-And e-even if you d-did know, m-maybe that would be e-even worse? And… And I know that… y-you never wanted to k-kill anyone, huh? You must’ve felt just… I can’t even i-imagine.”

“Oh, Alphys, please don’t worry about me. I’m the King,” he said with a tired smile. “All of this; all of you. This whole mess. It’s my responsibility. I will do what I have to.”

“Y-You’re so b-brave,” she said. “But… B-But! S-Soon. We’ll be out. Y-You’ll never h-have to hurt anyone. Ever. I p-promise.”

Asgore’s eyes seemed to go a little glossy. He smiled and gently patted her head. “I’m so lucky to have you.”

“N-Nah,” she said sheepishly.

“Yes!” he insisted, brushing a finger over his eyes. “Can I be honest with you for a moment?”

“S-Sure, of course,” she said.

“I’m… Hah. I’m very tired,” he said. “Thank you for sticking with me.”

Alphys nodded quickly. She got up to hug him and he held her in close, his big fuzzy arms immediately cozy and reassuring. She wanted to protect him. “Alway w-will,” she said.

** _\- - - _ **

Papyrus was pacing. Nothing unusual, but it was a bit hypnotic to watch. It was making Sans sleepy all over again. That was definitely not helped by the fact that his favourite weird squishy skeleton puppy had decided to flop over him as he lazed on the couch, cheek on his fist. Asriel folded his leaves, rolling his eyes.

“It’s not that big a deal,” he said.

Papyrus put his hands on the table heavily, making the mug Asriel sat in jump a bit. “It is!” he insisted. “If you don’t feel at home yet, I need to make you feel at home!”

“Ugh.” Asriel cut his eyes at Frisk. “Why’d you have to tell him?”

She shrugged.

“Hmm. I could give you the house tour!” Papyrus suggested.

“What’s there to see? You have, like, four rooms,” Asriel said.

“And a garage!” Papyrus said. “Would you like to see that?”

“No. Not really. And no, I don’t want to see Sans’s room, either.”

“Good call,” Sans said.

Papyrus pouted and began to pace again. “We could take a tour around town?”

“Pfft, I know town, you weirdo,” Asriel said.

“Hmmm, okay, what abouuuuut…! OH! I have. A brilliant idea!” He grabbed Asriel up in one hand. “You’re going to love this!!!”

“By love do you mean hate?” he asked.

“No, by love I mean LOVE!” He raced to the kitchen and grabbed a bag from a drawer. “SANS. FRISK. WE WILL BE BACK SOON!”

“Wait, what?!” Asriel yelped.

He didn’t get a chance to protest anymore as Papyrus barrelled out the door. Sans laughed quietly and looked back at Frisk. The kid looked mostly like she was asleep, but she had an amused smile on her face. 

“They’re alright together, huh?” she said.

“Not bad now that I don’t have to worry about Paps not comin’ home,” Sans said. 

“He’s a good influence on him,” Frisk said.

“Course he is.” Sans grinned. “He’s a good influence on everyone.”

Frisk moved a little and slipped over his hipbone and began, very slowly, flopping towards the floor. “Waaaaah,” she said unenthusiastically. 

“Kiddo, what are you doin’?” he asked.

“I’m screaming but really lazy,” she said.

He snickered and lifted her in magic as he rolled onto his back. “Where do you want?”

“Catch me!” she said.

“This is a terrible idea.” He released her just barely a centimetre above himself and grunted as she plopped onto his chest. “Does that count?”

“Close enough!” she said. “I have a question.”

“Mhm?”

She pressed real close. “Wait. Listen. Do you hear it?”

He raised a brow and she went quiet. 

“Uh. What?” he said after a moment.

“Human war drums!” she said.

“Pfft.” He propped himself up and took her under her arms. “Never heard it.”

“Maybe that’s my song,” she said. “What do you think?”

“What? You mean from the message?” he asked, and she nodded. “No clue, dude.”

She sighed and flopped against him.

“What do you think it meant?” she asked. “I thought maybe listening to music? So I listened to Undyne’s; I listened to Paps’s, but I didn’t really find anything special. Could it be the war drums thing?”

Sans shrugged. He bent down and rested the side of his head against her chest. There was a thumping in there. Her heart, right? Maybe if it was faster it might be like drums. He wasn’t sure. He pulled back and shrugged.

“If that’s it, then there’s not much findin’ involved, huh?” he said.

“It doesn’t bother you, does it?” she asked.

“Course not, why would it?” he said with a laugh. “That’s like worrying if a hum was… Oh. Hm.”

“Hm?” she repeated. 

“_Find your song_. That’s what the note said, right?” he said. “Sometimes we call a hum that. A song. Maybe you do have one.”

“What? Y-You think so?” She looked excited. “How can you tell?”

“Well…” He lit his soul up. “I wasn’t lookin’ before. Maybe?”

Frisk nodded and quickly brightened her soul until their energies sunk into each other and went purple. She loved that. It made her feel so warm and whole. Sans’s hum wasn’t apparent instantly, though. It was in there, somewhere. She would’ve had to focus really hard without her ear right up against his ribcage. She picked up maybe one note, very softly, in his magic, that trailed on and on until it made one very subtle shift. 

He was focussing, too. His brow furrowed. He shook his head, but before Frisk’s disappointment could hit her, he shrugged. “Dunno,” he admitted. “Could be. I mightta heard it doin’ a thing before, but I can’t really be sure. Your soul isn’t like other ones, y’know. Not sure how to listen to it like that. Maybe if you could tune it.”

“Tune my soul?” She snickered. “Is that really a thing?”

“Kinda. It’s sorta how we learn new magic,” he said. “You’re human. But you’re super weird. So. Maybe if you just get a bit closer to monster, then…”

“How much closer can we get?” she asked, grinning bashfully as she pointed her thumb at the purple shining through her shirt. 

Sans shrugged. “Hit the Doc up about it sometime. If you really think it’s that important.”

“I mean, if a weird someone who my brain refuses to remember kinda went out of his way to leave me a note about it, maybe it is,” she said. “Oh. Actually. I been meaning to talk to you about that.”

“Oh yeah?” he said.

She nodded and slipped off him and went upstairs.

She was only gone for a second when the front door burst open with a gust of snow and Papyrus sprinted back in, covered in dirt and the bag in one hand heavy with it. He beelined for the kitchen.

“SOMEBODY STOP THIS CRAZY GUY!!!” Asriel called.

“Nah,” Sans said.

“You’re the worst!!!” Asriel called.

“Guilty,” he agreed.

“Oh, Asriel, relax, we are almost done!!” He sprinted back upstairs with— along with the flailing Asriel and the bag of dirt— a large armful of mugs. “I HAVE A GREAT PLAN DON’T EVEN WORRY AND OH HELLO FRISK!!!”

Frisk waved as she slipped past them and the door slammed. She returned to Sans holding a notebook close to her chest. “So, um… I’ve been doing what you said with that dream journal thing.”

“Oh yeah? How’s that goin’?” he asked.

“Weird,” Frisk said. “There’s, um… Well. Can you read it?”

He held out his hand and she gave him the notebook. He thumbed through the pages quickly. “Lots in here,” he said.

“Yeah, I went back about a week before the recent going back in time thing,” she said. “It’s every one I remember.”

Sans looked a little tired all of a sudden, but he nodded and flipped back to the start of the book.

Frisk sat down beside him and tried her best not to impatiently read over his arm. As time went on, though, she could see his brow furrowing a bit. Like it was instinct, he put his arm around her shoulders and held her gently. She’d take whatever she got— she snuggled up against his ribcage. 

When he flipped to one of the last pages, the one with the drawing of the shadowman, Sans stared at it for a few seconds before he burst out laughing.

“What?” Frisk asked.

“Shit, buddy,” he said, grinning and ruffling her hair, “didn’t realize we ended up with the main kid from a horror movie. Look at this.”

“Too spooky?” she asked.

He laughed even harder and had to take a moment to rub his eyes. “Oh god, kid, you crack me up, thanks for that.” He paused to catch his breath. “Heh. Alright. Yeah, actually, that is real spooky. Not gonna top that.”

“There’s only a few more pages,” she said.

“You draw any more nightmare guys in there?” he joked

“No, just the one.”

He was still snickering, just a little, until he came upon the next few dreams.When he read the one about seeing them in the snow, he paused and turned to her. “You, uh, don’t really still think all this, do you?” he asked.

“I… I s-sometimes worry that—”

“Don’t.”

“O-Okay,” she said.

“Jeez. No wonder what happened messed you up so bad, huh? If you had this crap in your head…”

“Y-Yeah, I guess so,” she admitted.

He smiled sympathetically and rubbed her head, more gently this time. “You know how I feel,” he said. “You know how Paps feels, too.”

“Y-Yeah. Yeah. I do. It’s just…” She grimaced and sighed. “I dunno what’s wrong with me.”

He turned to her and grabbed her face, looking at her very seriously. “Sis, get it together.”

She smiled sheepishly and, gently, she bonked her forehead against his. He grinned.

“There you go,” he said. “Hey. You’re gonna be okay.”

“Y… Yeah.” She smiled a little wider. “Thanks, Sans. I mean it. You know, in there… you were what pulled me out. Your memories.”

“Yeah. I read that,” he said. “Weird to be so… I dunno. But I’m glad it helped.”

“Important. The word you’re looking for is _important_,” Frisk said.

“See, that sounds weird as hell,” he said.

“Pffft, you’re just as bad as me,” she joked.

“Kiddo, I’m a hundred times worse.” He grinned. “Okay, just let me finish up.”

He got through the star dream, and then Frisk’s most recent one of the forest and the fight with Undyne. He closed the book and drummed his fingers on the cover.“Y’know… I think you have something here,” he said.

“Yeah?” she asked. “D-Do you have any ideas?”

He looked thoughtful for a little bit, but stayed silent until he slid off the sofa and tapped his toes back into his slippers.

“I need to show you something,” he said. “C’mon.”

He brought her into the kitchen and the ducked under the sink, gently kicking bones out of the way. There was a door back there. He opened it and waved her in.

“See, this is weird,” he said, “because you won’t have most of these memories. Mostly because I don’t have these memories for real. They all come from some notes.”

“Um, okay?” Frisk said. “Notes?”

Sans nodded.

The room below had purple tiled flooring, and the lack of windows made it seem one part spooky and one part cozy. Frisk had never been here herself, but she knew it through her brother. He did a lot of work down here, years ago. Searching for something. A way back behind what the CORE had ripped open, maybe. Didn’t use it much now, though. She peeked around with interest and he started looking through drawers. 

“What you went through, trying really hard to write that stuff while your memories were almost being drained away or somethin’, that was really familiar to me,” he said. “Thing is, when I thought about it, I realized I went through the same thing.”

“Really?” she asked. “Why…? Why isn’t that in your memories.”

“Because it’s erased,” he said. “Or it never stuck. Dunno. It’s complicated. Try rememberin’ it on your own right now. It’s probably pretty far back. Pretty faded.”

“I, um…” Frisk paused and went quiet as he shoved papers aside. “I’m not sure. It’s… like it’s a little familiar, but it’s hard to remember exactly.”

“Yup. Feels sorta like that for me, too, and that’s inside my own head,” he said. “Lemme just… Okay.” He grabbed some sheets of paper and a notebook, and then headed back upstairs.

They went to the living room, where Sans laid out his stuff on the table and pulled up some chairs for them. “Here’s the thing,” he said. “I was in the CORE when it went up last time. I think.”

“Right in it?” Frisk asked shrilly.

“Yeah. Whole problem is, can’t remember it. Somethin’ happened in there. Somethin’ bad. Started all this time crap, I guess? I know it must’ve malfunctioned, kinda like what Az did to it, but worse. I don’t think I fixed it, but someone definitely did.”

“Okay,” Frisk said. “But if you don’t remember, how do you know?”

“Notes,” he said. “I… Heh. It’s weird. I wrote some stuff. Kind of in a daze. Sort of built somethin’ out of it. All I know is, somethin’ messed up happened in there. Couldn’t go near the place for years after.”

“Wow,” Frisk said quietly. “But at some point, you must’ve remembered, if you wrote it down.”

“Yeah, maybe for a few seconds at a time. From what I gathered, somewhere during things going to shit, I had this moment where I realized I wasn’t retainin’ anything. Some part of me decided to start writin’ it down, and then I clued in that I didn’t remember that, either. It was surreal as hell. So, after whatever went down, I stumble home, somehow, and I see Papyrus and I swear, didn’t recognize him at all, even though I knew I loved him. But almost all my notes were about him.” 

He showed her some of the notes in the notebook he had brought: some loose sheets, some right in there, all in that strange script, but in his terrible handwriting. She could see repeating patterns. Seven letters, seven symbols. Papyrus. He wrote it a lot. Was desperate to hang onto it.

“That lasted maybe two days. Wrote everything down, but can’t remember doin’ it. I snapped out of it eventually and found the notes. Even then, it was hard to make it stick. Asked Paps if he noticed anything weird about me, he said no. Just that I seemed a little dizzy coming home two days before. The only reason I know about it is because of these.”

“That’s nuts,” Frisk said quietly. 

“But that sounds familiar, right?” he said. “Like all those notes you kept writing.”

“So… So what makes that happen?” she wondered.

He shrugged. He shuffled through his papers and then pulled out one. 

It was a drawing. Really rough. There were three people there, sketched out in pen. Skeletons, maybe. Short, round head with a grin, a skinny, smiling oval headed skeleton and a third, taller person, with cracks in their face near their eye sockets. Beneath was written, “_don’t forget_”. Frisk’s eyes went wide. Sans tapped the picture.

“I noticed I had this with me when I started to keep memories again,” he said. “I think I drew this. I think I realized somewhere in there that there was something wrong, and I was trying to save what I thought might be important. But this guy… Looks familiar to you now, right?”

“That’s the shadowman,” she said. “His eyes were like that. It’s gotta be. You… You knew him for real?”

“Maybe,” Sans said. “I’ve seen him, at least. And it was important enough for me to try to draw him for some reason. Could be he lives in the CORE. Or, in the rips it made. He gave you the key to the thing, right?”

“I… I think so,” she said. “But then what’s up with all that? Is he stealing the memories? What’s the point of that? Is he a real guy or a ghost guy?”

“Not sure,” Sans said. “But you realize it goes further than that, right?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“When you were like, half conscious after you came out of that light in the basement,” Sans said, “you said something about the shadowman. That you missed him. And you kept forgettin’ him. Do you remember that?”

She frowned and shook her head.

“Heh. Figures,” he said. “This guy, though, he’s connected to you. And me. Somehow.”

“Maybe Papyrus, too?” she wondered.

“How do you figure?” Sans asked.

“You missed this, and this might be totally not even the same thing,” she said, “but in the lab, for a second, it’s like… Paps talked with a different voice.”

“Hm?”

“Just for a second,” Frisk said again. “I dunno. And then he didn’t seem to notice. A-And his eyes looked… weird. Not right. I dunno. I’m not sure.”

“What’d he say?” Sans asked, frowning.

“It was, um, when I cut my hands on Az’s box thing. And he was looking at them and he called me _Frisky-wisky_ but in this way that was like, really gentle? Like when you’re talking to a kid who just hurt themselves or something.”

“Uh, you were a kid who just hurt yourself,” Sans said. “Heh. Frisky-wisky.”

“Shh,” she laughed. “It just… I mean, his voice didn’t sound like _his_ voice. And a lot of this shadowman stuff seems to happen around the lab, right? Or, I mean, it’s kinda connected to it, isn’t it? I dunno, it could’ve been nothing, but—”

“Let’s ask him,” Sans said with a shrug.

Frisk nodded. “Papyrus!” she called.

In seconds, Papyrus was running down the stairs to meet them. “Yes! Hello, what is up?” he asked.

“You, uh, ever call her _Frisky-wisky_?” Sans asked, pointing at Frisk.

Papyrus’s eyes went wide and he started to grin, and then laughed. “Nyeh heh heh heh! What?! No! But that’s adorable!! Oh, no, now it’s in my head, I might call you that by accident,” he said. “Is that all? Asriel and I are doing some puzzles! Hey, would you guys like to join in?”

Sans and Frisk shared a look. “Sure, bro, we’ll be right up.”

Papyrus stuck his thumbs up and then bounded back upstairs. Sans put his cheek on his fist and smiled tiredly.

“I got nothin’,” he said.

“Same,” Frisk said. “Puzzle time?”

“Puzzle time,” he agreed.


	47. The Petulant What Now?

Papyrus’s room was dotted with mugs filled with dirt, and Asriel sat in one on the floor, frowning at one of the graph paper puzzles. He had two leaves wrapped around a red pen.

“If you need a hint…” Papyrus said.

“I don’t! Stop. I can do it.” He went to make a move and Papyrus winced. “Oh come on, not there either?”

“I didn’t say anything!” Papyrus protested. “But. No.”

“Ugh.”

“Tough one, huh?” Sans asked.

“Shuddup, I’m gonna do it,” Asriel grumbled.

Sans flopped on the bed and Frisk sat beside the little flower, looking at the puzzle carefully. She squinted at it for a while and then her face lit up. She looked at Papyrus and he grinned.

“I think I got it, Az, want a hint?” Frisk asked.

“Nnnno. No. Don’t. Say. Anything,” he said. “I’m gonna get it.”

Frisk grinned and lay down on her stomach beside him. She watched him eagerly, tapping a toe on the ground. He squinted and then bent forward and laid down his first mark somewhat cautiously. Papyrus beamed. Asriel smirked.

“You have a terrible poker face, dude,” he said.

“That is because I don’t have a poker face, I have a Papyrus face, it’s much better, I assure you,” Papyrus said.

Asriel rolled his eyes. He started to draw a line and then carefully switched mugs as he continued on. After a few seconds, he began to get the picture. “Oh, no way…” He squinted and drew more lines; the picture was starting to become visible. 

Before long, it was clear that the switches in the puzzle formed a connect-the-dots image of a flower. Papyrus grinned wide as Asriel completed it.

“Aaaaand you did it!” Papyrus reached across the puzzle and scooped up the flower with a huge grin on his face. “Congratulations!!”

“Wasn’t that hard,” he said with a shrug.

“Ah! I see you’re quite good at puzzles as well, then,” Papyrus said. “Good! You can test out new ones!”

“Oh. Great,” Asriel said dryly.

“I know!” Papyrus grinned. “And! If you meet my incredibly high standards! You can even be promoted to puzzle assistant! Just like Frisk.”

“What? You?” Asriel asked, twisting to look at her.

She smiled. “You get free spaghetti for it.”

“It’s not a real job!” he barked. “But… I mean. If you can do it…”

“PERFECT!” Papyrus said. 

\- - -

Spaghetti was for dinner again and the sounds of _Circuit Super Investigator_ filled the living room alongside the scent of tomato sauce. Asriel actually seemed somewhat invested in the budget crime drama, but Sans was completely unconscious. He hadn’t been able to stay awake through a whole episode in almost ten years.

The house was now speckled with little trails of mugs, glasses, and small bowls filled with dirt. Papyrus’s idea. The mug Asriel had picked out initially was now his “home mug”, the one for bedtime and being toted around in.

Frisk lay on her stomach, under a blanket. She was working on her dream journal again, this time taking a page out to draw a certain large, bone dragon. It felt a little weird to draw a picture that was, in a way, herself, but it was something she wanted to keep. She looked at the little skull attached to her phone and rubbed her thumb over the smooth top of it. Papyrus had done a good job.

“I think the rabbit did it,” Asriel said.

“Huh?” Frisk looked over at him. “The rabbit?”

Asriel pointed at the screen. “She’s playing so innocent. It’s creepy. I bet she did it.”

“I dunno, dude,” Frisk said. “Mettaton wrote it. He’s not exactly the best at, um… uh… Papyrus?”

“Yeeeeess, Frisk?” he asked.

“What’s the word for when something is kind of there but it’s sort of secret and you just get hints?”

“Uuuummm, subtlety?” he suggested.

“Subtlety! Yeah. That. He’s not the best at it,” she said, and she pointed at the TV when a big shark-like monster with a drawn-on scar on his face and a dark cloak appeared. “I think he’d be who he wrote to be the bad guy.”

“No way, he can’t be that dumb,” Asriel said.

Frisk went back to her drawing. She hadn’t seen them when they had wings, though. They had been like bat wings, a little. The membrane between looked like the night sky. She got distracted by the show again as Mettaton’s character, Investigator Deckard, the rectangular robot wearing a deerstalker cap and talking with a low, gravelly voice much closer to Sans’s than his own, began to uncover the true criminal behind the notorious caper. Of course, it was the shark monster.

“OH COME ON!!!” Asriel shouted.

Frisk laughed.

“I can’t believe—! That’s so stupid!!!” he barked. “You can’t just make your villain look that evil, that’s too obvious!!!”

“I’m sure it could work,” Frisk said. “Um. Just not this time.”

“Uuuggghhh.” Asriel put his leaves on his face. “Awful.”

“Dinner’s ready!” Papyrus strode from the kitchen with four plates precariously balanced and began to pass them out, including placing one on top of Sans’s head. “Also there is some pie if you want.”

“Pie? What kinda pie?” Asriel asked.

“Frisk’s special pie!” he said. “It’s full of butterscotch pie goo, spaghetti, ice cream, burgers, chip crumbs and—!”

“Oh. That. Uh. No thanks,” Asriel said. “I’ll just, uh, stick with this.”

“Excellent choice!” Papyrus sat on the floor with them and looked over at Frisk’s drawing. “Little sister, what are you up to?”

“Just drawing, I guess,” she said, and she flipped the pages back and showed them her picture of the shadowman. “Hey, have either of your guys seen anyone who looks like this?”

“Pffft, in my nightmares maybe,” Asriel said.

“Really?” Frisk asked.

“Uh. No. I was being sarcastic.”

“Aw,” Frisk grumbled.

“I’m also _drawing_ a bit of a blank, little sister. Sorry,” Papyrus said. “Ugh. I can’t believe I just said that. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay,” she said with a grin. She flipped back to the drawing and her brother leaned around her to look.

“Ooh! Are you drawing you and Sans?” he asked.

“Yup!” Frisk said. “I just… I dunno. I wanted to—”

“Pfft, Frisk, you don’t have to justify your art to me,” he said. “It’s nice.”

“…Weird drawing of you and Sans,” Asriel said around a mouthful of pasta. “Looks like a dragon monster. You drawing something weird Alphys made up?”

“Heh, no, Az, this was me. Um, us. Me and Sans,” she said, tapping it with the end of a crayon, “when we crossed the barrier.”

Asriel gulped hard. He scooted closer and leaned over, a frown on his face. “For real?”

“Mhm. Well. I mean. It’s close. I’m not so good at drawing all the little bone parts,” she said. 

“How big were you?” he asked.

“Bit bigger than Undyne,” she said. “It was… weird. Not being small, I mean. We were so used to looking up at people.”

“And you lost all your skin,” Asriel said.

“We didn’t lose it, we just didn’t have it,” Frisk said with a shrug.

“I wish I could have seen it in person,” Papyrus said. “Nyeh heh! Imagine! You two could have actually lifted me up, couldn’t you?”

“Guess so!” Frisk grinned. “That’s alright, bro, I like being little sometimes when it comes to the whole getting lifted thing.”

Papyrus snickered. Asriel looked thoughtful. He touched the drawing cautiously.

“You didn’t get lost?” he asked.

“We were a little lost on the mountain,” she said. “It was pretty dark and started raining and stuff. It even went in our eye socket, it felt so weird!”

“Oh gross!” Papyrus said.

“That’s not what I meant,” Asriel said. “Whatever. Never mind. Still weird to me how you sound so relaxed talking about it.”

“Well it did feel super cozy,” she said. “Kinda weird, to just sorta exist and feel cozy, I guess. But I liked it.”

Asriel sighed and grimaced a bit.

“What’s wrong?” Papyrus asked gently.

“Nothing, I—”

“Az, it’s okay, talk to us,” Frisk said.

“No. I mean… Never mind. It’s fine,” he said. “Don’t worry. I just get a bit whiny sometimes, ignore me.” He went back to his spaghetti and pointed to the TV.“S-So, judging by the last one, bad guy in this episode issss…” He frowned at what he saw. “Ugh, it’s the guy twirling his moustache, isn’t it?”

\- - -

Sans had a dream that he was watching _Circuit Super Investigator. _He was so bored that he took a nap. He felt like he heard something in the back of his head. A song? He couldn’t be sure. It was so soft. It felt like it was pulling him somewhere.

His eyes opened. Took him a second to realize he was awake. He was still facedown on the couch. There was a little pressure on the back of his skull. He reached up. A plate. Fumbling a little, sat up and put it on the floor. He wasn’t sure what had woken him up, but he felt a little flutter in his chest. 

The house was dark, but he could still hear noise from Papyrus’s room. Guess he was too excited to sleep. He rubbed his eye sockets. Frisk seemed to have passed out on the floor under a blanket. Her head was on her book, page open to a drawing of them. Wasn’t half-bad. It made him smile a bit. 

Stretching, Sans got up and and moved the kid onto the couch. However, he couldn’t seem to bring himself to leave her there. Something was making him a little anxious. He lifted her up again and, after a moment of thinking about it, brought her to his room with him. He plopped her on the mattress with her head on the pillow. Her eyes opened just a sliver.

“Oh. Sorry, kiddo, move you too much?” he asked.

“No,” she said groggily, and she grabbed his hand. “Staying, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.” She closed her eyes again and her fingers slipped away. “Don’t really wanna be alone.”

“Don’t blame you,” he said. 

He wrangled the blankets off the floor, then switched the light out. He took a moment to snugly tuck her in, and then flopped down heavily onto his back, folding his arms behind his head. Even though he’d left her plenty of space, Frisk was latched onto him within seconds. Weird kid, he thought, but he was glad he could make her feel more secure, even if it would never entirely make sense to him. He quelled a laugh and patted her head. 

“Jeez, kiddo,” he said.

“But I wanna hug,” she whined quietly.

He heard her yawn and she elbowed the pillow a couple times before sinking in. She sighed and shoved herself in close.

“Didn’t dream, did you?” he asked

“Nah,” she said. “You?”

“Not really,” he said. 

She softly kissed his cheekbone. “G’night, bro,” she said.

That did him in. He cuddled the kid under his arm and she happily snuggled up to him, and went right back to sleep. 

\- - -

Sans awoke to a strange chill running down his spine. It made his bones rattle. His brow furrowed. He really didn’t want to be awake again. An odd sound caught his attention. It sounded like something from a broken computer. Some sort of strange, scratching static. He sat up, rubbing his brow, his head feeling heavy, like it was full of molasses. Something wasn’t right.

He lit up his eye brightly. There was something like a shadow looming faintly in the dark. It moved a little. He froze and squinted. The shape froze, too. A cold, sick feeling crept over him. 

“Not dreamin’, right?” he said.

The shadow moved, a deliberate side to side motion. He wasn’t sure of its answer, but he was sure that he was awake. He carefully reached over to Frisk and stole her cellphone. He made sure not to take his eyes off the shadow.

“Think I know who you might be,” he asked; he brought up the camera function and set it to record video. “You what the kid keeps seein’ and forgetting?”

The shadow didn’t move for a moment, but then bobbed up and down. Sans wasn’t really expecting that. Seemed like a yes. The way it was shifting made him uncomfortable deep into his bones. It was like bits and pieces of the form were being tugged out of sight, and other bits were poured on like seeping tar. 

“What are you?” he asked.

The shadow replied, but its voice was a hushed, raspy whisper. It sounded like a backwards recording through some sort of digital filters. It sent a chill through him again. But, he supposed the thing couldn’t help it.

“Never mind, huh? Can’t understand a word of that. We’ll stick to easier questions,” he said. 

The shadow wilted. It said something softly. It sounded distressed.

“Hey. Relax. We’ll do what we can,” Sans said. “What’re you doing here?”

Hesitantly, the shadow pointed at Frisk. It came a little closer, flowing like smoke. Sans grimaced and he put his arm out.

“No way,” he said. “Can’t take her.”

The shadow came even closer, a strangely thick darkness seeping around it, and pointed at Frisk again. It seemed insistent. Sans frowned; tried to ignore the increasing pain in his eye sockets.

“Look. I think there’s part of what you’re doin’ that’s supposed to help her, right?” he said. “But the last few times you took her into the snow, we almost ended up with an ice cube instead of a kid. Can’t let you. She’s still out of it. Can’t risk it.”

The shadow creature seems to slump a bit. Conceded, he hoped. It pointed, now, to him. Sans’s brow furrowed.

“What?” he said. “You want me to do something?”

The shadow nodded.

“Dunno, dude, it’s pretty late,” Sans said. “And if I know anything about you, I won’t remember this at all, right?”

The shadow pointed to where the phone was, and then, much to Sans’s surprise, appeared to stick its thumb up. Sans laughed quietly.

“Welp. Alright,” he said. “Maybe. We’ll see. What do you want from her?”

It pointed to itself and then formed a heart with its hands.

“You can’t have her soul, dude, that’s weird,” Sans said.

The shadow tilted slightly. It seemed to shake its head. It pointed to Frisk, and then to the door.

“Oh. You want her to go somewhere,” Sans said.

The shadow nodded again and it reached towards him, though it jerked away quickly. It began to form letters slowly with its hands. Sans squinted. His head was really starting to ache and it was a little hard to pull out the dark against the similarly dark body. The glow in his eye started to brighten on its own and he couldn’t help but hiss in pain and he put his hand to his brow.

“Ah, damn it,” he grunted.

Despite it, Sans couldn’t close his eye. He’d be all but blind in the dark. Couldn’t lose track of this thing. The shadow stopped. It began to babble something; sounded alarmed.

“Keep goin’.” He stared and the shadow quickly began again. “D-E-L… Delta? The Delta Rune?”

The shadow crossed its hands. Sans frowned, thoughtful.

“Add? Plus?” 

The shadow seemed insistent. It made the shape again. Not addition. What else looked like that? 

“Oh. A tear,” he said.

It formed a heart with its hands again.

“Something to do with her soul.” He couldn’t help but wince from the pain. “Alright. Uh… Jeez, sorry, I’ve never been great at charades.” 

The shadow shifted and seem to pace. It mumbled to itself; its voice made him dizzy. He cringed. It started to sound alarmed again. It backed away from him quickly. 

Sans held up a hand. “Wait a sec. I forget as soon as I can’t see you anymore, right? So…” He gently nudged Frisk. 

She squirmed and let out a sleepy squeaking sound.

“Hey, kiddo?” he said.

“Mhm?” she mumbled.

“Don’t get up,” he said. “Just remind me to check your phone tomorrow, okay?”

“…Kay,” she said softly.

“Thanks a million,” he said.

Sans stuck his thumb up. The shadow stood totally still for a moment. He would have sworn it was staring at him if it had had eyes. It moved in close for a moment and he felt something like cool hands on his face. It lowered itself quickly and pressed its head to his brow gently. For some reason, he felt like it was sorry. It held up its hands in that heart shape again and pointed to him. Then, it made for the door and faded away.

Sans blinked groggily. He wasn’t sure why he was up. A headache throbbed all through his skull. It made him feel a bit sick. The magic in his eye was flaring bright blue, much brighter than usual. He covered it with his hand, but the light still poured out between his fingers. He saw Frisk beside him and noticed he had her phone. Its light was a bit harsh on his eyes and the headache that already burned in his sockets. He turned it off, slipped it into the kid’s hand, and plopped down on his back again. He closed his left eye and most of the light dimmed, but there was still a faint, telltale blue shimmer. Had he been dreaming? He didn’t think so.

He pulled a blanket up over his shoulders and bundled up as he hid back against the mattress. His little sister cozied up to him again and her soul settling in close to his made him feel a little better. Headache was real bad, though. He’d have to sleep it off.

It felt far too soon when he heard his door open. The loudness of it could only mean Papyrus. Didn’t help that the ache in his skull hadn’t subsided.

“Saaaannss, do you have Fri— AAAAAH!!!”

Before he could protest, he was yanked upright. He was sure Papyrus’s eyes were glowing bright into his. He couldn’t see it, though. Could barely see a thing, in fact. “Huh,” he said.

“WHAT HAPPENED?!” Papyrus yelped.

“Iunno,” Sans said groggily.

“Did you fall?! he demanded. “Hit your head?!”

“Nnnoo…?” Sans blinked back at him slowly. “Why?”

Papyrus squawked and squished him in tight against his chest. His fingers locked to a spot that was quite sore, now that he thought about it. Magic poured in, like it was trickling all the way to the back of his skull. It was pretty nice. 

After a few seconds, Papyrus plunked him on the mattress and sat behind him, both hands on the top of his head. Sans was a bit confused, but the headache was starting to dull. Frisk shifted. He felt a bit bad about waking her. 

The commotion had certainly roused the kid. She blinked, sat up, and her face paled. Papyrus fingers were concealing something strange and dark marring their brother’s head, but the way his amber magic was setting Sans’s eyes aglow from the inside told her exactly what was wrong with him.

“Sans?! What happened?!” she squeaked.

He shrugged; looked a little bashful and discreetly held out a hand. She rushed over and grabbed him. The relief on his face and the way he didn’t meet her eyes struck a chord of worry in her. She raised a hand in front of him and waved it, but he didn’t follow. She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around him.

“I got you,” she said. “I… I-I didn’t do that, did I?!”

“Do what?” Sans asked.

“Sans, you have a big crack in your head!” Papyrus cawed. “And. No, Frisk, there’s no way you did that.”

Sans felt a sting of shock. He cautiously raised a hand to the sore spot on his skull. He tapped Frisk on the top of her head and then pointed to his. She pulled back to gain a little space. Her careful fingers traced a line up from his left eye socket to the top of his skull. That was a little familiar, wasn’t it? He knew she must be thinking the same thing he was. He smiled anyway.

“Jeez,” he said. “That bad?”

“It will be better soon!” Papyrus insisted, though his eyes were watering just a little. “I have your back, brother. Just reeeelax.”

“Totally relaxed,” Sans confirmed. “Heh. No wonder I had a _splittin’_ headache.”

“SANS!!”

Frisk smiled a little and Sans grinned and winked. She grabbed his hands and looked up at Papyrus. “He’s gonna be okay, right?” she asked.

“Oh. Oh, yes, um…” He quickly wiped his eyes. “It’s quite a big crack. But! It’s not his first. So. It’ll be okay. Lucky that I’m here! I’m an expert at these! They, um. They just take a bit of time to deal with.”

Frisk nodded, but she still looked worried. She scooted up and put her arms around her brother somewhat protectively. She pouted and sighed. He snickered and patted her head.

“Kiddo, you’re _crackin_’ me up,” he said.

“Sans!!” Papyrus scolded. 

Frisk smiled a bit nonetheless and Sans grinned. 

“Don’t mope, pal, it’s no big deal,” he said.

“But how did that happen?” she asked. “D-Did you hit your head?”

“Mmnope,” he said. “Don’t think so.”

“Now that I look at it closely, brother, it doesn’t look like an impact fracture,” he said. “I wonder…” He hooked one finger into Sans’s eye socket.

“Dude,” Sans said.

“It loooooks like it split from right inside your head,” he said. “Oh!! Awful! It feels like it, too! Oh, my god, yep. Yes. Wow. That’s all the way through.”

“Oh weird,” Sans said. “Bro, you mind?”

“Actually, this is much easier.” He put the rest of his fingers into Sans’s eye socket, his bones glowing bright. “Don’t squirm.”

“Eeehhh…” Both Sans’s eyes had gone dark, but he grinned a bit. “Welp. I appreciate you givin’ me a hand.”

“Uggggh, Sans, you’re unbelievable!” Papyrus said.

Frisk snickered. She sat up on her knees and smooched Sans’s cheek gently.“I’ll get you guys something,” she said, and she scooted off the mattress. “Paps, take care of him, huh?”

“Will do!” he said.

Frisk hurried out to the hallway. All the lights were still off, except in Papyrus’s room, peeking out from under the door. She patted herself down and found her phone haphazardly stuffed in her pocket. When she checked the time, it was around five in the morning. Her head hurt immediately. She remembered Sans saying something to her last night. Or was it a dream? For him to check her phone. She supposed it didn’t matter if it was a dream or not; could’ve still been him for real.

Downstairs, she shoved a chair into the kitchen so she could reach the counter without jumping, and she put the kettle on. She clambered onto the counter to find the teabags— two different kinds— and the sugar, too. No mugs, though. She found some glasses and got dishtowels to carry them with. As she waited for the water to boil, she checked her phone again, wondering if Alphys might be up. She took a risk and called. The phone rang a few times, and Frisk was just about to call it off when she heard a click and a nasally breath.

“H-H-Hello?” Alphys asked.

“Hi, um, Alphys, it’s me,” Frisk said. “Sorry to call so early.”

“Oh! Oh, F-Frisk! N-No, no, that’s okay, I was… uh… I w-was still working. My c-computer is t-taking it’s time on s-s-something, and… Oh, god, is it five already?” She laughed dryly. “Figures. Wh-What’s up?”

“Um. Well,” she said hesitantly. “Sans kinda hurt himself and—”

“Wait, wh-what?!” Alphys yelped. “Is h-he okay?!”

“Paps is healing him right now. I think he’s gonna be fine,” Frisk said. “But, um… you know some medical stuff, right?”

“Y-Yeah, but—!”

“Okay. Um… What could cause a skull to split?” she said. “From the inside?”

“His sk-skull SPLIT?!” Alphys yelped. “Are you s-s-sure?!”

“It was like something happened in his left eye and it made a crack up his head,” she said. “Papyrus said it didn’t look like he hit something or anything like that.”

“Oh. G-God. Okay. Um. I h-hate to ask this, but was any of it looking… g-gooey?” she said. “Or l-like it was m-m-melting?”

“Um… No? I don’t, uh… Hang on.” She covered the mouthpiece. “SANS?”

“What?” he asked.

“Are you melting in your skull crack?” she called.

“Nope,” he said.

“No, it’s just normal,” Frisk said to Alphys.

“Th-Thank g-g-god,” she muttered. “Okay. And you s-said… split? Not smashed in.”

“Right,” she said.

“Uuuuhhh…” She heard pages turning. “Um. Okay. S-Straight or wavy?”

“Pretty straight,” she said. “Up. Like, it goes towards the top of of his head.”

“R-Right. Right. Okay,” Alphys said. “Okay. Wh-What it seems like t-to me is, um… a magic overload?”

“Magic overload?” Frisk repeated.

“Y-Yeah. Like… either h-his magic was too e-energized by something or h-he absorbed s-something that c-caused almost a… a blowout? Does that make sense?”

“I think so.” Frisk frowned. “…Like those magic scars?”

“K-Kind of,” Alphys said. “M-More extreme. And, y-you know, since he doesn’t have sk-skin and stuff…”

“Right,” she said, frowning a bit to herself. “Thanks, Alphys. I gotta go.”

“A-Alright! Okay. I h-hope everything turns out,” she said. “K-Keep me updated?”

“Yeah. Get some rest, huh?” Frisk said.

“Y-You too,” she said.

When Frisk got upstairs with the tea, she was relieved to find that Papyrus had taken his hand out of Sans’s eye and that the crack was starting to seal. Immediately around his eye socket already looked as if it had never been broken. She sat with them and handed out the teas, making sure Sans had a tight grip on his before letting go.

“Oh, thanks, kiddo,” Sans said.

“I called Alphys,” she said. “She said it couldda been like a magic overload.”

“Huh. Weird.” He sipped his tea. “S’good.”

“Yeah?” Frisk smiled. “Eight sugars.”

“Ah, you’re spoilin’ me,” he said.

“I don’t understand it,” Papyrus said. “Brother, how could you, of all monsters, have a magic overload? And how did you go all night not noticing your head was cracked open?! That’s so dangerous!”

Sans shrugged. “How long you think this is gonna be?” he asked.

“A while! You’re a mess!” Papyrus snapped. “And don’t you dare fall asleep! I need to be sure you’re okay!”

“Fine, fine,” Sans said. “Hey. Thanks.”

“Yes, yes, fine. Ugggghh, you scared me,” he said.

“Sorry,” he said.

“I know. SIGH. Frisk, did you learn anything else?” Papyrus asked.

Frisk looked thoughtful. She cupped one hand over the other, her fingers running over those invisible stripes. She felt a hit of nerves.

“Frisk?” Papyrus asked again.

“Oh! Um. I’m… I’m not sure,” she said. “Um. Sans. Did you ask me to let you check my phone?”

“Uhh…” He stared back at her blankly and then shrugged. “Can’t remember. Give it a once-over?”

“Uh-huh.” She spent a few seconds checking through messages and the camera centre. “Oh. There’s a new video here. Should I play it?”

“Well, that’s strange,” Papyrus said. “Couldn’t hurt, right?”

Sans looked at Frisk and raised his brows. She hit play, though the screen stayed pitch black.

_“You what the kid keeps seein’ and forgetting?”_ That was Sans’s voice, though it was muffled behind sheets. _“What are you?”_

There was a very strange noise as a reply. Frisk felt a chill and looked at Sans. He hadn’t moved an inch.

_ “Never mind, huh? Can’t understand a word of that. We’ll stick to easier questions,” _Sans said, and then a pause._ “Hey. Relax. We’ll do what we can. What’re you doing here? …No way. Can’t take her.”_

Frisk felt her heart going a mile a minute. She grabbed his arm and paused the video. “H-He was h-here?!” Her voice was trembling as much as her body was. “O-Oh my god you talked to him. You don’t remember, right?!”

“Not a thing,” Sans said. “Scared?”

“K-Kinda?”

“Oh, Frisk, don’t be scared,” Papyrus said quickly. “I mean, obviously, Sans stopped him from taking you. Right? I mean… Oh. But I guess he could. Keep. Coming back, annnnd… Oh. That could be a problem.”

The kid gulped. She huddled closer to Sans and reluctantly started the video up again.

The rest of it played with an increasing level of magic interference. It was punctuated midway through by a loud crack. It must’ve been Sans’s skull, but he couldn’t recall. That voice tried to speak again, but nothing it said was discernible, though it did sound a little like words every so often.

The video seemed to go for almost another minute. Frisk waited with baited breath, but they didn’t hear any more. The file came to a halt. The kid hugged tight onto her brother, trembling.

“Oh god,” she muttered.

“Hm.” Sans nodded. “Weird shit.”

“You can’t remember any of that at all?” Papyrus asked.

“Nope. Nothin’,” Sans said. “Guess that’s how it goes. So for sure this thing isn’t just in your head, kiddo.”

“That sounds strange,” Papyrus said. “I mean. As long as this thing isn’t mean, that’s not so bad, right? He’s not mean, is he?”

“Don’t think so,” Sans said. “Kiddo. What do you think?”

“I… I dunno. I don’t think so, either,” she admitted. “When I remember dreams with him in it, he was pretty nice. It seems like he gave good advice before, right? So… m-maybe it’s okay.”

“So why’re you so freaked?” he asked gently.

“I… I dunno, I guess it’s just the memory thing,” she said. “I’m not used to being the one who forgets, I guess. M-Maybe that’s selfish.”

“No, Frisk, not at all,” Papyrus assured her.

“S’okay, kiddo, I know that feel,” Sans said.

“I just can’t believe he was right there with you,” she said. “I didn’t even know other people could see him.”

“Couldn’t we have been able to this whole time and just not known?” Papyrus asked.

Frisk put her hands on her head. “Oh man, you’re totally right,” she said. “Jeez. Good idea to record it, Sans.”

“Eh, what can I say, sometimes my head’s on right,” he said.

After a little while, Frisk finally detached herself from her brother and fetched the _Trident of Vengeance_ book to read aloud to pass the time. Curled up in Sans’s lap, she fought her way through the next two chapters as he helped her with some of the tougher words. The crack in his head was starting to fade, but Papyrus was sweating a little.

Just as Frisk was about to begin on the next chapter, there was a loud banging on the front door. Then, it smashed open.

“GUYS?!” That was Undyne’s voice. “HEY!!!”

“Upstairs, Captain!” Papyrus called.

She was in the room in barely a second. She paused at the sight before her and smiled sideways. “Uh. Sans, this is really your room?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Home sweet home,” he joked.

“Huh. You guys okay? That doesn’t look good.” She squatted down, her ear-fins drooping. “Sheesh, dude.”

“Been worse,” he said.

“Ooh, tough guy,” Undyne said with a laugh. “Paps, take a break, huh?”

“I currently have a break in my hands, thank you,” Papyrus said.

Sans laughed and stuck his thumbs up. Undyne took Papyrus’s shoulder and gave him a serious look. 

“Just let me take over for a few minutes, okay?” she said. “Catch your breath.”

“B-But!” Papyrus protested.

Frisk stood up and gently took his hands. “C’mon, big bro, you’ve been doing this for almost an hour,” she said. “Let Undyne try for a bit, okay?”

“But I can…!” He couldn’t seem to finish when Frisk gave him the best puppy-dog eyes she could muster. “Oh. You’re worried, aren’t you? Alright. J-Just for a few minutes.”

Frisk grinned and he shifted, and she gently dabbed his brow with one of the dishtowels. He was shaking a little.

Undyne cracked her knuckles and then sat down behind Sans, grasping his head tight.

“Alphys said I should check in on you. She said your head split?” she said. 

“Yeah, basically,” Sans said.

“Wow, that’s deep, isn’t it?” she said.

“Yup, right through,” Sans said.

“Jeez. Never seen one that bad,” she said. “Alright. I got ya.” Her palms lit up bright. 

The light made the dark of his eyes shine faintly with cyan.

“Um! Okay! I am well rested now,” Papyrus said. “I can—!”

“Nuh-uh, Paps, you stay where you are,” Undyne said sternly. “Not havin’ two messed up skeletons on my watch.”

“But I can do this!!” Papyrus insisted.

“We know, dude,” Sans said.

“Yeah, duh,” Undyne said with a laugh. “Just don’t want you to get too tired, y’know? Keepin’ that sorta thing up for that long, it’s basically unheard of. So. Y’know. Let me take some of the pressure off.”

“Oh. Well. Uh.” He tented his fingers. “It’s just…”

“Don’t worry so much,” Sans said. “Hey. Look how much you closed it. Bro, most doctors’d have to overnight me to do even half that. And it’d hurt a hell of a lot more.”

“R-Right! I guess that is pretty impressive, isn’t it?” he said. 

“Damn right it is,” Sans said.

Frisk stood and gently kissed Papyrus’s cheek and his trepidation seemed to fail. She snuck in close to the side of his head.

“You guys aren’t alone anymore,” she whispered to him. She cupped his face and stared at him very seriously. 

He looked somewhat shocked for a second; his eyes welled up and he hugged her close. “Y-You’re right. You’re right.” He smiled and then looked at Undyne with a grateful smile. “Thank you, Captain. Whatever you can do…”

“Hah! Alright!” she said. “So how’d this happen anyway?”

“Shadowguy again,” Sans said. “Magic overload? Not sure.”

“Sans recorded when he showed up,” Frisk said.

“Oh. That’s weird as hell. Smart thinking,” Undyne said.

“Told you.” Frisk grinned. “He’s super smart.”

“You told her I was super smart? Oh, man, kiddo, you gotta quit it, you’re gonna raise people’s expectations,” Sans said.

“Eh, my expectations are about as high as you are tall,” Undyne joked.

“Ooh. Hey. Not bad, Cap,” Sans said with a grin. “Double zinger. Dig it.”

“I try,” she said. “Okay, lemme hear it.”

The kid did as she asked. It was just as weird hearing the recording a second time as the first. That voice disturbed her. Partially for its sound, but partially because it stuck in the back of her mind and dredged up something familiar. 

“Wow,” Undyne said, her ear-fins pinning back and a frown on her face. “That was pretty creepy. What was that sound? Was that that thing responding?”

“I think so,” Frisk said.

“Weird,” Undyne said. “Hey, how’s this feelin’?”

“Eh, kinda rough,” Sans said.

“Dizzy at all?” she asked.

“Yeah, but seeing two pairs of my favourite kids ain’t so bad,” he said.

“Sans!!” Papyrus yelped.

“Big bro, you okay?!” Frisk said, grabbing his hands.

“Don’t worry so much, kiddo.” He turned to look at the space beside her. “You either.”

“Saaaans!” she whined.

He snickered and ruffled her hair. “S’not so bad. Seriously,” he said. “Better than before.”

“Why, were you seeing triple?!” Papyrus demanded. “Quadruple?!”

“Definitely wasn’t seein’ much,” Sans said.

“Welp. I’m no doctor,” Undyne said with a laugh. “But… Y’know, I think I know what to do. Gimme a few?”

He shrugged. She closed her eye and her ear-fins lifted. The magic around her bristled immediately. 

“Ooh!” Papyrus tilted his head. “What’re you doing?”

“Got something up my sleeve,” she said.

“Oh? Where? You barely have sleeves,” Papyrus said.

“Hah! Just wait,” she said. “It’s sorta tough, but…”

They watched as magic began to glow around her, ebbing in waves and then bristling like static. She began to regulate her breathing very steadily, and the pulsing matched her. It was hypnotic. Papyrus grabbed Frisk and drew her closer and closer, as if trying to reassure himself. Very suddenly, the air cracked and shimmered. Undyne’s eye opened wide, searing with magic like a flame, and her whole being pulsed. Within half a second, the magic dimmed and she reeled back, panting. The split in Sans’s skull was completely gone.

Papyrus and Frisk gawked. Sans couldn’t conceal his surprise either, and he touched the top of his skull curiously.

“Welp. Damn.” He turned to look at her and grinned. “Impressive.”

“Thanks,” she said through heavy breaths. “It’s, uh… not my specialty. Supposed to just be for emergencies but, hell, if you’re a two, then any injury could go bad fast, huh?”

“Huh. Thanks,” he said.

She stuck her thumb up.

“Wowie, is it really…?!” Papyrus scrambled over and grabbed Sans to grope around his head. “Oh!!! That looks perfect!” He stuck his hand into Sans’s eye socket.

“Dude,” Sans said.

“Oh, stop complaining.” Papyrus seemed to pat around inside Sans’s head for a moment.

Sans’s eyes went black again and he seemed to be grimacing. Frisk held in a laugh and grabbed his hand.

“Amazing! Not a scratch!” Papyrus said brightly. 

He hurried to Undyne and hugged her tightly as Sans looked a little dazed.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Papyrus said.

Undyne smiled and gently rubbed the top of his head. She looked exhausted, though. “Just doin’ my job,” she said.

Frisk, wilting with relief, gave Sans a hug. He relaxed quickly. 

“So glad you’re okay,” she said. She sat up and gave him a gentle smooch between the eyes— which seemed to stun him still for a moment— before she got up and reached for Undyne’s hand. “C’mon, let me get you something to drink or eat or whatever you want.”

“Whew. Uh, yeah. Thanks.” Undyne slowly got to her feet and rolled her shoulders back. “Gonna need something a little potent.”

“I’m sure we have something,” Frisk assured her.

As soon as they were out of sight, Sans flopped onto his back rather contentedly.

“Saaaaans?” Papyrus leaned over him. “Sans.”

“Yeah, bro?” he said.

Papyrus wrung his hands. He grimaced. Then, he quickly pulled Sans up and into his arms. “I was so worried,” he grumbled.

“I know. Sorry,” Sans said.

“Ugh, what would’ve happened if I hadn’t come in?!” he demanded. “What if you woke up and you were just dust?! That would’ve been a nightmare!!”

“Paps. C’mon. Never in a million years,” Sans said gently. “Hey. Even if something happened. We have the kid now. She can fix anything.”

“I know, I know.” He wilted. “It’s just… It was so close. And… And I c-can’t be here if you’re not here.”

“Aw, jeez, kid.” Sans pulled Papyrus’s head down to touch his forehead to his and set his eye gently aglow. “Don’t worry about that kinda crap, okay? Never leavin’ you. Not for a second. Never have.”

“Never?” Papyrus asked.

“Never.” Sans grinned. “C’mon, bro, you know me, I make it a point to not go anywhere.”

“You promise?” he said.

“Absolutely.”

Papyrus’s eyes glowed and he pulled back and brushed under them with his thumb. “Nyeh heh… Well. Thank you. That’s a relief, brother,” he said. “Because! If you did turn to dust, my gosh, I would be very upset with you!”

“Totally understandable,” Sans said.

“I’d have to clean you up, for one thing! You’d be making a mess, as usual. And I’d have to put you in something or—”

“Ketchup bottle?” he suggested.

“Sans!! I would not carry around your hypothetical tragic dust in a ketchup bottle! Then you would smell like ketchup and I would smell like ketchup at all times!” he protested. “And… And besides! You’re right. Frisk can time travel and… heeeeeeyy. Wait. A. Minute.”

“What, bro?” 

“UGH! Whhhyyy didn’t we just ask Frisk to send us back in time?! That would’ve fixed your head because it would never have been hurt, obviously!” Papyrus said.

“Welp. Dunno. I’m not a huge fan of going back if we don’t have to,” he said. “And then we wouldda lost that thing.” He pointed at the phone. 

Papyrus narrowed his eyes. “Stupid mysterious energy surge,” he grumbled. “I will be more than happy if we never have to hear from any of this stuff again!”


	48. Try To Remember

Frisk was on her tenth listen-through of the recording. As Undyne lazed on their couch and Papyrus prepared a meal, the kid had her earphones on. She lay on the floor beside Asriel, who was watching more TV. She was relieved that the flower had slept through everything, and she got him up to speed quickly. He made a _cracking up_ joke, but Sans had already done that so it had little effect. Sans seemed to appreciate the attempt, though. 

Frisk couldn’t help but feel drawn to that weird, backwards voice. It was like it wanted to be understood, but it was so strange and garbled that there was no way. Even if there were words, they weren’t English. She couldn’t understand. She felt a little like she was listening to E.V.P. recordings from a ghost film. Maybe her imagination was just drawing a picture from disparate parts. It could be nothing. Could be that energy that had cracked her brother’s head had disrupted the recording. After all, when this mysterious shadowman was recorded visually, the picture was instantly corrupted.

Beside her, Sans flopped down lazily onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. Frisk pulled off her earphones and rubbed her temples. A headache still throbbed behind her eye sockets. 

“Gonna give it a rest?” Sans asked as he put his arms behind his head.

“Yeah.” She sat up. “Maybe gonna take a walk.”

“Oh.” He cut his eyes at her. “Which way?”

“West?” she said with a shrug. She could see in his eyes that he knew what she meant. 

He shrugged weakly. “Save, huh? Need us?”

“Always,” she said with a laugh. “But you guys should relax. It’ll be fine. I’ll tell you all about it.”

He seemed satisfied and closed his eyes. Frisk felt a little tug on her clothes and looked over to see Asriel frowning up at her.

“You’re bringing me,” he said.

“Okay,” she said. 

“Well, you better—! Wait. What? Just like that?” He smiled when she nodded. “Alright, let’s get the heck outta here.”

Bundled up, Frisk carried Asriel outside and let him down to the ground in front of the house. She left his mug by the door, and they headed west down the main street. 

“I don’t really get this whole no memories guy thing,” Asriel said. “How long has this been going on?”

“Can’t remember,” Frisk joked.

“C’mon,” he pressed.

“I really only started remembering a little while ago,” she said. “I think the day we got you out of the lab.”

“And you don’t think this is a trap?” he said. “Guy might want your soul.”

“Who knows?” Frisk said.

Asriel frowned thoughtfully. He paused in place and his brows raised, and Frisk mimicked him, then looked ahead. She grinned instantly. Kid was running right for her.

“FRISK!” He beamed and fell into her gladly given hug. “Yo! You’re feeling better?!”

“Yeah! How are you?” she asked.

“Good! Good,” he said, pulling back. “I’m really glad to see you.” His tail started to wag. He noticed the speck of gold in the snow. He turned to look and his eyes went wide. “Oh! Hi! Didn’t see you at first! You with Frisk?”

“Uh, yes?” Asriel said with a frown.

“Kid, this is my friend—” Frisk began.

“Flowey,” he interjected. “I’m Flowey.”

“Ooh! Nice to meet you,” Kid said brightly. “I’m Kid! Oh. She just said that. Well, hi, dude! You guys goin’ somewhere?”

“Just a bit out of town,” Frisk said.

“Ooh! Mind if I tag along?”

“Sure, c’mon,” Frisk said, “but it might not be very interesting.”

“Eh, that’s okay, I was just bumming around anyway,” he said. 

Kid seemed really happy just to be there. As they walked, he looked down at Asriel curiously and then shot Frisk a questioning glance. He bit his lip. She paused and reached down for the flower.

“What?” he asked.

“Want a lift for a bit?” she said. “Don’t want anyone to step on you.”

“Oh. Uh.” He hesitated for a moment before slithering up her arm. “Thanks, I guess.”

She smiled and turned her attention back on Kid. “Oh, hey, how’s that book been?” she asked. “I’ve been reading the first one with my brother. I really like it.”

“Oh yeah?!” His eyes lit up. “Oh man, they’re cool, right?!”

“What?” Asriel asked.

“Oh, sorry, the _Trident of Vengeance_ books,” Kid said. “Have you read them?”

“Pffft, of course,” Asriel said. “All three. Bunch of times.”

Kid beamed. “The fourth one just came out.”

“What?!” Asriel snapped. “No way, how come I didn’t hear about that?!”

“Been busy?” Frisk suggested.

“Is it good?” Asriel pressed.

“I like it a lot,” Kid said. “I have it out from the library right now but you can have it when I’m done, if you want?”

“Oh. Uh. Okay. Thanks,” Asriel said. He tried to hide how pleased he was and wasn’t entirely successful.

Snow was falling gently from somewhere high above them, but the way was still mostly clear enough. Right outside of town was Greater Dog’s post and a field of snow poffs. They could hear the telltale snoring from inside a doghouse that seemed impossibly small. Knowing monsters, Frisk thought, it was probably a lovely little warm den in there.

A path of ice stretched ahead. Frisk grabbed Kid’s shoulders and, trying hard to keep her balance, stepped out. They immediately slipped onto the cold ground. Frisk snorted and Kid began to snicker.

“Oof, good one,” Asriel grunted.

“I got this,” Frisk said. She helped Kid sit up and grabbed his shoulders again. She forced herself to her feet; tried not to wobble. “Hang on.” She gently pushed him, and he laughed as he began to slide. 

“This is kinda fun!” he said.

“Speak for yourself!” Asriel yelped.

Frisk felt him cling tighter. “It’s not far!” she assured him.

Skating with the soles of her shoes was smooth going on the slick surface, sturdy with Kid’s shoulders as support. They skid across and toppled into the soft snow together. Frisk grinned and quickly helped him up and brushed his poncho off.

“That’s one way to do it,” Asriel said.

“Not so bad!” she said.

“I usually just go across on my stomach,” Kid said. “So how far is this place?”

“Not too far,” Frisk said as they continued onward, “but it’s about as far west as we can go.”

“All the way there?” His eyes went wide. “For real, dude?” 

When Frisk nodded, he suddenly looked just a little worried.

“What, don’t tell me you never been outta town before,” Asriel said.

“Not this way,” he said. “I can’t believe your parents just let you… Oh. Oh, I’m real sorry, Frisk, your parents must still be on the surface, huh?”

“Nope,” Frisk said.

“Nope?” he repeated.

“No parents up there,” Frisk said. “Mom’s a monster. She lives in the Ruins. She adopted me, but she doesn’t live with us yet. After the barrier’s down, though—”

“Dude,” Asriel said sharply.

“Oh! Sorry. It’s okay. He knows,” Frisk said. “Told him about the time stuff.”

“Oh. Jeez, Frisk. You’d be a terrible super hero,” Asriel said.

“I don’t, uh…?” Frisk looked bashful. “Um, sorry?”

“You know, secret identities, secret powers, blah blah blah,” he said.

“Oh!” Frisk laughed. “But Kid’s totally trustworthy. He even stood up for me in front of Undyne before she could remember me.”

“Huh. Okay. Gotta admit, that’s not bad,” Asriel said.

Kid blushed a little and grinned. “Y-Yeah? You know, Undyne actually told me she thought I was kinda cool after that. I couldn’t believe it! Undyne thought I was cool!” he said.

“What, is she the arbiter of cool, now?” Asriel said. “She’s just a weird fish with big arms.”

“No way, dude, she’s really cool and smart and nice when she talks to you for real,” Kid said; his eyes seemed to sparkle. “I wanna be just like her when I’m older.”

“You’ll need to file your teeth into points,” Asriel said.

Ahead, a dog’s post was surrounded by curling, joyful sculptures of long dogs, looping and swirling and corkscrewing, with their cute snow heads unfortunately unable to defy gravity. A defunct puzzle of Alphys’s creation that Papyrus had saved up for stood, unused, with grey tiles hiding beneath snowflakes and little ice patches. They were careful crossing it. 

Lesser Dog was ahead, and waved at them as they passed. He was bouncing around across one of Papyrus’s other puzzles. He couldn’t quite seem to figure it out— there were far more green triangles appearing than red circles— but he seemed to be having a great time nonetheless.

“These look different,” Asriel commented as they passed a second set of switches.

“Different from what?” Frisk asked.

“Never seen ‘em.”

“Oh yeah, Paps and I did them kinda recently,” she said. “They’re really fun to set up, actually.”

“Wait, your brother does these?” Kid asked. “Oh. I mean, it looks fun, I mean, but why over here?”

“To catch a human,” Frisk said, and she winked. “He’s pretty great at it.”

Kid looked surprised for a second but then began to laugh, and quite loudly, too. “Aaah, dude, sorry,” he said. “Heh! I keep forgetting for a sec that you’re a human. Sorry.”

“No no no, don’t say sorry!” she said, unable to keep a smile from her face. “That actually makes me happy. Last thing I wanna do is scare people because of, you know…”

“Aw, dude, don’t even worry, you’re not scary. I’m sure once monsters know you, there’s no way they’ll be scared of you.”

“She does have freaky super powers though,” Asriel said. “Can’t die. Can go back in time. Does weird red glowy things…”

“Hey!” Frisk pouted for just a moment before a sly grin came over her. “And I can make friends with super grumps, that’s real important.”

Asriel scoffed, but he had a bit of a smile on his face. 

Kid tilted his head slightly and shot Frisk a curious look. “So can you go back in time whenever you want?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said.

“Could you do it right now?” he asked.

“Technically I could,” she said. “But we’d be back to yesterday.”

“Oh? Why?”

“There are these little glowing things all over the underground that kinda look like stars. Not everyone can see them, though,” Frisk explained. “I can touch one and sort of keep that as the spot I go back in time to. We call it saving.”

“Oh! Okay! Like in a video game!” Kid said brightly. “That’s really cool, dude.”

“Ah!! Why didn’t I think of it like that!?” Frisk exclaimed. “That wouldda made it so much easier to explain to people.”

Asriel laughed. “You’re such a dork.”

“So can you bring other people with you when you go back?” Kid asked.

“No,” she said. “Wish I could! Would save me a ton of problems.”

“Dunno, wouldn’t it make more problems?” Asriel said. “You’d totally bring Sans back with you, at least, and then we’d be stuck with two of him.”

“I guess that would be kinda confusing,” she admitted.

“I was thinking more like insufferable?”

“Oh stop,” Frisk laughed. 

The kids snuck by Doggo’s watch post as he napped, the scent of toasty dog biscuits in the air. A bit farther was the cardboard guard post Papyrus had set up. He hadn’t visited since she’d moved in. The roof was a little caved in with snow. Frisk would have stopped to fix it up if she had been tall enough to reach it.

Up ahead at a crossroads, there was a prick of starlight Frisk latched onto. Kid looked around curiously and scampered forward on the path.

“Wow, jeez, this is kinda far, huh?” he said, and he squinted at the looming, dark mass of rock in the distance. “The Ruins were way over there, huh?”

“Still are,” Frisk said.

“It’s so weird.” Kid smiled nervously. “I’ve never been this far out before.”

“Why?” Asriel asked.

“It’s kinda spooky, isn’t it?” Kid asked. “I mean… what if something’s lurking in the woods?”

“Why? Is there something that lives in there?” Frisk asked a little nervously.

Asriel laughed. “Yeah. Monsters.” He cut his eyes at her. “Come on, after everything, this is the thing that makes you nervous?”

“N-No!” she said. “It’s fine. Let’s keep going.”

It was strange coming up on the door to the Ruins again after what had happened last time. Frisk wished she could remember why exactly she had been out there. 

“Wow, check it out,” Kid said. “The Delta Rune. Oh, right, wasn’t this the capital before? I wonder what it was like.”

“Not too different from the capital now,” Asriel said. “Asgore’s not very creative.”

“Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense. Too bad I’ve never seen the capital,” Kid said.

“We should go exploring sometime,” Frisk suggested. “I’ve only seen a little of it. I heard the Archives are really neat.”

“Y-Yeah? Okay,” Kid said. “If my mom lets me. I bet if we went with Undyne…”

“So we’ll go with Undyne,” Frisk said. “Or… I mean, we could say we’re going with Undyne. She’d cover for us.”

“Tsk tsk, lying again?” Asriel scolded.

Frisk blushed. “It’s n-not like it’s dangerous or anything!” she squeaked. “Heck, I’m probably the most dangerous thing down here, technically.”

“Hah! Aw, no, it’s fine,” Kid said. “I guess you shouldn’t sneak out, either.”

“Wouldn’t really be sneaking,” Frisk said.

“C’mon, dude, no way they’d let you go all that way on your own,” he said.

“Let me?” Frisk was couldn’t help the look of confusion on her face.

“Um, okay, this is real interesting and all,” Asriel said. “Frisk, gimme a lift?”

“Huh?” Frisk looked down at him and he pointed up at the rune marking on the door. “Oh! Okay! Sure!”

She stretched and lifted her arm up. Asriel slithered to her hand and squinted at the stone. 

“Someone messed with this,” he said.

“Huh? How?” Frisk asked.

“Dunno. The left triangle is longer.”

“Its left or our left?” Kid asked.

“Left coming from the door.” He looked back at Frisk. “So… Left?”

“We could check it out,” she said.

She looked towards the woods. The trees were tightly packed and it was dark almost immediately off the trail. Asriel pointed at the ground and she kicked a little snow out of the way for a spot to let him down. Kid looked nervous.

“Oh man…” He shot Frisk a worried look. “Wh-What exactly are you guys doin’ out here anyway?”

“Scared?” Asriel said. “You don’t have to come.”

“It’s a little bit of weird magic stuff,” Frisk admitted. 

“O-Oh, uhhh…” Kid grimaced. “S-Sounds a little, um, dangerous, dude.”

Frisk smiled sympathetically. “It’s okay. Do you wanna go back? I’ll walk you back to town if you want.”

“What?! But we’re already here, Frisk, let’s just go,” Asriel said.

“No, A… Flowey, if Kid doesn’t wanna come I’m not gonna force him,” she said with a laugh. “And I’m not gonna make him wait here alone!”

“No, no. You know what? It’s fine. I’ll come,” Kid said. “So what if it’s kinda freaky? I can deal with it.”

“There you go,” Asriel said.

Cautiously, the kids began to make their way through the trees. The light dimmed right away. Frisk pulled her phone out for a little bit of light; Kid snuck in close and trailed her like a shadow. Asriel sped ahead, only a little glimmer of gold to be seen through a pen of dark trees every once and a while. The way was getting thicker, with no end in sight.

“Jeez, no wonder no one comes out here,” Frisk grunted as she squeezed between trunks.

“I know. Oh man.” Kid squeaked as his toe caught on a root and he tumbled forward, but Frisk caught him quickly and propped him back up. “Phew. Thanks, dude.”

“It’s starting to thin a bit!” Asriel called from somewhere ahead.

“Oh yeah? See anything?” Frisk said.

“Nnnnooo, not yet!”

“What are you looking for, exactly?” Kid asked.

“Honestly? I’m not totally sure,” Frisk said. “I think a spot that looks like a save place.”

“And why are you looking for it?” he said. “Is it to help break the barrier?”

“Um… Well. I’m not sure it makes much sense,” Frisk said as she helped him through the trees. “There’s this monster. At least, I think he’s a monster. I saw him in dreams. And in a weird time void thingy in the basement of the lab, in Hotland. And I think for real. But I always forget.”

“What? Dude, that makes no sense,” Kid said.

“Tell me about it,” Frisk said. “Anyone who sees this monster guy in real life forgets him. He tried to talk to Sans, but Sans forgets too. But he recorded him and it sounded like the guy wanted me to go around here. Somewhere. For some reason.”

“Annnnd… you’re just listening to him?” Kid looked baffled. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

“I’m not sure,” Frisk said. “See, he, um… He keeps leaving these weird magic imprints on my skin. I don’t think he means to. I think there’s something really wrong with him. But, he’s been leaving little messages in places. Sometimes they’re hard to figure out, like this one, but sometimes he just writes something on my hand. It’s usually kinda vague, but it helped before.”

“It did? So you trust this thing now?” he wondered.

“I know, it sounds totally nuts,” Frisk said. “…Wow. Jeez. Does it ever, now that I say it like that. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Kid said with a laugh. “But… I mean, it kinda sounds like you do remember him.”

“Kinda do. Just started to recently, but only the dream version,” she said. “I’m pretty sure it’s the same guy, anyway. It’d be too much of a coincidence if it wasn’t, I think.”

“How do you know it’s not just a dream?” he asked.

“Oh. Jeez, that’s a whole other mess.” Frisk laughed. “My dreams usually aren’t just dreams. My brain goes into this weird time mess and I see all these old memories and… Well, it usually sucks. It’s been like that since I started saving.”

“Jeez, dude. Guess time powers aren’t a cakewalk, huh?” Kid asked sympathetically. “I guess that would get pretty complicated.”

“You bet.” She smiled. “But it’s not so bad. It’s good that it’s me.”

“Why?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Always has to be someone. If it’s me, that means no one else has to do it.”

“Hey, nerds!” Asriel’s voice rang out, echoing, disorienting between the trees. “I’m pretty sure I found the thing!”

“What? Where are you?” Frisk called.

“Oh my god, don’t tell me you’re lost?” He sighed. “Hang on.”

There was silence for a few seconds and, quite suddenly, Asriel poked up from the ground before them. “C’mon, don’t just stand there gawking,” he said. “Follow me! And keep close this time, jeez.”

“Jeez,” Frisk said with a laugh.

It wasn’t very far at all until the dark was broken up by a strange, white-blue light. It filtered between the tree trunks, making stark stripes on the snow. Frisk’s heart started to go a little faster. She looked at Kid, who had begun to squint.

“What the heck is that?” he asked.

“Pretty sure it’s what we’re lookin’ for,” Asriel said. “Come on.”

A few meters more and the trees gave way to a small, oval clearing. At one end was a stump and, at the other, that light they had been looking for. It looked like one of the tears that Frisk could usually save at, though it was much larger. The light was a tone she had only seen once before.

“Whoa!” Kid said. He scampered up to the thing and circled around it suspiciously.

“Kinda fits, right?” Asriel said.

“Y-Yeah.” Frisk gulped. “Um. C-Careful.”

“Right. Right.” Kid backed up. “Don’t touch it. Right?”

“Good call,” Asriel said. 

“But what is this thing?” Kid asked.

“A tear in time. A big one. Weird.” Asriel looked at Frisk. “What d’you want to do, Frisk? This is kinda your party.”

She eyed the light up and down. Her ears felt like they were burning. Something about it was strangely alluring. She wanted to know. Carefully, she came closer to the light. She held out her arm and the others moved back. 

“I’m gonna touch it,” she said. 

“You sure?” Kid asked worriedly. “Don’t turn to dust on me, okay?”

“I won’t,” she assured him.

She reached a hand out and felt the magic in the tear respond with a gentle invitation. It wasn’t cold, like the other one. There was something there. She accepted, and, in return, the stripes between her fingers shone a warm gold.

She felt like someone had touched this before. She brushed her fingers through the energy. It hummed. It was a song. One she thought she might have heard before. She couldn’t place it. Something about it reminded her of someone she knew. She wasn’t sure.

“Careful,” Asriel warned.

Frisk nodded. The energy pulled her; beckoned to her. She hesitantly took a step forward. 

There was a flash. Light. Then, darkness. Frisk stared ahead into a void, but quickly noticed it was dotted with little stars. Four pointed ones. She felt a weird pressure in her head. Something she saw started to balloon and distort, and it made her feel sick. Rather suddenly, though, it was sliced and the space deflated. Frisk’s headache blew away, but she couldn’t help but tremble.

The girl’s body had totally frozen. Her breathing was slow, and her gaze was focussed in that light. She didn’t move for what seemed like a long time. Asriel frowned and edged closer to her.

“What do you see?” Asriel asked. “Frisk?”

“I… I see… space?” she said. “Where are you?”

“Beside you?” he said.

“Oh! I didn’t move. Okay. That’s good.” She sighed with relief. “I’m not sure, it’s really weird.”

Kid scooted in a bit closer, too. “Frisk, your eyes…” he said worriedly.

“What’s wrong with them?” she asked.

“They’re totally black,” he said.

“Oh. Weird,” she said. “Um…”

She squinted. Asriel held onto her leg. She jerked for a moment before seeming to realize it was him.

“Something’s happening,” she said. “I… I’m walking? No. I’m… seeing someone walk. From up the road. But I’m in their head?”

“Is it real?” Asriel demanded. “What’s going on?”

“Shh, hang on. Hang on.” She held up one hand. “He’s talking.”

“What’s he saying?” he insisted.

“I… I dunno, he’s not speaking English,” she said. “He’s got an, um… a little tape recorder thing? Ooh. Oh. Hang on. Just let me listen.”

Frisk’s eyes weren’t her own. The walker was much, much taller. Hands covered in thick brown gloves, his thumb on the button of his recorder. 

“I’m almost there.” He spoke with an accent she didn’t really recognize. “I’m feeling… anxious. I’m not certain why. It’s going to work. I know it will. There’s nothing to fear.” His eyes came upon the doorway to the Ruins. He focussed on the Delta Rune for a moment, and rested his palm upon it. “Toriel?” he asked. 

He waited a few long, heavy seconds. Nothing. Not a sound to be heard but the shifting of his own clothing. 

He let out a disappointed sigh. “It’s been so long. Are you even still alive in there?” 

Silence. Cold, sharp, and still. He shook his head and removed glasses from his face. His vision instantly went out of focus, especially his left side. He rubbed his eyes and put them back on. He started recording again and turned towards the woods. His footsteps cracked through brittle branches and snow.

“The energy should provide a suitable backup. This burst is off the trail. I’ve never seen a future where it’s discovered, so it won’t be fiddled with by someone with less than good intentions. Hopefully I can make a little shift.” He brushed a branch from his path and he sighed quietly. “I wish I could orchestrate a future where this recording would be found and coherent. I’d just tell them everything. I suppose it won’t matter. I’ll try to change it so I’ll be of some use. And that little bit of extra… Well, it should help with stability, if I am actually able to make a small event-shift. I mean, it couldn’t hurt to try, right?”

As he came upon the small clearing, Frisk was surprised to see the tear in time her hand was engulfed in. It looked a bit different, though. It wasn’t blue, it was white, and the edges were rough. The whole thing was more rounded. It wasn’t like a split so much as it was like something had blown out of it. 

“Hole 1-S still appears relatively stable,” he said. “Though it has grown by… oh, I’d estimate ten centimetres since last time. Note that last time was one month and sixteen days ago. The rate is… Hah. Well, it’s not good. I suppose this really is the only way, isn’t it? I’m going to attempt the first transfer.”

He clicked the recorder off again and shoved it in his pocket. He raised his hands and clawed his fingers. After a few moments, he grunted and a wash of white energy shimmered across his limbs. It concentrated into his palms. He was starting to shake. 

“Frisk?” Kid’s voice filtered through as the man began to breathe hard. “You okay?”

“Mhm,” she answered. She was enraptured. She needed to see.

“Your lines are all really bright,” he said worriedly.

“Yo, if you start hurting, stop,” Asriel said.

“It’s okay.” Her voice trembled even as she said it. “It’s okay. Hang on.”

She watched the man press his hands together and form the white energy into a ball. He was shuddering. He touched it to the tear and let out a small gasp. It stole it and he collapsed onto his knees. With trembling hands, he pulled out his recorder. He sat back and puffed out a deep sigh.

“I-It worked. The energy was s… successfully stored. Hah…” He laughed tiredly. “Oh god. It’s… embarrassing, but I’m a bit frightened. Hah. That’s… not relevant. Never mind. God, I hope that helps.” He got up and brushed himself off. “We do what we have to, don’t we?” The man reached for the rip once more. “Attempting _preservation function_ on 1-S.”

As soon as his hand met it, Frisk’s vision went over white. She toppled backwards into the snow and blinked upwards. Her view was grey, with soft white flakes falling and branches of dark trees grappling upwards towards the stone sky. Within a second, Kid and Asriel peered down at her. They both looked worried. She sat up and rubbed her head, and the second she did, Kid let out a deep sigh and dropped down to meet her, grabbing her with his tail. She hugged him close and, much to the flower’s alarm, she grabbed him and held him, too.

“Th-That was so weird, dude!” Kid said.

“Tell me about it,” Frisk said.

“Is this normal?” he demanded.

“Not really,” Frisk said.

Kid snuggled into her and she let out a long, deep sigh. Over his shoulder, she could see the tear in time. The reason it was so much bigger, she thought, was that was someone had to have fixed it.

“Tell us what you saw,” Asriel said. 

“I, um… Okay. I was seeing through a guy’s eyes. A grown-up monster. He sounded really sort of… I dunno, technical,” she explained. “He was talking into a recorder thingy. He sounded like he somehow saw some part of the future. He put some white magic stuff into the light. A-And I think he saved. Or tried to.”

“What, like you can?!” Kid said. “I thought it was only you?”

“It’s only her now,” Asriel said, “but there were two people we know of before her. Maybe add a third? But… that doesn’t super make sense, these tears weren’t there until the CORE screwed up.”

“Ooh. The spot looked different, then, though,” she said. “It didn’t look like a star. It looked like a hole.”

“That’s weird,” Asriel muttered.

“Absolutely,” she said. “Oof. I’m getting kinda cold, wanna head back?”

“Yeah definitely,” Kid said with a weak laugh.

She got up, helping Kid with her, and she brushed the snow out of her hair. The light pulsed. Frisk got a chill.

“Oh, come on,” she muttered.

It pulsed again, like it was knocking eagerly on a door. Kid squeaked and she put herself between it and the others.

“Let’s just. Back away. Slowly,” Asriel suggested.

Frisk wanted to, but it felt like it was calling her back. Was there something missing? Why had the shadowman wanted her to come here so badly? Bad enough that he’d talked to her at the door twice; that he’d left a message and risked cracking her brother’s skull in the process. There had to be more.

“Frisk!”

She turned to look over her shoulder at Kid. He watched her with worried eyes. Asriel was giving her a skeptical look. She raised a hand.

“Just… Just one sec,” she said. 

The light pulsed again. Her soul started to glow. She gulped. That music started again. Slowly and softly, but filling the air. 

“You guys hear that?” she asked quietly.

“Y-Yeah?” Kid looked around. “Is that a hum? Is that thing humming? Is it alive?”

“Frisk, uh, wanna wimp out this time?” Asriel said.

“But that can’t be all there is,” she said.

Trepidation in her steps, she edged back towards the light. Asriel rushed to follow her, grabbing her leg as tight at he could.

“I can’t drag you home,” he said. “So don’t you freakin’ faint on me. Got it?”

“Right,” she said. “Stand back just a bit, okay? If I get sucked into it, I don’t want it to mess you up.”

“Sucked in?!” Kid yelped. “Be careful, dude!!”

“I will,” she said. She looked at Asriel. 

He frowned up at her but, reluctantly, let her go and slunk back a few feet. “Go on, then.”

Frisk reached out again with careful fingers. The song began to get a bit faster. Her heart thumped. Her energy was trying to mesh with it on its own. Why? She gulped. She raised her hands and brought the red energy up into her palms, like she had seen the monster do. The song picked up; sounded excited and, carefully, she touched the light again.

Her vision went over white. She felt too hot, then too cold; she could hear that song. Felt it wrap around her soul and hum to it. Her fingers started to tingle, and the feeling spread through her arms and into her chest. Something cupped her soul, scooping it up in a careful energy. It seemed like something stuck to it. It was warm, and the grip was strong.

It released her just as suddenly as it had grabbed her, and she plopped back into the snow again. The music had faded and the woods were silent once more. Her vision cleared just in time to see a gentle, white glow disappearing into her body. Quickly, she unzipped her hoodie and lit her soul up. It looked exactly the same. She looked back over her shoulder and saw Kid sigh with relief. Asriel frowned.

“What the hell was that?” he asked.

“Dunno.” She put her hand to her soul spot and looked confused. “I think… No. I dunno.” She got up and then offered Asriel her hand. She smiled sheepishly. “Grillby’s?”

“Seriously?” he asked.

“Kid?” She shot him a look. “Wanna get some food?”

“Do I ever,” he said.

They looked at Asriel. He sighed, shrugged, and tried to look a lot more grumpy than the tilt at the corner of his mouth said.

“Fine. Fine. You’re buying.” 

“Of course!” Frisk said brightly.

\- - - 

Alphys’s computer had frozen during the night. It was a frustrating thing to wake up to. She spent the morning magically charging a few of the older parts and then had sent through the waveform search again. It was going much more quickly this time. 

While she waited, she spent some time at her workbench, tinkering with a little metal frame made from brackets and the wheels of a toy truck. Part one of something helpful for Asriel. Part two was mostly done, she figured. A short, segmented cable with a claw apparatus on the end, attached to a snap-on clip that should, theoretically, be able to hook to his energy and act as a limb. She had tried it on her thumb, earlier, and it had worked just fine.

She was just about finished when she heard the east door bang open. Before she knew it, Undyne was behind her, leaning around her with her arms on her head.

“H-Hello to you, too,” Alphys said with a laugh.

“Hm.” Undyne smiled. “You know, for once, I don’t mind the heat so much.”

“Y-You sound t-tired.” She turned and looked into her face. “Y-You look tired.”

“Hah! Am tired.” She stretched her arms above her head. “Good idea to send me.”

“W-Was it bad?” she asked.

“Yeah. Fine now, though.” Undyne plopped down on a chair that had been shoved to the side of the table. “Did a burst-heal type thing. Worked like a charm.”

“O-Oh! Isn’t th-that difficult?” Alphys squeaked.

“Yeah. Worth it though,” she said. “Napped on their couch for a bit. Paps made me some, uh, “special spaghetti” as a thanks. Sweet kid. Loves that pasta. Not really sure why. Not really sure where he gets it all, either, to be honest.”

Alphys chuckled. She smiled at her fondly. “You’re s-so cool, you know th-that?”

Undyne shrugged and grinned a bit. She bent down and gave the little lizard a gentle kiss. Alphys giggled and blushed. Shyly, she cupped Undyne’s face and moved in to kiss her again, but she quickly squeaked, covered her mouth, and scampered off.

“What?” Undyne called after her, holding in a laugh.

“I’ve only been eating sour-onion-cream chips all day!!” she squawked. “Oh god I’m so sorry.”

Undyne snickered and shook her head.

She leaned over the table to take a peek at what she’d been working on. “What’s all this junk?” she asked. 

She heard the hiss of a spritzer and leaned over the top floor to look down. Alphys was spraying some MTT brand breath freshener down her throat. Undyne grinned.

“Honestly, it’s not that bad,” she said.

“Oh my god, s-so embarrassing. I probably sm-smell like trash, too, O-M-G,” she muttered.

Undyne started to laugh and rubbed the back of her head. “Jeez, Alph. You’re fine.”

Alphys smiled sheepishly. Undyne hopped the railing and dropped effortlessly to the floor. The little lizard got starry-eyed and blushed. Undyne lifted her right off her feet and kissed her again. Alphys all but melted. Undyne drew back and stuck her tongue out jokingly.

“What is that supposed to be, even?”

“Uhh… Uuhhhhh…” Alphys checked the spray bottle. “MTT’s Raspblueberry Glimglam?”

“Heh. Weird.” 

When Undyne put her down, she bashfully rubbed her headspines.

“So, um, h-how bad was i-it?” Alphys asked.

“Bad. Skull was basically in half,” she said. “Not sure how someone like him takes damage like that and doesn’t just collapse but… Welp. Guess it’s fine now. No biggie.”

“Th-That’s scary,” she muttered.

“Yeah, a bit.” She shrugged. “Paps had it under control, but I was happy to help.”

“G-Good. Good.” She tilted her head. “D-Do, um…? D-Do you know what happened?”

“Shadowdude,” she said.

“Wh-What?!” Alphys yelped.

“Yeah. Sans recorded him. Wanted to send the kid to some place with a Delta Rune?” she said. “Sans talked to him, we think, but we also kinda thing that his energy or somethin’ like that make his head crack.”

“H-Holy crap,” Alphys muttered. “He’s r-real?”

Undyne shrugged and nodded.

“A-And Frisk, she’s okay?” she pressed. “Sh-She didn’t go off on s-some weird adventure, d-did she? I mean, a-after what I did to her…”

“Why?” Undyne said with a laugh. “What’d you do to her?”

“J-Just… Just I hurt her. A bit. W-With the energy reading, it t-tired her out again. She st-still isn’t totally better,” Alphys said reluctantly. “Poor kid.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” Undyne said. “So you’ve been working on that stuff a lot, huh?”

“Oh! Oh, yeah! I’m just, uh… I’m j-just waiting for some results. Again.” She sighed and laughed tiredly. “It’s a l-long process.”

Undyne nodded. She cast a look at Alphys’s computer. Her ear-fins perked. “So, uh. You busy?”

“Ummm… W-Well…” She paused when it seemed to her like Undyne had a strangely hopeful look on her face. “N-Not so much right this second. Why?”

“Well. I dunno. Thought we could maybe hang out a bit?” Undyne shrugged. “Get some lunch. You know. Do a date thing? Whatever.”

Alphys’s cheeks went bright red. “Y-You want to g-go on a date with me?!”

“Well. Yeah. I mean. We’re dating, aren’t we?” she asked with a grin.

“Y-Yeah, but we’ve… W-We’ve never actually b-been on a date b-before!” Alphys said.

“Exactly. So? Into it? No? If you don’t have time now, that’s okay.”

“No! I m-mean, no to the no! I m-mean, yes, I…” Alphys groaned at herself and rubbed her brow. She straightened her jacket and took a deep breath. “Yes. I w-would love to g-go on a date with you. B-But wh-what do I wear?!”

“Clothes, I think.” Undyne grinned. “What a coincidence, you’re wearing some already. Going?”

“Wh-Where?!”

“New Home? Somewhere? Who cares?” She offered her hand. “As long as we’re together, doesn’t super matter to me.”

Alphys blushed crimson, but her eyes glittered and she took Undyne’s hand tightly. “O-O-Okay,” she squeaked.

\- - -

The kids took their time at lunch, settling into a booth with burgers, fries, and milkshakes again. A monster came in and posted a flyer near the door— unusual, but Grillby seemed to allow it— of an upcoming MTT special, slated for just a few days away.

Frisk and Asriel walked Kid to his house, and continued back home themselves. They were both quiet. She helped him back into his mug outside the door before they went back in. The house was oddly silent. Frisk kicked off her shoes.

“Guys?” she called.

“Maybe they’re out,” Asriel suggested.

Frisk frowned. She plunked him on the table with a take-out bag and looked around. She peeked into the kitchen.

“Uh, you’d probably hear them if they were in there,” he said.

“Ummm…” She ran upstairs and checked the first bedroom. “No one in here.”

“Out.”

“I’m sure they’d text me if they both went out,” she said. She tried Sans’s door. 

It didn’t want to open. She frowned and pushed on it. It wasn’t locked, but there was something blocking it. 

“Sans?” she asked.

No answer.

Cautiously, she tried again. There was a bit of give. Determined, she pushed her shoulder against the door. She heard a thump and the door quit protesting and drifted ajar. 

When she peaked in, she was startled to find that Sans was there. He must’ve been up against the door. He had toppled back onto his tailbone and seemed to be halfway recoiling. Her heart thumped heavily. There were tears dribbling from his eye sockets and he looked like he was staring a million miles away. Frisk rushed into the room and dropped down to face him.

“Bro.” She grabbed his cheeks. “Bro, c’mon. Look at me, dude.”

It was like he didn’t even know she was there. She pushed in and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, glowing as brightly as she could. 

“You’re okay. You’re okay. You’re at home, alright? S’okay,” she said. “Big bro, c’mon. I got you. Okay?”

His soul was tentative, but she kissed his cheek and it seemed like it couldn’t help but latch onto her. 

Sans blinked, looked confused, and smiled groggily. “Hey, kiddo, when’d you get back?” he said, patting her head.

“You okay?” she demanded.

“Yeah, fine,” he said.

She gently wiped under his eye with her sleeve. He seemed surprised, then wiped his other eye.

“Oh,” he said. “Whoops.”

“What’d you see?” she asked gently. “You looked like you were totally scared outta your pants.”

“No idea,” he said. “Just kinda… went, I guess. I’m okay. Thanks, kiddo.”

“Can’t leave you alone for a minute, can we?” she joked.

“Heh. Nah, I guess not.” He rubbed his eyes tiredly. “Find anything?”

“Yup,” she said.

“Oh. Nice. What was it?”

Frisk explained what she saw, and what she heard, as close to verbatim as she could recall. What she felt in her soul, too. Sans looked thoughtful and rubbed his chin.

“So… It was a save. Kind of,” he said. “From even more than ten years ago, then. What’d he call it?”

“1-S, I think,” Frisk said.

“First one in Snowdin,” he said. “That’s what I’d guess.”

“Right, right.” She nodded. “So… Before the CORE did it’s big thing.”

“Maybe it was broken before that,” Sans suggested. “Catastrophic failures are—”

“Cata-what?”

“Oh. Heh. Think suddenly a huge amount of bad,” Sans explained. “A true catastrophic failure isn’t super common. Maybe there were a lot of little signs before then.”

“Did you notice any?” she asked. “Wait. You did. But not that.”

“Right,” he said.

She sighed and folded her arms to her chest. “That shadowman guy, he wanted so bad for me to go there, but I still don’t get it,” she grumbled.

“Welp. He said _find your song_. Right?” he said. “Did the song you heard feel like yours?”

“Nnnoo, I don’t think so.” She looked confused. “How would I know?”

“You’ll know,” he said. 

“That’s vague,” she said.

He snickered. “Here’s the thing. You’re human, so I’m not sure how much this applies to you, but with monsters, it kinda develops over time. Most monsters aren’t born with a full hum goin’. Maybe just a few notes. It evolves over time. Goes hand in hand with developin’ magic. So, Paps’s was strong by the time he was maybe four. Mine, I think it was solid by… well, your age, I guess.” He shrugged. “I mean, it still changes later, too, but you usually get the full basic tune between ten and fourteen. When you hear it for real the first time, it’s kinda just like lookin’ in a mirror. You’ll know.”

“Oh. Okay.” She puffed and pouted. “Yeah right.”

“What?” Sans said with a laugh.

“I’m not a monster, and Alphys already said I didn’t have one anyway. I have stupid war drums and that’s it and I…”

Sans grabbed her and gently bonked his head against hers. She sighed and hugged onto him tight. 

“You’ll figure it out. Always do,” he said.

“What if I don’t?” she asked.

“Stay determined. You’ll get it,” he said. “Rootin’ for ya.”

She nodded. She hoped he was right.

“Anyway,” he continued, “white light goin’ into you was probably a thing. Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t knock yourself out again. You feel fine?”

“Yeah, totally.” She seemed a little surprised as she considered it. “I… Huh.”

“What?” he asked again.

She put her hand to her soul spot. She frowned thoughtfully and looked up at her brother. “I feel totally fine.”

He ruffled her hair. “Good news for once.”

She smiled a little and then got to her feet. She offered him her hands. “Got you some lunch,” she said as she helped pull him upright.

“You’re a good kid,” he said.

Downstairs, Asriel let out an exaggerated yawn. “That took forever. Could’ve left me with a book. Maybe a movie or two. Or three.”

“Sorry!” Frisk squeaked. “You’re right, that’s not fair of me.”

Asriel shrugged. He looked at Sans and raised his brows. “Well, you look worse than usual,” he said.

“Tell me about it,” Sans said.

Asriel frowned. He tilted his head. “Lemme guess. Don’t tell me,” he said. “You got the look of a guy who just saw the end of the world coming at him again.”

Sans smiled. “Ah. I get it. Happens to you, too, huh?” he said.

Asriel winced, but he nodded nonetheless. 

“Oh, jeez, Az,” Frisk said quietly. “Sorry, dude. That must be pretty rough.”

He shrugged weakly. Sans tilted his head.

“Bit it the last time around?” he asked.

Asriel nodded.

“Me too,” Sans said.

“No shit.” A tired smile came over Asriel’s face. “You go. Then me. Don’t know why I kept hoping for it to be different.”

“Did it happen a lot?” Frisk asked worriedly.

“Probably. I dunno. I… Sometimes I asked them to erase my memories,” he said. “If they went back in time after killing me.”

“Wh-Why?” Frisk squeaked.

“I’m not like _Smiley_ over there,” he grunted. “Maybe I don’t want to remember dying like a hundred times. What is it, Sans? A hundred? Two hundred? Keep track?”

Sans shrugged. “Stopped countin’ a long time ago. Besides. Finally startin’ to blur a bit, y’know?” he said, affectionately ruffling Frisk’s hair. “Ever since we got this little dork. Haven’t you heard? She’s the good one.”

Frisk smiled sheepishly. She went to the table and grabbed the take-out for him. “And the one that brings you lunch,” she said.

“Best one by a mile,” Sans said with a grin; he peeked in the bag. “Thanks, kid.” He sat on the couch and kicked his feet up; started on the fries right away. 

Asriel looked at him with a grimace on his face. Watched as the skeleton grabbed Frisk in his magic and plopped her up beside him. She flopped dramatically backwards and folded her arms behind her head. He snickered.

“Hey, uh… Sans?” Asriel muttered as he snuck closer.

“What? Want a fry?” Sans said.

“What? No. I, uh… No. Nothing. Never mind.” He shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

“Huh. You sure like to talk without sayin’ anything, huh, pal?” he said.

“How are you over it?” he grumbled.

“Hm? Over what?” he asked.

“Everything! You’re so chill! And you just had one of those catatonic episodes, right?” Asriel insisted. “You don’t even care!”

“What makes you say that?” Sans asked.

“Az, I don’t think anyone’s over it,” Frisk said as she sat up again. “I know, it’s hard, but—”

“You don’t know the half of it! It’s not like getting cut to pieces happened years and years ago!” He insisted. “It was just—!”

“A few weeks ago. I know,” the kid said gently. “Like I said. I know what it feels like.”

“Don’t go too deep,” Sans said.

“I know. I hate it, but I…” She frowned as she tried to pull the words out. “I’m glad you’re not alone. I know you didn’t tell anyone. But, now, I guess you’re super not alone, huh?” She smiled and pointed to Asriel. 

Sans began to laugh and pulled Frisk in under his arm. Asriel looked rather mortified.

“How’s that funny?! That’s not funny! That’s sad and pathetic and stupid!!” Asriel barked. “I don’t want to—! I mean!! Holy shit, dude, we got straight up murdered!!”

“And the world ended.” Sans smiled and shrugged. “But here we are.”

Asriel went quiet. He looked at him skeptically. The skeleton seemed to get distracted pulling a small twig out of Frisk’s hair and flicking it away. She snickered and lazily slumped against his chest, and stole a fry when he offered them to her. 

“I don’t get you,” Asriel said.

“Okay,” Sans said.

“If you’re so fine, then, what even set you off?” he asked.

“Nothing,” he said.

The flower frowned. “Ugh. Never mind, whatever.”

“I think you missed my meaning,” Sans said with a laugh.

Asriel still didn’t get it. Frisk seemed to, though. She hugged onto him and kissed his cheek. He chuckled and snuggled her. Asriel drooped and turned away, a shameful blush passing over his face.

He was taken off-guard when he felt Frisk’s fingers on his stem. He turned to look at her and found her with a sympathetic smile on her face.

“I know it’s cheesy,” she said, “but you have us now. Okay? Paps and me, we’re real used to dealing with dramatic space outs. So we’ll help you. Maybe you’ll never get over it. Don’t think I will. And that’s okay. We can all work together to try to have everything be less awful, alright?”

Asriel opened his mouth, but couldn’t find words. Frisk gently cupped his little form and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead. He squeaked, and drooped, but he grabbed her finger. He opened his mouth, but was denied words again as the front door slammed open. Frisk drew back reflexively, frozen and cowering next to the table as Papyrus ran in with his arms full of a large sack.

“THE GREAT PAPYRUS RETURNS!!!” he announced brightly. “I bring laundry!! Clean and warm and toasty!”

Asriel glanced at Frisk. The kid’s horrified expression relaxed and, to his surprise, she started to laugh.

“What? What’s so funny, little sister?” Papyrus asked.

Frisk couldn’t stop. There were tears in her eyes. Her big brother strode over and bent down to check on her, head tilted and brow furrowed with worry, but she latched onto him and snuggled against him with a big grin on her face. 

“I must’ve missed a joke that was actually good, for once!” Papyrus said.


	49. What a Nightmare!

Sans wasn’t having a very good nap. The feeling of a cold blade across the ribs’ll do that to a guy. 

He didn’t see it happen. Didn’t even see the grinning anomaly, eyes red with determination, that he expected. No, he was just dying, staring into a stained glass window glowing soft gold. Everything seemed to slow. He had time to suppose he was just feeling existential and the powers that governed his dreams really hated to give him any sort of break. What a pain in the ass, he thought. He almost wished he could hurry it up and just die already.

It felt like minutes, though he knew it wasn’t. He fell. He saw dark, and stars, and then nothing. Felt nothing. Ceased completely. Then, blinked his eyes open to stare at his ceiling.

“Great,” he muttered. He didn’t feel like sitting up. But, the house was quiet, and that made his head hurt. He put a hand to his chest. He felt a deep, sinking sensation of dread when he noticed something wrong with his bones. Cautiously, he got up. He put on his slippers and wandered lazily to Papyrus’s room. He knocked, but there was no answer. 

Cautiously, he edged inside. Still empty. Still dark. He didn’t like it.He opened the closet door for the mirror on it’s back and took off his t-shirt. The gash cut across his ribs shocked him more than he wanted to admit.

Rather abruptly, he was lying on his back again. Papyrus was looking down at him, eyes glowing gently. He put a cautious hand to his chest. Solid. Or, at least, as solid as a ribcage could be.

“Alright now, brother?” Papyrus asked.

“Yeah. Thanks, Paps.” Sans sat up and Papyrus drew back to give him room. “Oof. How long was I out?”

“Not long,” Papyrus said. “Bad dreams?”

“Yeah, not great,” he agreed. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay! Well! I’m not surprised. After what happened this morning.” He stuck a finger in the air. “Here’s a thought! Don’t be alone for a little while! And definitely stay with either Frisk or I tonight. Or both. Whatever you want.”

“Yeah?” Sans asked.

“Yes, for sure! As you well know, you should not be left to your own devices after you have an episode in the middle of the day,” Papyrus said. “Doctor Papyrus’s orders!”

“Welp.” Sans grinned and shrugged. “Can’t argue with that.”

“Nyeh heh heh! Good! So. What were you doing up here, anyway?”

Sans looked around. Papyrus’s room. Right. He’d almost forgotten. 

“Oh. Yeah.” He got up and checked the computer desk. No, that wouldn’t be right. He wandered to the bedside, and then knelt again to stick his arm under it. “Lookin’ for… Ah.” He pulled out a spiral notebook and plopped down again, using the bed like a backrest. 

Papyrus tilted his head. “Isn’t that Frisk’s?” he asked.

“Yup,” Sans said.

“What the heck do you want with that?” he asked.

“Got some notes I wanna check,” he said. “A lot happened with this weird guy no one remembers right, right? So.” He tapped the cover of the book. 

Papyrus still looked a little confused, and he held out a hand. Sans passed it over. 

“Oh. Wait. Is it okay for me to be looking at this?” he asked. “I should ask her.”

“Don’t bother, answer’s yes,” Sans said.

“BUT!” Papyrus pouted as Sans rolled his eyes. “Hang on.”

He got to his feet and peeked out the door. “FRIIIIISSKK!!! FRISK! FRI… Oh. You’re right there,” he said, and he backed out of the way to let her into the room. “Can I look at your dream book?”

Frisk carried a mug of steamy tea in her hands. She smiled and nodded. “Of course,” she said as she sat on the floor with Sans and handed him the mug. “Don’t freak out, though. Here, dude.”

Funny that she’d known already. He wasn’t really surprised, though.

“Thanks, pal,” he said.

“Why would I freak out?” Papyrus asked as he sat down between them. “Did you draw many more spooky characters in here?”

“No, just the one,” she said. “I mean, unless you count Sans and me as a spooky thing.”

“Not at all!” He put an arm around her, held the book in the other hand, and flipped it open. “So how many dreams is this, exactly?”

“Ummm… I’m not sure,” Frisk said. “It’s from about a week before I had to come back until now, basically. All the ones I remember anything about.”

“And you’re looking for hints?” he asked.

Frisk nodded. She got up, stretched, and walked over to Sans. She sat on her knees and grabbed his face.

“Big bro, get it together,” she said.

“No promises,” he said with a grin.

Her fingers glowed and Sans snickered. She stood up, smooched his forehead, and then pointed at the door. Sans stuck his thumb up.

She left, presumably to not leave Asriel alone for too long. Sans relaxed and sipped his tea. His mind was finally starting to settle a little. The magic shots certainly weren’t hurting. He was getting comfortable and drowsy, but diving straight back into a dream again probably wasn’t the best idea. He looked at Papyrus. He was still reading Frisk’s journal, hand cupped to his chin, brow furrowed.

“How far you into it?” he asked.

“Brother, have you read this thing?” Papyrus said; his eyes were watering a little.

“Yup.”

“Her spelling is terrible.” A tear slipped down his cheek and he quickly wiped it. “Is this stuff really in her head all the time?”

“Yup.”

Papyrus grimaced and rubbed his brow. He cut his eyes at Sans. “She really is just like you,” he said. “You’re sure you didn’t do all that lab stuff that Alphys made up for silly reasons, right?”

Sans laughed and shook his head. “You realize you wouldda had that kid since she was just a squishy little baby thing if that was true, right?”

“Uuuggghhh! Aw. But now I want that, though,” Papyrus muttered. He pouted and Sans laughed.

“And besides. I wouldn’t say she’s just like me. Sure, she has the dream problems, but in general? She’s a lot better,” he said.

“Well, she’s more productive,” Papyrus joked. “But you aren’t too bad for such a lazy bones. What do you mean, exactly?”

“She can still change things.” He smiled. “And she’s just so… I dunno. Good. Like you.”

“You don’t think you’re good? That’s weird,” Papyrus said.

Sans smiled tiredly and raised his cup before taking a swig. “You know. It’s really my own fault about my magic,” he said. “I’ve never been normal. Which is fine; don't care about that. But y’know, if all those timelines saved, my LOVE would be… high. Really doesn’t help.”

“LOVE? Oh. OH! Well. That’s different,” Papyrus said. “You didn’t have a choice.”

“Yeah, I tell myself that sometimes, too,” he said with a laugh. 

Papyrus huffed out a high-pitched sigh and put an arm around him, his fingers glowing gently. Sans felt a bit vindicated. He wasn’t the Great Papyrus for nothing, after all. In a lot of ways, that made him happy. It was nice to think that he’d done at least one thing right by someone.

“Hey, uh. Thanks, huh?” he said quietly.

“Thanks? For what?” Papyrus asked.

“For not hatin’ me.”

“Pfffft. Never,” he assured him. “Brother, you know I don’t care how bad it was, right? I’d rather remember all of it like you do instead of just little scraps. I know I don’t, but if I could magic it so that I could, I would do it.”

“It kinda sucks, though,” Sans said with a shrug.

“So?! You have to remember it,” he said. “I’d rather just we be… together? Does that make sense?”

“…You’re too good for me, Paps,” Sans said, tilting his head to look up at him.

“No no, that’s not how it works, I’m too good BECAUSE of you, brother,” he said, winking. “Because if I don’t hold up this family in moral support, who will do it?”

“Truest thing you’ve ever said,” Sans said with a laugh.

Papyrus grinned. He went back to the book. As he read another page, he began to look alarmed. “Most of these dreams are sad and awful and painful! Wow! I didn’t realize how much she actually felt in there! It makes me feel a bit sick actually. Is it like that for you?”

He shrugged. Papyrus gripped him a little tighter. He came to the page with the drawing of the shadowman. He carefully traced it with his finger. Sans leaned over, resting lazily against his brother’s side. He supposed he must’ve seen that thing last night. It was why he couldn’t remember.

“Recognize it yet?” Sans asked.

“Nnnnno. Nope. Not a bit,” he said.

“Yeah, me neither,” he said.

“This is uncomfortably strange,” Papyrus said. He turned the page. “Sans. Sans. SANS.” Papyrus elbowed him. “Look at this part.” He tapped the paper. 

Sans didn’t feel like reading. He looked up at Papyrus hopefully, and he sighed and gently bonked Sans’s skull.

“It saaaays here that Frisk remembered describing the guy to you. But then, after that, didn’t remember actually seeing him. It wasn’t until later that she remembered him showing up in dreams,” he said. “Isn’t that weird?”

“Super weird,” Sans agreed. He reached over and turned to the last page.

“Hey!” Papyrus whined. “Wait your turn!”

“Aw.”

“Don’t _aw_ me, what do you even want to see in there?” Papyrus said.

“Uh. Bro.” He grinned and raised his brow. “That was what I came here for, remember?”

“Oh. Well. I’m almost done,” he said.

Sans closed his eyes and slumped comfortably. Papyrus started to hum, and he had to do his best not to fall asleep.

“Wowie,” Papyrus said.

“Hm?” Sans opened his eyes. “What?”

“You can have the book now, Sans,” he said as he handed it over. “I am going to go hug our sister now. Annnnd never let her go again. Yes. This is my plan.”

He got up and walked out of the room, leaving Sans alone with the journal. He raised his brow and turned to the last entry. It wasn’t anything particularly troubling, especially for Frisk. She hadn’t even gotten to the junk she saw today yet.

He flopped over to check for a pen under the bed and found a red one. Wasn’t theirs, though. He flicked off the cap and added in what they’d heard on the recording. He also marked down the message they’d found on her palm. Just trying to get his thoughts straight. He absently tapped the back end of the pen against his teeth 

“_Thought you were strong enough. Not yet. But you will be_,” he read quietly. “You will be. Huh. Could that be…? Maybe. Hm.” He smiled to himself. He felt like he was doing her homework for her or something. 

Strong enough for what, he wondered. How would he make sure she was stronger? Was it just hope? Or something more? Maybe the white energy she’d mentioned. She had looked surprised by how “fine” she felt afterwards. Could that be it? He’d have to check the spot out.

Of course it would be like this. A myriad of questions unanswered and, instead, answers for questions unasked. What else was new? 

\- - -

True to his word, Papyrus was holding Frisk in his arms as they, and Asriel, sat in front of the TV downstairs. 

“Sans, have you heard about this?” Papyrus asked, pointing at the screen. “Mettaton is planning a new special! Frisk said there was even a poster in your bar.”

“Huh. Guess that last thing with Krisp the space kid or whatever was more popular than I thought,” Sans said.

“Oh god, you don’t think it’s another _U-G-H_ special, do you?” Frisk said. “I don’t think I can handle it.”

Asriel scoffed and laughed. “I hope it is, it’s funny to watch you try to hide in the couch.”

“Noooo,” Frisk whined.

Sans snickered and slid over the arm of the sofa. Frisk waved at him. He grinned and kicked his feet up. Papyrus glowered at him and knocked them away with his knee.

“Don’t put your dirty slippers on me!” he said.

“What about my clean slippers?”

“NO! No slipper touching!”

Sans sighed, kicked off his slippers, and put his feet up again. Papyrus frowned at him.

“You are impossible,” he said.

Sans grinned and shrugged. His brother groaned, and Sans pointed at him.

“You wanna pass me that?” he said.

“What?” Papyrus asked.

“That kid.”

Frisk snickered. Papyrus looked a bit reluctant to let her go, but he released his grip on her a little. Sans snatched her soul in blue and floated her over to plop her on top of his legs.

“Hi!” she said.

“Hi.” He put a hand to his chest. “Light it up for me?”

Frisk did as he asked. He touched his hand to the light and frowned thoughtfully. 

“Dude you can’t just go touchin’ on people’s souls and stuff!” Asriel said.

“Sure I can,” Sans said. “Hang on, kiddo.” He lit up his own soul and there was a bright spark— they both turned purple. 

Asriel gawked. “What is THAT?!” he yelped.

“Oh! Is that…?” Papyrus turned to get a better look. “Oh gosh, that’s really nice. Sans, your eye!”

“I know, right?” He touched two fingers against Frisk’s temple. “Focus for me?”

“Mhm!” She let the energy around her swell. “What’re you looking for?”

“Tell you when I find it.”

“Wait wait wait, seriously, why is that purple now?!” Asriel said.

“Just a moment, Asriel, he needs to focus,” Papyrus said.

“But on what?!” Asriel asked, though he lowered his voice to a whisper.

Sans raised one finger and held it for what seemed like quite a while. When he let it down and the glow faded out, he seemed satisfied. He ruffled Frisk’s hair affectionately and leaned back against the arm of the couch.

“So?!” Papyrus asked.

“S’all good,” he said.

“What is?!” Asriel insisted.

Frisk put her hand to her chest and raised her brows. “It’s fine? Nothing… weird? Stuck to it?”

“Mmnope, seems good,” he said, putting his arms behind his head.

“Then what was that white light for?” she wondered. “Why was it so important?”

“I dunno, sleep on it,” he suggested. “Or maybe sleep it off.”

“Ugggggh,” she groaned and flopped backwards, where Papyrus caught her. “Dreams are weird though, I don’t wanna.”

“Tell me about it,” he said.

“Don’t worry, siblings! You have the great Papyrus to watch over you,” Papyrus assured them.

“Wait, wait, hold the hell up,” Asriel said. “What was that purple? What the hell is going on?”

“Oh! Sorry, Az,” Frisk said. “With these guys, sometimes if we sync up pretty close, the colours of our souls kinda mix. I’m not sure why. But it’s great.”

“It is!” Papyrus said brightly, snuggling his sister gently.

“Oh.” Asriel tilted his head. “Is it a human thing?”

“Could be,” Frisk said. “I dunno much about humans.”

“…Uhhhh. Riiiight,” Asriel said. “I’ll pretend that makes sense.”

Frisk stuck her thumbs up. Asriel still looked confused.

“Even if I knew, it’s weird magic stuff,” Frisk added. “I think the only people who’d know a lot about that are history nerds. And maybe Alphys.”

“Soul magic nerds,” Sans said.

Frisk nodded.

“Huh.” Asriel’s brow furrowed. “Well. Guess I can’t expect too much, huh? You’re no expert; you’re what, four? Five?”

Frisk stared at him for a few seconds in surprise, then began to laugh, putting her hands to her face. “I’m eleven!” she protested.

“Eleven? No way, no you’re not,” Asriel said.

“What d’you mean?” she asked.

“When I met Chara she was like six, and she was still taller than you!” he insisted.

“Well. I mean. I dunno what to tell you. But I’m definitely eleven. My body is ten, though,” she said. “I went back a year-ish.”

Asriel tilted his head and his face scrunched up a bit. He started to snicker, touched his face with a leaf, and was suddenly cackling.

“What?” she asked.

“You. Are. So. Short!!!” he said. “Haaaah, oh my god. Look at you, jeez. You’re a toddler!”

“Look who’s talkin’,” Sans said, and then pointed to himself. “Wait. Look who’s talkin’ again.”

Frisk laughed.

“You all know you can always use me for a boost!” Papyrus said.

“Looks like you’re the one guy above it all, huh, bro?” Sans said with a grin.

“Uuugghhh, Sans!” Papyrus whined.

\- - -

New Home was a slightly different beast compared to the rest of the underground. The night-cycle got dark, with magic lights against the high cavern ceiling glittering down, and three glowing globes that were called “moons” hanging in an equal triangle over the whole city. Monsters were still bustling around, shopping and eating— the place wasn’t nearly as quiet as Waterfall or Snowdin. 

Though Alphys’s sleeping patterns still more closely matched this place, she was glad she had moved out of the city. Still, there was a café she fancied. She couldn’t remember how she’d found it, but it brought up a strong sense of nostalgia for her. She and Sans had spent many long nights there as they waiting for the results of experiments and tests to complete.

Brown wood accentuated its windows and the door with fancy writing on it in big, curling white letters spelled out _Amore Caffé._ The inside wasn’t bustling, but it definitely wasn’t empty, even as late as it was. 

“So, what d’you think?” Undyne ran a claw down the menu. “What’s good?”

“W-Well… I mean. Um. I like the S-Sparkle Bubble Latté Smoothie, b-but, um…” Alphys looked a little embarrassed, but the water-drop monster beside their booth jotted down her order anyway. “Um. I-It’s all good? I’m sure. Um.”

“I’ll have what she’s having,” Undyne said as she handed the menu off.

The waiter nodded, smiled, and flowed off towards a counter at the back of the building. Alphys blushed.

“J-Jeez, I hope you l-like it,” she said.

“Sure I will,” Undyne said.

z

She stretched her back and then sunk into the booth seat comfortably. She watched with amusement as Alphys pulled out her phone and hurriedly wrote a post on the UnderNet. 

“Live-blogging our date, huh?” Undyne said, leaning forward with her chin on her hand.

“Wh-What? Oh. Um… K-Kinda.” Alphys quickly slipped her phone into her pocket. “It’s… It’s j-just exciting for me, you know?”

Undyne smiled fondly. Alphys’s scales tinged with pink and shrunk down in her seat. She coughed bashfully into her fist and then shot Undyne a smile.

“Thanks for c-coming here. I know it’s, um… I-It’s not something th-that would be your first choice, but—”

“Alphys. It’s fine. It looks nice,” she said.

“I, um… I used to come h-here a lot more, but not since…” She suddenly looked embarrassed. “A-Anyway. Um. It’s good! And… y-yeah.”

Undyne laughed. “So,” she said, “saw a rerun of that, uh, special? With the puppet thing?”

“Oh. Oh g-god.” Alphys laughed. “Wh-What did you th-think?”

“Terrible.” She grinned anyway. “Nice of you to help out.”

“W-Well… F-Frisk said she liked it,” Alphys said with a shrug.

“Oh, yeah, those goofballs were probably hyuking it up over there,” Undyne said. “Well. Whatever makes them happy. It was pretty funny, I guess.”

“T-Too bad it was supposed to b-be a serious sci-fi,” Alphys said. “A-And now Mettaton’s thinking of a spin-off and i-it’s just a mess.”

Undyne snickered. “Sorry,” she said. “I mean. At least he’s doin’ what he enjoys. I guess.”

Alphys laughed.

When their drinks came— a tall cup filled almost to the brim with a sparkling purple smoothie liquid with wide, colourful straws sticking out tall from a swirl of whipped cream— Alphys dug in right away. Undyne inspected it and sipped hers carefully. She was surprised by a little jelly ball in the drink. She kind of liked it. She definitely couldn’t place the flavour, though.

“Hey, so,” she said. “Saw your post about Asgore. How’s he doing?”

“Oh! H-He’s… He’s good,” Alphys said.

“I should go visit,” she said. “I keep forgetting that bit where I saw him when those nerds did the thing with the barrier, that got undone.”

“Ooh! Y-Yeah! He’d r-really like that,” Alphys assured her. “I c-can’t wait for this to be done. For him, m-more than almost anyone.”

Undyne nodded solemnly. She tented her fingers. “It never seemed fair that it had to be him,” she said. “He’s gotta be one of the nicest monsters on the planet.”

“That’s why you were so d-determined, huh?” Alphys asked.

Undyne grinned a bit and shrugged. The lizard chuckled.

“H-He’s such a dad,” she said.

Undyne nodded. “So how much did you tell him?” she said. “Just, uh, you know. Get our stories straight?”

Alphys looked thoughtful. She took a long sip of her sparkly drink. “I t-told him a lot, t-to be honest,” she said. “Told him we were a-almost ready. He, uh… He knew about F-Frisk. Not what she is. I t-told him she’s just a k-kid with a lot of d-determination I could study, and… W-Well. I didn’t lie too much. Just enough so th-that he didn’t, uhh… know t-too much about her. Or about A-Asriel.”

“Oh. Okay. Sounds good,” Undyne said.

“I… I th-think Frisk was right. To not t-tell him,” she said. “Especially if… W-Well. I think we c-can… I mean, if I get this solidarity thing working, we can probably fix Asriel. B-But he may not h-have his body. I guess it should be up to him. Right?”

“I guess.” Undyne shrugged. “But, I mean. I think he should probably say something, y’know? Asgore’s his dad. He’d accept him even as a flower. I mean, he took me in, and I wasn’t even his kid. So.”

“I w-wouldn’t even know what to say,” she said, and she lowered his voice. “H-He’s supposed to be dead.”

“I’d just do it,” Undyne said. “If it were me. I dunno. I think I’d miss him too much. And I know his heart must’ve been totally broken.”

“Th-That’s true,” Alphys admitted. “I dunno.”

“Leave it up to those kids,” Undyne said. “Can’t force it either way.”

The lizard nodded.

A tapping at the window beside them made Alphys jumped. When they looked, two monsters, a chubby purple cat in blue and an alligator in pink with blonde hair styled into dramatic curls, grinned and waved at them through the window. Alphys snorted into her drink and Undyne looked a little confused as the two girls rushed around through the café’s door and raced to meet them.

“Alphys!! Like, oh my god!” the cat squealed. “Oh my god, Bratty!! It’s Alphys!”

“Catty. I know. I saw her first.” The alligator grinned. “Hey, like, mind if we slip in for a sec?”

“Nah,” Undyne said.

Catty, the cat, rushed into the booth and squished Alphys into a hug as Bratty slipped in opposite with a smile on her face.

“We haven’t seen you in, like, FOREVER!!” Catty squealed. 

“Oh! It’s, uhh… I’ve b-been…” Alphys gave and hugged the cat gently. “G-Good to see you two.”

“Old pals?” Undyne asked.

“We used to be neighbours,” Bratty explained. “Here in the city. Before she moved. Who’re you?”

“Oh. Uh. Undyne,” she said.

Catty froze. She gawked. Bratty’s eyes went wide.

“Not THE Undyne?” she said. “Guard Captain Undyne?”

“Yup,” she said.

“That’s AMAZING!” Catty said brightly. “Nice to, like, meet you and stuff!”

“Yeah, totally. I'm Bratty. That’s Catty,” Bratty said, pointing to them each in turn. “Alphys, like, what are you guys doing?”

“Oh! Oh! Is it official business?!” Catty demanded, and she lowered her voice. “Sorry, are we interrupting? We were just, like—!”

“So excited to see you!” Bratty said.

Alphys blushed a bit. Undyne grinned and tried not laugh. 

“N-No. I mean. W-We were… Um. J-Just.” She hid her face. “O-On a d-d-date?”

“A DATE?!” the two monsters cawed at once.

Undyne put her chin on her fist and grinned. 

“Oh, god, sorry, Alphys!” Catty said. “We didn’t mean to butt in on your totally romantic date! We can totally get out of your spines!”

“We can spare a few minutes, huh, Alph? For your old pals,” Undyne said. She held in a laugh as Alphys gave her a relieved, grateful smile.

“Wait, like, you’re dating the Guard Captain?” Bratty asked.

Alphys looked like she wanted to melt under the table, despite the faint smile on her face. Catty began to giggle and patted her back.

“You treat her right, y’hear?” Bratty said with a wink.

“Bet on it,” Undyne said.

Alphys laughed quietly, though she was still blushing. 

“So, like, how’s work been?” Bratty asked. “We haven’t talked in a million years.”

“Still totally follow you on UnderNet, though,” Catty assured her.

“Oh, um! I-It’s been g-good, uhh…” Alphys gulped. “Um. G-Getting there. On the, um, b-barrier thing?”

“Wow! Really?!” the cat demanded, her ears perking high. “So, like, destruction of humanity stuff, that’s coming up soon?”

“W-Well, uh, m-maybe not so much destruction,” Alphys said. “B-But, um… hoping t-to get it right soon.”

The girls went starry-eyed instantly. Alphys smiled bashfully. She tapped her fingers together.

“S-So. Um. Hypothetical question. S-Say, um… you had to give an piece of y-your soul. J-Just a tiny one. T-To help break the, um, b-barrier,” she said. “W-Would you?”

“Uuuhh, it won’t make us get old, will it?” Catty said, putting her paws to her face. “I’m not ready for that! I’m too young to age!”

“Oh! N-No, no no no, it wouldn’t, it’s j-just a teeny t-tiny piece. Uh. Hypothetically.”

“Oh! Then that’s, like, totally okay with me!” she announced.

Bratty laughed. “Catty. Like. Wouldn’t the barrier breaking be worth a couple wrinkles?”

“Well, yeeeeah, I know, I’m sure it’d be okay. Little bit of silver fur,” Catty said. “But Alphie said it’d be totally fine so it totally doesn’t even matter.”

“Th-That’s good to hear,” Alphys said quietly. “S-So, um… a little less hypothetically. I—”

“A-L-PHYS!” 

Alphys froze and the four monsters had their attention stolen away by the shiny, metal monster with tall pink boots that had strutted to their table. Undyne raised her brows and Alphys gawked. 

“M-M-M-M…!”

“Yes, yes, good to see you, too, Doctor,” he said, sliding into the seat with her and Catty and stretched an arm out to put it around the both of them. 

“Oh great, how did you find us?” Undyne asked.

“Oh, don’t flatter yourself, I wasn’t loooooking,” he said. “I just happened to spy! Two familiar scaly monsters and twoooo lovely strangers.”

“Oh wow he’s hot,” Catty said under her breath, and she elbowed Alphys gently. “Well? Introduce us!”

“Uhhh…”

“Johnny. I’m. Johnny.” Mettaton grinned. “I. Work. Aaaaat. The TV station.”

“Oh! Do you know Mettaton?” Bratty asked.

“Oh, yes, darling, we’ve met several times,” he said.

“A ton?” Undyne said with a bit of a smirk.

“What?” he asked.

“Have you met a ton?” she pressed.

Alphys snorted and hid her face and Mettaton raised his brows.

“You have been spending too much time with a certain short, boney monster,” he said.

“Oh! Oh it’s a joke!” Bratty began to laugh. “That’s, like, so lame that it’s funny?”

“But, uh, M… Uh… J-Johnny. Uhh… Wh-What are you doing h-here?” Alphys asked.

“I was just taking a stroll, a little break, from some, uh… technical jargon, from the station in the CORE and all that,” he said. “Trying to do a thoughts-whirlwind. You know the kind. Trying to help you, actually! But I’m a teeny tiny bit stuck.”

“Oh?” Alphys asked. “Wh-What are you, uhh…? What are y-you stuck on?”

“Well! Actually, your friends may be able to help me,” he said. “I was thinking about that solidarity stuff you came up with and I was thiiiiinking, well! Wouldn’t some sort of show be perfect to inspire that?”

“What does that mean?” Catty asked.

“Ah! Darling! It’s a very important thing!” he announced, and he lowered his voice conspiratorially. “I’m sure you’ve heard that it’s Alphys’s duty to develop a method to help us escape from this mountain, right?”

“Well, like, duh!” Catty said.

“Yeah, obvs,” Bratty agreed. “Everyone knows that.”

“Excellent! Well! You see, for our dear Doctor Alphys to truly be able to help us break the barrier, we will need to build a soul. From many little teeny pieces of soul. But! In order for those pieces to stick together, they must really WANT to! So. We must convince the people of the underground that this is a most important thing. We just need to figure out how to do it. All at once. And make sure it reaches every single lovely in the entire underground.”

Alphys looked surprised. She shot a look at Undyne, whose ear-fins lifted high.

“Oh, w-wow, you’ve actually b-been thinking about this, h-huh?” Alphys said.

“But of course, darling!” he said brightly.

“So, like, you need to convince everyone to help?” Catty asked, shooting Alphys a concerned frown.

“Y-Yeah, um, basically,” she said. 

“We were thinking a broadcast of some sort,” Mettaton explained. “So. Tell me. If you had to be convinced. Get excited. Any of that. What would help?”

Bratty and Catty both looked thoughtful.

“Too bad I can’t just yell at them,” Undyne joked.

“P-Pull rank?” Alphys chuckled and shook her head. “I d-don’t think that’d go over well.”

“Wouldn’t be very ethical, either,” she said. “Can’t just force people.”

“Exactly,” Mettaton said with a nod. “Though, I mean, I’m sure I… I mean Mettaton, that glorious rectangle, could definitely help to inspire the masses. Right?”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Undyne said, rolling her eye.

“Ooh! Ooh oooh ooh!” Catty stuck her paw in the air and waved it. “I have an idea!”

“Yes, beautiful?” Mettaton asked, leaning over to her.

She froze, blushing through her fur, and her eyes glittered. Bratty scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Catty, come on,” she said.

“But, like—!” She fanned her face with her paws and grinned. “Like, okay! So, I thought, what gets monsters hyped? A concert!! Right?!”

“Oh. That’s true,” the alligator said with a nod. “Yeah. We haven’t had a concert in… forever.”

“Yeah! Like! Since Mettaton’s last album, and that was like, a million years ago!” Catty said.

“I’m not sure it was that long,” Mettaton said.

“What a slacker, huh?” Undyne joked.

The metal monster pouted.

Alphys looked thoughtful. She drummed her fingers on the table. “So… S-So a mass broadcast. Of an event.” She shot Mettaton a look. “M-Maybe a… an episode of something? Or… I d-don’t know.”

“If you want people excited, you gotta do something, like, weird and awesome, though, right?” Bratty said.

Undyne raised her brows and pointed her thumb at her. Alphys nodded. 

“They’re r-right,” Alphys said.

Catty squealed happily and reached out to her friend for a high-five. Bratty scoffed, but gave her some paw.

“Ooh. Ooooh. So. Something big. Exciting. Festive?” Mettaton smiled. “Oooh, I’m all abuzz! I think I have some ideas! Something with music! That tells a story! Ooooh yes!” He leapt to his feet, his grin growing. He took each of the newcomer’s paws and gave them a smooch before waving rather dramatically and prancing back out the door.

Alphys laughed and rubbed her brow. She mouthed “sorry” to Undyne, but she smiled and shook her her head. The cat watched Mettaton out through the window with wide eyes. Bratty checked back over her shoulder.

“Hey, like, did his voice sound familiar to you guys?” she said.

“He’s so pretty! He should be on TV!” Catty said.

\- - -

Though a derailment, Alphys had to admit, it was nice to see Bratty and Catty again. She’d known them since they were kids. Strange that it’d been years since she’d seen them. She supposed time had a habit of slipping away on a monster down in the underground.

When Catty and Bratty finally headed off with a cheerful goodbye, Undyne slipped over onto Alphys’s cushioned bench and relaxed with her arm around her as they finished their sparkle drinks. They hardly said a word, but they were comfortable nonetheless.

Hand in hand, they walked the streets. Alphys did some window shopping, though Undyne was just content to watch her. Something about this felt so familiar. Cozy, in a way. 

It was late when they returned to the lab. They went to the basement, made sure the monsters down there had had dinner. Alphys tucked a few of them into bed, and then they put a movie on for the ones that still insisted on roaming the rooms. Mrs. Snowdrake was still asking for Snowy. Alphys gave her a little smooch on the head and some nice cream, but didn’t have the heart to even attempt to answer when she might be able to go home.

Upstairs, Alphys plopped into a chair and blew out a long sigh. She shot Undyne a shy smile.

“Th-Thanks for helping out,” she said.

“Not a problem,” she said. “You know. They’re, uh… a bit off, you know, but I like ‘em.”

Alphys nodded; she looked relieved. “I’m… Hah. The m-more people m-meet them, the m-more I think it’s… g-gonna be alright,” she said. “B-But. God. I s-sometimes don’t know how to feel.”

“They’re alive. They’re comfortable. They’ll be happy,” Undyne said. “I know how I feel.”

“I’m glad y-you’re so sure,” Alphys said with a laugh.

Undyne grinned and lifted her up, gently giving her a kiss. “That’s my job,” she said confidently.

Alphys blushed, cooed, and held Undyne’s face gently and kissed her again. Undyne grinned wide and bumped her brow affectionately against hers. 

“W-Would, uh…? Would you l-like to stay? F-For the night?” Alphys asked shyly. “L-Like… w-we could watch s-some anime, m-maybe, uhhh… cuddle? I dunno.”

“Sounds good to me,” Undyne said.

“Y-Yeah?” Alphys’s eyes lit up. “Oh, good.”

Undyne put her down and Alphys grinned and scampered upstairs.

“I’m j-just gonna get changed! H-Hang on!” she said.

Undyne held in a laugh. She let her hair down and roughly rubbed her fingers through it. her ear-fins lifted to the sound of Alphys scampering around upstairs. She strode around the bottom floor, stretching her arms high above her head and cracking her knuckles. As she reached Alphys’s computer, her attention was pricked by a blinking window on a screen with a black background. It proudly announced, “SEARCH COMPLETE =)”. 

“Hey, Alph?” Undyne called. “Your computer finished a thing!”

She heard a squeak and some thunking upstairs. 

Hurriedly, Alphys stumbled down the escalator, almost tripping over the hem of her dim sum patterned pyjama pants. She hopped up on her chair and adjusted her glasses. Undyne leaned over as the lizard squealed with excitement.

“What’s it doing?” she asked.

“T-Tracking an, uh… a m-mystery hum, looked like,” she said. “It appeared b-between the two different ones attached t-to the memory m-magic on Frisk’s face.”

“Oh. Alright.” Undyne folded her arms on the back of the chair. “So you were…?”

“L-Looking t-to see if it matched anything in my r-records,” she said. “And now…” She hit the confirm button on the search window. 

The screen went black for a second and the isolated waveform appeared again, and it linked to an old document of timeline readings— from about ten years ago. Another set up right beside a bright, red heart. Alphys had to do a double-take.

“Oh my god,” she breathed.

“What?” Undyne said.

Alphys leaned forward, adjusted her glasses, and clicked on the soul document. That frozen, partial waveform insisted— it belonged there. Alphys gasped and put a hand to her mouth. Undyne looked down at her, brows raised. 

“What?” she asked again.

Alphys looked up at her, eyes glittering with tears and a smile on her face. “D-Do you know what th-this is?”

“No…?” Undyne said.

Alphys turned her eyes back on the screen and clapped her hands together, giggling, and letting out a quiet hiccough.

“Oh… Th-This is…!” She turned again and beamed up at Undyne. “L-Let me show you.”

\- - -

It was pretty obvious that Sans was still feeling under the weather. He hadn’t napped at all throughout most of the afternoon. Even when _Circuit Super Investigator_ was on, he made an excuse to leave rather than sleep like normal. Nonetheless, he was quiet and groggy. Frisk was worried. He could’ve died this morning. There was too much in his head. She was sure of it.

She read aloud to him from his space book, but the words were often too big and she barely had a clue what she was saying. He didn’t have the energy to correct her. She felt like she was speaking a foreign language. When she gave up and looked back at him, he didn’t seem to even notice. Asriel sighed.

“Finally,” he said.

Frisk ignored him and sat up on her knees to look Sans in the eyes. His lack of skin didn’t do a thing to dissuade his face from looking gaunt and shadows somehow pooling around his eye sockets.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hm?” he mumbled.

“Go to bed,” she said.

“Love to.” He didn’t move an inch. 

Frisk sighed. She held his face and then smooched his forehead before she got up. 

Papyrus’s music thumped its bass through the door, and when she went inside, she found him taking selfies in sunglasses in front of his computer. He posed with the beat.

“Oh!!” He spun, turning the sound down quickly, flicking the glasses up to his forehead and shooting Frisk a smile despite his cheekbones going orange. “Hello, sister! What can I do for you? Is it time for puzzles?”

“Well. I have a puzzle,” she said. “His name is Sans.” She pointed at the floor. 

Papyrus raised his brows. “Why, is he still quite zonked out?”

“Zonked? Um. Yeah. Pretty much,” she said. “Can you help?”

“What do you need?” he asked.

“Well, it’s more what he needs,” she said. “And I think he needs you.”

“Oh! Well. You’re probably right,” he said. “Alright. I’ll snatch him up.”

He left, patting her head as he went. Frisk ducked out of the room, and Papyrus passed her again almost right away, with Sans slung over his shoulder. He lifted his hand to wave at her and she waved back just before the door closed again.

She flopped back down on the couch and slumped.

“Dude, why did you bother?” Asriel asked.

“Huh?” she asked.

“That was basically gibberish at the end there. Can’t you read?” he said. 

“Oh…” Frisk blushed and felt an uncomfortable sting of embarrassment. “N-No, I, uh… I’m still learning. It’s a grown-up book, okay? I tried.”

“What, no one taught you to read?” he asked.

“Sans just started,” she said.

“Didn’t you say you had a year with these nerds?”

“Um… Y-Yeah, but…” She tented her fingers. “I was embarrassed. I didn’t tell them, back then.”

“Oh.” Asriel frowned slightly. “…Huh. Well. Sorry for the call-out.”

She laughed a little and shook her head, then hid a yawn behind her hand. He waved a leaf at her. She got up and he pointed at the couch.

“Put me there,” he said. “And gimme the remote. Uh. Please.”

“You stayin’ up?” she said as she grabbed his mug. 

He nodded.

Frisk got him situated on the couch with the remote within reach. “Do you need anything else?” she asked. “Snacks? Drink?”

“Why, you leaving?” he asked; he smiled when she looked embarrassed. “That’s okay. I know. I’m not fun to be around sometimes. Most of the time.”

“That’s not it at all!” Frisk sat down beside him. “I’m just a bit worried.”

“Oh. About him.” He sighed. “Right.”

“It’s just his dreams just kinda get worse and worse once he has a bad one until he gets super chill,” she said. “Is that how it is with you?”

“Must be. I haven’t had a decent dream in… uhhh… Yeah, I don’t even know.”

Frisk bit her lip and gently rubbed his head with her thumb. He blushed.

“Maybe you could talk about it with him sometime,” she suggested. “Maybe he could help. I mean, that’s not the first thing you have in common.”

He groaned and rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to have things in common with him!” 

“Oh.” Frisk looked a little sad for a moment. “I guess I was just hoping you guys might be friends some time.”

“Ugh, why?”

“Because you live with us?” Frisk said. “And I really care about both of you.”

Asriel grimaced. He frowned and pouted, and then drooped over.

“You don’t really hate him that much, do you?” she asked worriedly.

“I don’t hate him,” he said.

“But you don’t like him.”

“It’s complicated, alright?” Asriel said. “There’s a lot of stuff.”

“Mhm.” Frisk sat back and folded her arms. “I know.”

Asriel sighed, long and loud. Exasperated. “I know, I know. I started it. It’s my fault. I’m shit. I get it.”

“Whoa. Relax!” Frisk said. “Jeez, dude, I wasn’t thinking any of that.”

“You expect me to believe that?” he said.

“I dunno. Believe whatever you want,” she said. “But I don’t super count the stuff you did without a soul as actually you, you know?”

He opened his mouth as if to protest, but he stayed silent. He looked grumpy, though. He turned back to the TV and frowned at the intermission sign. The MTT theme was the only sound in the room for a while. Frisk reached across to him and started rubbing his head again. He started to chuckle.

“That’s stupid,” he said.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because. I still had my mind. I knew right from wrong. I just didn’t care,” he said. “I made shitty choices. Because I could. Because I wanted to. I could’ve just not done that.”

“You still weren’t yourself,” she said. “I don’t think your normal self would really ever hurt anybody.”

“You’re probably wrong,” he said.

“You’re probably wrong about me being probably wrong,” she said with a wink.

“You’re strange, Frisk,” he said. “I kinda like you. But you’re strange.”

Frisk’s face lit up. “I like you, too!” she assured him.

He smiled bashfully and rubbed the back of his head. “How long’s this usually on for?” he asked, pointing to the screen.

“Oh. Um. Dunno. Mettaton’s kinda all over the place with the programming. It might come back on later if he remembers to switch the tapes,” she said. “Want me to put on one of ours? Papyrus records a ton of stuff.”

“Uh. Hm. You know what? Yeah. That’d be great,” he said. “I’m not plannin’ on sleeping any time soon. I mean. If I can help it.”

“Wish I could do that,” she joked as she got up.

They had a few tapes and ancient DVDs in little cupboards around the house. Frisk headed for the one near the window squatted down on the balls of her feet.

“Whatchu into?” she asked.

“Dunno. Got more crime shows?” he asked. “I can at least pretend I’m trying to figure it out.”

“Heh, okay.” Frisk found a disk and took it back to the TV. “Got it.”

Asriel watched her for a few moments as she fiddled with the old equipment to get the series on the screen for him. He tilted his head. 

“Can you wait up a little?” he said. “Before you go. I mean.”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. What’s up?” she asked.

“Tell me something,” he said. “Your parents. They dead?”

“Um… Dunno,” Frisk said.

“Dunno?” he repeated.

“Never met ‘em,” she said.

“Oh. Huh.” He tilted his head. “So you didn’t leave anyone behind up there, huh?”

“Not that I know of,” Frisk said. 

“How do you even exist, then?” he asked.

Frisk laughed and shrugged.

Asriel leaned towards her. “Tell me about where you’re from.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Uh. ‘Cause we’re kinda uneven here, aren’t we?” he said. “You know all the crap about me, right? I don’t know anything about you. And I’m curious.”

Frisk shrugged. She sat beside him on the arm of the couch.

“There’s honestly not much to tell,” she said. “Maybe could you be a little more, um, specific.”

“Okay. Who’d you live with?” he said.

“No one,” she said.

He frowned a bit and tilted his head. “What was your house like?”

“No house,” she said. “See? It’s not that interesting.”

“Why you gotta be a weird enigma?” he asked.

“I don’t even know what that means,” Frisk said.

“Of course you don’t.” Asriel rubbed his brow. “Okay. Fine. What will you tell me?”

“Um.” She smiled sheepishly. “I don’t really know what to say.”

Asriel looked a little frustrated for a moment. He folded his leaves. Then, his brows raised.

“Oh. Okay. I know,” he said. “Why did you come here?”

“Oh! Um. Well, I mean, up there, I wasn’t super happy,” she said.

“But why here?” he said. “Of all the places you couldda gone, this was probably way out of the way, right? Didn’t they tell you there were monsters here? Why did you try to get into our mountain?”

“Oh. Uh… Well, the story of the mountain was kinda known all around, y’know? Even to a weird kid like me,” she said. “And I guess it got to a point where I was… fed up? Where I was, I mean. And I heard some kids talking about going on an adventure there before their parents said they weren’t allowed. And I guess I didn’t have anyone to tell me not to. So I thought, heck, it couldn’t be much worse than what I was doing. I could see the mountain from town, kind of.”

“So you just walked here?” he asked.

“Yup,” she said. “Took a while, but… I dunno. I heard that monsters were like the opposites of humans. That sounded pretty good to me.”

“You don’t regret leaving?” he said. “Being with your own people?”

“My own people? Heck no,” Frisk said with a laugh. “Not for a second!”

Asriel tilted his head again. He wondered, maybe, if she was a bit more like Chara than he had thought. 

“Alright,” he said. “Thanks, I guess.”

“You’re welcome, I guess,” she said with a wink. She slipped to her feet and jerked her thumb at the stairs. “Need anything before I—?”

“Nah. I’ll be fine,” he assured her. “Uh. Good night and stuff.”

She grinned and leaned in to give him a quick smooch on the forehead before scampering up the stairs.

\- - -

In the bedroom, the lights were off, but Papyrus was still up, on his computer. The white glow gave the room a strange, wintery sheen. Sans seemed like he had become a heap of bones and sweatshirt somewhere on the middle of the car-shaped bed.

“Oh! Hello, little sister,” Papyrus said quietly. “No Asriel?”

“He’s staying up,” she said.

She quickly ducked inside the closet to change into her pyjamas— not much different than her regular clothes aside from that she hadn’t worn them all day— and then hopped onto the bed. She grabbed Sans and tried to pull him up to get his head on the pillow.

“Bro, c’mon,” she said.

“Hm?” he mumbled.

She scootched him over and leaned down over top of him. “Bro,” she said quietly. “C’mon, you dork.”

“Hm?” He opened his eyes a little.

She grinned at him and formed her hands into a heart. “Love you.”

“Oh.” He smiled and hugged her close. “You’re cute.”

His grip was weak, but the fact that he wanted her there was more than enough for her. She gladly flopped over him and he seemed to relax a bit. 

Frisk couldn’t help herself from holding him tight. As if some part of her hoped that she could be a shield for him. Dreams wouldn’t be good tonight. No way. She pushed closer and forced a glow to brighten against him. She wouldn’t let him do it without dragging her in, too, though. She refused.

“My gosh, you two are clingy, aren’t you?” Papyrus sat with them, bringing his Rubik’s Cube along with him. “Go to sleep, Sans.”

“Don’t need to tell me,” he mumbled. 

“I’ll be right here! Doing some puzzle practice!” Papyrus said.

“Mhm.”

“So! Good night, brother!” He pulled a blanket up over the other two. “Good night, little sister! Try to get some rest, both of you.”

“Mmmhm,” Sans said.

“G’night, bro,” Frisk said.

She could feel Sans’s energy cling. She was sure hers did the same. She felt like she had only blinked, but she was out quickly.

Frisk opened her eyes to bright gold light and the pain of bruising on her skin. Fingers clenched tight to the handle of a blade that was slick with the blood of some cut she couldn’t see. She dropped it quickly and recoiled, only to get beaned immediately in the head with a bone she hadn’t even thought to look for. She plopped to the floor with surprise. Almost instantly, Sans had her shoulders, grabbed her to sit her back upright.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she said with a smile.

He huffed and hugged her tight. “Sore?” he asked.

“Not really, don’t worry,” she assured him.

“Nice.” He grinned. “Still couldn’t hurt you if I tried. That’s good. Still bleedin’, though.”

“Yeah.” Frisk looked at her hands. “Oh, man, sorry, it’s all over you, huh?”

“No big deal, it’s a dream,” he said. 

He took off his sweatshirt and used it to wipe her hands, and then her face. She sighed. 

“Hold still,” he said.

“Yeah.” She pouted. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he said with a laugh. “I’m the one that did it.” 

“How long’ve you been here?” she asked.

“Dunno, an hour?” he said. “Or… felt like an hour.”

“Worst,” Frisk said.

“Tell me about it,” he joked.

Once he was done, he got up and pulled her with him. He looked a little frustrated; rubbed the back of his skull.

“Sorry, kiddo,” he said, “didn’t want to bring you here again.”

“It’s okay,” she assured him. “I kinda expected it. Bad dreams earlier, too, huh?”

“Mhm.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and wandered towards a window. “It’s like a crap feedback loop. What else is new?”

“How d’you mean?” she asked.

“Welp. You know. Dreams get worse when my head’s in a worse place than normal. And what puts my head in a worse place than normal? Dreams where I’m gettin’ murdered, for one, that’s not great.”

Frisk sighed. She scampered up to him and held his hand.“Yeah. I know.”

He shot her a tired smile. “I guess that’s the thing, huh?” he said. “Rather you didn’t have to be here.”

“But you like it better than being alone, don’t you?” she said. “I like it better than you being alone.”

“Heh. Thanks, kid.” He looked exhausted. “God, I need a nap.”

“Could we do that?” Frisk suggested. “We could go home?”

“Dunno. Depends,” he said. “Hang on.” He lit his soul and let the hum resonate. 

The song that played slowly back for them was the wrong one; a melody that surged with determination. It shared almost no similarities with the hum Frisk recognized the most. He let it fade and then shook his head.

“Nah. Can’t. It’s still playin’,” he said. “We’re too deep.”

“Oh. Uh.” Frisk was a little puzzled, but she nodded anyway. “So what do we do?”

“I dunno. Kill some time?” He nodded towards the hall ahead. “I think I know what might be the issue. Wanna check it out?”

Frisk nodded.

They ambled down the hall slowly. Frisk stretched and shot a worried look at her brother. She held his hand again.

“Hey, um. Do you know why it changes?” she asked.

“Hm? Oh. That. I always figured it was mostly because I lost Paps,” he said.

“Yeah?” she asked quietly.

He shrugged. “We’re linked, huh?” he said. “I figure, one of us goes, it changes the other one. At least that’s always how I felt about it.”

“Right, right,” she said. “God. He’s not in here, is he?”

“Wouldn’t matter either way,” Sans said. “He wouldn’t notice.”

“I’m so sorry,” she grumbled.

“Nah. Don’t hang onto that kinda thing.”

They had never actually strayed from the Judgement Hall before. It was a bit surreal to walk out to the east and be met with drab, grey stone. It was almost a relief on Frisk’s eyes. That golden hall, she used to think it was beautiful. Now, when she saw that colour, heard the cadence of the hall; smelled the distant whiffs of Asgore’s flowers, all she could feel was dread. She was shaking, but she didn’t know why. She stopped and tugged on her brother’s sleeve.

“I… I feel like we’re not supposed to see this far,” she squeaked.

“I know, right?” He shot her a smile. “Feels like we’re kinda messin’ with it, huh? Dig it.”

“Yeah?” she said. “B-But… But what if it’s the end ahead? We’re not in your memory anymore, right?”

“Mhm. I’m out,” he said. “Don’t worry about the end. No Chara. No end.” He nodded his head towards the entrance before them. 

Frisk still felt a hit of nerves but Sans seemed sure he knew where to go. She plucked up her courage and headed straight for the throne room.

Green plants punctuated by an array of golden flowers spread out before them. There stood Asgore. Or, at least, a mimicry of him. He turned to face them, looked surprised, but then drifted away into glittering white dust. Behind him was Asriel, gawking, tears in his eyes. 

“Wh-What?!” he stammered. “B-B-But… But, I… But you…!!”

“Az, are you okay?” Frisk asked. She ran to him, but he recoiled, shaking his head. 

His eyes darted to Sans. “Impossible,” he whimpered. “It’s… It’s impossible. You shouldn’t… You c-can’t…”

“Ah. I get it.” Sans put his hand on the kid’s shoulder. “Gimme a second, huh?”

She nodded. He rolled up his sleeves and squatted down.

“Hey. Kid. C’mere,” he said. 

He offered his hands to Asriel, but the flower was still frozen, trembling as if it were literal. Sans set the tips of his fingers aglow. He reached for the little flower’s face. Asriel jolted with shock, but then settled once the bones touched him. He frowned with confusion and locked eyes with Sans.

“She… She killed you,” he muttered.

“Yup,” he said. “But she’s gone. Not comin’ back.”

Asriel gulped. He leaned around and noticed Frisk, nervously standing back. He seemed shocked for a moment. “W-Wait. Frisk? It’s… you? It’s not… her? It’s… Oh god.” His voice was shrill, but when he looked up at Sans, his vision seemed a little clearer. “It’s o-over?”

“Yup. And a dream. It’s also that,” he said. “C’mon.”

Asriel hesitated. He put a leaf on Sans’s finger and, very slowly, he wrapped around his hand. Sans smiled and stood up straight, cupping the little flower’s form in his palms.

“There we go, you nerd,” he said. “Almost there.” 

He turned back to Frisk. She scampered over. Asriel recoiled for a moment, but when his eyes locked on hers, he wilted with relief.

“She’s not here. She’s… gone. Oh. God.” He rubbed his forehead. “It w-wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“We know, dude,” Frisk said gently. “It was all wrong. But you’ve got something now, right? And you have us.”

“You? But I… I…” His eyes went wide. “It’s a dream.”

“Heeeyyy, there you go,” Sans said. “And. Just like that…” 

He put his hand on Frisk’s shoulder and, to her surprise, the garden began to melt away, like sand walls falling under a stream of water. 

“Wh-What?” Asriel squeaked. The tips of his leaves began to sparkle with gold and red flecks. He looked horrified. “Am I dying?” he yelped.

“Nah. Wakin’ up,” Sans said. “I’ll meet you. We should talk.”

“What? Uh. Um. Okay. Fine,” he muttered. He vanished. 

The end of Sans’s fingers started to go, too.

“Oh! Wake me up, too?” Frisk said.

“You sure? You could use the rest,” Sans said. “Don’t worry. Should be safe, now.”

“Oh. Um.” She smiled a bit sheepishly. “O-Okay.”

“I’ll put you with Paps. Maybe be back a little later.” He ruffled her hair. “Try to have a good sleep, huh?”

She nodded, and he was gone. The world went cozy black. She didn’t fight it. She really was tired. The bruised ache in her skin faded. She heard a soft song in the distance and let it guide her to sleep.

\- - -

Frisk looked comfortable. Sans was relieved. The grip of her little hands wasn’t quite so tight as to seem fearful. There didn’t seem to be any residual pain through her. He held her snuggly until the tension left her spine.

Beside them, Papyrus had fallen asleep sitting up, the cube of coloured tiles in his hands with a plus pattern across each side. Sans used a little hit of blue to slide him down to rest more comfortably, with his head on the pillow like a normal person. As Sans slowly got up, he flipped the kid in his arms around and passed her to his brother. Papyrus clutched her close right away. Like he always did. Sans smiled fondly. 

He got to his feet a bit groggily and shifted himself to the living room. Asriel jolted upon seeing him, but he didn’t pay it much mind and plopped down on the couch with him.

“Alright?” he asked.

“Wh-What was that?” Asriel said a bit shrilly.

“The memory loops. Frisk broke ‘em,” he said. “It’s a good thing.”

“What? R… Really?” His eyes went wide. “I… I don’t have to see it anymore?”

“You do,” Sans said. “But it’ll be a little better. You’ll still be where you were. But you won’t have to play its game anymore if you keep your head.”

Asriel frowned, looking thoughtful. His eyes narrowed. “What’re you playing at?”

Sans grinned and shrugged. “Nothin’,” he said simply.

“Why were you so nice to me in there?” he demanded.

“I dunno,” he said. “You were scared.”

“Huh. Weird.” Asriel smiled just a little. “Bet you never thought you’d be here with me, huh?”

“Nope. Thought I’d be sick of you until the day I bit it,” Sans said. “Turns out I overestimated a little.”

“What? You’re not sick of me?” Asriel asked.

He shrugged.“New timeline. New stuff. Not fed up with you yet.”

“That’s awful trusting of you,” Asriel said.

“Welp. You’re kinda attached to my sis, right?” he said. “Wouldn’t let her down. Right?”

Asriel’s demeanour shifted. His posture sunk and he had a look of regret on his face. Sans tilted his head.

“What?” he asked.

“It’s just. Ugh. Never mind. You wouldn’t understand,” he said.

“Try me,” he said.

“It’s… It’s just. When you said Chara wasn’t there, I felt… I felt…”

“Relieved?” Sans suggested.

Asriel sighed. He nodded. “I feel like crap,” he muttered. “Somehow, I feel like… if we switched? She wouldn’t want me to be gone.”

Sans put his cheek on his fist. “Dunno about that.”

“You didn’t know her,” Asriel said. “Not when she was alive.”

“True. But. I know as much of her mind she was willing to share with Frisk,” he said. “And I know what she did to the world over and over. I know what she did to you, too.”

“But she’s my sister,” he muttered.

“I get that,” he said. “Think she did?”

Asriel opened his mouth, but then reconsidered. He huffed and sunk into his mug. “Wh-What would you know about it?” he said quietly.

“Welp. I know what Frisk saw. In that thing’s head, in those dream memories. When they killed you,” he said.

“…Was she mad? Did she hate me?”

“See. That’s the thing,” Sans said. “Not really. You were in the way.”

Asriel’s eyes welled up. He huffed, trembled, and quickly wiped his face. “But I w-would’ve done anything for—”

“Didn’t matter.” His smile turned sympathetic. “Not your fault, alright?”

The little flower didn’t know how to feel. He curled up on himself. He sighed, grappled for the remote, and put on the TV with a pout on his face. It was _Circuit Secret Investigator_. Sans immediately looked tired.

“This show’s bad, huh?” Asriel said.

“Not as a sleepin’ aid,” Sans said; he sunk back, folding his arms. “I pass out here, I better not wake up and find you in my eye socket again.”

“Pfft. I been in your head. Nothing interesting in there,” he said.

“Exactly.” Sans grinned. “Hey. Takin’ it back. You’re not all that bad.”

“Well. Uh. You either.”

“Heh.” His eyes closed along with the opening theme of the show. “Try not to stay up all night, huh?”


	50. What a Nightmare!!!

Frisk was sniffling; fighting back tears. Her eyes stung. Asriel rested his cheek on a curled leaf on the edge of his his mug. 

“Why are you doin’ that?” he asked.

“I thought it would be better!” she said shrilly. She wiped her eyes with her palms and squinted angrily through blurred vision at the grater and onion on the counter ahead of her. With a frustrated grunt, she stumbled off the chair and raced from the kitchen. 

Asriel laughed. He leaned over the cutting board to look at the goo she had left, then shook his head.

After a few seconds, Frisk dashed back in, dragging Papyrus with her with one hand and pointing up at the sink with the other. He grabbed her around the middle and hoisted her up there. She quickly rubbed water into her eyes.

“Gosh, little sister, what did you do?”

She pointed at the grated onion goo on the counter. Papyrus leaned in and immediately put his palms to his eye sockets.

“Oh!! Why did you do that?!” he squeaked. “Why did I do that?!”

“We only had one!” she said. “Mom said if you grate it down you get more flavour. I dunno!”

Papyrus started to laugh. When she held out her arms, he grabbed her and put her back down. “Does that mean you’re ready to start?” he asked excitedly.

She nodded and pointed to the bubbling pot on the back of the stove. Her brother absolutely beamed.

Together, they got more veggies ready and dumped them into a pot to reduce into goo as spaghetti cooked. They got the sauce smooth, and the pasta was only barely sticky this time when they drained it. Papyrus was just as excited about it as if it were the first time.

Sans was half-asleep on the couch. As usual. He hadn’t really moved at all since Papyrus had insisted that it was time for breakfast, either. But, he seemed to have gotten a little rest during the night. At least, that was what he had said. He didn’t seem as under the weather as yesterday. His spaghetti consumption was in slow motion, though.

“Seriously, how much pasta do you guys go through?” Asriel asked as he picked through a plate on the side table. “Where do you keep it?”

“In the drawers, of course,” Papyrus said. “Or. Wherever it fits.”

“Spice rack. A box under the sink. In that jug that holds the long spoons.” Frisk smiled and shrugged. “And I think you have more in your phone, right, bro?”

“I do!!” He grinned. “I have quite a large box of it in there! Pre-cooked of course.”

Asriel made a face and rolled his eyes. “But why spaghetti?”

“Why spaghetti?! PSHAW! What a ridiculous question,” Papyrus said. “Obviously, it is the optimum method for the ingestion of spaghetti SAUCE! And the sauce, obviously, is a mixture of only the most nutritious things, so it only follows that it is a vastly superior food item compared to say, I don’t know, greasy burgers and fries.” He cut his eyes at Sans. 

Unperturbed, Sans twirled some noodles onto his fork and ate them. Frisk grinned.

“And slurping the noodles is kinda fun also,” she said.

After she finished breakfast, Frisk snatched up her dream journal again and plunked herself down at the table with Asriel to write in it. He watched her curiously, but, slowly, surprise creeped onto his face. 

“That’s from last night?” he asked.

“Mhm,” she said.

“Do you write them all down?” he asked.

“Yeah, now I do,” she said. “Sans said sometimes they might predict stuff. His do. Right, bro?”

“Yup, sometimes,” he said.

“But… that one, that was a memory, right?” Asriel pressed.

“Yeah. I guess so,” she said. “Mostly, seems like the dreams look back. But they look forward sometimes, too.”

“How long’s that been a thing?” Asriel asked. He shot Sans a look, but the skeleton simply shrugged.

“Dunno, forever?” he said. “Started getting stronger when I was, like, eight or nine, I dunno.”

“What about you?” Asriel turned his gaze on Papyrus. “You dream weird, too?”

“My dreams are usually quite exciting and pleasant, actually,” he said. “Though, sometimes I’ve had strange ones. And sometimes they do come true! Like when I dreamed one day I would have cool friends and even Undyne would think I was cool, that came true!”

“I think that might just be your, uh, positive attitude,” Sans said.

“Oh! Are you positive?” Papyrus asked.

“Gettin’ a little less negative,” Sans said.

Papyrus scoffed.

Asriel tilted his head and leaned over the pages. He followed behind her pen as she wrote. “It’s weird to meet in dreams, isn’t it?” he said quietly.

“Used to it,” Frisk said with a smile. “It’s better this way.”

“Yeah right,” he muttered but, after going quiet for a moment, he gave her a suspicious look. “Why do you say that?”

“Well, I dunno about you, but I’d rather not have to get stuck in imaginary time loops with no control of my body,” she said. “I mean. You probably had some control, I bet. But not me. So. I like this more.”

He looked thoughtful. He stared over her hand and waited for her to finish before waving his leaves at her.

“What?” she asked.

“I wanna see,” he said.

“What? Oh. Okay.” She laughed and pushed the book towards him, flipping back to page one. “There. Got it?”

“What, just like that?” he said, and he smiled sideways. “Don’t mind me poking around through your memories?”

“Everyone pokes through my memories,” she said with a wink. “Don’t worry.”

Behind them, Papyrus had been taking photos of pasta. Spaghetti in his hand, spaghetti in front of the TV; spaghetti balanced on Sans’s head. Frisk saw him swiping through the photos on his phone when she snuck over the arm and leaned over his shoulder. He was putting fancy filters and star stickers on them. She surprised him when she put her arms around his shoulders.

“Oh! Hello, little sister!” he said. “Did you see this?!”

“Uh-huh!” She slipped down beside him and cuddled close. “Gonna send to Alphys?”

“Going to send to everyone! Including Alphys,” he said. “This is the nicest one yet.”

“You say that every time,” Sans said sleepily.

“And it’s true every time! Practice makes for constant improvement,” Papyrus said. “But it takes work! Dedication! Effort. Foreign concepts, I guess.”

“Mhm.” Sans’s eyes were closed but his smile widened. “Like a totally different language, bro.”

Papyrus scoffed, but Frisk smiled. She crawled over Papyrus’s legs and leaned over to look at Sans. He opened one eye and raised a brow as she tilted her head.

“You look better,” she said.

“Do I? Huh. Weird,” he said.

Frisk rolled her eyes. She shoved her way between her brothers, but grabbed Sans and pulled his already slumping form downwards, so the back of his head was on her shoulder. He looked up at her with confusion and she kissed his forehead and hugged him tight with a pout on her face.

“You’re a dumb dork and I love you,” she said.

He grinned and closed his eyes again. “That’s all a guy really needs to hear, isn’t it?”

“Sans, you can’t be heading to sleep again already?! You really are unbearably lazy,” Papyrus scolded.

“I dunno, Frisk seems to be bearin’ it okay,” he said.

“SANS!”

“You guys are weird,” Asriel muttered.

Papyrus got to his feet, shaking his head at Sans, and began to clear the dishes away, grabbing up misplaced dish towels and a mug or two as well. He almost picked up the sock on the floor near the TV, but caught himself and straightened up.

“Sans, your sock is still there,” Papyrus said.

“Okay,” he said.

“You know it wouldn’t be that hard to just bend down and pick it up.”

“Okay,” Sans said again.

“So you’re going to move it, then,” Papyrus insisted. “Riiiiight. Now.”

“Okay.” The skeleton made absolutely no effort to even consider lifting himself out of the cozy spot against his sister. 

Papyrus waited, staring, for a long few seconds. He made a squawking noise and stomped off to the kitchen in a huff.

Sans rested where he was for a little. He felt the kid start gently poking around his eye socket. He smiled and opened one eye. “It’s fine.”

“I know.” Her checks flushed. “Just having a hard time believing it sometimes.”

“Cap did me a real solid there,” he said. “No worries.”

He sat up slowly and rubbed the back of his skull. “Hey, uh. Thinkin’ Grillby’s.”

“What?! Sans!!! You just ate!!” Papyrus protested.

“Kinda lookin’ for a ketchup fix,” he said with a smile and a shrug. “Kiddo, you in?”

“Yeah, sure,” she said. “Az, want anything?”

“Hell no.” He seemed enthralled with the book and didn’t even lift his eyes from the pages. “I mean. No thanks.”

Papyrus sighed and rolled his eyes. “Don’t you take advantage of her kindness, brother!”

“What, bro?” Sans grinned. “That’s all I ever do, though.”

Outside, in front of the house, Sans started to head the wrong way down the road. Frisk scampered after him and latched onto his sleeve.

“Shortcut?” she asked.

“Hm. Kinda.” He cut his eyes at her. “I was thinkin’. Before that. You wanna show me that tear?”

“Oh! Yeah, okay,” she said. “Wanna go to that save near the magic box thing first?”

“Gotcha.”

He brought her where she asked, and she quickly clung onto the timeline, just for a moment, until it felt steady. Then, in a blink, they were in front of the door to the ruins. She pointed north and walked to the tree line. She could still see her own shoe prints and the marks of Kid’s lizard feet in the snow.

“It’s not too far,” she said.

She slipped through the trees, following her own trail. Sans ambled behind her slowly, eyeing the tall, dark trunks around that seemed to reach upwards forever.

“Haven’t been back this way in a long time,” he said.

“Oh yeah?” Frisk called back. “Is there more stuff past here?”

“Cliff, eventually,” he said. “There’s another valley that way.”

“And what’s there?” she asked.

“Not much. Few houses, I guess,” he said. “There’s a lift thing. Uh. Across the river, I think. Never used it.”

“Wanna explore with me before we all leave, after the barrier goes?” she asked hopefully. 

“Explore?” he repeated with a laugh.

“Yeah! I wanna see what’s over there.” She slowed and grabbed his hand, shooting him a grin. “I wanna see Home, too. And New Home.”

Sans snickered. “Welp. I’m sure Paps would be super into that.”

“Not you?” she asked.

“Eh. I’m sure you’ll convince me to tag along,” he said.

When she smiled brightly, it warmed him to his core.

It wasn’t long until the bright, blue-white light streamed through the shadows, casting glowing stripes along the snow.

“Welp. That looks ominous,” Sans said.

“It is a little spooky,” Frisk said.

As the clearing opened up before them, Sans paused at the edge. He tried to get a good feel for the layout. Frisk was t less cautious; she headed for the light and stopped partway. The tear seemed just as she’d left it.

“See? Kinda blue,” she said.

Sans circled it curiously, and shot her a look with his brows raised. “Kinda like the basement one, huh?” he said.

“Yeah, but, like, it was a recording of memories or something,” she said. “Maybe a really really old save?”

Sans nodded. “Didn’t suck you in?”

“No,” she said. “C-Careful, huh? It did kinda knock me over. So…”

“Alright, well…” He touched it cautiously and immediately froze up. “Whoa.”

“What d’you see?” Frisk said.

“It’s kinda like a save,” he said. “Like, that night sky stuff. Huh. Haven’t been through one of these in years.”

“It’s weird, though, right?” she insisted. “Kid could see it when he couldn’t see the other stuff. It’s bigger. The colour’s weird.”

“All true,” Sans said. “Now, why the hell did he want you here so bad?”

“I dunno. I mean. That white light, maybe?” she said.

“Maybe,” he said. “But I dunno what that does. I mean, hell, he dragged you out here twice. It’s gotta be somethin’. Unless he’s just crazy.”

“I dunno,” Frisk said again.

He pulled his hand out and rubbed the back of his skull. She looked at the light trepidatiously and he shrugged and gestured to it as if inviting her to take a turn. She braced herself and reached for the light. It flashed across her vision and suddenly she was seeing stars.

“Whoa, uh… Kiddo? Frisk? Can you hear me?” Sans asked.

Frisk blinked and spun in place. His voice reverberated strangely, like it was bouncing down a hallway, but on the calling end of a radio. She could only see the dark, light-prickled space around her.

“Y-Yeah? Can you hear me? Where are you?” she asked. 

“Oh. Okay. I’m, uh. Out here. And you’re in there? I guess? Dang. Didn’t think that would happen again.”

“Hah! Me neither,” she said. “Um. But I’m okay, I think.”

“What’s it like?” he asked.

“Just like you said,” she said. “It’s like the night sky. I’m, um…? Floating? I think?”

“Do you see a way out?” he asked.

She frowned a bit and looked around. Nothing around her, but when she looked up, she saw a bright tear. “I think so,” she said. “I, uh—” She lost her words when a cold hand grabbed hers.

She whirled and was staring into a white, smiling face with dark eyes. Just like her drawing. 

“Oh my god,” she said.

He tilted his head. He looked somewhat pleased to see her. 

“Kiddo? What’s going on?” Sans asked.

The creature froze and looked up, body suddenly quaking. Frisk gripped his hand.

“Hey, don’t be scared, that’s just Sans,” she said. “You met him, I think. It’s okay. Um. Sorry, I… Don’t know what to call you. SANS! HEY!!”

“What?” he said. “You okay?”

“Y-Yeah. I guess. Um. Shadowguy is here,” she said.

“Oh. Shit. What’s he doing?” Sans asked.

“Just kinda standing here with me. I’ll let you know,” she said. She gently pulled the man’s hand. 

He looked down at her quickly.

“That okay? I mean. Because I’m gonna forget you after, right?” she asked. “If he can’t see you but I just tell him, he can remember for me. Right?”

He looked a little surprised. He nodded. She smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry if I seem nervous,” she said. “It’s just… we’ve been trying to figure you out. It’s been a total mess.”

He tilted his head slightly. Seemed puzzled.

“Well, I mean, we knew there was something we couldn’t remember,” she said. “Like, um, a missing piece? And, I mean, taking me out of the house wasn’t super s-subtle? Subtle, that’s the word, right?”

“Got it,” she heard Sans say.

The man’s smile spread a little wider. She could have sworn there was a bit of pride in that expression. He slowly knelt down to her, interlocking his long, bony fingers with hers. The stripes of energy on her skin lit up at his touch. She gulped.

“Are we friends?” she asked.

He nodded.

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” she said. “I… I can sort of remember you. In dreams. I mean. I’m sure I’ve seen you when I’m awake, too. But I don’t remember that. What the heck is going on?”

He flinched a little. He stayed silent, though. Frisk tilted her head. Maybe he couldn’t talk. Maybe that’s what that weird noise on the recorder had been— his voice. Incomprehensible. Cautiously, he reached out to her and cupped her face. His dark eyes sparked with just a little glimmer of light and he touched his forehead to hers. He started to hum, his distorted voice forced into a quiet, familiar tune. A song she’d heard before, just a little. Felt like a memory. Or maybe a dream. She sort of liked it.

“Sans, can you hear that?” she asked.

“Kinda,” he said. “…Huh.”

“What?” she asked.

“Nothin’, keep doin’ whatever the heck you’re doin’,” he said.

She laughed a little and the monster’s smiled widened. He pulled away from her andtented his fingers. He looked embarrassed, somehow. Slowly, he pointed a finger at her chest. She frowned.

“You…? What? I’m sorry, I don’t…” she said.

He put his hand to his own chest. Then, again, pointed to hers.

“Oh, you…? You wanna see my soul?” she asked.

He nodded. She felt a hit of trepidation. Asriel’s words flashed through her mind. But, this monster, he’d helped along the way. Without his key to the CORE, they wouldn’t even have Asriel. She gulped, but she put a hand to her chest and lit up her soul bright red. He stared, as if awestruck, for a few seconds, before his long, white fingers grazed her energy. He was gentle; cautious. It made it all the more surprising when he grabbed her tightly by the shoulder and slid his hand right into her soul spot. It phased through her form like he was a ghost.

“Oh. Oh j-jeez. Um. Uhhhh… W-Wait, I—” She couldn’t help but squeak when a weird pain and a chill went through her entire body. “Oh no. N-No, stop, I—!”

The man hurriedly retracted his hand, a white light glowing all across his fingers. As if he’d scooped it back out of her. He seemed enthralled. Frisk plopped backwards, recoiled; covering her soul with her hand as it flickered. The creature stared into that light for what felt like forever. Her heart began to pound and she wanted to run; cling to her brother for comfort. But she couldn’t take her eyes off this monster. 

“S-Sans. Sans, he… H-He just…” She was shaking and she couldn’t raise her voice above a whisper. “I-I’m scared.”

The monster jerked. He looked at her with wide eyes. Hurriedly, he flowed, serpent-like, towards her, dipping down to match her eye level. He grasped her tightly around the shoulders. He said something softly, but she couldn’t understand. His eyes began to run black down his cheeks. Fear took her again, but this strange creature wrapped her in his arms and hid his face against her head. He mumbled to her, and though his voice made her dizzy, he didn’t sound threatening. He sounded sad. He was sorry. He hadn’t meant to scare her. She puffed out a sigh and hugged him back. He couldn’t help being so strange. She forgave him. She relaxed, maybe a little too much. She shut her eyes for just a moment.

Suddenly, Frisk was overcome with confusion. Her heart was beating too hard. There was cold all around her. She frowned and moved slightly, and there was a shifting of blackness engulfing her. Suddenly, she was looking into a smiling white face. She jerked back with surprise and let out a yelp, but she started to laugh as who she was looking at clicked in her mind. Strange to see him face to face after only really having her own picture based on dreams to work from.

“Oh! It’s you! Gosh, sorry, you surprised me!” she said. “What’re you doing here?”

He tilted his head. She smiled bashfully.

“Hey, I remember you just a little this time. I drew you. So I’d kinda remember what you look like. ‘Cause, um. I mean, I guess you know about the memory problems? Dreams stick alittle, but, um… We’ve met a few times, haven’t we? For real?” she said. “Sorry! Um. Hang on?”

He cocked his head the other way. 

“Sans! Hey, Sans?! Can you hear me?” she called.

“Yeeeeeah?” he said.

“I, uh, kinda ran into the shadowguy in here!” she said.

“Yeah, I know,” he said.

“What? How? Can you see me?” she asked.

“Nnnno, you already told me that,” he said. “Oh. Crap.”

“What? Wait. Oh…” She noticed the monster in front of her was looking a little bashful and tenting his fingers. “Oh, gosh, I’m sorry, I looked away, didn’t I? That’s how this works, right?”

He simply stared back at her. He was still smiling; couldn’t help it. His face was all but frozen. But he didn’t seem very happy. He seemed worried.

Frisk frowned with confusion. “What’s going on?” she asked him. “Why’d you want me to come here?”

He held out one hand. It was glowing with white light. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t noticed before. 

“Oh! What’s, uhh…?” 

He held her hand. He seemed insistent. She didn’t know what to say or do, but, much more gently, he took her hand and put it on his. He drew the light towards his chest. Frisk wasn’t sure what he wanted, but he did it a few times in a row. 

“Oh. So. You need help, huh?” she said. “This is… Well. Okay. I don’t get it, but…” She let him use her hand against his until it froze an inch from his chest. 

He grunted; sounded frustrated, and shot her a look. She still didn’t get it, but it seemed to her like the energy was held back by some invisible force. Though she didn’t understand that, she was starting to think she understood what he wanted from her. 

She held his fingers, making sure to cling onto that white light, and she moved it in to touch it to where a soul spot might have been. The energy seeped into him. He shuddered, and as Frisk drew back a little, he touched his hand to his chest. He seemed relieved. 

“Is… that what you needed?” she asked. “What was that?”

He mumbled something. His fingers clenched into the pitch black that was his body and, for a few seconds, he seemed to look a million miles away. He cupped his hands like he was cradling something precious and then, very carefully, held it out to her. There was a glimmer of light through the holes in his hands.

She leaned closer and peeked in. Between his broken palms floated a tiny red speck, glowing like an ember. She looked into his dark eyes with confusion.

“Are you giving this to me?” she asked.

He nodded.

“What’s he giving you?” Sans asked.

“Um. It’s like… fire? I’m not sure, I… Oh. Oh!” She put her hand on top on the strange man’s. “It’s determination, isn’t it?”

He nodded.

“Are you sure? Don’t you need that?” she asked.

He seemed to insist. Carefully, she reached out for the little glowing spot. She took it in her fingers. It was warm. She had to keep herself from staring at it, instead keeping her eyes on the monster. 

A strange white light caught her attention, and she almost reflexively turned to look. The man held her cheek quickly, keeping her gaze straight on him. Something around them groaned and growled, and Frisk winced and squeaked.

“What the hell was that?” Sans asked.

“I-I dunno!” Frisk said. “M-Maybe back up?”

Hurriedly, the man cupped her hand around the little spark and pushed it towards her chest. It connected and made her tingle with warmth. It made her feel solid and, in a strange way, whole. He grabbed her hand gently and began to trace letters against the skin of her palm.

_ Y - O - U - R - S_

“Mine?” she repeated.

_ C - O - R - E - T - O - O - K_

“The coreto…? Oh. OH! The CORE! Y-You mean when I…? When I fainted?” she asked, and he nodded. “You were there? You grabbed it for me?”

He nodded again. He pointed up. 

“Wait, what—?”

Frisk yelped and covered her ears when the rumbling sound turned into a thunder clap. Her heart started beating hard. Patches of the dark flared white behind the black-cloaked monster. Something nearby burst; the man jerked upright and flowed to put himself between it and her. He almost collapsed when a shockwave hit him. She squeaked and hurriedly grabbed him as he quivered and slumped.

“H-Hey! Hey, we should go, right? Come on,” she insisted.

He turned his head and gave her a confused look.

“Look, it doesn’t matter if I won’t remember you, okay?! I still don’t want something bad to happen to you,” she said. “Come with me!!”

He smiled. He lifted her up under her arms and stared her in the face for just a moment, before he gave her a hug. The world started to rumble and growl again, and she clung to his shoulders.

“C-Come on. I don’t wanna go without you,” she said. 

He let out a quiet, gentle laugh. Quickly, though, he spun her around, locking his arm over her eyes.

“W-Wait! Wait!!” She squirmed, but couldn’t turn in his grip. “Wait, I’m gonna f…”

Outside in the open air, Sans leaned closer to the light to try to catch Frisk’s words, but she went silent. He felt a sinking sensation.

“Kiddo?” he asked.

“S-Sans?” she called. “Sans? I dunno what happened, I can’t see, I—”

She yelped at a thunderous crash and Sans couldn’t wait a second longer. He locked his hands into the light. It burned. This wasn’t going to end well. But he felt for her soul and found it, grabbed it as tight as he could and yanked. The light burst and icy pain shot through every inch of his frame. He stumbled back, quivering, and almost doubled over. But there was his kid, shot from the light. Some consolation at least, until he noticed the tips of his fingers starting to look a little shimmery, like tiny specs of glitter catching the light.

Frisk’s vision spun with white and grey and brown. She saw a flicker of blue clinging to her soul and heard her brother grunt.

“Oh shit. Shit. Shit shit shit,” he grumbled.

Frisk stumbled to her feet, heart pounding at a sickening speed. Her head was spinning, but not so much that she didn’t see something strange about her brother. He was hunched, back to her, rattling louder than she’d ever heard.

“Sans?” she squeaked.

He put a hand to his face; tried to cover his eye. She stumbled through the snow to him but what she saw made her freeze up. There was dust pouring from under his shirt, glimmering like cool, white sand on the snow and over his slippers. His eyes were going, too, the bottoms of his sockets running with gaps like dark tear-streaks despite the light flickering between blue and gold trying to hold steady in his left socket.

“Shit. S-Sorry. Sorry. I-I—” He grunted as a leg gave out and he dropped to his knees in the snow. “Oh. Shit.”

“No no no no no no. No. Sans, no.” Her voice was shrill; she snapped out of shock to grab him tight. “No no no, Sans, stay with me. Don’t do it.”

“C-Can’t help it, sis,” he said, smiling weakly. “Heh. Whoops. Sorry. Don’t g-get nightmares, huh?”

“Can I call Papyrus, would that help?!” she demanded. “How much time—?”

“Seconds.”

Sans’s breath was short. His vision was gone. Supposed that meant his eyes were, too. He wasn’t worried, though. The falling feeling would stop soon. The kid’d reset and everything would be just fine. Just wished she didn’t have to see it. Almost didn’t want her so close, too. No one should have to feel their family’s dust on them.

Heat hit him. In the cold dark, he hadn’t expected it. His thoughts stalled. The shaking in his body stopped, as did the vertigo. He could feel her magic pouring through his bones. The determination was warm and steady. He was dizzy. Suddenly, he could see again. 

His kid was holding him tight, eyes clamped shut and tears streaming down her face, clinging to his head and his chest as if she was trying to hold him together. She was absolutely blazing. The soul in her shone brighter than he’d ever seen it before. It was like fire all around her little body. He wanted to ask her what she was doing, but he couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move, either. But he could see his fingers— where the tips had started to dissolve had begun to drift back together. Dust that had fallen reversed and repaired his bones. Everything tingled. His energy suddenly clicked back into place and he felt, to his surprise, absolutely fine. He took a deep breath and the rigidity of his spine slackened. He touched his ribcage. Solid.

“I’m s-sorry. I’m so sorry,” Frisk squeaked. “I’ll go back right now, I’ll—”

“Wait,” Sans said. “Wait, wait. Hey. Look at me?”

She whimpered but did as he asked. She was taken aback. Her jaw dropped and she sat up on her knees, holding his face in both hands.

“Wh-What?!” she yelped. “Y-You… You’re…!”

“Alright?” he asked.

“Y-Yeah!!” She began to grin and laughed, pulling him in close. “Oh thank god! Oooh man. Oh man. Bro. Big bro. I was so scared! I’m so sorry, I—”

“It’s okay,” he said.

He pet her hair, almost unable to believe that his fingers were even still usable. She sniffled; looked like a total mess. Tear streaks stained her skin and her cheeks and nose were red, certainly not helped by the cold. She tried to catch her breath and wiped her face on her sleeve. He snickered.

“That was trash,” he said.

“I thought you were gonna… Oh. Jeez,” she muttered.

“Me too. Sorry,” he said. “Must’ve been scary, huh?”

She nodded, but she giggled with relief anyway.

“What the heck happened? Why did you…? I mean. How’d you fix yourself?” she asked.

“Uh. You’re jokin’, right?” he said with a grin. “Wasn’t me. It was you.”

“M-Me? But I didn’t…? I didn’t do anything,” she said with a confused frown.

“Kinda looked like somethin’ to me,” he said.

“Maybe it was the light. Maybe that’s what it is?” Frisk wondered. “Maybe it does healing? I mean, what else is it—?”

There was a sudden thrum of magic and Frisk went rigid, clinging to Sans protectively. The light she saw over his shoulder gave a pulse and recede into itself until it was like it was never there. 

“What the…?!” She pointed and Sans turned to look. “Wh-Whaaaaat?!”

“Huh. Weird,” he said.

Frisk stumbled to her feet and rushed to the spot, racing around it in a circle; waving her hand through the air.

“Nothing?!” she squeaked. “What was the point of coming here then if all it was gonna do was…?! Oh my god.” She rushed over to him as he stood. She grabbed his arms, looking up with wide eyes, glimmering with faint tears. “Oh my god, it’s not trying to kill you, is it?! I-It can’t be. Can it?”

“Uh…” Sans grinned sideways. “Nah, kiddo. Doubt it.”

“But then what the heck was that? Why bring me here? What the heck was the point?”

Sans tilted his head. She looked so distressed. He felt a little bad that he felt the opposite.

“Oh. Right. You forgot,” he said.

“Forgot what?” she asked. 

“Okay. Put it this way. What’d you see in there?” he asked.

“Um. Stars. Then black. Then you yanked me out?” she said. “And then… th-then…”

Frisk’s eyes began to glisten again. She sniffled. The sight of it startled the skeleton. Broke his heart a little bit every time.

“Oh. Kid. C’mon.” He knelt and wiped under her eyes with his thumbs. “It’s alright. You’re okay.” 

“I-It’s not about m-me!” she squeaked. “You a-almost died!!!”

“But I didn’t. Hey. Even if I did, doesn’t matter,” he said. 

“Doesn’t matter?!” she squeaked; she looked horrified. “Of course it matters!!”

“Not with you around.” He smiled. “Hey. Let’s head to Grillby’s. Get our stories straight. And get you some ice cream or somethin’, huh?”

The kid hugged him tight. He sighed and patted her head.

“Jeez. Dude. Maybe sometime we can go more than two days without me makin’ you cry, huh?” he said sympathetically.

“You didn’t make me cry!” she protested.

“You have a real selective memory, don’t ya?” he said with a grin.

“St-Stop it,” she said, unable to quell a quiet snicker with her words. She pressed herself against his ribcage, burying herself in under his coat. Her heart was beating frantically. “You never made me cry. It’s just I super love you and I don’t like you gettin’ hurt, th-that’s all.”

“Oh. Kiddo.” He put his arms around her and bumped his brow against her head. “You’re too good, y’know that? Don’t worry. Seriously.”

She nodded, but she sniffled quietly. “B-But… But, two days in a row, oh m-man, I’m so sorry…” she muttered.

“Actually.” He patted her head again and shot her a grin as he straightened up. “I’m feelin’ pretty okay.”

“What? R-Really?” she asked.

He shrugged and nodded. “C’mon.” He offered her his hand. “Hero like you could use some junk food, huh?”

She scoffed, but she gladly held his hand. He grinned and whisked them to the path right outside of town. 

His eyes seemed to sparkle as they headed up main street. There was a little shimmer of blue about him. Frisk shot him a puzzled look.

“You look happy,” she said.

He began to laugh quietly, his cheekbones flushing.

“What?” she asked.

He shrugged, but his smile brightened. “Well, I mean, guess all that’s the bonus of havin’ a time god as your little sis, right?” he said, pushing open the door to Grillby’s and beckoning her inside. “Don’t mind exploitin’ it a bit, if that’s okay with you.”

“But I’m not a…!” She lost her words when she noticed Papyrus was leaning over the counter at the back of the bar, talking quite animatedly. “Uh. Paps?”

“Wuh-oh,” Sans said.

Like he had the ears of a fox, Papyrus whirled on them, bright and alert, and then dashed over with a frown on his face. He stopped with his hands on his hips and leaned down.

“Where were you two?!” he demanded.

“Um. J-Just taking a walk?” Frisk said.

“I. Felt. Something. Weird,” he said, his eyes focussing in on Sans like laser beams. “Something. Awful. What were you doing? Frisk!! Were you crying?! What’s wrong?!”

“Oh! N-Nothing, nothing, I just, uh…” She smiled awkwardly. “I sl-slipped on the ice a bit! Just, uh… banged up my knees a little; it just stings, that’s all. I, um, just look bad because it’s so cold out there!”

“Oh. OH! Oh no!!!” Papyrus’s expression softened right away and he wrapped her in a hug. “Are you okay?! Would you like me to heal you?!”

“I’m fine! I’m fine. M-Maybe a little later,” she said quickly. “I’m sorry!”

“Don’t be sorry!” he assured her, and he shot Sans a disapproving look. “Sans, how could you let Frisk fall all over the slippery ground!? What were you even doing near ice?!”

“To be fair, I’m an idiot,” Sans said with a shrug.

“Don’t say that,” Frisk said with a laugh.

“SIGH! You two, I swear,” he said, shaking his head as he straightened up. “I can’t leave you alone for a minute without something strange and or awful happening. Gosh.”

“Hey, bro, where’s the flower?” Sans said.

Papyrus’s eyes widened. He bolted past them.

“I LEFT HIM ALONE! OH NO, IF HE’S BURNED THE HOUSE DOWN, I SWEAR—-!!”

Frisk snickered and Sans shrugged as the door slammed closed behind Papyrus. Sans pointed to the front counter. The booths were occupied, but not much else, as they went up to sit. Frisk immediately noticed the whoopee cushion on her stool. She paused and poked down on it a few times, making small fart sounds in quick succession. Sans laughed. 

“Nice one, fartmaster,” he said.

He sat down and a different whoopee cushion blared. Frisk grinned and he laughed even louder.

“Oh, man, I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said quietly.

“Course I am,” he said. “Alright. So. Should we straighten this out?”

“Um. Here?” she asked.

“Oh. Don’t worry about Grillbs,” he said. “He’s pretty chill for a dude made of fire. He’s old enough to have seen the sky, y’know. He’s heard it all. Kept secrets from all over.”

“Oh. R-Really?” She took note of Grillby drying mugs at the other end of the counter, though he seemed to be peering at them over his glasses. “Is th-that okay? Um! I promise we’re not trying to do anything bad or anything.”

The man chuckled quietly and waved a hand at her. She smiled and, behind her, Sans held up two fingers and then stuck his thumb up. Grillby nodded slightly. He put down the glass and pulled out some metallic oven mitts.

“Thank you!” she said, and then turned back to her brother. “So what the heck even?”

“So your memories reset two times in there,” Sans said. “Saw the shadowman thing and—”

“Wait, what?! Really?” she said.

“Yup. Gave him the white energy,” he said. “Then something happened. You forgot. Then, he gave you some determination, probably. Said it was yours, I think? Maybe lost it when the CORE upended on your head, not totally clear. Theeeeen, something else started happening in there that sounded like explosions, you said you wanted to bring the guy with you out of there, your memories reset again and I yanked you out and basically died and stuff.”

“U-Until the… light? Fixed you?” she asked nervously.

“No, you dork, you fixed me,” he said.

Frisk stared back at him blankly for a few seconds. “I don’t understand.”

“Okay, so I’m a mess, right? Total disaster. Dust everywhere,” he said. “Then you start glowin’ real bright. Red. And suddenly that dust decides it wants to rewind and build my bones again. And surprise. I’m not dead. I mean, not that it would have mattered anyway, but—”

“I still don’t get how you can say that,” she said.

“Kiddo. Trust me,” Sans said. “It’s a totally different feeling.”

“It is? How?” she asked.

“Got a ten outta ten level of trust between us, huh?” he said. “Back then, if I bit it, or someone else did, what could I do? Nothin’. Just revel in how hard I, uh, screwed up for a few seconds before I’m just gone. I mean. It’s still like that, kinda. I can’t do a damn thing. But. We have you now. I don’t even have to think about it for a second. Somethin’ bad happens? Welp. Still not my timeline, but all of a sudden, I’m totally comfortable with that. Don’t even have to worry about Paps anymore. Gives a guy a certain sense of, uh, security, y’know?”

“Y-Yeah?” Frisk asked, her eyes brightening.

“No bones about it,” he said. He winked. 

Frisk blushed a little and she smiled sheepishly. “I’m just glad you’re okay,” she said again. “But, if it was really me that fixed you… I dunno. I feel like that light had to have had something to do with it, right? I’ve never done anything like that before. I didn’t even know I was doing it.”

“Who knows?” Sans shrugged. “Or. Y’know. Could just be that you have wacky super powers that activate when someone’s in trouble.”

“Just like an anime,” Frisk said with a laugh. “I dunno. I just… Ugh.” She slumped on the counter with her face hidden in her crossed arms.

Grillby slid over and looked at the two of them with a brow raised. Sans grinned tiredly and rubbed the back of his skull.

“Long morning,” he said.

“Hmm…” Grillby said quietly.

“I know, right?” Sans said. “You remember, years ago? When I talked about those lines in the Dark Model? And then the red one?” He pointed at Frisk. 

Grillby looked over the kid and seemed surprised.

“Yup. Turned out to be super right.” He gently tapped her head. “This is the kid who saves the universe.”

The man bent down a little and was quietly thoughtful. He put a hand on top of her head. She looked up slowly and he gently rubbed her hair.

“Must be hard,” he said softly.

Frisk looked taken aback; her eyes welled up at the corners. She smiled and wiped her face. “I-It is, sometimes,” she said. “B-But I have a lot of great people helping me, so… S-So it’s not so hard sometimes, too.”

Grillby smiled. He slid off and returned to the back counter before he wandered off to the kitchen area behind the bar. Frisk’s cheeks went a bit pink and she shot Sans a look. He grinned.

“Told you,” he said.

Frisk snickered. She puffed out a sigh and rested her cheek on her fist. “I don’t get it,” she said. “So he… wanted to trade?”

“Hm? Oh. Heh. Guess so,” Sans said. “Also.”

He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a marker, and then pointed down the counter. Frisk looked and her eyes caught on some napkins. She grabbed a few and slid them over to him.He started scribbling something down and she leaned over to look. 

“Whatcha doin’?” she asked. “G4-D5-A4? What the heck is that? More weird codes?”

“Welp. Closer to weird chords,” he said with a wink. “It’s music.”

“Music?” she repeated. “From what?”

“I heard what I think was the shadow guy, uh, humming,” he said; he wrote down a few more numbers and letters. “I think I’ve heard it before.”

“Oh? W-Would you hum it for me?” she asked. “I don’t get how you get music out of that.”

“I’ll show you sometime,” he said.

He pointed along with each note and hummed the song slowly. Frisk tilted her head. She stuck out her tongue to wet her lips and cautiously whistled, echoing what she’d heard.

“Hey, there you go,” he said.

“That does sound really familiar,” she admitted.

“Dig that noise; wish I could do that,” he said.

Frisk laughed.

When Grillby brought their food and a shake for Frisk, the kid immediately started eating her fries with ice cream. For some reason, that always cracked Sans up. But, he guessed it wasn’t that weird. After all, he was the one chugging ketchup like it was water. Her spirits seemed to be lifted a little. He was relieved. Hated seeing that kid upset, especially over him, of all people. 

Truth be told, he was still shocked. That little dweeb stuffing her face beside him had done something impossible. He should be dust. It wouldn’t have been that bad. A little reset— lose twenty minutes— and everything would’ve been perfectly fine. Sure, maybe dying wasn’t great for his psyche, but with Frisk, it wasn’t something that bothered him so much anymore outside of those memories where the feelings of helplessness echoed, too. But now, she’d smashed another rule so soundly it was as if she’d taken a hammer to it. No reset, and here he was. 

He tipped back a swig of ketchup and then rested his cheek on his fist, absently staring at Frisk. How had she done it? He’d have to test it. Maybe not on himself this time. He mulled it over as he rubbed his thumb over his fingertips. 

He started to snicker quietly before he could help it. Frisk looked at him with her eyebrows raised.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” she asked.

She didn’t. He grinned and pointed at his own cheek. She quickly wiped her face. 

“Naw, a bit higher,” he said.

Frisk scrubbed at her cheek again, and Sans pointed to the opposite side of his face. Frisk raised her sleeve, but then frowned and elbowed him. “Oh come on” she said.

He laughed and ruffled her hair. She blew a raspberry at him, but seemed more than happy to snuggle up to him when he offered her a spot under his arm. 

“We should probably tell Papyrus something a little more true, huh?” she said.

“Hm?”

“Well. I mean. He felt your energy going whacko all the way from home, and I’m gonna have to put this stuff—” She tapped on the napkin. “—and this stuff into my book. Right?”

“Oh. Uh. Shit. Guess you’re kinda right about that,” he said. “Ah, jeez. Don’t really wanna put that on him, y’know?”

“I’ll tell him,” she said. “Don’t worry. I’ll tone it down. Won’t tell him about the whole dust thing.”

“Thanks a million,” he said.

“But we should tell Alphys, though,” she said.

“I hate that that makes sense,” he said. He slumped on his fist. 

Frisk snickered. “We’ll… We’ll figure it out,” she said.

Sans nodded. She was mostly trying to convince herself, however.


	51. The Kid Might Be A Bit Weird Arc

The first thing Frisk did when they got home was grab Papyrus and drag him up to their room. Didn’t matter that he was about to go out to the ice fields and redo some sliding puzzles. He squawked a little but it seemed like it was mostly for show.

Sans sauntered to the bottom of the stairs and stared up for a few seconds. He rubbed a tired eye and then shifted back to the table. Asriel was still fumbling through Frisk’s journal. Sans watched for a moment, then dragged one of the chairs in the kitchen over in blue magic and plunked down with him. He watched the flower fail a few times at flipping a page, and then turned it for him. He looked up quickly, his small face a bit flushed and a frown on his brow. Sans folded his arms on the table and rested his chin on them. He flicked his index finger at him and winked.

“Gotcha covered.”

Asriel rolled his eyes, but he went back to the book.

He didn’t have much more trouble but Sans wasn’t bothered by turning the page a couple times for him. He drifted off for a second; only stirred when he felt light slapping on his head.

“What?” he asked. He opened his eyes and Asriel leaned in close to his face. 

“Hey,” he said with a frown. “This book stuff all legit?”

“Yup,” Sans said.

“Huh…” Asriel frowned; looked thoughtful, and a little disturbed. 

Sans put his cheek on his fist and slid the journal over. He pulled out the napkin and began to scribble new notes at the tail end of what was already in the book. Kept that song in mind in particular. That seemed to be important.

“Hey. Sans?” Asriel said.

“Mhm?” He didn’t look up. “Sup, bud?”

“Hah-hah,” the flower said dryly. “Ugh. Never mind.”

“Kay.”

Asriel frowned. He pouted and leaned over to watch him for a moment. He sighed and sunk back in his mug, crossing his leaves. “Get me Frisk,” he said.

“Kid’s busy,” he said.

“Get her anyway.”

Sans made no effort to move and kept writing. He raised one hand and, slowly, began to fold his fingers down, one at a time. Asriel looked baffled. Once the skeleton’s hand was a fist, he put it down on the table and, as if on cue, the bedroom door opened upstairs and Papyrus raced down the stairs.

“SANS! Sans. Sans.” He grabbed him out of his chair and held him up under his arms. “Frisk told me what happened! You’re alright?! You had something to eat, didn’t you?! You feel fine?!”

“Yup. Chill out,” he said with a tired smile. “No big deal.”

“Oh my god, Sans, you are ridiculous,” he said. “Come with me!”

Sans had no choice— not that he minded— as Papyrus whisked him away to the couch. He tossed his mitts aside and put one glowing hand on his chest and the other on his neck, and Sans gladly kicked up his feet. He waved at Frisk lazily as she slipped back into the room.

“Honestly, brother, you have to be more careful!!” Papyrus said. “Just because your health is improving VERY SLIGHTLY— and I really mean very slightly, it is still horrible and you are honestly weaker than a tiny baby, even— doesn’t mean you are allowed to go be a reckless hooligan! What if you miscalculate?! You could turn to dust right on poor Frisk’s head next time!!”

“That’d be a bit of a mess, huh?” Sans said with a wink.

“Pointedly ignoring that terrible pun, YES. IT. WOULD!”

Frisk snickered quietly. She slid up to the table and gently booped Asriel on the forehead with her finger. He reflexively reached for her before folding his leaves again. She smiled, grabbed him, and pulled him close.

“Alright?” she asked.

“I think, uh… I think we do match up,” he said quietly. He pointed towards the book. 

Frisk smiled sideways. “Sorry,” she said.

“What? No, it… Ah. I dunno,” Asriel grumbled. “It’s weird. But it’s… Nah. Never mind.”

“Kinda reassuring?” Frisk suggested.

The flower stared at her for a few seconds before he wilted and nodded somewhat reluctantly. 

She jumped a little at the sound of a loud, cheerful ringtone, and cast a glance at Papyrus. He looked down at his pocket and a very conflicted look passed over his face. Sans reached over and swiped his phone.

“Yo. Yup. This is, uh, the great Papyrus,” he said. “What d’you mean I sound different?”

“SANS!!!” Papyrus scolded. “DON’T LISTEN TO HIM, MY BROTHER IS JUST JOKING!!!”

Sans snickered. “Sup, Doc? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Cool.” He nodded along. “What, now? Welp. Alright. Yup. Sure. Bye.” He hung up and shot Papyrus a grin. “She liked your picture.”

“Of course she did,” Papyrus said. “What, did she call just to say that?”

“Nope. She’s, uh, comin’ here? Bringin’ Cap and Mr. Roboto, too, far as I could tell,” he said.

“Ugh, not him again!” Asriel grumbled. “He’s just, like, consistently awful. What does he want?”

“He’s not that bad,” Frisk said.

“He tried to murder you on live TV, how is that not that bad?!” he said.

Frisk smiled and shrugged.

She got up on the chair and looked over what Sans had written. He was very matter of fact about it all. A little vague on the whole death bit. Asriel squinted at the scribbles and then looked at her.

“So you can barely read but you can read that?” he joked quietly.

“I’m just used to it, I guess,” she said. “He uses small words.”

He shook his head, but he held her fingers as he skimmed the latest addition. He looked up at her with a furrowed brow.

“What the hell are you?” he asked.

She shrugged. He squeezed her a little.

“Were you scared?” he asked quietly.

She nodded. His frown turned sympathetic. He waved her down and, as soon as he could reach, he patted her cheek a few times. She smiled brightly and put her arm around his mug.

\- - -

Papyrus was getting anxious and excited, waiting for everyone to arrive, and dashed off to run laps around town, hoping to catch them either near the boat or the entrance to Waterfall. Sans, predictably, had curled up in the corner of the couch and drifted off.

Frisk dragged a blanket out of his bedroom and tucked him in. He didn’t budge, and she went back to the table.

“What’s that face for?” Asriel asked.

“What face?” she said.

“You look… I dunno, worried.” He glanced over her shoulder and rolled his eyes. “You ever not worried about him?”

“Yeah, sometimes!” she said with a quiet laugh.

“He can handle himself,” he said.

“I know, but he likes kinda being fussed over. He’d never say that, though,” she said.

“So what really happened out there?” he asked.

“You read the book,” Frisk said.

“If it was just a little scuff, I don’t think you’d be watching him like a hawk. Like you totally are, don’t even try to lie,” he said. “What? Didn’t want Sergeant Spaghetti to know?”

Frisk couldn’t help a snicker, though her cheeks flushed and she rubbed the back of her head. “Kinda?”

“So?” he pushed.

“Sans, um…” She lowered her voice. “He basically died?”

“…Oh.” Asriel frowned. “But… you didn’t reset.”

“No, I… I didn’t have to,” she said. “That’s where the backwards thing came in.”

“Huh. How’d that work?”

“I dunno, I thought it was kinda connected to the weirdo save thingy, but Sans said it was me. But… I have no idea how to do that. I… I mean, other that the time stuff, I don’t really have any powers,” she said.

“What about that shield thing?” Asriel said. “You used it in our fight.”

“Yeah. But, I think that was borrowed. I mean, it was attached to the determination that I mostly lost, I think,” she said. “I haven’t been able to do it again since I woke up after passing out or whatever.”

“But it said in the notes that the shadowman thingy, whatever that is, gave you more determination and said it was yours to begin with, right?” he pressed. “And suddenly you can do even more weird bullshit. Bullcrap. H-Hooey.”

Frisk laughed quietly. She could do little more than shrug, however, and she turned back to look at Sans. With a sigh, she got up again and jumped onto the sofa beside him, grabbing his shoulders and getting in close to his face.

“Big bro, wake up a sec?” she asked.

“Hm?” He opened one eye. “Sup?”

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeeeeah?” He smiled sideways. “Why? I start rattlin’ or something?”

“No.” A hint of nerves crossed her face. “Um. I-If you fall, I’d know it, right?”

“I’m not gonna fall,” he said with a laugh.

“So you feel fine, then?” she asked.

“Yup.”

“But you’re sure you won’t—”

“It doesn’t come outta nowhere,” he assured her. “I’d tell you. Don’t worry so much, kid. S’alright. Besides. If that stuff I saw before you got here didn’t get me, don’t think I’m so prone to it, y’know?” He folded his arms behind his head and closed his eyes again. 

Frisk pouted, but she gave him a hug nonetheless. He snickered.

They jumped when the door burst open. Frisk recoiled, only to find Papyrus beckoning Alphys, bundled up in his sweatshirt, inside. Her face lit up and she ran to give the little lizard a hug. 

“Oh! H-Hi!” Alphys embraced her and smiled. “H-How are you guys?”

“Weird morning,” Sans said. 

“I’ll tell you all about it! What’s up?” Frisk said.

“Well, I h-have some, uh… S-Some good news, and some… uh…” She looked around the room and shuffled her feet to get a bit of space between herself and one of the floor mugs. “S-Sorry, did, um…? D-Did Undyne not get here yet?”

“No, I have definitely not seen her, and I’ve been patrolling the whole town for a while, now,” Papyrus said. “Why?”

“Oh… Sh-She said she was j-just going home for a… Um… Hmm.”

“Not to worry,” Papyrus announced. “The Great Papyrus is on the case!! I’ll go to her house and check on her!”

“Th-Thanks,” Alphys said.

Papyrus grinned, stuck his thumbs up, and then rushed out the door again with a bounce in his step.

Concern furrowed Alphys’s brow for a moment, but it faded quickly, as if replaced by a sudden realization. “Oh! A-Asriel!” she said brightly. “First, I h-have something for you!”

“For me?” he repeated.

She pulled out her phone and swiped her finger across the screen as she walked to his table. A metal, wheeled frame and a little, wiry, three-pronged gripper arm, materialized on the table. Frisk scampered up to look, and Asriel leaned over it with confusion. 

“It’s f-for you,” Alphys said with a smile, and she held out her hand. “M-May I?”

“Uh. Wait. What?” Asriel blinked blankly. “What is this junk?”

“Az, dude, it’s totally a robot arm and stuff.” Frisk’s eyes were all but sparkling when she looked at Alphys. “Right?”

Alphys nodded. She picked up Asriel’s mug and tapped on it gently.

“Can I set it up f-for you?” she asked. “It’s, uh, s-soul powered. It sh-should, um… it should help.”

“So we can clean up the floor?” he asked. “Huh.” He beckoned to Frisk and she offered him her hand. He snaked his way out of the mug and around her fingers.

The kids watched closely as Alphys went to work, fastening the little, wheeled frame sturdily to the bottom of the mug. 

“I kinda can’t believe you spent time on this,” Asriel said.

“W-Well… It’s just… Um. I just remembered, a l-long time ago, I h-had this lab accident where I g-got a big magic burn on my leg,” she explained as she worked. “Th-Thing is, with those, it can st-still hurt a lot for a few days, even after it’s healed, so it, um… It was h-hard to walk? S-Someone made me a wheel chair and it r-really meant a lot to me, so, uh…” She shrugged. 

Asriel couldn’t help the surprise on his face, and Frisk grinned.

“Alphys, that’s super nice!” she said.

“I j-just hope it works,” she said. “Okay. Um…” 

She offered the mug again and almost reluctantly, Asriel left Frisk’s grasp and planted himself back into the dirt. Alphys placed him down and then, much to his surprise, clamped a little ring around the base of his stem that attached to that arm. She pressed a small button on its side and it lit up with red.

“T-Try, um… Try t-to move it?” she said.

Asriel shrugged with the arm. Frisk immediately started to grin and Alphys clasped her hands together tightly.

“Uh. Move it, how do I—?” He stalled mid-sentence and looked at the thing with shock on his face. “Dude, holy crap!!!”

“Oh, phew, I’m s-so glad,” Alphys said quickly.

“Wh…? Oh. My god, I can…” He reached for Frisk and she came closer. “I-I mean, it can’t feel, but I can…” He grabbed the table and pulled himself around in a speedy circle. 

Frisk laughed. “Look at you!” she said brightly, and then turned to Alphys with a smile. “Thank you so much! That’s going to really help him!”

Alphys grinned, her cheeks flushing, and she gently stopped Asriel’s spinning and lifted him up.

“See here?” She pointed at a little metal bar at the bottom of the frame, and he leaned over to look. “Just, um… J-Just flick that down, it’s like a b-brake, y’know? S-So you won’t sl-slide around when you don’t, uh, m-mean to.”

“Wow, you put a lot of thought into this, huh?” Asriel said. “Weird. Didn’t have to.”

“I know, b-but—”

“Thanks,” he said.

Alphys’s eyes went wide, but she started to beam. She scooped the little flower up and gently kissed his forehead. He squeaked, but despite the flushing in his cheeks, his smile was genuine. He took a look at the gripping claw and snickered.

“It’s weird, but it works,” he said. “Frisk, what d’ya think?”

“Mecha-flower, I dig it,” she said, sticking her thumb up.

He laughed. Alphys grinned.

“I’m gl-glad I could make y-you smile,” she said. “I h-have, uh… I h-have some n-news, too. F-For you, Frisk.”

“Me? Oh! Is it about the soul stuff?” Frisk’s face lit up with hope. “Are we almost ready to finish this?!”

“A-Almost,” Alphys said, smiling despite the sweat starting to bead on her brow. “Um. C-Come here?”

She took Frisk gently by the hand and lead her to the couch. She gestured for the kid to sit, and though she was a little puzzled, Frisk hopped up on the sofa beside her brother. Alphys took both her hands. Her scales were warm and a little clammy.

“A-Are you okay t-to, um…? I mean…” Alphys looked at Sans and smiled a bit nervously. “I guess I should a-ask just to not b-be rude, but, um, a-are you okay with these two h-hearing your news?”

“Of course! What’s up?” Frisk asked.

Alphys smiled and her scales flushed. “F-Frisk, I was wrong about y-you,” she said. “I… I thought… I thought: y-you’re a human, it’s impossible. B-But maybe w-we were just looking in the wrong pl-place. But, uhhh… W-Well. Th-The thing is, uh— a-and this was r-really exciting for me, um, b-because it’s so new, but, um—”

“Any day now,” Sans joked.

“Shh,” Alphys hissed in jest. “Um. Frisk. Y-You, um… I think you might, um, h-have a hum?”

Frisk’s eyes went wide. She looked disbelievingly at Alphys, mouth agape for a few second. Her fingers squeezed tight to the lizard’s hands. 

“Wh-What?” she squeaked. “Really? I have one?”

Alphys nodded. “It’s just, um, kind of h-hidden?” she said; she was starting to look more and more excited. “Or, um… W-Well, it’s hard to get a pin on. But it’s there. It’s a-actually really fascinating! B-Because I, um… W-We thought humans d-didn’t have them at all. B-But, it 

could be, we’ve j-just been separate from you g-guys for s-so long that we’ve j-just never, um, come into c-c-contact with it within r-recent memory.”

“Could also be she’s tunin’ it,” Sans suggested.

“Yes! Y-Yes, that too!” she agreed. “C-Considering where I found it, I wouldn’t r-rule that out.”

Frisk looked at Sans excitedly. “S-So he wasn’t crazy, then,” she said quickly.

“Guess not,” he said.

“But what does that change?” she insisted. “I mean… If we found it, kinda? Like he said?”

“Not actually sure yet,” Sans said. “Could be nothing. Could be just, uh, a sign that shows you’re in the right direction? Sorry, kiddo, dude’s vague as hell.”

“Who?” Alphys asked, cocking her head.

“That mysterious guy no one remembers,” Asriel said. “He told Frisk to find her song.”

“What? Really? B-But how c-could he have known?” Alphys squeaked.

“Seems like the guy might know a lot,” Sans said. “I mean. Who knows? Could be watchin’ all the time. We’d never notice.”

“Creepy,” Asriel said, turning to Frisk with a frown. “Can’t you just tell him to leave you alone?”

“But if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have had that extra determination,” Frisk said, “and then we wouldn’t have you.”

“Pfft, your plan still works without having me here,” Asriel said.

“But I like this way better!” Frisk insisted.

Asriel scoffed, but Alphys laughed quietly and picked him up.

“Oh, A-Asriel, c-come on now, I know th-this has to b-be better than before, right?” she said. “L-Let me be super s-s-selfish for a second, b-but knowing you’re okay, after what I did to you, i-it really takes a load off my mind.”

Asriel tilted his head. “After what you…? Oh. But…” He frowned a little; his eyes cast to Frisk and Sans and his expression softened. “You know what? Nah. Don’t get hung up on it. I think, sometimes, that I might actually be okay with still being around. So… I dunno.”

Frisk grinned and clapped for him. He looked at her sheepishly, cheeks flushing, and raised a leaf dismissively and waved it, his wiry robot arm doing the same. The kid giggled. She turned her attention on Alphys, her smile becoming a bit bashful.

“Um, Alphys?” she said.

“Y-Yes, Frisk?” the lizard answered.

“What does it sound like? she asked.

“Oh! O-Oh! Um. I, uh… I’m not sure yet,” she admitted. “It was just one f-frame of, um, w-waveform, if that makes sense? You’ll just h-have to… uhh… Hmm.”

“What?” Frisk asked worriedly.

“Oh! N-No, it’s okay,” Alphys said hurriedly. “It’s just, I d-don’t know how to explain h-how to make it audible t-to you. F-For us, it’s just…”

“Natural. Right,” Frisk said. Her eyes cast downwards and she sighed. 

Alphys bit her lip and reached out to her, but Frisk was quickly smiling again. 

“Thanks, Alphys, that’s really exciting for me,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll figure it out sometime.”

Alphys smiled and nodded. She dug into her shoulder bag and pulled out a folded paper to give to the kid. On it was the waveform. It looked almost like a distant landscape, covered in fir trees and valleys. Frisk tilted her head. Though it was incomprehensibly to her, she felt a little shock of relief and happiness. To see something tangible was exciting; reassuring. She looked back at her brother questioningly. He held out his hand and she passed the sheet over. 

“I, um, don’t know how to read it,” she said.

“Needs a computer,” Sans assured her. “Wonder why I haven’t heard it.”

“I th-think, m-maybe it might not a-always be, um, “on”, I guess?” Alphys suggested. “B-But I can’t be sure. Th-This is new territory for me.”

“Right, right,” Frisk said quietly.

“It’s a good thing,” Sans told her.

“O-Oh! And there’s, uh… one more thing. Th-This, um, actually might be the m-most important part? Or… a-at least to me, um, it was, but…” She smiled and her attention turned to Sans. “Y-You said you were p-pretty sure she was the r-red line, right? In our old model?”

“Yeeeeah?” he said.

Alphys’s eyes all but glittered. She smiled and put a hand on Frisk’s shoulder gently. 

“You w-were right,” she said. “When I, um, d-did a search to find where the waveform came f-from, I found it in her s-soul readings, and in the old Dark Model. In th-that red line w-we were so sure was something. So…”

“Wait, what?” Frisk squeaked. “Y-You guys had my hum before I was even born?!”

“Somethin’ like that,” Sans said, and he shot Frisk a grin.“Told you, you nerd. You’re supposed to be here. Knew it. Thanks, Alph.”

The kid was a bit taken aback, but she latched onto her brother. He snickered and ruffled her hair. Alphys grinned sheepishly and looked around the room. She still seemed a bit distracted by all those mugs of dirt. 

“S-So, um, what was your news?” she asked.

The kid cut her eyes at Sans. He shrugged; she pouted.

“I don’t know where to start,” she whined.

Sans raised a hand. “I died,” he said.

Alphys’s jaw dropped and Frisk squeaked and waved her hands at him.

“Not like that!” she said.

He laughed. She elbowed him in the ribs and he scoffed and gently nudged her in return.

“Wh-What are y-you guys talking about!?” Alphys demanded.

“Okay, so, um, so I went with with Az and Kid to look for something that the shadowman guy told Sans about in a spooky message,” Frisk explained quickly. “So, we found something that looked like a tear in time or something and it was like it had someone’s memories in it, and it gave me a weird white energy thing. And then today, Sans and me went back there and I think I met the shadowman inside it and he, like, traded the white energy for some red stuff, but then something weird happened and Sans got zapped and he started to turn to dust, but before he could or I could reset he got fixed and was fine. I think?” She looked at her brother for support 

He smiled tiredly and turned his gaze on the increasingly pale Alphys.

“A-A-Are you okay?!” she demanded loudly.

“Totally. The kid grabbed me. Kinda glowed a bit,” he said. “It’s like it never even happened.”

Alphys stared at him blankly for a few seconds. He met her gaze and held it. Her shoulders shook and she put a hand to her brow. She took a deep breath, in and out, to steady herself and put her hands up in front of her as if to somehow slow herself.

“Alright. Alright,” she said. “O-Okay.”

“That was fast,” Asriel commented.

“Well!” Alphys smiled despite the sweaty look of her scales and she took Frisk by the shoulder. “Th-That must’ve been scary to s-see, I bet! Thank goodness for whatever happened!”

“Mhm.” Sans shot Frisk a grin. “Don’t cry, huh?”

“I-I’m not!” she protested, folding her arms to her chest. “It was a bit scary, though.”

“What part went first?” Asriel asked. “Hands? Oh. Ooh. Eyes. That’d be ironic for you, Mister Sees-Everything.”

“Asriel!” Alphys yelped.

“Eye-ronic,” Sans said with a grin.

“UGH, I didn’t mean it like that!!!” Asriel protested. “I take it back, shut up!!”

“Too late,” Sans said.

“Fffffrick,” the flower grumbled.

\- - -

Waterfall always had a cool, calm air about it. The trickling of the water, the distant rumbling of its namesake; the gentle drips of drops plunking to the stone from stalactites. Papyrus wasn’t sure why he hadn’t ever spent more time there before training with Undyne.

It made him think of his sister: of all the places she’d seen and been, and she was only a little kid. Humans, maybe, liked to move a lot more than monsters did. Put a monster in a place and they get as comfortable as they can; maybe a human in a similar situation was more likely to wonder what more was out there. Maybe that came from seeing those stars. Even trapped as they were, all the monsters he’d ever met just really wanted _out._ Few had answers for where else they would go.

He’d love to see the sky, and the stars, and the ocean, and the forests. But, it struck him that there was a lot he hadn’t seen here, either. He’d never hated the mountain. It was his home. Maybe a little exploration before they moved out, but everything was settled, would be nice. He was sure he could get Frisk to come with him. He could leave her with the duty of convincing Sans. She was very good at that. The thought of it made him smile. A family road trip! He’d read about them in a human book. There was often much hijinks to be had. He would be sure to make it the wholesome, fun, family-bonding kind.

The alcove where Undyne’s house sat was quiet, and uncommonly dark today. There was a little flicker of something at the broken door, though. Papyrus tilted his head and came a little closer.

“Oh…” Before him, a ghost faded up into the visible, staring at him with big, glistening eyes. “It’s just you…”

“Yes! It is I, the great Papyrus!” he said brightly. “Napstablook, am I right? Are you looking for Undyne?”

Napstablook nodded slowly. An envelope with Undyne’s name on it in flowery writing with a smily face on it materialized before him. “This, um… I think it blew? Down the road a little… Ohh… I don’t know…”

“Blew?” Papyrus looked around and stuck a finger in the air. “There’s no wind.”

“Oh… You d-don’t think I stole it, do you? Um…”

“What?! No, of course not,” he said. “Here, I’ll bring it to her.”

The ghost looked like he could melt from relief. He let Papyrus take it from him and nodded gratefully before fading away completely. 

Papyrus stashed the envelope in his pocket and then knocked on Undyne’s busted door. There was no answer. He frowned and took out his phone to call her. He could hear the faint sound of her ringtone inside the house.

“Hello? Captain?” Papyrus called.

There was no verbal response, but he heard a sort of soft growling sound from inside when he put his head a bit closer to the door. Her ringtone played out and still, no one answered. He moved the makeshift door and tiptoed inside. 

The lights were out in the main room, the corners going pitch black. The only brightness came from what seemed like a small, blue source inside Undyne’s bedroom. 

Papyrus curiously poked his head inside. Undyne’s room was a bit messy, but only seemingly for lack of storage space. Her sofa was propped upright against a wall and there were piles of clothes and an old, tatty guitar case near it. A small end-table held a conical, glowing lamp filled with globs that floated up and down in a glow that, though blue now, was slowly shifting to purple. The colours speckled onto a yellow warning sign with a shark on it that was nailed to the wall. The Captain herself was on her bed, a bit disheveled and on top of her blankets as if she had been doing something else and had simply drifted off and toppled over. It was a familiar sight to the skeleton. 

He knelt in front of the bed and gently shook her by the shoulder. “Captain?” he asked. “Sorry, Captain Undyne?”

She grabbed his hand quickly, clenching tight with a vice-like grip, and her eye opened slowly. “Wha…? Oh. Hey, Paps. Sorry, was I…? Huh.” She sat up, squinting and brushing her hair from her face. “Oh. Dang. Must’ve fallen asleep. Sorry.”

“Are you alright?” he asked.

She nodded. Papyrus tilted his head and his brow furrowed. Undyne grinned sideways.

“What?” she asked.

“You don’t look alright, you look exhausted,” he said. “What happened?”

“Hm? Oh. Nothin’ really. Guess that burst-heal took a bit more out of me than I thought.” She stretched one arm with her hand on her elbow and then cracked her knuckles. “Don’t worry about me.”

Papyrus stared at her silently for a few seconds. She looked baffled, but then her eye widened. She laughed and rubbed her brow.

“I was supposed to be at your place, huh? Sorry, dude,” she said. “Should we go? Ah, I hope Alph isn’t pissed.”

She wiggled and got a foot out from under herself and onto the floor, but before she could stand, Papyrus grabbed her and hugged her close, all but pinning her arms to her side.

“Uh…” She grinned sideways. “What’s up, Paps?”

“I didn’t realize it would tire you out so much!” he said. “Thank you for the risk you took, you really, really helped.”

“Oh, it’s no big deal,” she assured him, finagling an arm out of his grasp enough to pat his shoulder. “Kinda my job, y’know? I don’t mind. I think Sans’d prefer it to a reset anyhow, right?”

“Trruuuuue, but…” His grip loosened and he sat back on her bed, looking thoughtful. “I just… Never mind. I think you’re great! Maybe someday you can teach me to do that?! It looks useful.”

“Oh, you won’t need it,” Undyne said, waving a hand dismissively.

“I won’t?” he asked.

“Nah. I’ve been watching you pretty close since we started training, y’know? You get faster and faster almost every time,” she said. “Pretty sure in a few years your stuff will be almost as fast naturally. I mean, if you can avoid a burst, probably a good idea.”

“Really? Why?” he asked.

Undyne shrugged and held up her hands. Cyan magic crackled through the air between them, barely able to take the form of a small spear before it fizzled out in a hiss of sparks.

Papyrus put a hand to his mouth and gasped. Undyne laughed.

“No biggie,” she said. “Just gotta, like, retune my energy, no worries.”

“Can I help?!” he demanded.

Undyne grinned and gently patted his head. She got up and stretched her shoulders. “Ah, you’re a good kid, Paps. Naw. Don’t worry.”

His cheeks flushed and he quickly joined her. He pulled the envelope out of his pocket and offered it to her. She took it and turned it over in her hands.

“Where’d you get this?” she asked.

“Your neighbour! He said it blew down the road,” he said.

“Oh.” She chuckled and rubbed her head. “Right, right…”

She pulled a note on simple, lined stationary, out and brushed her hand across her eye before skimming it. Papyrus had to do his best to not stand on his toes and try to peek over her shoulder. She started to smile to herself.

“Ah, what a dork,” she said fondly.

“Who’s it from?” Papyrus asked.

“Hm? Oh. Asgore.” She folded it into a small square and slipped it into the pocket on her pants. “Gotta visit him sometime.”

“Do you visit the King a lot?” Papyrus asked curiously. “Oh! You must, I guess. You are the Guard Captain of the whole underground, after all. I mean. Not that I need to remind you.”

Undyne laughed. “Yeah, but he’s also sorta like a dad to me, y’know? I’ll check in again. Uh. Soon.” Her face twisted as she held back a yawn and she rubbed the back of her head. “Alright, going?”

Papyrus nodded and grinned. He grabbed her hand. “Alright! Let’s get going!” he said. “Don’t you worry, I’ll get you there safe and sound.”

“Uh. Paps. I’m okay,” she said.

“Oh please, I’d know that tired expression anywhere!” he scoffed, leading her onwards without much resistance. “You might trip and fall! Or hit the cave wall, or fall in the water, or slip down a hill or into a crevice! All very plausible scenarios on a normal day, exacerbated by exhaustion, obviously! No, no, don’t you worry, Captain, hold tight to me and we’ll get there just fine.”

Undyne stared at him blankly. Didn’t have the energy to disagree; didn’t much care to, anyway. “Alright, alright,” she said with a laugh. “I get it.”

\- - -

There suddenly seemed to be ample floorspace in the skeleton household as Frisk scampered around, gathering up the dirt mugs one child-sized armful at a time. Asriel, with his new wheels, kept close at her heels like an eager puppy. She was careful and quick, trying not to spill a single glob of dirt as she went to dump it in a small pile outside.

Somehow, even though it was just cleaning, the kids seemed to be having a good time. Sans watched from up against the arm of the couch, slumped in his blanket with a glass of tea. Beside him, Alphys sipped from a small bowl, and cast a curious look at him.

“You sure w-we shouldn’t help?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Don’t wanna boot the little guy by accident,” he said.

“Oh shut up, you’d laugh,” Asriel called as he zoomed by.

“Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t feel kinda bad,” Sans said with a grin.

The flower stuck his tongue out at him on his way. Alphys smiled.

“I’m, um, g-glad you two are s-sort of getting along,” she said quietly.

Sans shrugged, but he smiled a little. “Yeah, go figure,” he said. 

As she raced back inside again, Frisk grabbed her hoodie and whipped it on. She scooped Asriel up— with a yelp on his end— and barrelled out the door. “Going for a save!” she called.

The door closed quickly and everything was quiet. Sans snickered.

“Sh-She seems a lot b-better,” Alphys said.

“Sure does,” Sans agreed. 

“I’m s-so glad. I was g-getting really worried about h-her. Like… How she s-seemed to have less energy— I m-mean, compared to before— since she woke up,” she said. “I mean… y-you saw her more, of course. Wh-What do you think?”

“Totally agree,” he said. “Hey. So, wanted to ask you somethin’.”

“Mhm?” she asked.

“It’s just, what she did to me… I’m not sure it sunk in yet,” he said. “Not totally sure that she buys that it was her who did it. She seemed to think it was the light we saw. At least, in part.”

“S-So… So you want to test it?” she asked.

“Not sure how without someone actively hurtin’ themselves,” he said. “I mean, I’d do it, but you know me.”

He jerked his thumb across his neck. Alphys tilted her head. She twisted her mouth as she thought.

“W-Well, I w-wouldn’t mind,” she admitted. “I mean. F-For science. J-Just a little, um, cut or something, right?”

“If you’d be willing to try,” he said.

She nodded. “Th-That’s fine, I’ll just prick m-my, um, pinkie or something.”

She finished her tea and took her bowl into the kitchen. “Was the s-sink always like this?” she asked. “Ugh, I c-can’t—!”

“S’okay, just chuck it wherever,” Sans said.

He heard a gentle clunk and the sound of the cutlery drawer being pulled out; the sharp clattering of the utensils against each other. Alphys began to laugh.

“Wh-Why is there p-pasta in here?” she asked.

“Ask Paps,” Sans said.

“So much pasta…” Alphys said quietly. “Hey, c-can I ask? Why spaghetti?”

“It’s a mystery,” he replied.

“Ramen is a little like spaghetti,” she said quietly.

“Personally, I think he’d go for ravioli if he really gave it a shot,” Sans said. “But he’d probably stuff it with spaghetti.”

“Oh, c-come on, no he w-wouldn’t,” Alphys said with a laugh.

“Don’t underestimate him,” Sans said.

A burst of cold air announced Frisk and Asriel’s return. She put the little flower on the floor, ditched her winter gear, and made a beeline for her brother. She jumped him and grabbed his shoulders.

“You still okay?” she demanded.

“Just fine, pal,” he assured her.

“Kay.” She kissed his cheek and hopped to her feet. “You better tell me if you’re not!”

He stuck his thumb up.

“You don’t need to baby him, he’s like three times older than you,” Asriel said, rolling his eyes.

“I’m not babying him,” Frisk protested. “He’s my brother and a bad thing happened today and I’m worried sometimes!”

“Yeah but he’s fine though,” Asriel said.

“Maybe I’m not fine, then,” Frisk said, pouting and folding her arms. 

“Get over it,” the flower said. “You can just defy actual time and fix whatever you want. You already did it.”

“Aw, A-Asriel go easy o-on her,” Alphys said.

“What are you doing in there, anyway?” he asked.

“Oh, uhhh… Um. N-Nothing, I—!” There was a loud mass of metal clanging for a second as Asriel poked his head into the kitchen. “Oh, um! Oooh no! Um. Frrrrissk?”

“Yeah?” she asked, perking up.

“Do, um…? D-Do you think you could h-help me out, maybe? F-For just a second, um…?” She cautiously edged out of the kitchen, hiding one hand inside the other as Asriel backed out of her way. “Uhhhh. Um. C-Come here?”

Frisk scampered over quickly. 

Like it was a clandestine meeting, Alphys shepherded her into the kitchen and showed her her finger. It took Frisk a moment to realize what she was looking at. The sharp line oozing with a dark gold colour took her aback.

“Oh! Gosh, are you alright?” she asked, gently grabbing the lizard’s hand.

“Y-Yeah, um, my, uuuh, f-finger just slipped, when I was… umm… It st-stings a lot, a-and… Um… A-Anyway,” she said, “I w-was, um… I w-w-was wondering if—?”

She squeaked and the kid jumped as the front door opened loudly again. Papyrus burst in with a poof of snow, and Undyne followed, brushing her hair from her eyes. Frisk’s face lit up.

“Oh! Paps! Perfect!” She scampered over and grabbed his hand. “Can you help? Alphys accidentally sliced herself!”

“OH! Yes, of course!” he said.

He barrelled into the kitchen and, though Alphys began to babble something rather incoherent, he quickly set to work healing her. Sans watched with a tired grin on his face; couldn’t help but find it funny despite the little sting of disappointment. 

Frisk hurried over to Undyne and hugged her around the legs. She chuckled and bent down to scoop the kid into her arms.

“Heeey, dweeb. Feelin’ good?” she said. “You look better.”

“Y-Yeah? Thanks!” Frisk said brightly. “You look kinda tired, though, you okay?”

Undyne nodded. She straightened up and walked them to the couch and plopped lazily down beside Sans. He grinned.

“Hey, Cap,” he said. “Down for the count?”

“Eh.” She shrugged. “Ain’t too bad.”

“Heh. Sorry,” he said.

“Shut it,” she joked. She put her chin on Frisk’s head and cast a questioning look down at her. “Hey. Sorry to ask. Dunno if you can force this kinda thing, but I was wonderin’ if I could, like, maybe get a hit of the red stuff?”

“Oh! Yeah, of course!” Frisk snuggled close and glowed bright for her, her energy sticking warm and close. “Never have to force it for you, y’know.”

Undyne laughed quietly. She let out a comfortable sigh. “Thanks, kid, you’re sweet,” she said. “Hey, where’s that other kid?”

“Hey, scaleface,” Asriel said. He waved from under the table. 

Undyne made a _pffft_ sound, unable to help a grin. “Hey, stinkweed,” she said.

He frowned and he pouted. “Hagfish,” he said.

“Corpse bloom,” she said.

“Lamprey!” he said.

“Weeeeeed.”

Asriel scoffed, but he couldn’t help but snicker. Undyne grinned wider. She tilted her head as if to invite him closer. A bit cautiously, he scooted up to her. Before Undyne could say another word, though, Papyrus strode out of the kitchen and scooped the flower up as, behind him, Alphys awkwardly followed and shot Sans an apologetic look.

“Look at you, Asriel!!” he said brightly. “Wow! Doctor Alphys did a great job, right?! And I bet it feels nice to get to stay in your home mug now! I know the climbing and shuffling wasn’t too easy. So! We’ll just keep the ones on the stairs, then? Just in case?”

“Uh. Yeah? I guess so,” he said. “I might be able to pull myself up now, though.”

“Phew! It’ll be nice to drink hot beverages out of mugs instead of bowls and other less than ideal drinking implements again, right?” Papyrus insisted.

“Eh,” Sans said with a shrug.

“It’ll be easier on my fingers,” Frisk volunteered. “Ooh, hey, Alphys, is your finger okay now?”

“Oh, um. Yes! Y-Yes. It’s, um, it’s fine,” Alphys stammered, smiling sheepishly. “Um, b-but—”

“Ooh!” Frisk’s eyes lit up and she looked between the Doctor and her sleepy brother quickly, sitting up off Undyne a little. “Can I tell Papyrus my thing?”

“Don’t need to ask,” Sans said with a laugh.

“What thing?” Papyrus said.

“Alphys said I have a mystery hum!” she said.

Papyrus grinned brightly and he bent to hold her by the shoulder.m“Oh! Little sister, that’s so exciting!!” he said. “What’s it sound like?!”

“W-We, um, we d-dunno yet,” Alphys admitted. “B-But I saw a little of it. In my, uh, r-recordings when w-we were doing the memory magic? S-So… It’s d-definitely, um, there. Somewhere.”

Papyrus grinned and bumped his brow against Frisk’s affectionately. She snickered.

“I can’t wait to hear it!” he said brightly. “Then I’ll have heard everyone here’s! Ooh! Except Asriel’s! Asriel!” He lifted him up and smiled at him. 

Asriel looked confused. “What?”

“Could I hear yours? Would you let me?” he asked.

“No,” he said, but he quickly raised his leaves as the skeleton's face fell. “N-Not because I don’t, uh… I mean. I can’t.”

“You can’t?” Papyrus asked worriedly.

“I still don’t have a soul. This thing in me, it’s… It helps, but it’s not mine,” Asriel said, casting a quick glance at Frisk. “Whatever my hum is now, it’s not what it was. It’s different and… Well, whatever.”

“Have you tried?” Frisk asked worriedly.

He shook his head quickly. “To be honest, the sound of it now kinda makes me sick,” he muttered.

Though Frisk frowned with sympathy, the rest of the monsters in the room seemed genuinely taken aback. Even Sans had a slight furrow in his brow. Asriel cast his gaze downwards and shrugged. Papyrus pulled him closer and gently held his stem with a glow of reassuring magic sparkling from his fingertips. Alphys scampered up, letting out a quiet coo, and she cupped his face gently.

“Hey,” she said, gently stealing him away when Papyrus released him, “n-no matter what happens… W-We’re going to make this work for you. O-Okay. Even… Even if it m-means we h-have to…! T-To write you a new hum somehow!”

“Pffft, that’s dumb, that wouldn’t work,” Asriel said with a laugh. “That doesn’t even make any sense.”

“N-Nothing makes s-sense anymore!” Alphys said. “Who knows! I dunno, I j-just want you t-to—!”

She cut herself off with a loud squeak, pulling the flower close as, unexpectedly, the front door was flung back for a third time. Under his sparkling blue gown-turned-cloak, in swept Mettaton with a big grin on his face. Frisk had already recoiled into Undyne’s arms at the sound and wasn’t particularly keen on letting go, but she managed a smile and waved sheepishly.

“Arrivederci, mon vieux amici!!” he announced brightly, spinning and gently kicking the door closed. “I. Mettaton. Have arrived.”

“M-M-Mettaton!!!” Alphys squealed. “Jeez!!! Wh-What are you th-thinking?!”

“Excuse moi, Alphys, I thought I was invited?” he said.

“Just stop kicking the door open so loud, huh? You’re giving the kid the shakes!” Undyne said.

“Y-You didn’t attract t-too much attention, I hope,” she said. “You st-still sound like yourself.”

“Don’t you have a voice changing module in there?” Sans asked.

“Pfft, as if I’d use that in my day to day!” Mettaton said, rolling his eyes. “Don’t woooorry, Alphys, darling, I drew no more attention than what would be the average for someone as gorgeous as me.”

He tossed his gown away haphazardly and stood, poised as if he expected spotlights to dawn upon him. Asriel fake-gagged and sunk down in his mug.

“What’s going on?” Frisk whispered to Sans worriedly.

He shrugged and Undyne snickered, unable to come up with much of an answer either.

“I’ll get straight to the point,” Mettaton said, grabbing Alphys and Papyrus and ushering them all to the couch. “I! Have been doing a lot of thought. A lot of “soul-searching”, hah hah, about what to do about our wee little, uh… Plant. Friend. Over there.” He wiggled his fingers at him dismissively and Asriel frowned.

“I have a name,” he said.

“And I’m sure it’s very memorable. Anyway. We are all wanting to make him a soul, yes? And we will need many teeny tiny pieces of soul, yes? And we will need to inspire what our dear Alphys called _solidarity_, yes?” He looked around the room with a grin. “I propose a show. An event! Live and broadcast through the whole underground! In just a few days, we can be ready and—”

“Is that what the posters are for?” Frisk asked curiously.

“Ah! Yes! Right you are, sweetheart, I’ve already put out some little teasers just to get the word out,” Mettaton said. “Because we need everyone to see this. I mean, I have some little sneaky failsafes as well, but I need to get my audience excited.”

“But, um, Mister Mettaton, what exactly are they supposed to get excited about?” Papyrus asked.

“Ah, that’s the thing, isn’t it, darling?” he said. “We need something that can get people motivated! Inspired! Ready to do the impossible!”

“And, uh… I hope you had something in mind,” Undyne said.

“We’ll present it like this.” Mettaton posed dramatically. “A play! A televised play to tell a story! A dramatic story to drum up all the solidarity we can muster. We can broadcast it live to the whole underground, and since that, too, is magic, little Frisky can send just a pinch of her specific brand of memory magic out to get in everyone’s head! That way, memories will start to hold a little once the big old soul grab happens rather than all that forgetting nonsense you mentioned, Frisk, and, voila!”

Frisk was thoroughly surprised. She had never expected him to think that much about any of this, let alone come up with a plan like this on his own or remember some of the passing details. It got her heart speeding.

“You think that’d work?” Frisk asked, eyes wide.

“Yes!!!” He scooped her up from Undyne and grinned. “Darling, let me tell you something! I am the only star these monsters have. I am the one light in all this nonsense. Because of that, I have them wrapped around my finger. If saving your friend saves them, I will do just about anything to get them to see it.”

“So the play’s the thing?” Papyrus asked curiously.

“That’s right, Hamlet,” Mettaton said, winking; confusing Papyrus tremendously. “I will write it. And take a leading role, of course. We’ll have to see where this goes. Ooh, I’m excited, are you guys?!”

“Needs more deets, dude,” Undyne said. “What’s the plot?”

“The plot?” Mettaton repeated.

“Yeah. Plot. Of the play. What are you telling people?” she said. “The great story to get the solidarity goin’? Duh?”

“Oh! Easy! The true-but-with-slight-creative-liberties-taken tale of our little flower friend!” Mettaton said. “I will just need all the nitty gritty of what happened?”

“WHAT?!” Asriel yelped. “What, you’re just gonna put me on blast in front of the whole damn mountain?!”

“No no no, you tiny beast,” Mettaton said. “We will make you sympathetic to the point where monsters will be literally begging to help! I mean. Maybe not literally. But you get the picture.”

“Mettaton, are you sure?” Frisk asked worriedly. “It’s, um… not exactly… good? I mean…” She looked at Asriel for help, but he just let out a gruff, grumbling sigh and pouted. 

The robot monster seemed unfazed; grinned at the group and spread his arms in a shrug.

“Shall we just tell the story?” he asked.

“I’m not sure this is so good,” Asriel muttered. “It’s long and complicated and… if they know the truth, they’re not gonna want to help me.”

“Of course they will, don’t be silly,” Papyrus said with a laugh.

“Okay, so, we’ll summarize. FRISK. Darling. Come with me,” Mettaton said redundantly to the kid he held in his arms, “tell me the whole story, leave nothing out! The rest of you, busy yourself!” Mettaton whisked her away into the bedroom.

“Uhhh…” Asriel said, looking between the others. “Did any of us actually agree to any of this shit?”

“K-Kind of?” Alphys said. “I’m, uh, st-still not sure if it’s a g-good plan, but, um… W-We… We’ve been th-thinking about something like th-this for a little while.”

“We have?” Papyrus asked. “News to me!”

“Oh! S-Sorry!!” Alphys chewed a claw, her cheeks flushing. “I guess… m-most of that happened while, um… Wh-While Frisk was unconscious, so…” 

She looked towards the others as if to confirm, but Sans’s eyes were closed, as was Undyne’s. They were sort of slumped on each other.

“Um. G-Guys?” she asked.

“Oh for…! SANS! Wake up, this is important!!” Papyrus said.

“I’m up,” Sans said without moving an inch.

“I’m not,” Undyne grumbled.

“A-Are you okay?” Alphys asked gently, scooting closer and touching her shoulder gently.

Undyne opened her eye and grinned. “Fine,” she said. “Whew. Kid really chilled me out. So are we seriously gonna have to put on a dumb play?”

“W-Well, I’m not so s-sure about _we_, b-but…” Alphys mumbled, shrugging slightly.

“I wouldn’t mind,” Papyrus said. “I mean. I’d do well in the spotlight! Don’t you think?”

“Don’t need it bro, you’re already a star,” Sans said.

Alphys cooed, but Papyrus let out a triumphant laugh and jumped to his feet.

“Imagine! The lights! The camera! The crowds! All to see the great Papyrus! I’ve thought about such a thing,” he said. “I could play a role, I bet! I'm sure I could inspire people, couldn’t I?”

“You already inspire me,” Sans said with a wink.

“Ugh, barely, you still hardly even walk anywhere on your own,” Papyrus said as Alphys cooed even louder and kicked her feet. “But what do you think, could there be a role onstage for Papyrus?!”

“I’m s-sure he’ll let you,” Alphys said. “Y-You might even upstage him! Oh, d-don’t tell him I t-told you that.”

Papyrus’s eyes all but shone with stars. He snickered and put a hand to his chest. “Thank you! What do you think, F…? Oh…” He pouted quickly and folded his arms, casting a wistful glance up the stairs. He sighed. “I hope they don’t take too long.”

\- - -

Mettaton and Frisk were in there for about an hour. Sans had fallen asleep, and so had Asriel. Undyne was on the verge of it, too. All of them jumped when Mettaton slammed open the door again, a bunch of papers in his arms. Frisk wandered out after him, looking a little shell-shocked.

“OKAY!” Mettaton announced; he extended his arms and dragged over the table, where he slammed his notes down. “Got it! We have a story! I’ve narrowed it down.”

“Oh. Great,” Sans said tiredly. “Kiddo, you look like you’re gonna pass out.”

She stuck her thumb up. He grabbed her with magic and sat her with him. Papyrus put his arm around her instantly. 

“A-Are you sure this is a good idea?” Alphys asked.

“We’ve been through this, Alphie,” Mettaton said, rolling his eyes. “It is a fantastic idea. Alright. Now. Here’s the story. We will start with the fallen human. The first one, Chara.”

“Oh, great,” Asriel said, pouting. “Drag her up, that’s just fine.”

“Hang on, let me explain,” Mettaton insisted. “We tell the tragic story of Chara and Asriel. A little closer to the truth than what is the whole common knowledge. We’ll have her be schemey, and we’ll add the destruction of the world. That way, when Asriel refused, he will seem much more noble.”

Asriel put his leaves over his eyes and slumped, and Papyrus picked him up to hold him reassuringly.

“Then! We add in Sans, the time travelling scientist,” Mettaton continued.

“Oh good.” Sans looked tired just thinking about it. “That’ll be so exciting.”

“Shush. Shush shush, let me just tell the story, thank you,” Mettaton said. “He meets Asriel and tries to help, but alas, Asriel is too far gone! They become enemies! And then in comes the human. Frisk! Frisk befriends the time travelling scientist, but she also figures out the truth about Asriel! Together, they confront him to try to bring his feelings back! Then, at the end, they discover they need all the monsters to help out. Then we have this lovely audience participation part, everyone will get really into it, etcetera, and Asriel is saved! That way, by the time we do it for realsies, that story will be in everyone’s heads, as will the memory magic, and monsters will be more inclined to help.”

He was received by a room of silent stares. He winked.“As you well know, you’re more likely to root for someone you watch go through a compelling story,” he said. “And we’ll make it clear this will save the world too, of course.”

“Of course…” Undyne repeated with an awkward grin. “Okay. Say this doesn’t sound stupid. You need actors. Rehearsals. Music? A stage. Time we maybe don’t have since you already put up your stupid posters?”

“Rehearsals? Nonsense, we’ll do it live!!” Mettaton said. “As for music, you can play the piano, can’t you?”

“Ah, shit,” Undyne said. “I’m not—”

“Come ooooon, it’ll be fun. You’d do it to save the world, wouldn’t you?” he pressed. “You are the Captain of the Royal Guard, aren’t you?” 

“Okay, okay, fine. I’m just ripping off some junk, though, I’m not a composer,” she said.

“Whatever you like!” he said.

“I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Frisk said a bit shrilly, sticking a hand up to get their attention. “Don’t, um… Don’t most monsters really not like humans? In the story, I mean, my character is, well, me. And I technically win? But don’t a lot of monsters still want the destruction of humanity or whatever? Won’t that make them hate that I—”

“Oh, no no no, Frisky, you’ve got it all wrong,” Mettaton assured her gently. “Yes, many monsters think that way. But you are playing a character, as far as they know! And you’re downright adorable! There’s no way they’ll hate you. We all have a reasonable amount of suspension of disbelief, it’ll be fine.”

“I dunno what that is,” she said sheepishly.

“I think he’s just makin’ stuff up now,” Asriel said.

“No, I am not, you little troublemaker,” Mettaton said. “Ah! It’s what you do whenever you read a story, or watch a show. For example! When you watch a show, for example, your favourite, _Under Ground Hearts_, you know that I cannot literally be in many places at once like I appear to be, n’es pas?”

“I guess so?” Frisk said.

“When you watch a show of any sort, you know the things are fake, and that the people in it are all actors, but you pretend as if it is real and you let yourself ignore some thing that might not really be able to happen. You see?” he said.

“Ooh. Oh. Okay,” she said.

Mettaton grinned wide. “And now you have learned something! Oh, fantastic! Okay, back to the show. Now, of course, Frisk will play Chara and herself.”

“Wait, what?” Frisk barked.

“Are you serious?! She can’t… I mean…” Asriel grimaced and then pouted. “I… I can’t watch that part.”

“Emotions!! Good!” Mettaton said quickly, “and now, Sans, I was hoping you might play yourself and—”

“Nope,” Sans said simply.

“But—!” Mettaton whined.

“Absolutely nope.”

“Ooh!” Papyrus raised his hand. “I’ll play Sans.”

Undyne tried not to laugh. Sans perked up. Mettaton tilted his head.

“Darling, I’m not so sure if—”

“Watch! I can do it!” Papyrus hopped to his feet and held out his hand. “Brother, your sweatshirt!”

Sans tossed him the hoodie from around his shoulders and he put it on. He used his blue magic to pull over a chair, sat down, slouching, putting his hands in his pockets and his feet up on the table. 

“So I heard you guys were, uh, bone tired of my puns,” he said, purposefully lowering his voice and keeping it even and steady, “but that’s too bad, ‘cause I got, uh, a skele-ton of ‘em.” He shrugged.

Sans lost it immediately, absolutely beaming, laughing so hard tears came to his eyes, and the others started laughing, too. Papyrus looked over at him for approval, and Sans stuck both thumbs up.

“Perfect, dude, love it,” he said.

“Yeah?!” Papyrus said eagerly.

“Oh my god, this is so weird, where’d Papyrus go?” Frisk asked. “I only see Sans, and… Sans?!”

“Oh, no, Frisk, I’m right here!” Papyrus said quickly, jumping up to grab her by the shoulders. “It was just acting!”

Frisk grinned, giggled, and kissed his forehead, and he hugged her right away.

“Okay, okay, Papyrus can play the scientist, I believe that audition is more than enough,” Mettaton said. “And I will play Asriel.”

“Uhhh…” Asriel raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Yes! I have the name and face recognition, naturally I should play one of the leads. I figure, box form for normal you, and Alphie, you could help me build a big scary costume for when the bad version appears.”

“Um, this is the bad version,” Asriel said, pointing to himself.

“Yes, but visually it’s all wrong! It’s downright backwards! A cute little flower as the villain!? No one will buy it,” he said.

“Ever heard of juxtaposition?” Sans asked. “Or irony?”

“Juxtapowhat? Never you mind. I’ll work on this, get the costumes ready, etcetera. Frisky, sweetie, practice your magic! Come on, Alphys, let’s get to work!!”

Mettaton scooped up Alphys over his shoulder and rushed out the door. Undyne sighed. She got up and stretched.

“Guess I should follow them,” she said. “See you guys later?”

“You can stay if you want,” Frisk said quickly. “D’you wanna rest a bit more?”

“Do I,” she said with a chuckle. “S’okay. Rain check?”

Frisk stuck her thumbs up. Papyrus gave Undyne a hug and she looked like she could just fall dead asleep in his arms. Instead, she patted the top of his head, let out a sigh and a laugh, and made her way out the door again. 

“Aw,” Frisk grumbled. “I was hoping they could stay a bit longer.”

“Seems like that metal dude’s kinda got a one-track mind right now,” Sans said.

“Yeeeeah. I mean. That’s great, but,” she said, “we haven’t seen them in a bit and I just kinda miss them?”

Asriel slumped. He rubbed his temples. “This is gonna be weird as hell,” he grumbled. “Do you guys honestly think this is going to help?”

“Um. Maybe? I mean, if we can get that, um, solidarity stuff Alphys mentioned started, then, I’ll do whatever I have to,” Frisk said. “D-Don’t worry, you don’t have to watch or anything.”

“Yeah. It’d be weird. Especially ‘cause… Eh. Never mind.”

“What? What is it?” Papyrus asked.

He grabbed Asriel’s mug and brought him over to sit with them, clutching him close. The flower pouted and recoiled, but Papyrus gently tilted his face up to look at him.

“You can tell us anything, you know that, don’t you?” he asked.

Asriel grimaced.“Nah. It’s just… Nah, nothing, forget it,” he said. “I hope you guys are right.”

“We’re definitely right!” Papyrus said. “Please trust us! You do trust us, don’t you?”

Asriel frowned. He looked between the skeletons and the kid with the glimmer of hope in her eyes. He sighed and waved his leaves and metal arm at him.

“Yeah yeah yeah, I guess I kinda do, whatever,” he grumbled. “It’s just…”

“I think I know,” Frisk said. “S… Sorry.”

“Stop, it’s not like you can help it,” he said.

“I could cut my hair short or something,” she muttered.

“Oh my god, no, don’t!” Papyrus yelped. “Wouldn’t that hurt?!”

“No, but—” She squeaked when her brother pulled her closer under his arm. “Paps, it’s okay!”

“Don’t do it anyway, you’re so cute just like you are,” he muttered. “Wait, what’s the problem?”

“Nothing, forget I said anything,” Asriel said. “Put me down.”

Papyrus placed him carefully on the floor and he waved at the door.

“I’m gonna go out for a bit,” he said, and he pointed at Frisk quickly. “Alone. No offence.”

“Oh. Um. Okay.” She slipped out of her spot and opened the door for him, and knelt as he rolled up. “You sure you’re okay?”

He nodded. “Just need a bit of air,” he said, and he smiled tiredly. “Don’t worry. And definitely don’t cut your hair, okay? You guys better let me back in.”

She nodded. He let her give him a quick smooch on the forehead before seeing him out.

Papyrus was up and about again, setting the kettle in the kitchen up to boil as Frisk came back in with a frown on her face. 

“I don’t get it. This is good, isn’t it? We’re nearly there, aren’t we? This will help him. Won’t it?” Papyrus said.

“Yeah, it’s just… It’s hard for him,” Frisk said; she sighed and rubbed her head. “M-Maybe… Maybe I can convince Mettaton to do a different story?”

“S’kinda messed up,” Sans agreed.

“You don’t think some three-quarters truth would help?” Papyrus asked. “I don’t know, if someone told me the story Mettaton just laid out, about how Asriel was hurt and how we all need to work together to help him, I’d want to help. Heck, I even know the full story and I want to help currently.”

Frisk bit her lip. She cast a worried look at Sans, but he simply shrugged. She sighed. “It’s the worst day of his life put out in front of the whole underground,” she said. “I mean, I know everyone knows a version of the story, but still, it’ll be hard, especially since… Oh. M-Maybe that’s why he used to… Um. Never mind.”

“What?” Papyrus pushed. “Come on, little sister, tell meeeee, please?”

Frisk hesitated, but her brother looked at her with pleading eyes. She couldn’t refuse.

“W-Well, it’s just that, I kinda look like his sister. Who is, um… dead, and stuff. And was a kinda mean ghost for a long time.”

“Understatement of the century,” Sans joked.

“Well… Okay, yes, I see how that could be difficult,” he admitted, “but, at the same time, you are basically his new sister anyway, aren’t you?”

“Wh-What?!” Frisk’s face flushed bright red and Sans instantly burst out laughing. “What do you mean?!”

“Well, you have the same mom, so of course you’d be like his sister, right?” he said. “And that’s why you need to save him. Gosh, does that mean he’s our—?”

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself, Paps,” Sans said with a wink.

“But Saaaaaans. If Frisk’s mom is Asriel’s mom, but Frisk’s mom is also our mom, doesn’t that logically mean that—”

“That’s really something that you’d want?” Sans wondered.

“Sans, honestly. It wouldn’t be so bad. Siblings don’t have to get along all the time! I mean, you can’t expect everyone to have as perfect relationship as the two of us!” he said. “You know, where I yell at you for being a slob and then you do nothing to change it and I end up cleaning anyway because I enjoy a clean space and you just continue to do whatever you do and somehow it works out.”

“Sheesh,” Sans said with a laugh, rubbing the back of his skull.

“I know, right? It’s great! And then, us and Frisk, that is also a perfect sibling relationship but in a different way!” Papyrus continued, sticking a finger in the air. “And I love you both very much! Even though all the circumstances are different! So, I’m sure it wouldn’t be bad at all.”

“I… I never thought of it like that,” Frisk admitted.

“Paps, you really are too good for your own good sometimes,” Sans chuckled.

He got to his feet. Frisk raised an eyebrow, but her brother was gone without a word. He returned in a blink, pulling some grey hoodie with a patched elbow and a torn front pocket over his head.

“Sans, it’s not that far to your room,” Papyrus scolded.

“Wrong attitude, bro,” Sans said, grinning as he kicked back in his corner of the couch. “If you’re gonna be playin’ me, I mean.” 

Papyrus looked down at himself, seeming somewhat surprised by the blue adorning him. “Oh! Right!” he said. “Well, I mean that shouldn’t be so tough! Right? Just make some bad jokes, keep my voice calm, and when forced to move, walk around like this.” Papyrus leaned back a bit and slumped, and then sauntered around the room like that. It looked like he somehow turned his spine to jelly. 

Frisk couldn’t help but laugh.

“Heh. Bro. You’re gonna fall over,” Sans said.

“What? This is how you walk, though! All slouched and weird,” Papyrus protested. “Frisk! Isn’t this how he walks?!”

“Ummm…” Frisk cupped her chin and tilted her head, looking between her brothers. “Well…”

“Oh wow, if even you don’t think it’s working, it must be really not working,” Papyrus admitted. “Okay. Advise me.”

Frisk smiled bashfully. “Stand up normal?”

He straightened up, popping his back and rubbing the back of his skull. Frisk waved him over and climbed up onto the table.

“Lower your shoulders,” she said; she grabbed him gently and guided him. “Like… Like there’s something kinda heavy you’re carrying.”

“Like this?” He slouched in his shoulders forward instead of his spine. “Oh. That does feel a little less ridiculous.”

“Yeah. Then…” She took his hand and put it in his pocket. “Then just walk normal but slow. Like you’re sleepy”

Papyrus walked across the room, and then back, his gate much closer to his brother’s. Sans raised his brows and shrugged. Frisk smiled. 

“I think that’ll work,” she said.

“Yes?!” Papyrus perked up right away, grinning. “Oh! Okay! That’s not so hard, thank you, little sister! Or should I say, thanks a million, kiddo!” He flicked his finger at her and winked.

She grinned as she sat down on the table. 

Sans snickered. “Still kinda chipper.”

“Oh, come on!” Papyrus whined.

“Hey, I’m not complainin’,” Sans said with a shrug. “I mean, I’m not surprised you’re puttin’ in the effort, but you really probably don’t have to. Doubt we’re even gonna be using real names, it’s not like anyone will know you’re playin’ me.”

“But I’ll know, brother!” he said. “Plus, your laziness and general relaxed demeanour is crucial to your character! The others will know if I’m playing you too OOC and they’ll be disappointed for sure.”

“I don’t think the words “disappointed” and “Papyrus” go together in the same sentence,” Frisk said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “Unless “not” is in front of “disappointed”, I think.”

“Totally agree,” Sans said.

Papyrus laughed brightly, seeming quite pleased with himself. He sauntered off, humming, to the kitchen. Frisk leaned forward to watch him for a few seconds. She slipped carefully back onto the floor and snuck up to Sans. She gently bonked her head on his. He shot her a curious look, but he had no complaints whatsoever about her clambering up onto his legs and flopping with a dramatic sigh against his ribcage. 

“It might be fun,” she suggested half-heartedly, and she huffed and clung to him. “Ugh. My head’s too busy.”

“Sorry,” he said. “Hum didn’t do it for you?”

“It’s not that,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s great. I just don’t get what finding it was supposed to mean. I’m just confused and I don’t get it and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do and—”

“Hey,” he said. “You’re okay. Whatever it is. You got it.”

“But what if I don’t got it?” she said.

“You do,” he said.

She looked up at him quizzically. He seemed as steady as always. She took a little comfort in that.

“Okay. Yeah. You’re right,” she said.

“Obviously.” He grinned and snickered when she sat up and smooched him on the cheek. “Jeez, kiddo, I’m just statin’ facts, here.”

“Jeez, kiddo, I’m just statin’ facts, here,” Papyrus parroted— mostly to himself, in that lower voice he’d used earlier— as he came to them with some mugs filled with pleasantly steaming tea. “Frisk, talk with me, I need to practice.”

“It’s not for a couple days, bro,” Sans said.

“I know, but I need to be on the ball!” he said as he sat on the arm of the couch.

“When are you not?” Sans said with a grin. “Chill out.”

“Don’t worry, Paps, we don’t even have a script yet,” Frisk said.

“Ooh, a script, sounds fancy,” Sans said.

“Why do you sound so sceptical? He wouldn’t go into this without any preparation! Would he!?” Papyrus asked.

His brother shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

\- - -

Papyrus spent the rest of the afternoon tailing his brother, doing his best to mimic his mannerisms and speech patterns, to Sans’s never-ending amusement. To Frisk, he was actually doing a pretty good job of it, despite how occasionally uncomfortable he looked when giving a one-word answer or shrugging where he might have rambled otherwise.

He gave it up near dinnertime, though, around the same time Asriel came home. The flower didn’t look any worse for wear, but he was quiet all night. Frisk’s heart was heavy for him. She spent a lot of time hovering around him, and around Sans, too. She couldn’t shake the image of his eye sockets dripping from her head. When he turned in early, she wanted to follow him, but Papyrus had some puzzles he wanted to test, and she couldn’t bring herself to say no to him.

As the cave darkened a little for night, Papyrus was still bounding around the house, as if acting like his brother for a few hours had caused his energy to simply coil itself into a spring, waiting to release. He was cooking— the smell of sauce permeated the whole house— and watching some TV, and he had mentioned in passing taking a walk through Waterfall later. He’d probably be up all night again.

As Frisk got ready for bed, Asriel tried to make himself busy reading a book, but his heart clearly wasn’t in it. She watched him from the computer desk for a little while; then went to his spot on the table amongst the action figures and bent down.

“Dude, you’ve got the worry face super hard,” she said gently. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he said.

“You’ve been like that since the this afternoon, though,” she said. “Is this about Chara? Do you want us to leave her out? I’m sure I can convince Mettaton to retcon her into an over the top terrible villain instead, but then you might come across looking a little dumb.”

Asriel laughed tiredly. He rubbed his forehead and then looked up at her. “No. No, you should leave it,” he said. 

Frisk wasn’t convinced, but she nodded anyway. She jerked her thumb at the lights and he nodded. She left him her phone for its glow before she flicked them off. She was about to climb into the cushy racecar and get cozy when she heard the little flower clear his throat.

“Yeah?” she asked.

He stayed silent for a while, but it was clear that he wanted to say something. She walked over to him and folded her arms on the table. He sighed as she bounced on her toes.

“Do you… um… Do you have any of her, uh…? Any of her memories?” he asked.

“Little bit,” Frisk admitted quietly. “Little bit of yours, too. From when you had her soul?”

“Damn.” He smiled a little and gently bonked the top of her head. “How many people you got in there?”

“Two whole ones,” Frisk said with a laugh, holding up two fingers, “and two more in just little pieces.”

“How the hell do you keep it straight?” he asked.

“It’s actually not hard at all,” Frisk said, shrugging.

Asriel _hmm_-ed and nodded, then tilted his head. “It’s just that… you even look a lot like her, you know? Except a bit darker? And shorter.”

“Yeah. I’m, um… I’m sorry about—”

“No, don’t be sorry about that,” Asriel said. “It’s… it’s just…”

“Hard,” she said.

“Complicated,” Asriel corrected. “I see you and I see… I see someone who is what she couldn’t be. Does that make sense?”

“Um…” Frisk didn’t quite understand. “I… I’m not sure.”

Asriel looked thoughtful for a few seconds. He tilted his head. “Chara used to tell me all these horrible stories about humans,” he said. “How they hurt her. Did humans hurt you, too? Do you hate them?”

“I’m… I’m a little scared of humans sometimes,” Frisk admitted. “When I didn’t live with Sans, and Papyrus, and mom, I just was on my own. No one wanted to help me. Sometimes people, um, hurt me. Some humans can be really cruel for no reason. But I don’t hate all of them.”

“See?” Asriel said.

Frisk shook her head.

“You got hurt, too. But you didn’t… I dunno, go nuts or whatever,” he said. “I guess you remind me of when we actually used to have fun together. If that makes sense, but… No, y’know, forget it.”

“Forget it?” Frisk echoed a bit shrilly. “What? How?”

“Just struck me that’s it’s pretty damn messed up of me to even say that to you,” he said; he looked her dead in the eye, steadfast. “You and whatever connection you had to Chara… It was because of your determination that she came to you to begin with. The rest of it, it has to be just a coincidence.”

“You really believe that?” she asked. “But d-didn’t all the other anomalies kind of look like me? So… So kind of like her, too?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said.

“But—”

“They’re gone. She’s gone. You’re still here,” he said, and he carefully held her cheek and drew her eyes to match his. “That’s all that matters.”

“Dude,” she said quietly.

He withdrew, frowning faintly, but Frisk quickly pulled him close and hugged him. He squeaked quietly. Hesitantly, he patted her with his leaves, but a little prick of warmth tingled in his stem. He carefully rested against the crook of her neck. It must’ve tickled; she laughed.

“That was so nice, dude, thank you,” she said.

Frisk was warm. Asriel felt her soul shimmering and the red sparkles dancing from her fingertips. There was real affection in the heat of that energy. She was happy. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to just put his arms around her and… No. Didn’t have arms. He sighed quietly but, for some reason, he felt a little lighter. 

“Don’t worry about the dumb play,” he said. “I’m sure Chara would think it was funny.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll do my best.”

“Duh.” He grinned. “You always do.”

“Thanks, Az,” she said bashfully. Her face was a little flushed. 

He wasn’t sure why he did it, but he stretched up and gave her a careful smooch on the cheek. She let out a small gasp, but she looked at him with bright eyes and a big smile.

“Y-You do like me!” she said.

“Yeah, duh,” he said. “You’re, um… Well, I mean, what you’re doing for me, it’s… It’s something else. Really. And I mean, we’re stuck together, right? And it could be a lot worse for me. Um. Hopefully for you, too? I mean, I know I’m not—”

“You’re not nearly as weird as you think you are,” she assured him.

“O-Oh.”

Carefully, she put him back down and he bashfully rubbed the back of his head.

“So, uh, what do you think? This’ll help?” he said.

“I sure hope so,” she said. “Sans thinks I can make it work. He kinda always does.”

“What? Seriously?” Asriel said. “That nihilist?”

“What?” Frisk asked.

“That just seems weirdly hopeful for him,” he said.

“Oh. I’m not so sure,” she said. “He always told me, whatever I do, as long as I’m here, it’s gonna be okay. ”

Asriel tilted his head. “Huh,” he said. “Hey. How’d you get him to trust you?”

“Get him to…? Oh. Um.” She shrugged and smiled bashfully. “I dunno. I just love him. A lot.”

“What, that’s it?” Asriel said.

“Um, yep, I guess so,” Frisk said. “I think once he realized I was the anchor he was waiting for, he knew I wouldn’t hurt anyone. So he knew it was all safe and stuff.”

“Okay, fine, I guess that makes sense, but, like… Why are you so attached to him? Knowing him, I’m sometimes still surprised that you guys stuck together so close,” he said. “I mean, I know he kinda injects himself into this whole anomaly thing to keep an eye on you guys no matter what, but, like, you couldda latched onto anyone, right? I mean, you like everyone anyway.”

“Oh… Well…” Frisk smiled bashfully. “I dunno, he’s just real important to me.”

Asriel tilted his head. The kid sighed, but she smiled.

“He was the first monster I met outside the Ruins, you know. And the first second I saw him, I… I guess I recognized the expression on his face. Like, he was smiling, and he made a joke, but he looked… tired,” she said.

“What else is new?” Asriel said.

Frisk snickered, but she shook her head. “Not like, lazy tired, but like there was something kinda weighing on him, you know? I… I guess I knew that feeling,” she said. “So I felt like, since he was being pretty nice to me, I thought we could be friends. I really, really wanted to. Like, right away. Almost the second I saw him.”

“That’s it?” he asked. “You just wanted a friend?”

“Well, it was… Here’s the thing, okay? I… I didn’t have anyone on the surface,” she said. “I-I mean, I know I’m clingy. I really like holding onto people. Hugs are like, the best thing in the whole world to me. It just, it’s super warm and safe feeling, I dunno. But I… I, um, didn’t really get that until I met mom.”

“What, really?” Asriel asked. “Jeez.”

“Right?! It’s so dumb,” Frisk said. “But. With Sans, he was basically a stranger, but I remember I gave him a hug when he sorta popped in to check on me. I was just super grateful. And he didn’t push me away or anything. After a second, he just kinda put his hand on my head and he sorta rubbed my hair like he does, and it was like somehow he… He understood something about me, too. I mean, with what I know now, it could’ve been real bad to trust me. But he always had a soft-spot for kids because of Papyrus, so I guess he saw something kinda like him in me. And right then, he was just so nice to me when he didn’t have to be that I… I just never got over it. It’ll always mean a lot to me, just a silly, small thing like that. Sorry. I know it’s super sappy.” 

“Oh.” Asriel looked thoughtful, but he nodded slightly. “I think I understand.”

“Thanks,” Frisk said. “Oh man. Hah! Now I’m all remembering when Papyrus asked me to stay. I’m gonna get all emotional! These skeletons really are an amazing family, you know? I couldn’t have even made up a better one.”

“Well. Then. I’m glad for you,” Asriel said.

Frisk smiled sheepishly. She tented her fingers. “There, um…” She blushed a little. “There might be room for one more. If you want?”

“Wh…? What?!” he yelped. 

“I mean, we have the same mom, that’s all,” she said hurriedly. “I mean. Maybe that’s not all, b-but like you said, we’re stuck with each other so… S-So I’m okay. With that. If you want. Um… W-We, um, could talk about it later, if you want?” She pointed to the bed and backed up towards it. 

Though he was sure he was blushing, Asriel nodded. She smiled.

“G-Good night!” she said.

“Night,” he said.


	52. The Kid Might Be A Bit Weird Arc

“Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god.”

That didn’t sound good. Sans felt small, soft hands desperately patting his skull around his eye sockets. Wondered if he’d blown one out again. Wondered if he was even awake, actually. 

He forced his left eye open and set it alight, and almost instantly sent his kid sister squeaking and skittering back like a frightened mouse. He sat up, brushing his thumb under his eyes as he got his bearings. Her face was a little gaunt and she looked shell-shocked.

“Sup, kiddo?” he asked groggily.

Frisk stared back, her eyes darting over him quickly. She trembled and huffed out a deep sigh, putting her face in her hands. “Oh god,” she muttered.

“Uh. Frisk?” he asked.

“I’m sorry. I’m… s-sorry, I…” She shook her head and pulled her fingers through her bangs in frustration. “I didn’t mean to wake you up, I j-just—”

“Chill out,” he said. “Breathe. Then talk.”

“I thought… Oh jeez.” She sighed and slumped, and seemed frozen as she shook. “S-Sorry.”

Sans tilted his head. She began to stand up, but he gripped at her soul and pulled her over, staring at her with puzzlement. She gulped, and she clung to his sleeve, unable to meet his gaze.

“Oh,” he said. “Bad dream, huh?”

She nodded.

“Just a dream?” he asked.

“Y-Yeah,” she said.

“That’s good,” he said.

Frisk grimaced. “Not so much,” she said quietly.

Sans winced at himself. He put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer, and she gladly leaned against him.

“Sorry. That was shitty of me,” he said. “Rough one, huh?”

“I… I thought it was real for a minute,” she said. “I went out for a save and came back and the h-house was quiet, like the other day, b-but then when I came into your room, you were there, and y-you… you were just… gone. And I reset and reset and it was always too late to stop, a-and—”

“Oh, kiddo. C’mon. That’s nothin’,” he said gently. “Never happened.”

“Wh-What if it does though?” she squeaked. “What if I—?”

“Nothin’ is gonna happen to anyone,” he said. “Can’t. Not with you here. You’re too strong.”

“I’m not!” she insisted. “I’m j-just… I’m scared.”

He hated the sound of that. Made his chest ache. Sans put his back to the wall and lifted her into his arms. 

“I j-just… sometimes I just… I s-see you hurt when I close my eyes and I… I c-can’t lose you, bro, I just can’t,” she squeaked.

“Got you,” he said. “S’okay. Nothin’ to be afraid of.”

She sighed and settled in close, curling up and clinging to his shirt. Her heart was pounding. The way her shoulders shook; he knew her bones would be rattling if she’d been a skeleton. She let out a high, tired sigh. He curled a leg under his poor little nerd and pulled her closer. He preened the back of her head with his fingertips, and, slowly, her shaking subsided. Her soul started to stick to his and he smiled. He ruffled her hair.

“Hey,” he said. “There you go. You trust me, don’t ya?”

“Y-Yeah, always,” she said.

“Then don’t worry about that kind of crap. I know. The way we are, sometimes our dreams are just complete garbage. And it feels like you’re sure it’s real. I had one just a bit ago. Thought my ribs were cut open; couldda sworn it was real. But it wasn’t. And you gotta remember, it stays in here.” He tapped the side of his skull. “Can’t come out. Doesn’t matter about the dreams. Out here, kiddo, you’re the strongest thing in the world. I know you don’t buy it, but it’s true.”

“Then why d-do I feel so… small?” she asked quietly.

“You’re a little kid,” he said with a laugh. “It’s okay. You don’t gotta be on top of things all the time.”

“I knooow…” She huffed, but there was a tired laugh in there. “I just… It’s just a lot. That’s all. I guess.”

She slumped and her brother lazily rubbed her back. Slowly, the kid relaxed, her breathing levelling out and her heart’s beat not pulsing with quite so much speed. Sans rested his chin on her head and she gladly cuddled closer. She sighed softly. He let the glow in his eye fade, but he could still see a faint shimmer of red shining through her shirt.

“I’m…” She sighed again. “I’m sorry, I w-wish I wasn’t so—”

“Hey. Don’t bother. Okay? It’s fine,” he assured her. “I know, things aren’t easy. You can feel however you feel. I’m just here to make sure that, y’know, you’re not alone or whatever.”

Frisk laughed quietly. “You’re a really good brother,” she said. “Thanks Sans. Love you.”

“Love you too, you little nerd,” he said. 

She finally relaxed. She was starting to fall asleep, in fact. 

“Hey. Paps still up?” he asked.

“I dunno. I think so,” she said. “Didn’t see him.”

He grimaced. She needed Papyrus right now, not him. She needed his endless positivity. If Papyrus told her things would be fine, she’d believe him, wouldn’t she?

“Alright,” he said. “Want me to tuck you back in?”

“Dunno,” she said quietly. She still sounded choked up. 

He hated it. That the thought of something bad happening had thrown her for such a loop— that it was specifically about him— it was hard to shoulder. He didn’t want her to feel that way. He wasn’t worth that.

“Hm. Okay.” He pulled back a little and cupped her face, brushing some stray tears from her skin. “How about we cover a chapter or two of that _Trident_ book? Better?”

“Ooh. Yeah,” she said.

“Alright, meet you at the couch or somethin’,” he said. He patted her head when she nodded and he went to Papyrus’s room.

The nightlight gave the place a subtle orange glow, and as Sans went to get the book, he took note of Asriel asleep between action figures. He had curled himself into a spiral and settled into the dirt snugly. Reminded him of a snake. He had Frisk’s phone near him and Sans quietly swiped it. He heard the kid’s soft feet pass the room by and a faint creaking of the stairs. He went back to his own room in the blink of an eye and turned the lights on.

He plopped down on his mattress and rubbed his eye sockets. He looked at the phone and raised his brows. Maybe…? He swiped through Frisk’s contacts and found what he was sure she needed. _MOM_.

It was late, and the phone rang for a while. Then, a click.

“H… Hello?” Toriel’s voice, though she didn’t sound groggy; sounded like she had something in her mouth. “Frisk, sweetie?”

“Heh. Nah, me again,” Sans said.

“Oh! Oh, Sans!” He heard her gulp. “Um, hello! How are you?”

“Fine. Late night?” he said.

“Yes, a bit. I apologize, I just was chewing something, um—”

“Oh yeah, whatcha havin’?” he asked.

“Well, it’s a salad, with some snail, and a bit of walnuts, and a vinaigrette made from this lovely cider the spiders here make, but, um, it doesn’t do well to ask what’s in it, apparently,” she said.

Sans laughed. “Sounds about right,” he said. “Glad I didn’t wake you up.”

“Oh, it would’ve been alright anyway,” she admitted. “I’ve been… Well. I’ve slept better.”

“Mhm. Hear that,” he said. “Kinda why I’m callin’, actually.”

“Oh no, did something happen?!” she asked shrilly.

“Eh. It’s just, the kid, she’s been kinda having bad dreams for a bit,” he said. “Since she, uh, got sick. I was just thinkin’, might help to talk to you, y’know? But it’s not like it’s an emergency.”

“Not an emergency? Nonsense! If my little girl is having nightmares, then who better to chase them away? You may not know this, Sans, but I was quite the fighter back in the day. No dream beast is a match for me,” she said.

Sans grinned. “Exactly what I wanted to hear, dude. Thanks a ton.”

\- - -

Sans really enjoyed being right, sometimes. When he told Frisk who was on the phone, the kid’s tired face instantly lit up. He lurked in the kitchen, making some cocoa, listening as shechatted to her mom. She sounded almost perky. It was good to hear. He brought her a mug, and then jerked his thumb back up the stairs and raised his brows. Frisk grabbed his sleeve and shook her head. He snickered quietly and plopped down with her. 

She leaned on him and he dozed off. Felt like he’d only been out for a second when she gently nudged him with her elbow.

“Sans?” she asked quietly. “You awake?”

“Kinda,” he said. He opened one eye. 

She smiled sheepishly and looked down at the phone clutched in her hands.

“Thank you,” she said.

He shrugged. Her cheeks flushed. She already looked a little better. He sat up and popped his spine. 

“Still up for a chapter or two?” he asked.

“Oh! Y-Yeah! Are you?” she asked.

“Mhm.” He flipped through the book, searching for where they’d stopped the last time. “You up for followin’ or do you just wanna chill?”

“I wanna follow!” she said.

Without even looking, he grabbed her soul and floated her into a spot in his lap where she’d be able to see.

“Thanks, Sans,” she said. “Um. For everything.”

“No problem, I basically did nothing,” he said.

“Pffft, as if,” she laughed.

The next chapter of the _Trident of Vengeance_ closed in on the hero, Sylph, battling a giant beast as she tried to rescue some villagers it stole. She rescued the monsters but, much to Frisk’s dismay, the beast was sent into a rage and knocked the hero unconscious and caved in part of the cavern. When she awoke in the next chapter, there came the hard realization that one of Sylph’s wings had been crushed and she was trapped in the cave. Only near the end, did she manage to escape the rubble and confront the beast again. It was almost too tense for Frisk, but she couldn’t just leave it like that. One more chapter, Sans agreed.

Papyrus finally returned from his walk midway through the chapter. He gladly sat in on it, snuggling Frisk and assuring her that things would be okay. Sylph was a great hero! A broken wing wouldn’t stop her. The story seemed to disagree, though, because the avian monster raced from the cave, leaving the beast to continue its rampage. When the townsfolk she had saved asked for her help again, she shrunk away. It was unlike her. But it seemed her confidence had been crushed with her wing.

Frisk knew it’d be okay. That was just the type of story it was. Plus, there were three more books after this one. She wanted to read more, but she was too tired to pay much attention and gave up. She fell asleep cuddled up in a small pile of skeletons.

\- - -

Overnight had seen snow blanket Snowdin again; a little more so than was the average. Tracks were faded and filled— a clean slate. No surprise, then, that what little trace of that strange light in the woods was completely gone, too.

Sans prowled the clearing, hands shoved deep in his pockets, frowning slightly under his fuzzy hood. Despite the lingering curiosity, he was glad he hadn’t been able to see what Frisk had. Then, they would have both been left in the dark. He did wish he could’ve seen that strange vision with the man who had called this place 1-S, though. He wondered if there might be a 2-S, somewhere out there. Had he recorded his memories anywhere else? Who the hell was he? Some scientist?

Sans had been so sure no one had been able to save before him. And now that Frisk could, it had seemed like all the others were overwritten. Except this one. It was probably the nature of that kind of tear in the world, where the light seeped through blue instead of gold. Something that stuck where it shouldn’t have.

He absently booted a small mound of snow and wondered what it could mean. From what Frisk had heard the guy say, it had to have happened before the CORE ruptured. Over ten years ago, he supposed. He hadn’t exactly been a kid back then, but he had been so busy with his own research and taking care of Papyrus that it wasn’t out of the question that something like this had slipped by him. It was just a little perturbing, though. He was tired just thinking about it.

He took a shortcut home. Papyrus and Frisk were still clinging to one another, cozy and snoozing on the couch. They always looked so relaxed when they were together. Yet another great thing about Papyrus— when he’d said he always had good dreams, he wasn’t exaggerating. That kid hadn’t had a nightmare in a long, long time. He hoped it might wear off on a certain little squishy skeleton, at least a bit.

Of course, his first inclination was to just flop back down somewhere and close his eyes for a while, but, instead, he swiped Frisk’s phone again and checked the time. Too early in the morning for him, but it was a little past Papyrus’s usual wake-up time. He raised his brow.

“Bro, you awake?” he asked quietly.

“Mhm,” Papyrus replied.

“You, uh, sleepin’ in?” he asked curiously.

“I’m not sleeping at all, brother.” He opened one eye and pointed at Frisk. “She needs this, I think. Her energy was all wonky again. I’ll stay with her.”

“Oh. Heh. That’s nice of you,” he said. “Be back soon?”

“Alright.”

Sans’s next stop was Asgore’s house. He knocked on the front door and stepped right in.

“Howdy!” Asgore called from somewhere. “I’ll be right with you!”

“No rush. It’s just me,” Sans said.

“Oh! Sans!” He heard a clinking of china and Asgore immediately came out of the doorway to the left, garbed in a cushy, tacky sweater and grinning widely. “Hello, my boy! You’re up early!”

“Hey, your, uh, Highness,” Sans said, holding in a laugh as the huge monster gave him a tight hug. “Long time no see.”

“I was just about to say! I’m glad those boys from Hotland found you,” he said. “I was starting to worry.”

“Oh. Uh. Sorry about that,” Sans said as he was placed back on his feet. “Been busy.”

“I heard! How is your sister doing?” he asked. “Oh! I just put the kettle on, would you like to sit and chat?”

“Uh, sure,” Sans said.

The King nodded, smiling brightly, and beckoned him farther inside.

The large dining table had two open boxes of teacups on top, along with some brown package paper. Sans just caught Asgore’s tail end vanishing into the kitchen.

“She’s okay. Gettin’ better. Thanks for asking,” he said.

“She’s getting plenty of rest? That and some good food is really the only cure, after all,” Asgore said.

“Yeah. She’s been perkin’ up,” he said.

“How old is she? Oh, sit down, sit down! It’s still six sugars?”

“Yeah, that’s great. She’s around eleven, I guess,” he said as he took a seat.

“Eleven! Ah! That’s a wonderful age,” he said. “Just beginning to understand themselves. Getting a little more independent. Children are fantastic, aren’t they?”

“Uh, yup,” Sans said.

Carrying two pastel, flower-patterned teacups, Asgore returned and joined the skeleton, daintily placing one before him before sitting down. He carefully moved his packages aside so as not to obstruct Sans’s view.

“So, tell me, where did she come from?” he asked. “It’s rare for a monster that young to be on their own and under the radar. Did you know her parents?”

“Nah. Y’know. She doesn’t like to talk about it,” he said. “If they fell, or somethin’ like that, it was a long time ago. She’s been on her own a while. Picked her up near the Ruins, actually.”

“So she was from the valley?” he pressed.

“Couldda been,” Sans agreed. “She’s alright now, though. Real clingy. But, that’s fine with me. It’s good to have her.”

“That’s excellent. Oh!” His eyes went wide. “Did you need me to increase your salary? If you’re supporting two other monsters, then—”

“Don’t worry about that, we’re fine,” Sans said with a laugh.

Asgore made a bit of a face, his ears pinning back slightly. Sans grinned.

“C’mon, y’old goat, don’t worry so much, huh?” he said.

Asgore chuckled bashfully. He tilted his head slightly, opened his mouth, but then closed it and frowned to himself.

“What?” Sans asked.

“May I ask you something?” he said. “I-If it’s confidential, I understand, but—”

“Dude, you’re the King,” the skeleton said with a laugh. “Confidential-shmonfidential, am I right?”

Asgore snickered. He shook his head.“No, it’s alright, I don’t mind. Some things are sensitive,” he said. “But I was just wondering about Alphys’s developments. You must’ve been in contact with her, right? She said your sister was part of a plan to dismantle the barrier.”

“Oh. Yeah. That,” Sans said. “Yup. It’s goin’, uh, somewhere, alright.”

“Is it true, we might be out soon?” he asked. “I mean, not that I doubt Alphys, of course, but—”

“You want a second opinion?” Sans said. “Honestly, I dunno. I think her, uh, plan, it’s probably gonna work. Hope it won’t take much more time than she thinks, but it seems like it’s really gettin’ there.”

“It’s not too dangerous, is it?” he asked. “I would hate for anyone to get hurt. Especially someone so little as your sister.”

“It’s, uh… Welp. There’s been some rough patches,” Sans admitted. “My kid, she’s kind of… determined. Hard to tell her to slow down when she thinks she can help. S’not always great for her health.”

“I see. Please, keep her close,” he said. “Losing a child is… Well…”

The King went quiet. His eyes seemed to glaze for a moment as he stared into the golden liquid in his teacup. Sans only knew that he could never understand what Asgore was feeling. He could sympathize. But, losing a brother and realizing he’d come back— it wasn’t quite the same. He sipped his tea and the great monster snapped out of it. He smiled.

“Is it good?” Asgore asked.

“Always is,” he assured him. 

Asgore nodded and his ears pressed forward, perking a little. “That’s sweet that you call her that.”

“Hm?”

“_Your kid_,” Asgore repeated. “For a child without parents, that must’ve been very important to her.”

“Oh. Heh. Yeah.” Sans smiled fondly, tapping his fingers on the table. “Y’know, first time I did it, it was kinda half a joke. But she just looked at me and started blubberin’ and gave me this huge hug. Didn’t realize it’d mean so much. So, I just kinda kept it up.”

“That’s so sweet!” The King’s face lit up. “Sans, you must be a very good brother.”

Sans shrugged. “Kinda try to be,” he said. “Papyrus turned out pretty great, so…”

Asgore laughed, a big, warm smile spreading on his face. “Bring him by sometime,” he said. “Bring them both by, if they’d like.”

“Will do,” Sans said.

He finished his tea. Asgore seemed pleased and he pointed at the cup.

“Would you like another?” he asked.

“I’m alright. Thanks,” Sans said. “I actually need to ask you somethin’. If that’s alright.”

“Yes, of course, anything,” he assured him.

Sans tented his fingers. “I want to know about the Royal Scientist,” he said. “The one before Alphys.”

“Before Alphys?” Asgore tilted his head. “The… Royal Scientist before Alphys.”

“Yeah. They must’ve just up and left sometime, right?” he said. “I don’t remember there being one in the lab when I was a kid. Definitely not when I worked there.”

“Hm.” Asgore nodded. “That’s… Hah. That’s strange. We’ve had many great scientists moving through the lab up until you and Alphys started in there together. But a Royal Scientist, I can’t… um…”

“We found some stuff we thought was theirs,” he said. “Basement. Quantum physics stuff.”

“I’m not sure I can really speak too much on that,” Asgore said apologetically. “It’s… It’s just been so long. I’m sure one was appointed when we were forced below the mountain, but for the life of me, I can’t recall who it was. Maybe To… Maybe it was the Queen, back then, who appointed them. She might know, but she’s still…”

“Missin’,” Sans said, nodding. “Right. Think ol’ Gerson might have a clue?”

“I doubt it. Gerson resolved himself to making the mountain the best it could be,” Asgore explained. “Never bothered with trying to find a way out. He had a sort of distain for all the scientific stuff we were doing in Hotland. In a way, I think it’s good he always found a way to make the most of what happened to us. But I’m not sure that he would’ve paid any attention to that at all.”

Sans rested his chin on his fist. “It’s a mystery, huh?”

“I’m very sorry,” Asgore said.

“Don’t be,” Sans said. “Ah, well. I’ll work it out.”

“I’m sure you will,” the King said brightly. “You are very clever, you know. Why exactly are you looking for them?”

“Just lookin’ for some answers,” Sans said. “Oh. Hey. By the way. Weird question. You plannin’ on using your TV or radio in the next couple days?”

“Hmm… No, I hadn’t planned on it, why?” he asked.

“It’s just, Alph was developin’ a new type of receiver that should be a bit more efficient. I was thinkin’ I could take your stuff to her, get it updated. Since I’m here.”

“Oh! That’s lovely, Sans, thank you,” Asgore said with a nod.

He got to his feet and hurried from the room, straight for the hallway of bedrooms. Sans slumped a bit and sighed to himself. Was it technically stealing if Asgore gave them up willingly? Maybe more like suspicious borrowing. Nope, citizen of the year he certainly was not.

\- - -

“Jump, and jump, and slide, and…!” Papyrus clapped, grinning wide as Frisk dodged and skid under a flying bone attack, and then froze completely to let a bright blue bone sail straight through her. “And now…!” He raised his arms and dual rows of alternating coloured femurs appeared, surrounding him like rows of soldiers. “Get ready!”

“Throw ‘em!” Frisk said.

With a flick of his wrists, the bones raced towards Frisk, bobbing up and down with quick, irregular movements. Frisk skipped backwards, slowed a little by the snow, and sprung over an attack, then slid under another and came to a halt to let a blue one pass through her body. She doubled back to get momentum, bounded up and launched herself off a low bone as it rose to get enough height to clear the next one. She tumbled on the jump, though, and the next one plowed into her, knocking the wind from her. She had to duck under another, almost shoving her whole body into the snow to get out of the way.

Blue, then white, then blue again, and she was done. She grinned, panting as she heaved herself out of the powder, and Papyrus whooped and cackled. Her soul was clutched in his blue magic; he used it to lift her and whisk her into his arms before letting it fade back to red. 

“You did so well!” he said proudly. “Just a little tumble! Did that hurt?”

“Only a little.” She laughed as he pulled off a glove and immediately touched his shimmering fingers to her neck. “That wasn’t as bad as last time.”

“No, not at all! It was very good! You only had four and a half fumbles in total!”

“What’s a half-fumble?” she asked with a laugh.

“Well, you tripped over a bone early in but recovered quickly, I think that’s a half,” he explained.

“Ooh. Yeah. Forgot about that, it all happens so fast!” she said, and she stuck her thumb up. “Gettin’ my game back a bit!”

“You are!! Do you feel a bit better?”

She nodded. He laughed and nuzzled her head.

“I’m so happy to hear that, little sister,” he said.

He bent his head as the wind picked up a little. Snow began to fall from above and they looked up. Frisk blinked into the dark of the cave ceiling, watching a blanket of magic mist starting to billow. A cold flake landed on her nose and the stuck her tongue out to catch another. Papyrus seemed surprised and he looked up and opened his mouth. He almost immediately cringed and shook his head.

“Why did I do that?” he asked.

Frisk snickered and shrugged. Papyrus scoffed, tossed his scarf dismissively, and carried her back towards the house.

Not one TV but, strangely, two were on inside the living room when Papyrus and Frisk returned. Confused, Papyrus plopped his sister to the ground and surveyed the room, only to let out a scoff and put his hands on his hips.

“Sans, what on earth are you doing?” he asked.

“Iunno. Watchin’ TV?” he said.

“Double screens,” Asriel said. “Pretty rad.”

“Don’t encourage him!” Papyrus scolded.

Frisk laughed and, after kicking off her shoes, scampered over to Sans with a big grin on her face. He looked a bit like a puddle, the way he was slumped back so far on the couch that he was almost laying down, but he smiled when he saw her.

“You’re back!” she said brightly, hopping up beside him. “Where’d you go?”

He pointed at the second TV. Smaller than the first, much older, and on the floor. It didn’t really explain too much, but she nodded. She reached over him to snatch up Asriel, smooched the little flower’s head, and then copied her brother.

“Honestly, you two, that can’t be good for your spines,” Papyrus said, striding up to the television and eyeing it suspiciously. “And where did you get this?!”

“Stole it,” Sans said.

“Stole it? From who?!” his brother demanded.

“The King?” he said.

“You STOLE the King’s TV?!” Papyrus squawked, eyes widening as he clapped his hands to his head. “Are you CRAZY?! Oh, no no no, you’re going to get sent to the dungeons for sure unless we bring this back right now and apologize!!”

“Nah,” Sans said.

“You know we don’t actually have a dungeon, right?” Asriel said. “That’s not a real thing.”

“I can’t believe it, my own brother, a… a thief!” Papyrus was pacing, shrill and exasperated. “Oh, gosh. I’ll have to be an accomplice. You’ll never survive on your own. We’ll have to go on the run! WE HAVE A LITTLE SISTER, SANS!! What kind of life for a little kid is that, going on the run with a pair of criminals?! Why did you steal it?!”

“Welp. I mean. I asked. I just lied about why I wanted it,” Sans said with a shrug.

Papyrus’s jaw dropped. He pointed at Sans accusingly, scowled, groaned, and put his face in his hands. “Whhhyyy?” he whined.

“Don’t want him to watch Mettaton’s show,” he said, grinning. “Ah, c’mon, Paps, I’ll give it back once that crap’s over, okay? Promise.”

“SIGH. Okay, okay okay.” He huffed. “I’m sorry I doubted you, brother.”

“That was pretty good though, he said he’d go on the run with you and everything,” Frisk said, smiling.

“He’s the best, right?” Sans said.

“Loyal,” Asriel agreed. “Pretty great.”

“The greatest,” Frisk and Sans said in tandem. They looked at each other; Sans snorted, grinning, and Frisk laughed and rubbed her brow.

“You nerds,” Asriel said.

“Uggghhhh,” Papyrus groaned. “Okay. Fine, yes, I’m a wonderful, loyal brother, who does not have to go on the run over a stupid television, but. Sans. WHY don’t you want the King to see Mettaton’s show? I mean, it can’t be that bad. Right?”

Sans shrugged. He pointed at Asriel. The flower shrugged, too, but he scratched his chin thoughtfully.

“I guess it’s for the best,” he said.

“What is?” Papyrus said.

“Paps,” Frisk said gently, “the King, he’s Asriel’s—”

“Asriel’s dad,” Papyrus finished with a nod. He seemed to suddenly get it. His eyes went wide. “Oh. God. Right. Um. Okay, yes, Sans, actually that was a very good idea.”

“Heh. What can I say? Got a few of them back in here somewhere,” Sans said as he tapped the side of his skull. “Hey, kiddo. You see a TV or whatever at Tori’s?”

“Umm… She has a radio,” Frisk said. “Is that a problem?”

“Depends on the signal, I guess, but maybe,” Sans said.

“No problem, I’ll just go mess it up,” Asriel said. “I can get in.”

“Or just ask to borrow it,” Frisk said. “Like Sans did.”

“I like that your first reaction is to just break your mom’s crap,” Sans joked.

“Shut up, it’s not like she’ll need it for much longer anyway,” Asriel said with a sly smile. “Once we’re out, we’ll just buy her a new one.”

“Now, that is the spirit!” Papyrus said brightly. “I’m glad you’re feeling a bit more confident! But please try to avoid breaking mom’s things, I’m sure she wouldn’t like it all that much.”

“Ah, jeez, okay okay, I’ll just, uhhh… carry it away?” He shrugged his leaves. “Yeah. Pfft. That makes sense.”

“Dimension box,” Frisk said with a smile. “No worries.”

“Problem solved, then!” Papyrus said.

He pranced off into the kitchen, instantly upbeat again. Sans snickered. He reached over and brushed his fingers through Frisk’s hair a few times.

“So scruffy,” he joked.

“Yeah, I fell over a bunch,” she said.

Her brother sat up and gently preened the back of her hair, pulling a small twig out from behind her ear. “Every time,” he said.

“I know,” she said. “I was kinda slow today.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mhm. It’s like… I dunno. I just feel heavy or something,” she said.

“Too much blue?” Sans asked.

Frisk shook her head. She pouted, holding Asriel a bit closer. He looked up at her with his brows raised.

“Weird,” he said. “You were pretty on-point when you fought me. Like, backflips and everything. Is it the snow?”

“Ummm… I don’t think so,” she said. “Usually I’m okay in the snow.”

Sans frowned slightly. “Hey, Paps,” he said. “Frisk glow at all?”

“Tiny bit of gold, brother,” Papyrus called.

“Did you lose it?” Sans wondered.

Frisk shrugged. He turned her and cupped her cheek to match where he expected the blue markings to be. With a flare of his magic, there they were, as usual. Asriel stared, jaw dropping.

“Wh-What?” he said. “Dude, what the hell are you doing to her?”

“It’s, uh, a long story,” Sans said.He winced and shook his hand out as he pulled away.

Frisk tilted her head.

“What the hell was that?” Asriel pressed.

“In the old timeline, in the part nobody remembers, Sans put some weird magic imprint on my face,” Frisk said, pointing at her cheek. “It has some people’s memories in it. Usually, if they touch it, they get some stuff they forgot back.”

“That’s weird,” he said. “Dude, why’d you mark up her face, though? That’s weird.”

“Dunno. Figure it was kinda impromptu,” Sans said with a wide shrug. “Welp. It still works for this. I think you were doin’ something in fights with it before, but now that I’m thinkin’ back, I don’t think I’ve seen it go on its own since you came out of the CORE.”

“Great,” Frisk sighed.

“What’d it do on it’s own? That’s weird, too,” Asriel said.

“Well, one side, it, um… it lights up if I touch one of Papyrus’s attacks,” she said. “The other one, the blue one, it seems like that’s the one that holds the memories. And it goes sometimes when I’m in a fight and I’m jumping around, I think? It just kinda, um, helps me see better.”

“And by see better you mean…?” Asriel raised his brows and glanced over at Sans. “Oh. You’re a cheater, too?”

“Is it cheating if I’m not making it happen on purpose?” she asked with a laugh.

“So that’s what happened with the first time I ran into you,” he said quietly.

“Why?” Papyrus asked; he came back in and passed out plates of reheated spaghetti. “What happened the first time?”

“So, I was totally gonna try to kill her, and—”

“WHAT?! Why?! Asriel, that’s awful!!” Papyrus said shrilly.

“Yeah, but I didn’t have any soul or anything, I was a total ass,” Asriel said with a shrug. “Anyway, I was gonna try, and she just looks at me and apologizes, and before I can do anything, mom totally whacks me into the cave somewhere with a fireball. You saw it coming, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah, but not for that reason,” Frisk said with a bashful smile. “That happened to you every time in my timeline. I’m surprised you didn’t remember.”

“Oh. Well. That’s weird, too,” he said, but he laughed. “Don’t tell her that was me, huh?”

Frisk smiled and shook her head. “Definitely won’t.”

She put him down beside her so he could eat his breakfast and she cast a glance back at Sans. “What’d you get?” she asked.

“Nothing interesting,” he said. “Not a surprise, really. You seen my day to day?”

“Too bad you aren’t just able to pick and choose,” Papyrus said.

“Oh, my god, tell me about it!” Frisk said. “There was a lot of cool stuff that didn’t even happen anymore! Like, most people we know had really fun birthday parties, and we saw the ocean, and when we went back we were getting ready for the big solstice parties and everything where we all get each other gifts and—! OH! Halloween!! Ugghh, Halloween was the best, and now that’s gone too and it’s such a bummer.”

“Halloween?” Papyrus asked.

“Yeah! I think it’s an old human thing. I dunno too much about it, but in the fall, um… Oh, jeez, you guys haven’t even seen fall. Um. So. Basically, what happens is that humans dress up like spooky things or movie characters or whatever and give each other sweet food. We spent a ton of time making these cool costumes, and the whole city had this big party, and there were even humans from out of town coming in and everyone was so excited and it was super awesome.”

“Wowie, that does sound fun!” Papyrus said.

“Yeah! Mom told me it came from a really old thing from small areas where monsters and humans were friends, back before the mountain thing,” Frisk said. “Humans would dress up to look more like monsters and monsters would give magic favours to humans they thought looked super cool, and everyone would have a big meal together with a ton of desserts or something. She said she used to really like it, but everyone stopped celebrating it since under the mountain it didn’t really make any sense. And everyone was mad at humans or scared of them now. She said that it was a really big deal to do it again on the surface.”

“Sounds like it,” Sans said. “Sorry.”

Frisk shook her head. “We’re just gonna have to do a lot of sewing.”

“Oh, well, no problems there, Sans and I are great at that, aren’t we, Sans?” Papyrus said. “Why, we made my battle body in just a few days!”

“Oh shit,” Sans said suddenly.

“Well, that’s a bit of an overreaction,” Papyrus said with a frown.

“No no, it’s just…” Sans laughed and rubbed his brow. “Mettaton.”

“Mettaton what?” Asriel asked.

“If he asks any of you nerds to ask me to sew for him, tell him I died or something,” he said.

“Sans,” Frisk scolded, laughing as she nudged him with her elbow.

He grinned and shrugged, and, much to her surprise, he scooped her up under her arms and pulled her against his chest. She was more than happy to be held, if she were honest.

“Lookit you, not even choked up,” he said; he sounded proud.

Frisk tilted her head back, puzzled for a moment before it dawned on her. She smiled bashfully. “Yeah, I’m kinda okay,” she said.

Her brother chuckled and gently touched his brow to hers. Her cheeks flushed but she grinned brightly. 

“Oh! You’re right, Sans! Little sister, you talked about the lost time and you didn’t even sniffle a little!” Papyrus said. “I am very proud of you.”

“The lost… Oh. Right,” Asriel said. “That’s rough.”

“Mhm. It is,” Frisk said. “But, now, I kinda think this is better.”

“What?! Better?!” Papyrus’s face lit up and he bent down to hold her little shoulders. “Frisk!! That is some serious development!! Are you on the current-timeline-is-best-timeline train for good now, too?! What changed?”

“You guys!” Frisk said brightly.

“Uh. But you had them before, right?” Asriel said.

“But now we have you, too,” Frisk said with a wink. “Plus, the way everyone pulled through for me this time, it’s… I mean. It’s nuts, how nice it is. I mean, I still get kinda messed up about stuff sometimes, but this is good. Even if I’m not so good, still.”

“Oh, Friiiisk!” Papyrus held out his arms and Sans let him take the kid and hug her close. “You’re SO good! And… And things are still going to get even better! You’ll see! We’ll kick our training up notch! And we’ll get your shield back and your blue glow and it’ll be amazing and we’ll be the best team anyone could imagine!”

“Aren’t we already?” she asked.

He cooed loudly and nuzzled against her, and she laughed and kissed his head. Asriel made an exaggerated gagging face, but Sans poked him in the head and he stopped to flail his leaves at him. 

“Oh, you’re just the cutest little human in the whole world,” Papyrus said. “Hey! Are you up for some puzzles? What would you say to making some new theoretical ones with me?”

“Love it!” Frisk assured him.

He grinned and offered a hand to Asriel. “What about you, Asriel, care to join us?”

“Better than sittin’ here watching this garbage,” Asriel said.

“Whoa, that’s a little harsh. I prefer useless junk,” Sans said, putting a hand to his chest.

“I wasn’t talking about you, you freakazoid!” Asriel snapped.

“Let’s tone down the _trash talk_ a little, huh?” Frisk added.

“Oh my god,” Asriel groaned as Papyrus let out a sort of displeased humming sound.

“You left an opening a mile wide!” Frisk said.

Sans grinned. “Thatta kid.”

Asriel scoffed as Frisk stuck her thumb up, and he beckoned to Papyrus. He quickly scooped him up.

“Well. You’re welcome to join us, Sans,” Papyrus said.

“Might a bit later,” he said. “Kiddo, phone?”

Frisk tossed him hers; he stuck his thumb up, and then Papyrus whisked the kids away to the bedroom. 

Sans twirled the phone in his hands absently. He rested his eyes for a minute or two. He really would’ve preferred to sleep, but there was something nagging at him. Frisk was so close, but her confidence was still shot. He wondered if she was stuck in a loop— she couldn’t feel better because she was too unsure; she was too unsure because she didn’t feel better. Made sense to him. He’d been there. It was a hard cycle to break.

He opened his eyes. He could hear laughing and Papyrus’s familiar, disbelieving squawking sound. He smiled. This new dynamic with the flower kid— it wasn’t as bad as he worried it might be. Was starting to feel a little normal, even. 

He rolled off the couch solely for the reason that he didn’t want to fall on his tailbone when he shifted himself. He moved to the basement and flicked the lights on. He pulled out a stool that he’d shoved against a wall near some old machinery at some point and plopped back down on it. He rolled it over to his counter and drawers and fished out that old drawing again. He stared at it with a frown. He was a crappy artist on a regular day, but this picture was even worse than his usual handiwork. Still, those lines on the face of the tall guy were familiar now. What the hell did he want with his sister?

“It is you she’s seein’, isn’t it?” he said quietly. “Who are you? Scientist, I bet. Same guy who saved his memories at 1-S. But I still don’t get why. Don’t get your game-plan.” 

He suddenly felt a chill against his neck. Like there were eyes boring into the back of his skull. Couldn’t be sure if he was just imagining things or not. He guessed it didn’t actually matter. Finding the answer to that question would mean forgetting it right away, anyway. 

He flipped the picture and opened one of his drawers. He still had that calculator, the one that had his name scratched in the casing. He pulled it out, along with a pen. Cautiously, he fiddled with it. He popped off the front, and then the battery housing, giving it a once-over before clipping it all back together. He hadn’t seen the thing since he was still working in the lab. That was ten years ago.

He took the drawing and scrawled _1-S_ on the back. Then, after a moment, added, _probably the scientist, _before he stashed it all away again, along with the old calculator. After a moment’s hesitation, he pulled out another piece of paper, tore off some old notes on the side, and began to make a list. _Snowdin, Waterfall, Hotland, New Home. _Wrote _1-S_ under _Snowdin_. Marked in:

_Blue save —> memories older than 10. White energy = got. Shadowman determination trade. Burst. Closed._

Under Hotland, he didn’t know the label of the one they’d seen, but he called it _1-H*._

_ Blue save. Kid goes in less than 1 min, mentions shadowman for 1st time. Comes out w arm patched and notes in old skele. ?_

It all had to be linked, didn’t it? If he could just find more of those blue saves, maybe he could find answers. He stashed his new note in his pocket. Resting his cheek on his fist, he poked the keys of Frisk’s phone and dialled for Alphys. It had barely had to ring before he heard her pick up.

“H-Hello?” she said.

“Hey, Doc,” he said.

“Oh! W-Wow, Frisk, your impression of S-Sans is getting really good!” she said.

Sans snickered. “You caught me.”

“S-Seriously, Sans. I’ll g-give you a phone,” she said. “I d-don’t mind.”

“Maybe later,” he said, folding his arm and slumping on the counter. “You busy?”

“N-No…? Why?”

“Where you at?” he asked.

“I’m at Undyne’s, but—”

“Mind if I pop in?” he said.

“Oh, n-no, I’m sure that’s fine,” she said.

Sleepily, he stood up and hung up the phone before shifting himself to Undyne’s doorway. Alphys met him with a smile and gave him a hug. He was a little surprised.

“Hey, Doc,” he said.

“L-Let me see you.” She puts her hands on his cheeks and he could feel her magic tingling into his bones and squinted into one eye and then the other. “Y-You look o-okay.”

“Hey, better than usual,” he joked. 

“Th-Thank god.” She hugged him again and let out a deep, warbling sigh. “S-Sorry, I… I didn’t want to f-freak out in front of the kids, but oh my g-god.” She deflated and slumped against him. 

He patted her shoulder until she let him go. She wiped one of her eyes tiredly and held out a hand, as if inviting him to the table with her. She sat down and he lazily followed.

“How’s stuff?” he asked.

“Ummm… W-Well. It’s okay,” she said. “Mettaton’s r-really taken off r-running with this show thing.”

“I’m sure he’ll get far, with legs like those,” he said with a wink.

Alphys snorted out a high-pitched laugh. “Y-Yeah, I guess so! Kind of wh-why I’m here, though,” she said.

“Oh yeah?” he asked.

Alphys nodded. “Mhm. Y-Yeah, he, uh, kind of took over the l-lab making props and whatever,” she said. “Oh, b-by the way, I was going to, um, t-text but I just didn’t yet? B-But he wants to talk to at least, um, F-Frisk and Papyrus at the l-lab tomorrow afternoon? If th-that’s okay?”

“Uh. Guess so.” Sans grinned wryly. “What, he too big now to text himself?”

“Oh, you know h-him. He’s just, _oh m-my god, so busy_,” Alphys said, doing air quotes with her fingers. “Ah. Oh w-well, I guess if th-this works, it’ll be w-worth it, won’t it?”

“Guess so,” he said again.

“He, um… H-He already has m-most of the script done, and h-he was talking to, um, Undyne about the m-music,” she said. “She s-seemed okay with it, but, um… Well…”

“She’s still exhausted, huh? Sorry,” he said.

“No no no no, don’t be,” Alphys said quickly, waving her hands at him. “Sh-She was p-pretty happy to do it. A-And besides, today she’s doing an, um… She called it an attunement? Sh-She said Gerson taught i-it to her. It’s supposed to be good f-for that kind of thing. I’ve, um, never actually used th-that much of my own magic like that, s-so I’ve never tried it.”

“Oh yeah?” Sans tilted his head slightly— guess that’s why Undyne hadn’t made a sound. “Where’s she doing that?”

“Oh, um, I’m n-not sure, exactly. I think it’s a cavern k-kind of near here,” she said. “Where the water glows? She mentioned, uh, a w-waterfall, I think. Why?”

“Dunno, just curious, I guess,” he said.

“Don’t worry,” she said, her tone suddenly somewhat motherly. “Y-You don’t think we h-haven’t noticed how rough i-it’s been for you the last l-little while, do you? And, jeez, what you told me about yesterday—!”

“Don’t worry about that,” Sans said. “I’m sure we’ll, uh, figure it out at some point.”

Alphys went quiet. She clenched her teeth and stared at the table. Sans’s brow furrowed.

“Doc?” he asked.

“I’m not w-worried about that, I’m w-w-worried about y-you!” she said.

“Oh. Okay. Don’t,” he said with a smile. “But thanks.”

“D-Did, um…? D-Did you try again? With F-Frisk, I mean?” she asked.

He shook his head. “She’s still kinda off, and she’s having nightmares again,” he said. “Just normal ones, though, which I can’t actually do anything about.”

Alphys pouted, folding her arms tight. Worry was written all over her face. “Oh, n-no… Poor kid. Wh-What happened, is she okay?”

“Well, she did just have to see me kinda collapsing in on myself. Couldn’t be pretty,” he said; he knew his eyes had gone dark the second he said it. “Had to make it as traumatizin’ as possible. As usual.”

“So, she actually s-s-saw…? Oh, S-Sans. I’m s-so sorry that happened to you two,” she said.

“I’m fine,” he repeated. “Actually, I’m great. Honestly? It was reassurin’ as hell. I’m just kinda worried about my little nerd.”

“Y-You’re crazy,” she said with a quiet laugh. “I f-feel like if that h-happened to me, I’d just… I d-dunno, have and e-existential crisis and n-never get out of bed again.”

Sans chuckled. “Sounds about right,” he said. “Speaking of existential crises. Talked to Asgore.”

Alphys squeaked. “Oh!! Oh, okay, um, a-about what?”

“I took his TV. Told them you invented a new thing, had to install it in there.” He shrugged. “Just thought I’d fill you in.”

“O-Oh! Um. O-Okay,” she said; her face flushed a little and she started to look a little sweaty. “Um… OH! Oh, god. Yeah. Y-Yeah, alright, th-that makes sense. Th-Thanks, Sans, I think I would’ve r-remembered t-too late. Wh-Which, I mean, technically might n-not have been a problem because of t-time travel, but st-still, g-good thinking.”

“No prob,” he said.

She sighed with relief and puddled on the table. Sans snickered and gladly copied her.

“Do you think Asriel’s g-gonna be okay?” she wondered.

“Dunno. Probably?” he said. “You can come over and see him more if you want.”

“I… I know. I j-just… I just don’t w-want to smother h-him, you know?” she said. “H-How, um…? H-How’s that new a-arm and stuff working for him?”

“Great. He seems a lot more, uh, independent,” he said. “Still likes sitting with the kid, though.”

“Aawww! That’s sweet,” Alphys said with a smile.

“I guess,” Sans said.

“You’re a good person, Sans,” she said.

“Where’d that come from?” he asked with a laugh.

“It’s just, w-with everything, and A-Asriel and… Anyway. Gosh, I’m s-sorry, I didn’t even ask why you called,” she said hurriedly. “W-Was…? Was there something you n-needed?”

Sans slumped onto his fist. He tapped the table with his other hand. “I think… I think I’m startin’ to get who this _shadowman_ guy is. To a point,” he said.

“What?! R-Really?!” Alphys yelped. “What?! H-How?!”

“I think he might be an old scientist,” he said. “Someone doing time experiments who maybe screwed it up. I’m not sure.”

“Wh…?! W-Well… Well that w-would kind of make sense, I guess, if Frisk w-was right about it b-being the same person who was s-s-sending me those, um… Th-Those bug f-fixes and stuff. Right?” she said quickly. “B-But… But how the hell…? Why i-is he f-following Frisk? What d-does he want from her?”

“Still not sure what he wants,” Sans said. “He left her a note that basically said he thought she should find her hum. That means tuning her soul. Which, accordin’ to your stuff, she might’ve already done.”

“R-Right, right…”

“Also said she wasn’t strong enough for _something_. But that she was gettin’ there,” he said. “No idea what that means. But it seems like he might be connected to those tears that she can save in. Maybe he just, uh… I dunno, saw her or something and thought they could be pals, I dunno.”

“Ugh, it’s so confusing,” Alphys groaned, but she laughed. “Jeez. Can’t c-catch a break, huh?”

“Not really,” Sans said tiredly. “Welp. Could be a lot worse, so… Not bad.” 

He pushed himself to his feet and tapped his toes back into his slippers. Alphys tilted her head.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“I should get goin’. Before they notice I’m gone,” he admitted. “Thanks for the talk. Just kinda wanted to get that into someone else’s head. You know, just in case.”

“Oh.” Alphys laughed. “O-Okay.”

Sans shrugged. His brow furrowed and he cast a curious glance back at her. “Hey, where did you say Undyne was again?”

\- - -

The place was still when he got home. Quiet. He grabbed some of that weird pie from a few days ago and ate it— it was still pretty terrible— before taking a look around the house. He suspected the others were out, but when he opened Papyrus’s door, the skeleton was stretched out on the floor, head on his folded arms, dozed off soundly as Frisk read a thin book in one hand and rubbed the back of his neck with the other. She looked up and shot Sans a smile.

“Hey,” he said.

“Did you know, if you rub Paps’s neck, he just falls right to sleep?” she said. “I guess it really is pretty sensitive! Or he was really tired.”

“Heh. Nice,” Sans said. “Where’s the plant kid?”

“Out,” Frisk said. “He said he was going to grab some sun again and do something to get mom’s radio. Or, try to. Whatever works for today, I guess.”

Sans nodded. He sat down with her quietly and couldn’t help the fond smile on his face.

“So, was it botherin’ him, or…?”

“Hm? Oh. No,” Frisk assured him. “He’s fine, I just thought he’d kinda like it, since he said it’s a sensitive spot.”

“Heh. That’s sweet, kiddo,” Sans said. “Guess he needed it.”

“Should we tuck him in?” she asked.

Sans gently grabbed his brother’s soul in blue and lifted him onto the bed. Frisk grinned and dragged the covers over him. She kissed his head gently, and they slipped out of the room quietly.

“So what were you doing?” Frisk asked.

“Nothin’ much,” he said.

“You weren’t here though,” she said.

“Heh. Caught me,” he said; he passed her back her phone. “Just talkin’ to Alph.”

“Everything okay?” Frisk asked worriedly.

Sans chuckled and ruffled her hair. “Chill out,” he said.“But… Okay. Hate to ask. But maybe you could do me a favour?”

“Yeah, of course, anything,” she assured him.

“Great. Got this by accident.” He held out an envelope with Undyne’s name written on it. “Was wonderin’ if you could catch her and give it over?”

“Oh, um, yeah, sure,” she said, taking the letter. “What is it?”

“Not sure. Was in a pile I got,” he said. “Sure that’s alright?”

“Mhm! Undyne looked so tired yesterday and we didn’t get to hang out much, I’d love to see her again. It’ll… It’ll be fine,” she said; she handed him back her phone. “You’ll need this, maybe. Paps’s is with Asriel. So, um, you’ll come get me if I call, right?”

“Duh,” he said.

She grinned and stood on her toes to smooch his cheek before turning on her heels and running downstairs. He slumped over the railing to watch her.

“Okay, see you soon, then!” she said as she pulled on her shoes. “I’ll call from Undyne’s if I need something, okay?”

“Noted,” he said. “She’s supposed to be at a waterfall in that place where the water glows, beside some of those, uh, echo flowers. That sound familiar to you?”

“Oh! Yeah, I think I know where that is,” she said. “Got it.”

“Have a good time, huh?” Sans said.

She stuck up her thumb, tossed her scarf around her neck, and was out the door quickly. Sans smiled to himself and rubbed the back of his skull. He really needed a nap.

“Sorry, kiddo,” he said. “Hope this works.”


	53. The Kid Might Be A Bit Weird Arc

**** Frisk felt a little weird heading out on her own again. It’d been a while since she’d even taken a step outside without at least Asriel in tow. It made her heart tense. A nagging little worry prodded the back of her mind, but she told herself there was nothing to fear.

There was a little pink monster with water magic that was glad to help her across the huge, dark lake that unnerved her so— he even paid her a few gold for the opportunity. She felt more secure once her feet hit the boardwalks. 

She continued east, putting her hood up as she passed a few chatting monsters strolling about near an ancient doorway carved into the stones. The luminous water glowed in the low light, and she turned onto a boardwalk across one of the streams. The grass here was the dark kind that lit up when touched. It was fun to dash through it and then turn to watch the trail behind slowly fade. 

She remembered the place Sans had mentioned. She followed the river as it flowed, leading her south to an outcropping of rock speckled with blue crystals. She could already hear a lazy waterfall. She followed the flow, watching lily pads float downwards and get sucked over the edge of the water.

Using the crystals to help judge height, Frisk carefully descended the rocky hill that lead down to the base of the falls. They tumbled and sprayed sparkling specks as they splashed into a pool only disturbed by its own ripples. On a raised stone, she came upon a small pile of towels, topped by a phone and an eyepatch. She quickly glanced around, and her face lit up when she saw Undyne. She was sitting, under the falling water, calm and unmoving. She looked almost like she was having a really pleasant sleep. Her skin was bare save for a tank top and shorts— Frisk could see some of the red striping on her skin, along with a plethora of old scars.

Frisk sat down beside Undyne’s things quietly to wait. She watched, almost mesmerized by the falls that the glittering specks they cast upwards in the dark.

Frisk had almost dozed off when Undyne finally stirred. There was a faint glimmer of glowing blue along with the yellow in her eye. She caught a glimpse of Frisk almost instantly. She looked surprised for a moment before standing up, the water cascading down her shoulders, making her red hair shimmer.

“Squirt? What’re you doing here?” she asked.

“Hiya!” she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the envelope. “Sans asked me to bring you this. Said he got it by accident.”

“Oh. Heh. Alright. Thanks.” She strode over through the shallow water and took it when the kid offered. “Now, what is…?” She opened it and unfolded the note. She read it quickly, frowning and pulling a face. Then, she laughed and rubbed her eyes. “Jeez.”

“Is it bad?” Frisk asked.

“What? Oh. No, no, not at all,” Undyne said. She crumpled it into a ball and tossed it beside her other stuff. Her ear-fins lifted and she tilted her head. “Sent you alone?”

Frisk nodded. “I’ve come here alone a ton of times, don’t worry.”

“Your energy seems a little nervous, though,” Undyne said.

“Yeah, I know. Sometimes it’s like that when my brothers aren’t around,” Frisk said. “B-But that’s okay! So, what’re you doing? It looks pretty cool.”

“Oh yeah?” She grinned. “Want to join me?”

“Join you? C-Can I do that?” Frisk asked excitedly.

“Do whatever you want!” Undyne laughed. “I’m just sorta chilling out. Gettin’ my magic back in order. No big deal. But, if you want…”

She shrugged. Frisk’s eyes lit up and she nodded quickly.

The kid took off her hoodie, scarf, and shoes, and she gladly grabbed Undyne’s hand when it was offered. She took her first, cautious step into the water. It was cool, but not cold. She slowly eased herself in. She could feel the current tugging gently at her. Little glittery specks under the surface lit up at her touch, just like the grass did. Undyne grinned.

“Nice, right?” she said.

“Y-Yeah!” Frisk said.

“Let’s start slow,” Undyne said. “I mean, if you wanna do what I’m doing.”

“Sure,” Frisk said.

Undyne grinned. She sat down in the pool and Frisk, though a little hesitant, copied her. It was pretty deep on her, but with Undyne holding her hands, she felt okay. The monster seemed unsure, though. She scooped Frisk up and sat her on her legs, facing her.

“Don’t drift away on me,” she joked. “Alright. First thing, stretch.”

She interlocked her fingers and raised her arms above her head. Frisk mimicked her, watching and following as she stretched each shoulder out. Then, she shook her hands out, rolled her shoulders back, and cracked her neck. Frisk couldn’t quite do that, but Undyne grinned at her and patted her head.

“Looser, right?” she said.

The kid nodded. 

“Alright, good! Now just, like, chill the hell out,” Undyne said. She cupped the back of one hand with the other and touched the tips of her thumbs together and let them rest in her lap. 

Frisk copied her.

“Now, just close your eyes and focus on the water,” she said. “And, uh, your breathing. That, too.”

The kid closed her eyes and was almost afraid she was going to fall for a moment. She didn’t. She could feel the water around her pulling one way and pushing from another. She felt her own rise and fall of breath trembling. She slowed herself down. She listened to Undyne. She was so steady; so firm. She mimicked her, taking long breaths in and letting them out slowly. She almost fell asleep.

“Feels good, huh?” Undyne asked.

It was an effort for Frisk to open her eyes again. She blinked up at the grinning monster and smiled a little, too. “It’s nice,” she said.

“Now that you’re relaxed,” she said, “ready to move on?”

“Show me,” Frisk said with a nod.

Undyne helped her up onto her feet and took her closer to the falls. She stretched out her back again and raised her hands, letting little sparks of magic drip from her fingers.

“Hope you’ll put up with this for a minute,” Undyne said. “When I was a kid and Gerson first showed me, I thought it was a lot of b— Uh. Y’know. Nonsense. But then I started actually trying this stuff out and just, gettin’ real relaxed like this is helpful.” 

“Yeah?” Frisk asked.

“Mhm.” Undyne held a hand up like she was grasping something, and Frisk saw her magic glimmering in her palm. “I’ve always been like… Heh. Like a storm. My magic is big, and sharp, and loud. It’s pretty awesome. But because of what I am, it’s connected with the water, too. Which is why I come here. We call it attunement. Not totally sure why. I think there’s other ways to do it, too, but this is the one I know.”

A little extra glow of blue began to shine through her shirt and she smiled. “Alright. Light up,” she said. “Lemme show you these stretches or whatever. It’s weird but it helps, for me at least.”

“Helps?” Frisk said. “Oh! Your magic!”

“Right!” Undyne grinned, but then her ears drooped and she looked uncharacteristically bashful. “R-Right. I mean. I just figured, y’know, since yours is a little off, maybe I could…”

“Oh! Oh my god, that’s so nice,” Frisk said. “Y-Yeah! I’d love to try!”

“Great!” Undyne was all grins again. “Just keep your feet under you and you got this! Watch me, first.”

She started slowly, moving her foot in an arc as she repositioned herself in the water. She bent a little and slowly drew up her arms from the water, dragging streams of magic behind her fingertips. She moved her arms up and to the side as if she was pulling the magic along with her, letting the glow brighten between her hands as it flowed like water. 

Frisk’s jaw dropped, her eyes all but glittering. 

“See, the key is,” Undyne said as she swayed, moving the magic as it built, “to keep it moving, and do a lot of circles. And treat it like it’s, uh, water, kind flowing around? ‘Cause it makes the energy flow, if that makes sense. Helps get it going again. Not sure why, but…” She slowly let it fizzle and gestured to the kid.

Frisk looked down at her legs, almost afraid to move, but she took a deep breath and lifted one foot. She slipped almost instantly and Undyne grabbed her, smiling reassuringly.

“No worries,” she said as she set her back on her feet. “Slowly. Just, like. Circle.”

Frisk nodded. She tried again, more carefully this time, and Undyne held her steady. “Circles,” Frisk muttered. “Okay.”

She shifted her weight, moving her steps in slow, circular motions. Undyne grinned and did the same, then lowered her fingers to the water and, as she lifted them up again, let her magic glimmer from the tips. Frisk focussed until red glittered from her skin and she raised her arms as if pulling the magic slowly up from the water.

“Mhm, there you go,” Undyne said. “Now watch.”

Undyne showed her again. The way she moved the magic was like, somehow, she was pushing and pulling the energy in her palms. Frisk tried to copy her, but her movements were a little stiff. She was afraid to move her feet.

“Like this.” Undyne demonstrated and the kid stared. “Everything’s a wavy move, see?

“Wavy.” Frisk wiggled her arms and laughed to herself. “I think… Okay, I’ll try.”

“Don’t bother with the magic yet, just follow me.”

Frisk slowly shifted her stance. Knowing Undyne would catch her if she slipped settled her. She followed Undyne’s lead slowly. It felt kind of awkward at first, but she imagined that she was moving globs of water around in the air and her movements became smoother. Somehow, it was relaxing. She didn’t noticed the little sparks between her fingers until Undyne laughed and pointed at them.

“There you go! Starting to get it.” She swiped her hand through the air and her bright magic followed it. “Just keep buildin’ it! Like a snowball!”

“Right,” Frisk said.

She moved slowly, focussing on the pushing and the pulling motions, and it seemed like her magic began to gather on its own. She tried to quell her excitement, but the energy sparked with her and almost fizzled out before she caught it in her hands and took a deep breath. Undyne ruffled her hair.

“That’s alright,” she said. “You’re gettin’ it. Just, like… Okay, it’s weird, but don’t pay attention to the magic. Just do the moves. It’ll build on its own.”

“R-Right. Um…”

“Here, we’ll do it together. Follow me.”

Undyne took up her stance again to show Frisk. She watched quietly for a minute, gently swaying back and forth with the rhythm of the water.

“What is that?” she asked. “It looks like… dancing, almost? But… like if it were faster, it might be fighting?”

“Mhm. Exactly right, squirt,” Undyne said. “It’s based on an old, old old, fighting style, according to Gerson. It’s about, like… using another guy’s own energy to knock them off balance. It’s not totally my style, but knowing about it is helpful. Especially for this. C’mon, you into it?”

“Y-Yeah!”she said.

“Just focus on me,” Undyne said. “And the water. That helps.”

It was hypnotizing, watching her magic in the dark. Frisk tried again, her own red energy starting to shine along. It was almost like it wanted to swim through the air like Undyne’s did. Focusing on her friend’s moves, Frisk tried once again to copy what she saw. It was a strange sensation. Soon, though she was just a little clumsy, the movements were getting close to automatic. The magic was getting brighter, but she was starting to feel sleepy. Mesmerized, she wasn’t sure how long they had been going when Undyne barked out a loud laugh, jarring her from her pattern.

When she focussed her eyes again, though, she quickly realized that the magic she grasped between her hands that shone back red was like a large bubble. She stared at it and it floated along with her fingertips.

“Oh my god,” she said.

“Look at you! Knew it!” Undyne said. She squatted down and Frisk eagerly held it out to show her. She brushed her claws through it carefully and laughed. “That’s not bad for your first time!”

“Y-Yeah?!” Frisk grinned, her cheeks flushing. “I… I never thought I could do anything like that!”

“The more you work on it, the more stable it’ll be,” she assured her. “You can let it drop, if you want.”

Frisk hesitated for a second, but she allowed the magic to drift away into sparkles in the air. She realized rather quickly that her arms felt a little numb. She stretched and looked up. “Oof, how long were we going for?” she asked.

“Almost an hour,” Undyne said with a laugh. “That’s good! Ready for the cool down?”

“Cool down?” Frisk repeated.

“Mhm. That’s about where I was when you showed up,” she said with a nod; she jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “I like to do a sorta sit and relax under the falls. Then you do a couple bursts and you’re done. Though, I mean, I’m not sure if you can do a burst, but whatever, that’s okay too. You in?”

“Guess so, I’m already soaked,” the kid said with a laugh.

“Thatta kid,” Undyne said proudly.

She strode back over to the falls. They were a bit over twice her height, and slow-flowing. She tossed a lily pad out of the way and sat down beneath them. She didn’t sink in very far. As Frisk edged closer, it became clear that there was a small rock ledge beneath the water there. She held out her hands to catch some of the water. It was actually a fraction warmer than what they’d been standing in. It felt quite nice, in fact. She sat down and was instantly drenched. She shivered, but she laughed and folded her arms close. She tilted her head back and got a face fullof water. She spluttered and laughed, looking forward and rubbing her eyes with her knuckles. Undyne snickered. 

“Maybe you’re a little small for this,” she said apologetically.

“No, that’s okay,” Frisk said quickly. “Show me what to do.”

Undyne crossed her legs and sat back, relaxed. She cupped her hands like she had before and let the water tumble down her shoulders. It made her hair sparkle. Frisk settled with her, quickly acclimatizing to the sound and feel of the the falls. She saw Undyne close her eye, so she did the same.

“Just focus on breathing,” Undyne advised. “Oh. And this.”

Frisk felt a tingle in the air. Magic sparked around her and she could feel Undyne’s soul synching with hers. A slow, melodic hum resonated through the cavern. Undyne’s song, though it took her a second to recognize it without its usual bombast.

“Oh wow,” Frisk said.

“You got it?” Undyne asked.

“Y-Yeah!”

“Good,” she said. “Follow along when you can.”

They went quiet for a while. Frisk didn’t notice any change at first. She opened one eye to look at her friend, but she hadn’t moved. Frisk took a deep breath and settled back in and tried to relax. The constant rumble of the water lulled her mind to rest. A ping of magic caught her off guard. It was faint, like a ripple edging inwards. After a few seconds, she felt another, just a tiny bit stronger. She thought she was getting the picture, but she was hit with uncertainty. Could she even mimic such a thing? She gulped and told herself she could. She hadn’t thought making a flowing glob of energy was something she’d be able to do, either.

With her breath, in and out, she tried to pulse, too. She remembered what Undyne had said. Focus on breathing; on the water, not the magic. She imagined water ebbing to and fro around her and it wasn’t long before her thoughts zoned out. Back and forth, in and out, for who knows how long— red energy swelling around her small form and glittering with that glowing water. She didn’t notice time passing at all. Didn’t even think to snap out of it until she heard something strange. A new note. It hung in the air softly, but steadily. It wasn’t with Undyne’s. It was something new, trying to assert itself.

The second she opened her eyes was also the moment she noticed she wasn’t getting wet. Undyne was looking at her intently, and before she could say anything, the note shifted. She felt a pang in her chest when she realized she recognized the sounds together— the first two that Sans had hummed aloud from his notes. Undyne started to grin, her eye brightening, and she moved closer to Frisk and pointed up. The kid looked. 

She’d almost expected an umbrella. Instead, she was faced with something she couldn’t explain. Her mind struggled to process it. The water directly above her head, and nowhere else, was spinning in place. It was looked like it was stuck against a shield, but in actuality, the stream was in a constant state of traveling backwards, correcting, and reversing again. Frisk opened her mouth but no words would come. Before she could gather herself, she was doused in water again. She spluttered and pulled back, unable to stop a laugh bubbling from her. She quickly found herself in Undyne’s arms. The monster was absolutely beaming and hugged her close. Frisk still didn’t have words. 

“I can’t believe that actually worked!!” Undyne said. “Kiddo, did you see that?! And you totally hear that, right?”

“Y-Yeah? Yeah!” Frisk had a feeling deep down that she knew the answer, but she had to ask anyway. “Th-That sound, what…? What is it?”

Undyne guffawed and smooched her on the head. Her ear-fins perked high. “You’re singin’.”

Frisk couldn’t help her eyes welling up. One more note shifted. The third one. She lost it, laughing and crying, tears hot and vanishing amongst the steady falls pouring downwards.

\- - -

At Undyne’s house, Frisk doused herself in a warm shower and changed into a baggy, vaguely child-sized set of clothes Undyne left out for her. She was still wobbly with shock and a comfortable sense of drowsiness was starting to kick in. Her limbs were starting to ache. When she came back into Undyne’s bedroom, she wasn’t there, but she could hear her in the main room. She edged to the doorway to peek.

Undyne was pacing the house, eye alight, a big grin on her face. She had her phone to her head. “Yeah. Yeah! I mean. It was definitely something,” she said. “Oh man. It was a good idea. Took her a little, but yeah. Flow was great. She just… Yup. Yup. Definitely backwards. Uh-huh. Oh, nah, just gonna let her rest for a bit. Yeah, she’s just gettin’ cleaned up. Mhm. …Mhmmm. Right. Okay. Check in later? Alright, love ya, nerd; see you later!!” She seemed absolutely aglow. She’d even neglected to put her eyepatch back on.

She caught a glimpse of Frisk when she turned, and she grinned even wider. “Hey, squirt!” She lifted her up. “That’s better, huh? God, you did real well today! I know I keep saying that, but jeez!”

“Th-Thanks!” Frisk said.

Undyne put her on the bed and dashed out of the room, only to return with a cup of warm tea. Frisk accepted it gratefully and Undyne pulled a blanket up over her shoulders and affectionately rubbed her head.

“Did you some good, huh?” she said. 

“You sure did,” Frisk said brightly.

“Me? Uh…” Undyne chuckled and grinned wide when the kid clambered into her lap. “Aw, kiddo.” She pulled her into her arms and they cozied together as Frisk sipped her tea.

Undyne twirled some magic around her finger and let it float towards the kid. She reached towards it— it jerked backwards for a moment before it continued to make contact. It tingled like her hand had fallen asleep, just for a second. She laughed and blushed, turning her head up to look at her friend.

“I… I guess I really can do something, can’t I?” she said.

“You sure can,” Undyne assured her. 

“M-Maybe… Maybe Sans was really super right, then,” Frisk said quietly.

“Hm? About what?” she asked.

“He thought I healed him,” she said, looking at her hand. “H-He… He got hurt. Yesterday. And I think I might’ve, um… t-turned him backwards, somehow. So that he wasn’t hurt anymore.”

“Well. That’s awesome. Hang on.” Undyne put her back down on the bed and rushed out of the room. “Only one way to find out!”

Frisk leaned sideways to look out the door. Undyne quickly came back in with a knife, sat down, and before the kid could say a word, cut a shallow slice across the back of her own arm and tossed the blade across the room. Frisk squeaked with alarm.

“Go on, test it,” Undyne said, holding her arm out. “S’okay.”

“O-Okay,” Frisk stammered. She tentatively grabbed Undyne and held around the cut. 

It wasn’t bleeding. Monsters didn’t really seem to have blood like humans did. There was some sort of liquid starting to come from the wound— dark blue and sparkling. Frisk gulped and bit her lip nervously. She set her fingers aglow and breathed deeply, concentrating hard. She was surprised when she felt something— some sort of flow of energy. Her vision swam for a moment and she was seeing double, and more— a dizzying array of images. Scales in different states: torn, oozing; smooth and shimmering. She blinked hard, shuddered, and there was a strange release of her magic. It sent a little pulse through Undyne’s skin.

Frisk had to pull back, rubbing her head as it started to throb and her vision cleared. She heard Undyne start to laugh. When she looked up, the monster was absolutely beaming. She showed off her forearm proudly. The cut was gone. Frisk’s eyes widened.

“No way,” she said.

“Yes way!!!” Undyne swept Frisk up into a hug again. “Dude, you’re finally getting your own magic!!! Excited?”

“R-Relieved,” Frisk said. “Oh my god, if that’s… I mean. That really, really means, if anything happened to anyone I can… Oh man, that’s good news.”

“I know, right?!” Undyne smiled fondly and brushed her thumbs under the kid’s eyes, wiping away a tear or two. “Hey. Y’know what?”

“What?” Frisk asked.

“Your brothers are gonna be so proud of you,” she said. “Hell, I’m real proud of you, too.”

Frisk’s face flushed. She shyly reached out and Undyne hugged her tight. “Th-Thank you,” she stammered. “Thank you for everything.”

“It was mostly you,” Undyne assured her. “Hey, listen, it’ll probably still be wonky for just a little. Sleep on it. Mine’s usually still a bit weird for a day or so after, but—”

“Thank you so much.” The kid’s voice was warbling, and she was clinging tight, but she had a smile creeping on. “I… I really can help.”

“For sure!!” Undyne said brightly. “Here, lemme get the comb, huh? Let’s unscruff you a bit.”

She hopped to her feet to fetch the comb from a pile of stuff in the bathroom. Frisk yawned and stretched her arms above her head. It felt very satisfying.

“Hey, kid,” Undyne said as she walked back in, levelling a finger at her. “What’s that?”

“What’s what?” Frisk asked.

“On your stomach.” She sat down and tilted her head. “That new?”

Frisk looked a bit confused, but she quickly lifted her shirt just a little. Undyne pointed out a scar— long, tapered at either end.

“Oh! No, no, that’s old as heck,” Frisk said.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Got stabbed,” Frisk said.

“Oh. Shit. I do that?” she asked.

“Nope! That’s not you,” Frisk said with a laugh, straightening her shirt back out. “Ummm… Oh! This one is you.” Frisk pushed the short sleeve up just a little farther and pointed out a faint gouge mark on her shoulder. She squirmed, folding one leg over the other and pointing out a smaller mark on the back of her calf. “This one, too! Annnnd…” She peered at the tops of her arms for a second as if searching, though she laughed. “Oh! Right. Those ones are gone. I, um, kinda got this bad habit of blocking with my arms. So last time I ended up with a couple more.”

“Oof. Sorry, kiddo,” she said.

“No no, that’s okay,” Frisk assured her brightly. “These were mostly accidents. And I actually really like our battles. You’re so cool. But, I mean, I really like it a lot better when we’re friends.”

“…But, uh…” Undyne almost looked embarrassed for a moment and rubbed the back of her head. “Asriel, uh… said you kinda cried about it, though?”

“Oh! Well… Yeah, maybe a bit, the second time,” Frisk said. “I’m kinda a huge crybaby. I wasn’t really used to my friends not knowing who I was. D-Don’t worry, though! It wasn’t because I was hurt, or anything, it was just because I missed you. The third time was a lot better though! Remember, I kept laughing, and you got so mad, and it just made me laugh more?”

“Pfffft! Yeah, I remember,” Undyne laughed and pulled the kid up into her arms. “You’re such a dweeb! Glad that crap’s all over, huh? No more missin’. Not gonna forget you again. That’s a promise.”

Frisk all but glowed and grabbed her around the middle. The big monster smiled fondly. Caught herself right on the edge of saying something even more sappy. Instead, she rubbed the kid’s head gently and then grabbed the comb.

Undyne made sure Frisk was all dry and ran the comb through her hair. The kid fell asleep halfway through. Undyne wasn’t the least bit surprised. Truth be told, she had been taking a nap under the waterfall herself when Frisk had first arrived. The attunement process worked real well after a bit of sleep. But, it was the kid’s first time, and she was so young. Maybe a solid twelve hours or so would do it for her.

She put Frisk into her bed, resting her head on the pillow. When she moved to tuck her in, she noticed the kid’s bare arms were covered in little marks, too. She tilted her head curiously. Carefully, she took her hand and lifted it to look at the skin. She was covered in little scrapes and scars, even without those ones that she’d mentioned losing. Undyne wondered how she had gotten them. They reminded her of herself, though. Her scales were marred in a similar way. They sort of matched. She grinned fondly and tucked the blankets up around the kid’s shoulders.

Stretching, she left the bedroom and gathered up some papers from the kitchen table and a pen. She returned to Frisk and sat down on the bed, putting her back to the headboard and folding her legs. She flipped through the stack. Dozens of guard reports had come in. Updates from all over the mountain. Mostly, all was quiet. Little incidents here and there, but things were peaceful, as usual. She signed off on a few requests for days off and put them in envelopes to send them off. Most of them seemed to coincide with the day of Mettaton’s show; probably wasn’t a coincidence. She was surprised to find Sans’s sentry report in the pile as well. It was written on a napkin, and simply said: _caught a human lol. _She shook her head, smiling to herself, and tore it up. 

She absently twirled some magic on the tip of her finger. Felt good to have it back. It was strange to have it out of whack to begin with. Kinda like there had been a hole through her— a nagging sense of absence that was unnerving and draining. Now, though, she felt sturdy and comfortable.

A soft squeaking noise caught her attention. Her ears lifted and she shot a look at the kid. She was shaking. The fingers on one hand clenched tight to the pillow while she hid her eye under the palm of the other. Frowning a little, Undyne put her work aside and stroked the girl’s head until she settled down again. She relaxed like there had been nothing wrong to begin with. Not thinking much of it, Undyne went back to work.

As she flipped through the rest of the reports, Undyne heard a heavy knock on the door. Curious, she stood up and looked out, and saw a yellow eye peeking at her through the gap between the wood and the frame.

“That you, Gerson?” she asked.

“Yessir.” The old tortoise grabbed the door and moved it aside, smiling tiredly. “What happened to your house, girl?”

“Oh, just some dumb robot making a mess.” She shrugged and she gave him a tight hug. “How you doin’, you old grump?”

“Wa ha ha! Good. Just wanted to check on ya.” He gladly sat when she gestured to a chair. “You been a little more low-key recently, huh? Heard you caught a kid.”

“Caught a…?” Her brows furrowed. “Who said that?”

“The kid,” he said with a laugh.

“Oh! Jeez. Yeah. Sorta?” She smiled sideways and backed up to the stove to put the kettle on. “She’s mostly with her brothers in Snowdin, but I been helpin’ out a little.”

“Brothers?” He frowned. “There’s more of ‘em?”

“Skeletons. Not more of… Well, I guess you know what she is, huh?”

“Seen my share of humans,” he said. “Hah. So it’s a big conspiracy I walked in on, huh?”

“Only a little one,” Undyne said with a laugh. “But you knew before, huh? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Gerson shrugged slightly, but he smiled. “I guess me and old King Fluffybuns have kinda different ideas on how to go about this whole thing,” he said. “Seemed like a nice kid. Waitin’ ain’t so bad. Besides, we aren’t ready for another war.”

“Another war?” Undyne repeated, frowning with confusion.

“Kid. I don’t mean to dredge up the past,” he said, his brow furrowing with sympathy, “but you know what can happen to monsters against just one of these humans, huh? We come stormin’ out into the world up there, where they have us a thousand-to-one, well… I’m not keen on seeing that.”

“I get your point,” Undyne said as she pulled some teacups from the cupboard. “I don’t know. I don’t think there’d be a war.”

“I’m not so sure,” Gerson said.

“Well, it’s just…” Undyne paused to consider her words carefully. “The kid said there aren’t any towns super close to the mountain anymore. And that the humans up there started to feel bad about what they did to us. So, maybe if we don’t go out all warlike, we’ll be okay? But we’re not gonna need to wait. Not too much, anyway.”

“Oh?” he asked.

“Got a plan to get the barrier down without yanking the soul outta her,” she said. “She’s in on it, don’t worry. She’ll be okay.”

“Huh. That’s new.” He chuckled and rubbed the scales on the back of his neck. “You sound pretty sure, kid.”

“To be honest, it’s not super my area,” she said, “but I help where I can.”

She prepared two cups of tea and carefully placed one before the old monster. She leaned on the table and sipped hers, her ears drooping back lazily. Gerson glugged half his in one go.

“So. Her soul,” he said. “It’s red, ain’t it?”

“Mhm,” she said.

“You ever seen a red human soul before?” he asked.

Undyne shook her head. “Not before her.”

“Hm. I have. Asgore’s kid. The human,” he said. “Hers was red, too.”

“You knew her?” Undyne asked.

“Of course!” He looked nostalgic. “She wouldda been real powerful had she, y’know, been able to grow up. Sad. You know, the strongest of those wizard punks that sealed us down here, they had a red soul, too. King Fluffybuns, he thought, y’know, maybe the kid’d get powerful enough to undo it some day, with that red soul of hers. What d’you think? Any truth to that?”

“Huh. Never thought about it like that,” she said. “Could be. The kid, she’s… Well. The longer she spends with monsters, seems like the stronger she gets. Maybe that’ll be part of it.”

“Hah. Interesting.” Gerson nodded. “She here?”

“She’s been a bit low. Energy-wise. Took a hit or two a little bit ago,” Undyne said. “So, I sorta taught her the attunement thing. Like you did for me.”

“That’s a surprise! Don’t tell me it actually worked,” he said.

“Seemed to,” Undyne said. “She did some magic stuff I never saw before. And I think she kinda even has a hum. You know the stories that say their hum isn’t even music, it’s just war drums, right? Gotta be wrong, hers was definitely a song. Sorta.”

Gerson nodded. “You’re doin’ good work,” he said. “Could I see her?”

“She’s asleep, but…” Undyne shrugged and gestured to the bedroom. “Just, quiet, huh?”

Gerson got up and followed her, peeking in over her shoulder at the sleeping kid. “To be honest, I’m surprised,” he said, lowering his voice, “that you didn’t try to kill her.”

“I did,” Undyne said.

“Huh. What stopped you?” he asked.

“I… I couldn’t…” Undyne had to pause again; she gritted her teeth for a moment. “I tried to fight her and she never hit back even once. We fell off a cliff. She hugged me and asked me if I was okay. Like, who does that?”

“Ah. She got to you,” he said with a laugh, and he put a hand to his chest. “Kids’ll do that. Get ya right here.”

She nodded and let out a quiet sigh. She rubbed the back of her head, her ear-fins drooping. “I… want to help Asgore. I didn’t want him to have to do it,” she said. “But there’s other ways. I see that now. And besides, this kid? She’s real important, y’know. I kinda love her.”

Gerson chuckled. He downed the rest of his tea and patted Undyne on the shoulder with a heavy, affectionate hand. “Don’t tell the King, but,” he said as he tenderly put the teacup back on the counter, “I prefer yours.”

\- - -

They chatted a bit over a few more cups of tea and, after her old mentor plodded on out back into the caves, Undyne finished up her work. Frisk was still out like a light. She didn’t mind her staying, but she guessed that, eventually, at least Papyrus would start to worry where she was. 

She texted him, but got a reply back that asserted that it was Asriel, not Papyrus, who had the phone. He called her a fishface, she called him a dumb weed, and it was all good. She scooped up Frisk and carried her back to Snowdin.

When she knocked on the door, no one came. She tried the handle, and it opened easily, so she walked right in. She could hear Papyrus somewhere in there, that was for sure.

“I can’t believe you!!” he was saying. “She’s all alone out there!!”

“She’s not alone, she’s with Undyne,” Sans said.

“You don’t know that!! Did you call?! It’s been hours!! I’m going out there to find her and that’s final!!!” Papyrus stormed out of his bedroom and stopped abruptly. The frown on his face melted. “C-Captain? F-Frisk? Oh…”

“Heya, Paps,” Undyne said as he raced down the stairs to them. “Quiet, huh? She’s out like a light.”

“D-Did something happen?!” he asked, though he lowered his voice.

“Well, yeah, nothing bad though, she’s just tired. Don’t worry,” she said, passing the kid carefully into his waiting arms. “She met me while I was just knockin’ my magic back into shape, so we did her, too.”

“Told you, bro.” Sans was suddenly sitting on the bottom step, grinning. “Didn’t need to freak.”

“Ugh, don’t tell me you knew where she was the whole time?!” Papyrus said with a scowl.

“Nah, not exactly,” he said, and he turned his gaze on Undyne. “So?”

“You were right,” she said.

Sans’s grin widened. “No way, she actually did it?”

“Oh, she did more than that,” Undyne said. “Paps, why don’t you tuck her in and then we can talk a bit?”

“O-Oh! Oh. Yes. Okay. Sure. I’ll just…” He looked down at Frisk and pouted. “Maybe instead of that I’ll just go sit with her and Sans can catch me up?”

“Whatever you want, bro,” Sans assured him.

Papyrus seemed relieved, and he rushed upstairs to the bedroom and closed the door quietly behind him. Undyne rubbed the back of her head and flopped on the couch. 

“So?” Sans asked.

“We got a really solid kid, you know that?” Undyne said.

“True,” Sans said.

She held up her arm and pointed at it. “I cut it. She fixed it.”

“For real?” Sans’s eyes almost seemed to sparkle. 

Undyne nodded and settled back comfortably. “Seemed like it hurt her head a bit, but yeah, it just closed back up,” she said. “But there was something else, too.”

“Oh yeah?” Sans said.

“I kinda noticed it before. In a few of our training sessions with Paps, when she could use the shield. Sometimes, projectiles or whatever would kinda jitter or something for a second before making contact. I thought it maybe just a, like, visual distortion or just the shield doin’ it or something,” she said. “But, when we were in the falls, she turned the water backwards. That was her power the whole time. It’s not super strong, but maybe she can give herself a tiny bit of extra time to get out of the way if something is flying at her face or whatever.”

“She can…” Sans was beaming. “Oh, kiddo… Heh. Thanks, Cap, that’s great news. Was she hyped?”

“So hyped! It was great! Real proud of the little nerd,” she said. “Oh. Also. Hum’s comin’ in strong, and—”

“Wait. Wait wait, hold up, her hum?” Sans repeated, eyes widening. “You serious?”

“Yeah. Guess it was more outta whack before than we thought,” she said. “I never heard it before.”

The shocked look on his face startled Undyne.

“No shit,” he said. “W…? What was it like?”

“I only got three notes, real slow,” she said. “So, I mean, it’s not like I know the whole song or anything, but—”

“Gimme,” he insisted.

Undyne looked thoughtful for a moment and she hummed what she’d heard. Sans couldn’t keep the surprise from his face.

“Holy shit,” he said.

“What?” she asked.

Sans put a hand to his brow. He started to laugh. “Oh, man, Cap,” he said. “I knew you were good, but I never thought you’d be that good.”

“Not sure I follow,” she said.

“You… Heh. You fixed me,” he said. “In just one fight, your energy was strong enough to drag me back up. I thought, with the kid, it might be the same, but I never thought you’d straight up get her hum to go.”

“Glad to help, however that works,” she said with a laugh.

“Up to givin’ me a full recap?” he asked.

“Gotcha covered.”


	54. SHOW PLAN STARTO

Frisk was so warm. She was a bit puzzled, but pleasantly surprised by how comfortable she was. She thought she heard some music. She couldn’t quite remember where she was, though. 

She felt hard fingers stroking across her head. Papyrus? Yep, that was his voice humming, too, now that she thought about it.She forced an eye open. Bundled in a blanket, her brother held her snugly, seeming content as he reclined on the bed. The second he saw her stir, he stopped humming and smiled.

“Hello, little sister!” he said fondly. A sort of softness in his voice betrayed he hadn’t been far from dozing off himself. “Did you have a nice nap?”

“Yeah, hi!” She grinned sleepily and hugged him. “Thanks for resting with me!”

“All in a day’s work for the great Papyrus! Did you have a good time out with Undyne?” he asked.

“Yeah! Um. Oh! When did I…?” She looked confused. “Did she bring me home?”

“She did!” he assured her.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“Oh, around exactly 6:15,” he said.

“Oof! Sorry, I guess I just kinda passed out,” she said, flopping onto the mattress and rubbing her eyes with her knuckles. “Did you have a good afternoon?”

“You bet I did! I can’t believe I actually took a nap myself, though!” he said. “Sans’s attitude must be rubbing off on me more than usual. I guess that’s what I get for method acting!”

“Bro! You didn’t sleep at all last night,” Frisk said with a laugh.

“Pffft, that’s not so unusual,” he scoffed. “Anyway! I heeeeard that something quite exciting happened to you.”

“Oh! Y-Yeah! Um.” Frisk’s face flushed and she tented her fingers. “My magic’s kinda actually working now, thanks to Undyne.”

“So she said! Or, well, so Sans said that Undyne said.” He grinned proudly. “From what I heard, you may not even need that shield after all!”

“It’d still stop me from getting smacked in the head so much,” Frisk said, smiling sideways.

Papyrus laughed and gently tussled her hair. He stood up and stretched his arms high above his head and let out a contented sigh. “You’ll have to show me later. I’m glad you had fun out there, but I’m glad you’re back, too,” he said. “Ooh. And here.” He handed her her phone and gently tapped on the screen. 

She could see there were a few text alerts. “Oh! Thanks!”

He smiled and nodded, and then jerked his thumb at the door. She stuck her thumb up and he smiled brightly and pranced out. 

When she checked her messages, she saw she had one from what must’ve been Asriel on Papyrus’s phone. Wasn’t from too long ago, either.

“_so boring out here_” he said.

“_sorry! I was napping_” she answered. “_how u doing?_” 

She didn’t have to wait long at all for a reply.

“_fine just checking out the old city or watevs y were u napping?_”

“_did a magic thing with undyne! I think she kinda fixed me tho so thats nice but it made me kinda tired_”

She waited on him for a minute, and he soon texted back.

“_?_”

“_ok this mite be weird but_ _i think i have extra time powers. Sans was right”_ she said. “_i fixed a cut on her arm. also i made a cool red bubble thing that didnt rlly do nything but it was pretty cool!_”

“_holy crap for real???_” Asriel said. “_how’d u get that to work?!_”

“_i dunno we just did some weird water move things and my magic just sorta desided to work_” she said. “_i can show you when you get home!! =) do you know when you’re done?_”

“_gonna stay out over night_” he said. “_if toriel finds me in the field looking like a miserable creep, she’ll bring me into the house 4 sure_”

“_you could always come home for the night!_” Frisk assured him,

“_i know_” he said. “_temps not bad here 2nite tho sooooo no big deal_”

Frisk pouted for a moment. “_ok. miss u tho_” she said.

“_LOL_” he said. “_dont ill see u 2morro. g2g now byeeeee_”

“_bye!!!_”

Frisk sighed. She guessed he probably still needed a little space. Still, she wished he was home. She pocketed the phone and headed downstairs.

There was the commotion of cooking in the kitchen, but it didn’t smell like spaghetti. She wasn’t sure what the scent was, in fact. She surveyed the living room, but her other brother was nowhere to be seen.

“Paps?” she called. “Where’s Sans?”

“Well, I’m sure he’s—!” He frowned when he poked his head from the kitchen. “Ummmm… SANS!! SANS?! ARE YOU IN THE HOUSE?”

“Yeah, bro,” Sans answered quietly from somewhere.

“What?! WHERE?!” he demanded.

“Basement,” Sans said.

“WHAT?! What basement?!”

“Ooh.” Frisk scampered into the kitchen and carefully started to move bones aside from the cupboard under the sink. “I’m gonna come in, okay?”

“Oh. Heh. Yeah, kiddo, of course,” Sans said.

“Since when do we have a basement?!” Papyrus squawked. “Sans, you never tell me anything!!”

“Bro, we’ve lived here for like nine years,” Sans said with a laugh. “Next you’re gonna tell me you don’t remember the attic.”

“Of course I remember it, plus all the trash that is up there,” Papyrus said, rolling his eyes.

Frisk nudged the door open and some light from the basement shone through the cupboard’s shadows. She snuck in over the bones. Sans wasn’t doing much in there, but he was slumped with her journal against the counter, munching some chips. He raised his hand she grinned wide and hugged him. He snickered and bumped his brow against her head. He offered her the bag and she took one eagerly.

“So, I heard you mightta got a bit of an earful, huh?” he said with a wink.

She grinned brightly and her cheeks flushed. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Undyne made me hum,” she said. “W-We heard it! We actually heard it a little!”

“And it was familiar, right?” he said.

She nodded. He ruffled her hair.

“Can’t say I know what it all means yet,” he said, “but this is good, don’t y’think?”

She nodded again. Sans grinned. The kid was all but glowing with pride.

“What’s this about a hum?!” Papyrus stumbled through the door, staring around the room with wide eyes. “Frisk’s hum?!”

“Guess so,” Sans said.

“You didn’t mention that!!” he said.

Sans shrugged. Papyrus frowned and folded his arms.

“Didn’t you think that was important?!” he demanded.

“Well, yeah, but Frisk can’t control it yet. Cap said she’d have to sleep on it,” Sans said. “So give her a day before you ask to hear it, alright?”

“SIGH, okay okay okay,” he said. “Frisk!! I’m very happy for you nonetheless!”

“Thanks, bro,” she said brightly.

Papyrus smiled and nodded, but quickly became alert and curious again. 

He peeked around the room suspiciously. Sans offered him a chip, but he waved it away. He leaned around the large machine covered in a cloth that sat at the end of the room. 

“What on earth is this pile of junk?!” he demanded.

“Time machine?” Sans suggested.

“Oh, hah-hah, very funny,” Papyrus said, rolling his eyes. “Whatever. I need to get back to cooking!”

Frisk put a hand to her mouth, trying not to laugh. He strode back out, ducking under the door, and they heard the clattering of bones.

“AAGH! WHO PUT ALL THESE BONES HERE?!” he demanded.

“No idea,” Sans said.

“Uuuugghhhh.”

The kid snickered quietly and Sans grinned and shrugged. 

Frisk stood on her toes to peek over at what Sans was doing. He lifted her in blue to give her a good look. She laughed. He was pouring over those notes he’d scrawled out on a napkin before.

“So, that guy, he hummed the same song,” she said. “He knew, huh?”

“Guess it was there the whole time,” he said, and he winked. “Seems like there was a bit more tunin’ in attunement than I thought.”

“Did you know that’s what Undyne was doing?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Had a hunch.”

“Dang good hunch,” she said.

“Eh. I have my moments,” he said.

He plopped her onto the counter. She yawned and kicked her feet, then leaned over to watch what he was doing.

“Why you down here?” she asked.

“Chips,” he said.

“Oh.” She curled up against the wall. “Um. Asriel said he’s not coming home tonight.”

“Okay,” Sans said.

“I’m kinda worried about him,” she said. “And this weird show thing, I dunno. Do you really think we can be ready in just a few days?”

“Who knows?”

“It’ll be really weird to play Chara,” she grumbled.

“No one really better than you for it, huh?” he said. “As crap as that is.”

“I guess,” she said. “…Do you think I should tell Asgore?”

“About the play? Probably not. Who wants to see the memory of their dead kids taken on by the dude who wrote _Under Ground Hearts_?” Sans said.

“I… I guess, I mean… I don’t know if, well… I mean. He was there. At the end. Before I came back,” she said, and she pointed to her cheek. “His memories might be able to come back, too. Oh. God. I wonder if mom’s could and I just didn’t know?! Uuuugghhh.” She put her face in her hands and made some aggravated grumbling sounds. 

Sans put his cheek on his fist and watched her with a sympathetic smile. “It’ll be fine,” he said. “It’s like at least ten times less dangerous than your usual M.O.”

“I know, I know, it’s just… Uuughh…” she said, pouting.

“It’ll work out,” he said. He stood up, taking the book and his notes, and patted her shoulder. 

She sighed. She slipped off the counter onto the floor, where he grabbed her hand. Before she could even blink, they were in the living room.

“Think I mentioned I talked to Alph, right?” he said as he kicked back on the couch.

“Yeah,” Frisk said.

“She said Mettaton wants to see his uh, two co-stars or whatever, tomorrow at the lab, so maybe that’ll at least get some of that crap outta the way,” he said.

“Couldn’t he just message us himself?” Frisk asked.

“I said the same thing. Apparently he’s just, _like, so busy oh my god_,” Sans said, rolling his eyes. “Don’t think I’ll ever understand the guy.”

Frisk snickered and shrugged. “Think he’ll be using this as the big reveal?” she asked.

“Which one?” he said.

“The one where he’s got long legs and isn’t actually a box anymore,” she said.

“What, is he retiring his old body?” Papyrus asked from the kitchen. “That’s a shock, I always thought the rectangular one was quite attractive! Aesthetically, I mean. But then again, the new one has those bright panels of pink that are quite eye-catching!”

“You like the boots?” Sans asked.

“Well, of course!” Papyrus said, coming into the room balancing three plates. “Who wouldn’t?”

He passed out the food to his siblings. It sort of looked like bread, but hidden underneath a white pudding of some sort. 

“What’s this?” Frisk asked as he gave her a fork.

“Fresh toast!” he said.

“Fresh toast?” she repeated, tilting her head. “What is it?”

“Oh! Well, it’s just something I had when I was out with Alphys while you two were busy being a dragon made of bones,” Papyrus said brightly, putting his finger in the air. “See, you fry the bread, then you put it in this sort of egg custard type thing and then you can put all sorts of things on it! They told me it was very good right when someone wakes up, so I thoooought, little sister, that it might be helpful to your recovery process! It just occurred to me!”

“Oh! Okay, thanks, good idea!” she said, trying not to look overly suspicious as she eyed her plate. “Why’s it called fresh toast?”

“I have no idea!” he said brightly.

Frisk cautiously tried it. It was a little like a deconstructed bread pudding. It wasn’t too bad. Would’ve been perfect with a pinch of cinnamon. 

“Pretty great, right?” Papyrus asked.

“I like it,” Frisk said with a smile.

“Sans?” Papyrus scowled as Sans slid off slowly into the kitchen. “What on earth are you doing?”

“Nothin’.”

“Then why are you getting all into my cooking space?!” He rushed in after him and squawked loudly. “Oh, why am I not surprised?!”

“It’s good though,” Sans said.

“You are just an enigma wrapped in a—!” There was a strange farting sound and Papyrus yelped. “SANS!!! LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!!!”

“Heh. Whoops, sorry, bro,” Sans said, rather unsuccessfully trying to hold back a laugh. “But you kinda grabbed it, though.”

“Honestly!!!” Papyrus stormed back out of the kitchen, face and shirt stained with red goo, an empty, plastic ketchup bottle still clutched in one hand. “Now I have to go change and do the laundry!! AGAIN. Un. Be. Lievable.”

He vanished into the bedroom and made as if to slam the door, but instead closed it very slowly. Frisk peeked into the kitchen. Sans was finishing up the fresh toast with a liberal squirting of ketchup on top. He slipped the empty plate back onto the counter.

“I’ll do the laundry,” Frisk said.

“Nah. Don’t worry about it,” Sans said.

As Frisk ate her food, he shifted to the bedroom door and tapped on it with his knuckles. 

“Bro, pass me your stuff,” he said. “I’ll take it.”

“Siiiiigh, no, I’ll take it, it’s fine,” Papyrus grumbled, opening the door a crack. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have squeezed the bottle into my own face!”

“Welp. Couldda been worse,” he said.

“How?!” he demanded.

“Couldda gone in your eye!” Frisk suggested.

“Right on, kiddo,” Sans said, and he grinned. “Or god forbid, in your mouth.”

“Ugh, you’re both very right!! That would be awful!” He emerged, pulling on a new t-shirt, and handed the old one over to Sans. “I will entrust this to you.”

“Got you covered.” He winked. “And hopefully not in ketchup this time.”

He vanished and Papyrus couldn’t help a small laugh.

“Don’t take it as a knock on your cooking, huh, Paps?” Frisk said with a sympathetic smile. “This stuff is pretty good.”

“Oh! No, no, that’s alright, I know, he’d put it on everything if given the option,” Papyrus said as he returned to her. “It’s just gross and messy and strange and he always leaves the tops off in the fridge.”

Frisk snickered. Papyrus took her empty plate from her and brought it to the kitchen. 

“Between you and me,” he said, “I still like the spaghetti about a million times more. It’s just the perfect food item! Can’t be beat! But I’m still glad I tried to make this if you two liked it.”

“That’s good,” Frisk said.

When he returned, he squatted down before her and held her shoulders. He tilted his head curiously. “So are you feeling better?” he asked.

She nodded.

“And is that Undyne’s shirt?”

“Yup, she lent me all these clothes, actually,” she said. “Since I, um, kinda just ran into the water.”

“Nyeh heh! That is a bit silly but I’m glad you had a good time!” he said. “And I was so glad to hear when they explained to me what exactly this attunement thing was. Ooh, you’re going to feel much more upbeat after this, I can just tell!”

“Yeah, I sure hope so!” she said.

“I know so!” he said. “Trust your big brother Papyrus!”

“I do,” she assured him. 

“Nyeh heh heh! Good!” He bumped his brow gently against her head and then leapt to his feet. “AH! I forgot to make fresh toast for Asriel!!”

“He’s not coming home tonight,” Frisk said, trying not to pout.

“Oh. That’s okay! He can have it in the morning,” he said. “Want to make it with me?”

“Yeah absolutely I do,” Frisk said.

\- - -

Sans was back with clean clothes eventually, and they all spent the rest of the night watching reruns on TV. Frisk texted on and off with Asriel, and she let Papyrus upload some pictures to his UnderNet account from her phone. When she signed back into _DisasterBlaster_, she made sure to uplike all of them.

With the tall skeleton still wide awake from his nap, running in and out of the house and doing something mysterious on his computer, Frisk curled up with Sans and their book about history and space. They barely made it through a chapter before Frisk dozed off. It wasn’t long before she started shaking, though. She clung with fingers much stronger than they looked. 

Sans paused mid-sentence when he noticed. He suspected what might be the problem, but the poor kid could really have been seeing anything. He gently shook her shoulder; luckily, she jerked awake right away. Not locked in, but the look of utter relief on her face when she met his eyes told him all he needed to know.

“Think maybe you should take a break?” he asked, patting her head.

“Nnnooo, no, I’m okay,” she said. “Um. Sorry. Where were we?”

“Sure you wouldn’t rather hang out with Paps for a little?” he pressed.

“Well, that’s always nice,” she said, “but I’m pretty happy right here, bro.” She looked so sure about it. 

Maybe it would’ve been smarter to insist, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He ruffled her hair and her tired face lit up.

“Hm. Alright. Suit yourself,” he said.

He started up again from a couple paragraphs back. Once again, Frisk was fast asleep before he’d even reached the end of the chapter. He didn’t mind, though, and he quickly clocked out himself once he realized there was no one to listen.

When the dream kicked in, for the first few seconds, Sans wasn’t totally sure that he was actually asleep. He was on the couch, same as before. Frisk was still in his arms, snoozing, but she was wearing a different shirt and she looked bruised. He was taken by surprise. It looked strikingly familiar. Took him a moment to realize that it was a memory, like usual. However, for the first time since they’d dreamt together, the timeline was Frisk’s.

This was her second round through the underground, shortly after he’d come to understand that she was the anchor. She had just battled Papyrus and he’d invited her to stay. She was exhausted. Sans had come home to find her napping on his brother, but when Papyrus had to leave to meet with Undyne, she’d eagerly switched to him as a makeshift pillow. 

It had surprised him, how almost saccharine sweet the kid was. That it hadn’t been an act. She was absolutely smitten with the idea of having a family and, for reasons he hadn’t understood at the time, she adored him to the point he was sure there had been some mistake somewhere— someone had told her something about him that wasn’t true. Had to have been some joke. But no, she seemed like she understood perfectly. She’d settled right in. So had he, much to his surprise. She was his kid now. She’d always be his kid.

He slumped back with her gently, patting her head, and let the dream run its course. She’d be awake in there in a few minutes anyway. He was actually happy to be here. This dream meant the one he knew she’d been having since that light in the woods wasn’t about to get to her again.

When her eyelids fluttered, her brow furrowed and she blinked up at him. “…Sorry, bro. What, um…?” She yawned as she sat up a little. “What time is it?”

“No idea,” he said. “Still dreaming, by the way.”

“What? But I thought…?” She noticed her shirt and looked confused. “Wait. Why are we here?”

“Your timeline. Round two,” he said.

“What?!” She suddenly looked a heck of a lot more alert. “Seriously?”

“Yup.”

“W-We’ve… Oh wow!” she squeaked putting a hand to her head. “We’ve never been in mine!”

“First time for everything,” he said. “S’nice. Don’t have to do a thing.”

Frisk snickered. She gave him a hug and flopped on him. After just a minute, though, the kid jumped back up, grinning brightly.

“Hey. Hey!” She grabbed his hands. “Come with me.”

“Uh. Where?” he asked.

“Library,” she said.

“Uh…”

“I… I had this really nice dream! About the the library from that book,” she said. “C’mon, I mean, we’re just gonna sleep during the sleep anyway, right? Let me just show you this place.”

“Whatever you want kiddo, just get us a good place to sit,” he said.

Frisk beamed and nodded. She squeezed his hands and scrunched her eyes shut. He wasn’t sure that that actually did anything.

After a few seconds, their house began to crumble in streams of sand, turning gold and red, and then reversing and stretching up and up to become a high ceiling covered in murals. They were rather abstract— just pleasant colours, really, in shapes that might’ve looked like something if one squinted at them sideways. Frisk opened her eyes again and looked around quickly. She seemed rather proud of herself. Sans took a step back to look at the vast room.

He was taken aback by the grandeur. The sheer volume of shelves covered in books was staggering. The second floor ran in a ring shape above the first from where they stood, and the hints of a third floor could be seen even above that. There were sliding ladders along the walls and piles of tomes scattered here and there. The whole place smelled very faintly of coffee and condensed milk.

He turned and was startled still by a vast, open doorway. Large enough to let in even the tallest monsters, the double doors that were pinned open by furniture revealed a green world beyond. There was even a cool breeze that brushed his face. 

Unwittingly, Sans put a hand to his mouth. Just four pages of that book had conjured up this for the kid? He shot her a look only to find her sitting on an old desk with a book in her hands, swinging her legs.

“Look,” she said with a laugh, holding the book open to show him. “Nothing! You ever done a really good dream of the house? With like, a book in it?”

“Oh. Heh. Yeah. They’re never quite right unless you know every word,” he said. 

“Weird, huh?” she said, pointing up. “Pictures, too, I guess.”

“I always figured it was a copin’ mechanism,” he said. “Helps you tell what’s fake.”

Sans folded his arms and eyed the place over again.

“Gotta admit,” he said, “I’m impressed.”

“Yeah?” she asked with a smile, tilting her head back. “I’m actually super glad it even let me make this. Looks like it’s about three storeys, huh?”

“Oh, jeez, kid, I dunno, looks like a lot more than that to me,” Sans said with a wink.

Frisk had to take a moment, but she quickly burst out laughing. Her brother beamed.

“I-I was just thinking, maybe there’s a nice place to sit up there,” she said as she took a deep breath to settle herself. “I thought I saw a couch or something? Think we should, um, _book it_ up there?

“Pfffft.” Sans grinned. “Sounds like we’re on the same page. Let’s go.”

Frisk grabbed his hand and together they went up the stairs. Parts of the walls seemed to finalize themselves around them, but sure enough, there was a little, cozy corner nook of couches and quilts waiting for them on the second floor. She eagerly jumped on the cushiest looking one and bounced on it. Sans flopped in the corner and she hugged onto him. Just like at home.

“You go first,” she said. “I can’t hold it if I fall asleep.”

“Way ahead of you, kiddo,” he assured her.

  * \- -

Day came and Frisk woke up to the sound of her phone’s text bloop. Her heart was pounding. She quickly looked back at her brother. Sans had slumped around her, losing his grip on the book sometime in the night. It lay on the floor, open to somewhere that might not’ve been the right page. He looked just fine. She let out a quiet sigh and, carefully, she touched his face to make sure he was as solid as he looked. He was. Nothing to worry about, she told herself. 

The phone made itself heard again. Startled, Frisk squeaked quietly. She groped around herself to find it. Once she grabbed it, she saw the same text twice.

“_knock knock”_

Frisk was suddenly a little more awake. She quietly slipped off the couch and headed for the door. 

When she opened it, she saw Asriel there with Papyrus’s phone in front of him, halfway through typing. He looked up quickly and waved.

“So, uh, I’m back,” he said.

Frisk grinned and scooped him up, giving him a quick smooch on the forehead. He squeaked, but he smiled nonetheless.

“Jeez, Frisk,” he said.

“I’m glad to see you,” she said. “Did you have an okay time?”

“Y… Yeah.” He smiled wryly. “Got the radio.”

“Oh! Yeah?” Frisk brought him back into the living room and nudged the door shut behind them. “Hope that wasn’t too hard.”

“Nah. She made me talk about my feelings before, uh, lending it, though.” He rolled his eyes. “Just like her.”

“You okay?” she asked worriedly.

He shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, I guess, it’s just that last time I saw her, I sorta lost it,” he said. “I mean. It’s pathetic, I know, but—”

“It’s not pathetic,” she assured him as she brought him back to the table where his mug sat.

“Well, whatever, I guess I was crying like a little punk, and you know Toriel, she’s the biggest mom in the world, so… She was very motherly,” he said as she helped him back into his wheeled heart-mug. “I guess she just wanted to make sure I had a place to go back to.”

“You always will, don’t worry!” Frisk assured him with a grin. “Would you like some breakfast?”

“I think you mean lunch,” Asriel said with a laugh.

“Oh… Well. Lunch?” She pointed to the kitchen. “Paps and I made you some fresh toast!”

“Uh… Fresh toast,” he repeated. “Like… you just toasted some bread?”

“No no, it’s like some weird bread and custard thing, it’s pretty good though,” she said. “Want it?”

“That’s weird. Yeah. Okay. Thanks,” he said. “Then why the heck is it called that?”

“I dunno,” she said with a shrug.

Frisk plunked him onto the table and set him up with the meal. The mechanical arm really helped him use the cutlery, but Frisk didn’t mind chopping some of it into smaller bits when he couldn’t manage it. 

“So tell me about your thing,” Asriel said.

“Oh! I can… I can…” Frisk held out a finger and concentrated very hard, until the magic glow that flowed to the tip formed a tiny, floating bubble. “I can do this!”

Asriel paused mid-bite. “Does it do anything?”

“No, but I can do it!” she said.

“Heh. Nice,” he said. “You, uh… You look a bit better.”

“Thanks, I feel a bit better,” she said.

“So you believe Sans about the backwards powers now?” he pressed.

“It’s not that I didn’t believe him,” she said sheepishly. “It’s, um… I didn’t believe that I could… Never mind. It’s good. I can help people now. It’s tough sometimes but I can do it.”

“Cool,” Asriel said.

He was just about done when the front door crashed open. Frisk ducked below the top of the table instantly.

“Oh! Hello, Asriel! Welcome back!” It was Papyrus, and within a few seconds, he had scooped up Frisk and grinned. “And there you are, little sister! Why are you still here?”

“Um…?” She wasn’t sure what to say. 

He whirled, making her head spin, and frowned crossly at Sans. “BROTHER!!” he said. “Get up!!”

“Hm?” Sans said groggily.

“We were supposed to be at the lab twenty minutes ago!!” he said.

“Oh. Really?” he asked.

“YES REALLY!!” Papyrus said. “Didn’t you get the message?!” 

“Nnnooo?” He smiled sideways. “We were locked in for a while.”

“What?! Oh, gosh, I’m sorry, were you okay?!” Papyrus demanded.

“Yeah, actually, it was a nice one,” Frisk said.

“Oh! Well, good!!” He scooped up Asriel. “THEN! I WILL MEET YOU THERE!”

“What? Just like that?” Asriel demanded.

“Wait.” Sans raised a hand. “Leave the kid.”

“Which one?” he asked.

“That one.” He pointed at Frisk. “Need to ask her a thing. We’ll catch up?”

“Oh. Okay.” He let the kid down. “Promise you’ll be quick?”

“Yeah, bro, of course,” Sans said.

“I’m surprised you know what _quick_ means,” Asriel said.

Sans stuck both thumbs up and, like a whirlwind, Papyrus was out the door again with Asriel clutched close to his chest.

Frisk let out a sigh and shot Sans a curious look. He simply kicked back on the couch and put his feet up again.

“Uh, bro?” she asked.

“Thought you might like the chance to change,” he said. “Maybe put somethin’ in your face.”

“Oh. Oh! Yeah!” She grinned and headed up the stairs. “Thanks. I won’t be long.”

He nodded and put his arms behind his head.

When Frisk returned to the couch, she was cleaned up with her SKELETON 3 tee and a small cup filled with spaghetti.

“You think there could be a breakfast spaghetti?” she wondered. “Or a dessert spaghetti. Or would that be weird?”

“Dunno if that’s sacrilege or genius,” Sans said with a wink.

“Sacri…?” Frisk shrugged and slurped a noodle. “That’s the bad one, right? Probably that.”

“Changed your mind so fast?” he asked.

“I imagined spaghetti with frosting!” she said. She grimaced and stuck her tongue out.

Sans laughed.

After she cleaned up after herself, Sans waved her back over to him.

“Sup?” she asked.

“I was just thinkin’, Cap said to sleep on it, right?” he said. “So…”

Frisk tilted her head. It took her a moment, but excitement filled her and she started to grin.

“Oh! Y-You think? Maybe?” She quickly sat down beside him and set her soul alight, cupping her hand over it carefully. “Y-Yeah! Okay, what do I do? I mean. You need to hear it. Don’t you? I mean, if it doesn’t work with you, it won’t work with anyone, so—”

“That’s a bit optimistic, huh?” he said with a laugh. “But, uh… Maybe…?” He reached his hand out to her, but he stalled and rolled his fingers. He carefully clutched her soul in blue. 

She could feel pressure deep in her energy. It was a little strange.

“Relax,” he said. 

“I don’t need to do anything?” she asked.

“Shouldn’t have to,” he said. “I just want to…”

His brow furrowed. Frisk felt her soul let out a soft pulse in response to whatever he was doing. She was curious, especially as her brother seemed to look uncharacteristically startled. His eyes scanned her quickly before he froze up. He seemed to be staring through her. He was quiet for an oddly long while. Frisk stared back at him quizzically.

“Hey. Kid. S… Say something,” he said quietly.

“Um? Like what?” Frisk asked, puzzled.

Sans started to grin. He gently pulled her close and bumped his brow to hers.

“Heh…” His magic cooed a warm, affectionate reassurance through her before his grip on her soul slacked. “Heard it.”

“Y-Yeah?” Frisk asked excitedly. “Which part? Was it nice?!”

“Just slow. Like ours.” He pulled back, ruffling her hair, his cheekbones flushed with pale blue. “Kinda like… Kinda like a baby monster’s. Sounds totally normal. Skeleton three.” He gently poked her on the shoulder. 

She was absolutely aglow, beaming from ear to ear, and grabbed him to hug him tight.

“It really worked,” she said. “Oh man. I… Dude, I’m so glad you could hear it!”

“Same,” he assured her.

\- - -

Alphys certainly hadn’t been kidding when she had told Sans how Mettaton had taken over the lab. Pieces of cardboard and wood were vaguely assembled into trees and houses in one corner of the room, and every surface — including ones that hadn’t been there before— were covered in clothes and craft supplies. Mettaton himself was standing up on the second floor, absolutely absorbed in a thick pad of paper. He didn’t even notice the skeleton and the kid had arrived.

When Frisk glanced around quickly, it didn’t seem like anyone else was there yet. Not really a surprise, seeing as Sans’s “shortcuts” took less than a second. She supposed twenty minutes late was more of a guesstimate. She heard a shuffling sound and pushed closer to Sans quickly, though she saw a white lump raise out of a pile of props. It was just Reaper. Frisk waved and grinned and the amalgamate wobbled over and flopped onto her shoulders and clacked their beak slowly. Frisk snickered and patted their head. She poked her phone and brought out a crabapple to offer. With curious, wide-eyed blinking, they pulled the fruit from her and waddled away.

“Easy to please, huh?” Sans said.

“Snacks,” Frisk said with a smile and a nod. 

She curiously watched Reaper as they slipped away behind what looked like a shelter made of cardboard standees where Alphys’s fridge was supposed to be. It was making a faint thumping sound. Frisk followed quietly. She peeked into the makeshift cave and found a pile of goopy monsters curled up inside. Reaper settled in over top of Big Dog, who had their facehole shoved into a bag of dog food, tail wagging. Two of the small, lumpy creatures with long tails were poking at a broken phone, and Mrs. Snowdrake was sitting contentedly with an oversized teacup clutched in her wings. Frisk’s face immediately lit up and she scampered over to the monster and sat down.

“Hi again!” she said.

Mrs. Snowdrake smiled. She raised a wing lethargically and patted her head, feathers squishing.

“I have something for you,” Frisk said. “Sorry it took so long to get to you.”

“Hmmm?” She tilted her head. “For… me?”

“Yeah!” Frisk pulled out a piece of paper and the joke book from her phone and offered it to Mrs. Snowdrake. “From Snowy.”

The monster’s faces immediately lit up. “From S… Sn… Snowy?”

Frisk nodded and held the things closer. Mrs. Snowdrake carefully took the things and looked at them, tilting her head one way and then the other. She awkwardly pawed at the book and opened to a page somewhere in the middle. She stared at in in silence for a few long seconds before laughing slowly. She patted Frisk again.

“Good… girl…” she said before she got to her feet.

She trundled over to get closer to the other monsters and, after a moment, very slowly began to read one of the jokes from the book aloud to the others. Frisk stood up and jumped to feel a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Sans grinning at her.

“Good job,” he said.

Her cheeks flushed and she smiled bashfully. 

Mettaton was still wrapped up in his own little world on the top floor. He hadn’t even noticed them. Frisk snuck up the escalator, watching him mouth words to himself and shift in place, striking poses along with what must’ve been a play in his head. Frisk tilted her head. She copied his stance and began to mirror his moves. Sans watched with a grin on his face. 

They were interrupted as the door opened and, at the other end of the lab, Undyne, Alphys, and Papyrus— with Asriel in his hands— entered from the west and began unpacking what seemed to be more props from phones and a backpack. Frisk’s face was immediately alight. She jumped up on the railing, startling Mettaton thoroughly, and she waved to them. 

“Hi guys!!” she said.

“Hey squirt!!” Undyne said as Papyrus waved enthusiastically and Alphys said something that couldn’t be heard.

“OH! My GOD, when did you get here?!” Mettaton yelped.

“A while ago,” Frisk said with a grin over her shoulder. “Hi, Mettaton!”

“Shocked you didn’t notice,” Sans said; he winked when the robot whirled on him. “Nice moves.”

“Thank you,” Mettaton said.

The kid bounced on the railing and slumped halfway over. “Undyne!” she called. “How are you?”

“I’m great!” she shouted back, grinning wide and flexing her arms. “You?”

“Same!! Thank you!” She jabbed her thumb against her chest. “Sans said he heard my thing!”

“No kidding? That’s great!!” She hopped one of the tables and to stand underneath her and held her arms out. “C’mere, you nerd!”

Frisk clambered over the railing and jumped. Undyne whisked her up and the kid beamed and hugged her tight around the shoulders.

“While you’re down there, honey!” Mettaton called. “Take a look on the table!!”

“Which one?” Undyne asked.

“The costume table! There should be four piles! Frisky, check the little girl sized one!” he said. “See what I found for you! And Papyrus, you take a look at the, um… Well, the jackets I’ve scrounged up.”

“What a coincidence that you managed to get a pile of costumes for Frisk that is also the same size as her,” Papyrus said.

“I mean the size of the clothes, darling,” the metal monster said with a chuckle.

“Oh.” He sounded a little disappointed. 

Undyne plopped Frisk to the ground, ruffled her hair, and then curiously pulled a long red gown off the table as Papyrus pranced over to join them. He put Asriel down on the table, and he wheeled over to join Frisk.

“Who’s this for?” Undyne asked.

“Moi!” Mettaton put a hand to his chest and fluttered his eyelashes. “Of course.”

“Uh. I thought you’re playing me,” Asriel said. 

“And your point is?” Mettaton said dryly.

“I’ve never worn a dress in my life,” he said.

“Maybe you should try it?” he suggested.

Asriel rolled his eyes and scoffed, and Mettaton sighed dramatically.

“Okay, okay, I will pursue other options.”

“Good plan.” Undyne tossed the dress haphazardly over her shoulder and Alphys scampered over to pick it up. “Totally not his colour anyway. You sure got a lot of junk here.”

“H-He asked f-for donations, we have to, um, g-give most of this back to people,” Alphys squeaked.

Frisk quickly snuck over to give her a hug before she clambered up onto the table to take a look at her pile.

There was a lot of stuff. Costumes, sundresses; shirts that were too big. Frisk wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it all.

“Um, can I wear my own clothes when I play me?” Frisk asked.

“Absolutely, sweetie, just make sure it’s clean and, OH! Wear that cute little striped shirt with the pink and blue if you still have it. It’s very recognizable and good for the visuals,” Mettaton said.

Frisk nodded and shuffled through the stuff. It didn’t seem right, though. She looked at Papyrus, who was dutifully trying on everything in his pile.

As he rolled up the sleeves on a button down shirt, Alphys scooted over to him, staring up at him with wide eyes.

“W-Wow, that looks r-really professional,” she said, her cheeks flushing.

“Does it? Then that can’t be right, I guess,” he said, beginning to take it off again right away.

“OOC,” Sans called from somewhere.

“What?! But for a scientist—!” Mettaton protested.

“The laziest scientist in the world,” Undyne joked.

“Ugh, you all are impossible,” Mettaton sighed.

He strode over to an escalator and slid gracefully down the railing. He took the shirt from Papyrus and flapped it out to straighten it before tenderly placing it back on the pile, leaving the skeleton in his _cool dude_ tank top. He pulled out what seemed to be the most typical lab coat imaginable and helped him into it. He brushed off his shoulders and straightened the collar.

“There, you fashion disaster,” Mettaton called over his shoulder at Sans. “Sleeveless shirt with a lab coat over top, accurate enough for you or should I put stains on this poor boy as well?!”

“Perfect,” Sans said. “Stains do make it look lived-in, though.”

“Well, if it’d add to the realism,” Papyrus said.

“NO. No no no. Honey.” Mettaton held Papyrus’s face in both hands. “I appreciate your dedication to authenticity, darling, but we are not ruining any of these outfits, including yours.”

“O-Okay,” Papyrus said.

“Now!” Mettaton sped over to Frisk and rifled through the clothes. “For Chara. There must be something here.”

“For Chara?” Asriel repeated. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“Nnnnooo, why would I be kidding you?” Mettaton asked.

Asriel frowned. He pulled on one dress with his arm, then tossed it aside. Then another, and another.

“Too pink, too big, too… What even is this? It has four arm holes.” His frown only deepened. “She’d never have worn any of… Oh.”

Frisk, Mettaton, and Papyrus all leaned over as he loosened something green and orange from the bottom of the pile. 

“Oh, god, that tacky thing?” Mettaton asked, raising his brows.

Frisk pulled it out for the flower— a t-shirt with green and orange stripes. He looked thoughtful.

“Close enough,” he said.

“What, seriously?” Mettaton insisted, and when Asriel folded his leaves and arm and nodded, he sighed and drooped reluctantly. “Fiiiiiine. I guess. Okay. Fine. That’s all just fine. NOW! MY THESPIANS!” He grabbed Frisk and Papyrus tightly around the shoulders.

“Your what now?” Frisk asked.

“Let us start on the script!!! The draft is done, come with me! And the rest of you ruffians, don’t you listen in too closely! Spoooilers!”

He dragged the two upstairs and huddled them away in a corner. 

“Hey!” Alphys called. “M-Mettaton, don’t plan anything t-too crazy, okay?! Your body’s st-still in beta.”

“I know, Alphie, don’t you worry about it!!” he assured her.

“I don’t trust him one bit,” Undyne said quietly, cutting her eyes at Alphys.

The lizard sighed. “Th-Then his legs will fall off and it’ll all b-be his own fault.”

Asriel grumbled, but he used his arm to swing himself down to the floor and rolled towards the escalator on his own. Alphys watched, hands clasped, eyes all but sparkling. Undyne took note and held in a laugh, gently nudging her with her elbow. The lizard squeaked and looked up at her with a bashful smile.

“S-Sorry, I, um, g-got distracted. Um…” She rubbed her headspines and stood on her toes to try to get any sense of what what going on upstairs. “Um! M-Mettaton, what should w-we be doing? Did you really n-need us all here?”

“Well, I don’t need Sans, really—”

“Well, who does, honestly?” Sans said.

“ME!” Frisk said instantly.

“Yes, me also,” Papyrus agreed.

“Ahem. Anyway. You two maybe just look at a script,” Mettaton suggested. “See if I’ve missed any props? Annnnnd Undyne, be a doll and think about the the music selection, won’t you?”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Undyne grumbled.

She cast her eye around the room. Alphys shrugged. After a few seconds, she spotted Sans as if he had appeared from nowhere, looking through a pile of papers with an amused smile on his face. 

“Yo. That it?” she asked.

“Looks like it.” He thumbed through it and she came to peer over his shoulder. “Welp. This is going to be… interestin’.” He handed it over to Undyne and rubbed the back of his skull.

When she flipped through the pages, she quickly saw the source of his concern. The script was long and bulky and had a lot of large words for scenes that had to be dominated by the acting of an eleven year old. She grimaced and shot him a look. He shrugged. She sighed and sat down on the floor to read through the whole thing.

“Man, why I gotta do the music?” she grumbled. “Don’t you play, too?”

“Yeeeeeeah, but. Nah,” Sans said.

“Y-You’re g-getting off easy,” Alphys joked, nudging him with her elbow as she wandered over to sit with Undyne.

“Pfft, no, the play is getting off easy,” he said.

“You’d do it if Frisk asked,” Undyne teased.

He lay down on the floor and put his arms behind his head. “So? Ain’t Frisk askin’.”

\- - -

“So, I’m thinking, this whole thing, maybe it runs three hours or so, who can really tell? Nonetheless, rapt attention will be paid, and— Ooh, can either of you sing? I could add a few musical numbers, that would also really pad it out!!”Mettaton was pacing in his corner.

Frisk had started to sweat. Three hours was an awful long time, wasn’t it? She could tell Asriel felt the same.

Papyrus tapped his chin. “I’m sure I could if I tried, but, um, Mettaton, isn’t Undyne in charge of the music, and didn’t she say she was just doing something quick?” he asked.

“Forget that,” Asriel said. “How the hell did you already get this to three hours without musical bits in it? This is like dragging a kid’s book out into five movies. It’s nuts.”

“What do you suggest then?” The metal monster sounded surprisingly genuine when he pushed the script to Asriel. “You were there for all of this, after all.”

“What? You actually care what I think?” he said.

“Realism! Adds! Emotion!” Mettaton said. “Theatrical is important. But NOTHING is more important than FEELING, darling.”

Asriel bit his lip. He flipped open the huge, stapled pile of papers and was shaking his head right away. He flipped through it, making an increasingly disgruntled face.

“This is wrong,” he said. “She wouldn’t say it like this.”

“What?! Oh, come on,” Mettaton said. “It can’t all be—”

“Read it with Frisk,” he said, shoving it towards the kid. “If you can even read this.”

“Um.” She picked it up and squinted at it. “Kind of?”

“So the language is too complex,” Mettaton said thoughtfully.

“Try it,” Asriel insisted.

“Um. _G… Greetings! I am a human!_” Frisk read. “_I have fallen from the surface! What’s this? Gasp! A myst_… myst… Oh! _A mysterious creature appr_… Ugh. Sorry, Mettaton, I can’t—”

“Approaches,” Papyrus said gently as he peered over.

“But see, it doesn’t matter anyway, no one talks like that,” Asriel insisted. “Look, together. Here. Where Chara tries to convince me to do the thing with the soul. Go, Frisk.”

Frisk turned to the page he indicated and she frowned at the lines before her.

“_Brother! Are you not tired of wasting away beneath this horrible mountain?_” Frisk read.

“But of course, dear sister!” Mettaton said instantly. “But what could we, mere children, do about such a thing that the great King and Queen of monsters could not?!”

“I_ have a d_… a daaaa… das…?” Frisk looked back at Papyrus for help.

“Dastardly?” he suggested.

“_I have a dastardly plan, dear brother. I believe if I could somehow or_… orch…”

“_Orchestrate my apparent death_,” Mettaton continued for her, putting on a higher, increasingly feminine voice seamlessly, “_we might be able to conquer the barrier._”

“Would she really say her own plan was dastardly if she was trying to convince him, though?” Papyrus wondered.

“Scratch the _dastardly_, then,” Mettaton agreed.

“Scratch the whole thing!” Asriel said in exasperation. “Look! Next line, _Asriel_ agrees right away. He leaves, and then you wrote in that Chara _cackles menacingly_! This doesn’t work at all!!”

“So you’re telling me the whole thing is for the scrap heap, then?” Mettaton said with a sigh.

“W-Well.. It is, um, kinda hard to read,” Frisk said quietly.

“That is a pickle, since you have the most lines,” he agreed. 

He tossed the script over his shoulder, where it clunked against the wall and slid pathetically downwards. “Not a bother. I’ll start again. But… if not this, then what…?”

“Look,” Asriel said with a sigh. “It’s all kinda in the right order. It’s just it sounds stupid when people talk.”

“Oh thanks,” Mettaton said, rolling his eyes.

“Just… Just do the scene. With Frisk. But talk normal.” He focussed on Frisk and grabbed her hand. “You know Chara. There’s a part of her you might even know better than I do. Just… remember that a bit, but do it like you. You can’t act if you can’t even read your lines. And, I mean, just in general, not because… you know.”

“R-Right,” she said, and she took a deep breath. “That scene. Okay.”

“It starts in the flower patch. Chara was looking at the buttercups. After d… After Asgore got sick from eating some. I walk in,” Asriel said. “Go.”

Mettaton’s confidence seemed to falter for a moment. He stared at the flower, and then at Frisk. The kid thought back, bit her lip, and clasped her hands.

“Kinda funny how something so little could make dad so sick, huh?” she said quietly.

“F-Funny?” Mettaton frowned, the gears in his head turning, and he quickly tried to slip into character. His voice raised; became childish and soft. “Y-Yeah, it was weird. Hard to believe. That something so nice could hurt someone.”

Frisk nodded. “We had these above ground, too, you know,” she said.

“Do you… miss it?” he asked.

“No. No. I hated it there,” she said. “I still hate it there. But. I was thinking. Maybe, we should go.”

“What?!” Mettaton asked. “Wait, what? Is that the logical next step?”

“Just let her lead and answer how you think a kid would,” Asriel said quietly.

“Right. Um. Okay. What?!” he said again. “What do you mean, go? Go where?”

“The surface. You. And me.” Frisk’s eyes were still locked on her hands. “I hear mom crying sometimes. I see other monsters, too. They’re so miserable, Asriel, they want to be back up there. See the sun again, you know? I think we could give them that.”

“But we couldn’t do that unless…” Mettaton gasped dramatically. “We’d need a human soul!!”

“I have one,” she said. “You take mine. And we’ll take all theirs. All the humans. We’ll free all the monsters.”

“No, I can’t do that, you’ll die!” he insisted.

“We’d be together,” she said. “Don’t you remember what they did? To the monsters. To mom and dad. To me? Don’t you think we could… beat them? Together?”

“We’d be strong,” he admitted.

“We’d be unstoppable,” she said. “No monsters would ever be sad again. The humans would be gone. Wouldn’t that be great?”

“You’re right. It would,” Mettaton said quietly. “I’ll… I’ll think about it.”

“I have a plan already,” Frisk said. “We can do it. All I need is you. And mom and dad will be happy forever. Please, Asriel. You and me.”

“…Okay.” Mettaton took a deep breath, brushed a finger under his eye, and then clapped his hands twice. “And, scene! Wow. Frisk. That was… good.”

Frisk shrugged sheepishly, and Mettaton zoomed away, saying something to himself that she couldn’t understand from the sheer speed of it. “I have to write this all down!” was one of the few things she could catch.

Asriel squeezed her hand and when she looked at him, there were tears glittering in his dark little eyes. She scooped him up and hugged him. Papyrus wrapped them both in his arms.

“Th-That… That was just like what she said,” Asriel said softly. “But… Heh. Nicer. Did she leave you that?”

“Not quite,” Frisk said. “I just… did what you said. Play her but like me.”

“Do you know quite a bit about this Chara character, little sister?” Papyrus asked gently.

“Kinda,” she said. “I met her ghost. She talked to me a little.”

“Wow, a ghost? Like Napstablook?” Papyrus asked.

“K… Kinda?” Frisk said uncertainly. “She’s gone now.”

“Interesting,” Papyrus said. “There really aren’t a lot of ghosts left anymore. Just like skeletons, I guess. Oh, Asriel, I’m sorry that happened to her.”

Asriel shook his head. “Thanks, Papyrus. But don’t be. She needed to leave,” he said. “It’s a lot better for everyone that she’s gone.”

“That must be a very strange feeling to feel about your own sister,” he said sympathetically.

“Tell me about it.” Asriel slumped against Frisk, but when he looked up at her, he was smiling. “You really can’t read very well at all, can you?”

“Shh, I’m getting better!” she protested with a weak laugh.

“Oh god, how bad was it before?” he asked.

“Asriel!” she whined.


	55. SHOW PLAN STARTO

Papyrus was much more suited to performances than Frisk was. When he put on a blue coat, shorts, and slippers, and mimicked Sans, he seemed to fall right into it. It was pretty funny, Frisk had to admit. He carried a sort of charisma — of course, it had always been there, but when he was acting it shone. She did really like the excuse for him to wear more squishy clothing, though. It essentially doubled hug coziness. They didn’t get too much further into the script, but, surprisingly, Sans was one of the few characters with believable dialogue in the whole play. Seemed like having the majority of the lines sitting comfortably at under five words helped.

Asriel was a lot less into it, but he still refused to leave, even considering how uncomfortable it seemed to make him. Guarding his sister’s memory, Frisk supposed. She hoped she could pull it off without being absolutely horrible. She knew the side of Chara that Sans had seen, and it scared her. She’d try to stay closer to the Chara that Asriel knew.

After an hour or so, Mettaton clapped his hands to stop the practice and sent the others downstairs as he regrouped with his notes. Sans seemed to have dozed off under a pile of coats and Alphys was tinkering with something on one of the clear spots on a nearby table. Frisk tiredly slid her way into Undyne’s lap and flopped dramatically. The monster snickered and patted her head.

“Rough, huh?” she said, holding up the script.

“I have to play my friend’s dead sister, it is weird as heck and I don’t think I like it,” Frisk sighed.

“Also it’s trash,” Asriel said as he rolled up under Papyrus’s feet.

“It might not be. Eventually. Probably,” Papyrus said reassuringly. “There’s still, uh. Today and two and a half days.”

“Yeah right,” the flower said. “It’ll suck.”

“Eh. Probably,” Papyrus said.

“Getting into the role a bit, huh?” Undyne asked as she looked up at him.

He shrugged. “Meh.”

Frisk snickered. Undyne raised her eyebrows, and the tall skeleton sighed and threw up his arms.

“Oh, who am I kidding?! I actually am having quite a bit of fun,” Papyrus said rolling his sleeves up and sitting on the edge of the table. “But I’m sorry it’s not as fun for you two.”

“That’s okay, Paps,” Frisk said. “I’m gonna do whatever I have to to make this work.”

“If it even works,” Asriel said. “Wouldn’t it be hilarious if we go through all this and it doesn’t even do anything? And by hilarious, I mean total garbage.”

“Oh, A-Asriel, please d-don’t think like that,” Alphys squeaked, hurrying over to him and kneeling down. “Hey. W-We’re all gonna t-try really hard! And… A-And I really…! I r-really think th-this will build enough s-solidarity in all the monsters to get their magic to stick together. I m-mean, it’d, um, w-work on me.”

She smiled sideways— an attempt to seem reassuring, though she looked a little nervous herself. Asriel sighed and rubbed his head.

“Maybe,” he grumbled.

“M-Maybe… Maybe I could… Hmm…” Alphys cupped her chin. She offered the little flower her hands. 

He frowned with confusion.“What?”

“L-Let me show you what I’ve b-been working on,” she said. “Th-This might make you feel a l-little better, huh?”

“Uhh…” He shot a cautious glance at Frisk. “Well…”

“It might help” Frisk said gently.

Asriel sighed. He nodded. “Yeah, maybe a little,” he admitted. He let Alphys scoop him up and she hugged him carefully.

“Y-You know, it’s weird, b-but you know monsters. W-We love a g-good show,” she said with a smile. 

“Well. It’s definitely weird,” Asriel agreed.

“Not sure if it’ll be good, either,” Undyne said, tapping her pile of notes against the floor, “but, like, who knows? You guys were changin’ the words up there, right?”

“Yeah, kinda,” Frisk said.

“Good. Hey. Kid,” she said, her ear-fins drooping a little. “You’re gonna be okay to perform in front of all those people, right? You get stage fright?”

Frisk shook her head. “Nah, I, um… I did a thing in front of everyone the last few times with Mettaton and it was kinda fun, except the whole part where he, um, was actually trying to kill me,” she said.

Alphys gulped hard. “S-S-Sorry,” she squeaked.

Frisk snickered and shook her head. Undyne ruffled her hair gently, holding back a laugh.

“You’re a tougher little punk than I thought if you just laugh that off. If someone tried to kill me, man, I’d just… Uh…” Undyne shut herself up.

Alphys winced for her, her scales flushing, and Asriel snorted. Papyrus tilted his head and frowned puzzledly. 

“What’s with the sudden awkwardness? Did someone try to kill you, Captain?” he asked worriedly.

“Uhhh… No, Paps, it’s just…” She looked down at Frisk bashfully. “Ah, sorry, kid.”

Frisk stared up at her in silence for a few seconds before she started to laugh again. She clambered onto her knee and used the height to give her a kiss on the cheek. Undyne snorted and put her arm around her and grinned sheepishly.

“You’re gonna do great,” she said.

“Oh… Oh n-no…” Alphys squeaked quickly.

“I don’t think it’s gonna be that bad,” Frisk laughed.

“N-Not that,” the lizard said quickly. “Um… Uhhhh… It’s j-just… Um. F-Frisk, you might, ummm… You m-might… need a costume?”

Alphys grinned nervously and the others turned their attention on her with confusion.

“Well, yeah,” Asriel said. “We already picked a dumb shirt.”

“N-No, no, not, um…” Alphys huffed and shook her head. “F-Frisk, um. Th-The whole underground i-is going to see this. Right? A-And, w-we might have been able to pass you off as something else a-around here—”

“A squishy skeleton or a weird puppy!” Papyrus added proudly. “Oh. Wait. OH!! Right!! Gosh, Frisk, we can’t let everyone know the human in the play is played by real human!! What if someone comes after you?! I mean, I’d protect you, of course, but I think the less fighting we do, the better, wouldn’t you say?”

“Oh. Um. Yeah. I guess that makes sense,” Frisk admitted. “I don’t want anyone to do any fighting for me for real. Um. I guess I should do something.”

“Paint yourself green?” Asriel suggested.

“No way, blue,” Undyne said quickly.

“Or white! And we could darken around your eyes and you’d look just like a regular skeleton instead of a squishy one! But with hair!” Papyrus said.

“Wait wait, I don’t know if I wanna paint myself!” Frisk said with a laugh. “I saw a movie one time where they had to paint a girl blue for it and it took eight hours every time!”

“EIGHT HOURS? Pfffft, alright, forget that, then,” Undyne said. “Ummm… I dunno, anyone here know how to use makeup?”

“J-Just basics,” Alphys admitted.

“Don’t even look at me, I don’t have hands,” Asriel said.

“Um… Sans and I have done costume makeup before. Maybe that could do. Why?” Papyrus said.

“Maybe you could just, like, dot some scales or something on whatever skin is showing,” Undyne suggested. 

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Frisk said.

“That might n-not show up w-well on camera, though,” Alphys mumbled. “Ummm… O-Oh! Oh! I know!”

She patted through some of the scattered clothes and, after a moment, pulled out two white socks. She scooted over to Frisk and held them up against either side of her head. 

“E-Ears?” she suggested.

Frisk laughed. “Like floppy dog ears?”

“Or floppy goat ears,” Undyne said, grinning. “Doesn’t look so bad to me.”

“Yes, actually, that could be pretty cute,” Papyrus said. “We can make you some fake floppy ears! And then the monsters you know, they’ll think you’re in costume, and the monsters you don’t will just think you’re a regular scaly goat puppy monster kid!”

“If you think that’d work,” Frisk said.

“S’kinda cute,” Asriel mumbled.

“You say somethin’?” Undyne asked.

“No, what? Nothing, shut up,” he said quickly. 

Undyne chuckled. “Well. Whatever. Might go back to my place,” she said, looking at the script again. “Start on this… Whatever this is.”

“GOOD! YES!!” Mettaton called from above. “All of you, ooouuuttt of my space, please, I have a lot of work to do!!”

“Y-Your space?” Alphys repeated.

“Well. You know. Just temporarily,” he said.

“R-Right. Well then,” Alphys said, picking up Asriel and striding off towards the elevator. “I-If it’s your sp-space, yoooou can make d-dinner for everyone!”

“Waaaait, Alphys, darling, wait wait wait!” he yelped.

Alphys was already in the elevator. “D-Don’t worry, I’ll get him home safe,” she assured them.

Frisk waved as the door slid closed. Mettaton bounded after her and was confronted by the metal doors. He pouted and sighed, and started pushing the button to bring it back over and over.

“I don’t think that’ll make it go faster, dude,” Undyne said.

“But it makes me feel better,” he grumbled, and he sighed. “Oh well. On your way, then?”

“Guess so.” She slung Frisk over her shoulder and stood up. “Paps, coming?”

“Yes, of course! Now, where is Sans?” he asked.

Undyne pointed at the pile of coats. Papyrus knelt and dug through it, then began to frown. There wasn’t a skeleton to be found.

“Sans? Brother?” he asked. “Where are you?!”

“Did he leave?” Frisk asked, leaning over to look.

“I, um…” Papyrus frowned. “I guess so!! Ugh, that brother of ours.”

“Aw.” Frisk pouted. “But… Aw.”

“He’ll find us, right, kid?” Undyne said.

“Yeah, always does,” Frisk said.

“Weelllll, alright, let’s go, I guess,” Papyrus agreed. “Pfffft. Too lazy to even lay on the floor in one spot!!”

\- - -

Delving deep underground again was a little unnerving for Asriel. Last time he’d been here was when he’d been kidnapped. Strange to think back to then. He hadn’t had the fragment of determination glowing in him yet. There hadn’t been dread. Just irritation. A desire for revenge, too. Now, though, maybe just putting salt in that blowhard prima donna’s coffee would be enough for him.

He looked up at Alphys curiously. She had gone quiet as she walked them through the hallways. The only sound was her nervous breath and the slapping of her feet on the tiles.

“So, uh… where’re we going, exactly?” he asked.

“Oh, um… It’s… It’s not far,” she said. “Um. H-Hey. A-Asriel?”

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Do you, um… D-Do you… miss your parents?” she asked.

“Uhh… Kind of?” he said, and he frowned. “Why?”

“W-Well, it’s just, um… I’m, uh… I’m pretty g-good friends with your d-dad, you know?” she said. “Umm… I mean. Okay, I’m, um, d-definitely not someone t-to lecture anyone on k-keeping secrets, b-but—”

“What, you think I should tell him I’m here? Have him see me like this again? No thanks,” he said.

“A-Again?” she asked worriedly.

“You know I had the timeline, right? Before Frisk,” he said. “After Sans did. I tried to see my dad. My mom. Gerson. Anyone who might remember me. Over and over. Trying to feel something, basically. Nothing. But I saw how they reacted to me.”

“B-But Asgore accepted you, d-didn’t he?” she asked softly.

“Obviously. And all I did was hurt him. And see the guilt in his eyes. Day after day after day. Screw that.” He shook his head. “I won’t go back. I won’t be Asriel to them again.”

“Unless w-we g-get your body back, right?” she asked.

He shrugged. She sighed.

“I’m s-so sorry,” she said softly. “I wish I’d know, I… I w-would’ve… I would’ve…”

“What? Trapped me in the lab?” he asked with a laugh. “No thanks. Though, that wouldda probably been smart, I wouldda murdered a ton less people. Not that that’s your fault, you didn’t know I’d get sentient again. And psycho.”

“J-Jeez,” she said with a tired laugh. “I w-was going to s-say, I would’ve p-put all my resources into m-making you a soul m-myself. If I c-could.”

“Oh.” He looked up at her with a brow raised. “Seriously?”

She nodded. He smiled a little.

“Nice of you,” he said.

“I, um… B-Before, um, any of this,” she said. “I… knew what really happened to you. Andto your sister. I f-found the tapes you made.”

“You did, huh?” he said. “You show them to anyone?”

“N-No. No,” she said quickly. “Never.”

“Thanks. You should probably trash them,” he said. “If, um, you don’t mind.”

“R-Right, um…” She paused at the edge of the roomful of beds, and she pointed her thumb down the hallway. “I’ve, um… b-been working down here, but if that bothers y-you, we could—”

“It’s fine,” he said.

She carried him down the hall to a long counter covered in flowers. He immediately wished he hadn’t said it was fine. Those blank flowers were faceless mannequins. It creeped him out. He saw a laptop situated amongst them and a stool Alphys must’ve been using. There were little, limp robot parts, a lot like the one he was now equipped with. She must’ve been using the flowers for size. For some reason, that creeped him out a little less.

She carefully placed him on the counter and took a seat. She opened her laptop and showed him as she brought up what seemed to be a couple schematics. “This, um, c-computer is pretty old. I-It doesn’t run so well,” she said, “but I’ve b-been using it just to, um… J-Just to play myself my models. W-Watch them a lot, you know, t-to see if I’ve missed anything, while I’m w-working on something else, but s-so far, um…”

She pointed out what seemed to be a diagram of Frisk’s soul. There was still a tiny, flickering shell of extra determination surrounding it, just barely a pixel’s worth. 

“S-See, just that energy there should be enough to tie the m-magic of a s-soul together,” Alphys explained. “A-And look.” 

She changed pictures. This one showed an empty outline of a heart, and hundreds of tiny white hearts appeared beside Frisk’s determination-soaked soul. It towered over them all.

“Um… Th-This isn’t quite to scale, b-because then you, um, w-wouldn’t be able to see the monster souls right, b-but how it s-seems to work is if, uhh… W-Well, watch.”

She pressed a button and the monster souls began to discard tiny parts, like snowflakes, that moved to fill up the outline, though not quite to the top, and it began to waver. It scattered and dissolved.

“Uh. Not super reassuring,” Asriel said.

“That’s just what we have now,” she said. “B-But once the broadcast goes out…” 

She hit a different button this time, and in this version, the little soul bits were tinted with blue. They seemed to stick together this time, but still didn’t fill the empty vessel to the top.

“Much better, see?” she said.

“Yeah, I guess,” he admitted.

“S-Solidarity doesn’t, umm… I mean, I d-don’t know the colour yet, it might not h-have one at all, I j-just used b-blue because it looks sort of friendly, um—”

“I’m not worried about your colour choices,” Asriel said with a laugh. “But, uh… the soul’s still not full, though.”

“Mhm. Th-That’s where the d-determination comes in. I, um, j-just haven’t gotten that model to w-work yet, but that’s just my st-stupid old computer,” she said. “Though it’d, um, p-probably really really h-help if we could a-at least get your father involved a little, I understand th-the chances of that are, um, not good. B-But as it stands, I think… I think if all th-the monsters underground cooperate, this’ll work.”

“What if, like, two don’t want to?” Asriel asked worriedly.

“Oh, th-that should be fine, the d-determination should cover that,” Alphys assured him. “D-Does, um…? Does this make you feel a little better? To, um, s-see that there is a plan? We’re n-not just winging this.”

“I guess,” he admitted. “Uh. Thanks, Alphys.”

The lizard smiled and nodded. She let out a small sigh and she tented her fingers. “Y-You know,” she said quietly. “I, um… I’m r-really happy to f-finally meet you.”

“What?” he asked.

“A-Asgore still talks about you,” she said. “A-And… And when Frisk t-told me that it was y-you who… Well… I dunno.”

“I’m not the same guy,” he said.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I’ve been through just… trash. A lot of trash,” he said. “Trash with those other time kids, trash with Sans, trash with… Frisk. Mostly my own fault. Though, gotta admit, Sans did kinda seek me out a few times. Which I probably deserved.”

“Oof, you a-actually made h-him want to c-come find you?” she asked, laughing and wincing. “M-Must’ve been bad.”

“He was nice the first time. I was an ass,” he said. “Then we were both kinda shit. Not that I blame him.”

“Can I a-ask you something?” Alphys asked.

“Sure, whatever,” Asriel said.

“How old a-are you?”

Asriel tilted his head. “I was, umm… Almost thirteen. When I died.”

“God. Th-That’s young,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“Meh,” he said.

“Why did you agree to her plan?” she asked. Her voice was almost a whisper. She wasn’t even looking at him; seemed to almost be asking rhetorically. Her scales flushed after a second and she raised her hands apologetically. “Oh, g-god, sorry, I just… I… N-Never mind, it’s not a-any of my business. Ugh, Alphys, foot in m-mouth.”

“It’s okay,” he said. “Sometimes I’m not sure either.”

“I’m s-so sorry, I—”

“I guess put my trust in a broken person,” he said. “I didn’t realize how broken until she was inside my head. Inside my… everything. Using my body on her own. By then, it was too late.” He tented his leaves and his eyes focussed downwards. 

Alphys moved closer with worry. “A-Asriel…”

“I’m not a good person, you know,” he said. “The second she told me we’d get human souls, I should’ve realized that meant killing. I shouldn’t have been okay with it. We weren’t all that desperate back then. No humans had fallen. It wasn’t like it was the final stretch. She said she wanted to destroy the humans, and I just said _okay. You’re my sister. Of course I’ll do whatever you want._ Naïve idiot.” He sighed. 

She bit her lip and put a hand gently against his stem. “It’s why I don’t understand Frisk, y’know? She knew all this since forever. Chara was inside her mind. And even knowing what we did, she still wanted to help. See, she’s good. I’m nothing like her.” He laughed at himself. “Guess she’s the naïve one now. But I like her. Some days I wish I could be more like that again.”

Alphys squeaked softly and pulled him into a hug. He winced, but he had to admit, the warm little lizard was kind of reassuring in her babbling shakiness.

“I… I don’t know that I’m a g-good person either,” she said softly. “A-All the suffering I caused, I… I try t-to tell myself it’ll be worth something s-someday. And… A-And I think that s-someday might come soon, at least f-for you. I hope so. God. I h-hope that so much. If… If all th-the horrible things I did could h-help you b-be yourself again, I… I’d make every st-stupid mistake again. God, does that make me worse? I dunno… I j-just… I want you t-to be okay.”

“I dunno if that makes you worse,” Asriel said. “But, um… I’m grateful. However not-good you think you are.”

“Pffft.” She snorted and laughed, and gently kissed the top of his head. “Everything th-that happened, it’s my fault.”

“Yeah. True. It’s your fault I’m even alive. I couldda stayed dead.” He winked at her. “Look at you, breakin’the laws of nature for some stupid kid like me. Oh well. I’m here now, you’re all stuck with me, and I guess it’s kinda my job to help break the dumb barrier, right? So. Your fault? Sure. But that also means, technically, you’re the one that’s responsible for everyone getting saved. So. Not everything is black and white.”

Alphys stared down at him with wide eyes. She gulped. She had to take off her glasses to wipe her face. “Oh god.”

“I know, right? That’s some kind of heavy, crap, ain’t it?” He grinned. “To be fair, though, I don’t hate being alive anymore.”

“Th-That’s definitely s-something,” she said.

She gently rubbed his head with her thumb. He smiled a little. 

“Too bad you couldn’t have made me a tree or something,” he joked. “One of those fly-trap plants? Those are cool.”

“Heh. S-Sorry,” she said.

“I know,” he said. 

He patted her hand gently. She chuckled.

“W-Well… K-Koketsu ni i-irazunba koji wo ezu,” she said quietly.

“What’s that mean?” he asked.

“Oh. H-Heh. Um. J-Just that you won’t g-get anywhere i-if you d-don’t try. ” She smiled sheepishly. “I t-tell myself th-that a lot recently.”

“Heh. Weeb,” he joked.

“S-Sugoi, ne?” she joked, winking.

He groaned, but couldn’t help a laugh.

Alphys turned to look over her shoulder rather suddenly. Asriel looked puzzled but he soon caught a clicking sound reverberating down the hallway. 

“Alllphyyyys?! Darling, where are you?” Mettaton called.

“G-Getting warmer,” Alphys said.

“Oh!” Metatton clip-clopped towards them, emerging from the hallway. “Thank god. Look, Alphys, about the cooking—”

“D-Did you decide what you’re making?”

He froze. She stared at him steadily and he sighed and drooped.

“Fine, fine. God.” He chuckled. and brushed his hair from his eyes. “Would you be an absolute darling and pick some things up for me?”

“Well…” She shrugged a little. “I guess I c-could, but I n-need to take Asriel h-home, and umm…”

“I could come,” he said.

Alphys grinned. “O-Oh good! Ooh! I can t-take you to the _Amore Caffé_!!” she said. “Y-You’ll love it!”

“What?! Oh, you’ll bring me something back, won’t you?” Mettaton asked, grinning hopefully. “The Pink Sparkle Classic? Pleeeease?”

“Alright, a-alright,” Alphys laughed. 

\- - -

As usual, the kettle was on the instant the monsters and Frisk entered Undyne’s house. Undyne quickly bustled around, pulling out the couch and TV from her bedroom and setting them up in front of the piano. She tossed Papyrus and the kid onto seats and chucked her script notes onto her kitchen table. 

“Okay!” She slammed her palms onto the table and took a deep breath. “Music! Music. Um.” She leapt onto the piano bench and laid her fingers on the keys. 

Papyrus edged up close, peeking over at what she was doing for just a moment before retreating back to the sofa when she sighed loudly.

“So. We need, like, some themes or something?” she said. “Like, a sad one, a scary one, a nerd one. Think it’d be okay if I just ripped some hums or something? ‘Cause that’s my plan!”

“I’m sure whatever you do will be great, Captain!” Papyrus said. 

She grimaced in thought. 

Frisk scrambled over the arm of the couch and squished onto the bench beside Undyne. The monster sighed and absently began to pick at keys. The tune of the music box deep in the cave slowly emerged. Frisk watched her curiously.

“That’s from Asgore’s music box, huh?” Frisk said. “Mom had the same one.”

“Oh yeah?” Undyne froze, her finger stuck on a note. “Oh.”

“What’s up?” Frisk asked.

“Your mom’s Asgore’s ex, huh?” she said; her ear-fins drooped. “So… This must be old Asriel’s song.”

“Y-Yeah. I, um… I think so,” Frisk said.

Undyne smiled sideways, but there was a bit of pain in her eye. She put both hands on the keys and began, slowly, to play it with a harmony. 

“That’s really nice, actually,” Papyrus said.

“Well… That’s something,” Undyne said. “Good thing Asgore ain’t watchin’ this.”

“Why would Asriel not like his hum if it sounds like that?” Papyrus wondered.

“I don’t think it sounds like that now, Paps,” Frisk said. “No soul. Remember?”

Papyrus frowned thoughtfully. He stood up and walked around behind the piano. He ran his finger up the keys and grinned at the sound. Frisk snickered and copied him, then did the same in reverse. 

“Look at this,” Undyne said. She quickly ran her fingers up and down a scale.

Papyrus grinned and clapped. “That sounds like sparkles!”

“Hah! I guess it does,” she said. “Ugh. Sorry. It’s just, this is weird. Gotta get my head in this!!”

“Is it very difficult?” Papyrus asked worriedly.

“To a point,” Undyne said, turning on the bench to face him. “I mean, it’s just, uh… Ah. Never mind. Hey, Sans.”

Frisk whipped around to see her brother was leaning on the counter just a few steps away. Papyrus turned and scoffed at the sight of him, but Frisk was up and running. She had her arms around him in an instant.

“Hi!” she said.

“Hey, pal,” he said, patting her on the head.

“Brother, where did you go?!” Papyrus asked.

“Snacks,” he said.

“Snacks?!” Papyrus looked cross as Sans pulled a bag out from under his shirt. “Oh for god’s sake, Sans.”

Sans grinned and offered him a cup from the bag. Papyrus scoffed, but his scowl faded as he checked inside. Sans handed another off to Frisk who immediately shoved the straw in her mouth, and passed a wrapped burger to Undyne.

“Ooh! Burgs! Thanks,” she said. She tore into it right away and went to her cabinet to fish out some cups. 

“So what’d I miss?” Sans asked. “We’re down two nerds.”

“Alphys wanted to talk to Az, I think,” Frisk said, shrugging. “But Undyne’s trying musical stuff! It’s kinda cool!”

“Ah.” Sans looked tired already. “Can be this be over yet?”

“I know, right?” Undyne laughed. “Sure you won’t take a shot at this music thing?”

Sans looked at her, then stared blankly at the piano. He sat down on the bench and slumped.

“Oh! Are you really going to?!” Papyrus asked.

“Nah. Just wanted to sit down,” he said.

The tall skeleton scoffed. 

Frisk snickered and hopped up beside Sans. She held out her shake. He shook his head and patted hers. After a second, he leaned closer; looked thoughtful for a moment. He poked a few keys on the piano. Then a few more. A simple melody, slowly, and then went a bit faster. There was something familiar about it. Frisk watched curiously. It sent a tingle through her. She put a hand to her chest.

“That’s… That’s mine?” she asked.

“Yup.”

“I feel... like I’ve heard it before,” she said.

“Mhm. You have,” he said.

“Wait!! Are you talking about her hum?! That’s it?! I want to hear it!!” Papyrus said. “FRISK! Sync with me right this second!”

“Huh?!” she squeaked

He scooped her off the bench and put her on the floor. He put a hand to his chest and, though she couldn't see his glow through the blue hoodie he was still wearing, she could certainly feel it. 

“Pretend like we will fight,” Papyrus said. “Fill yourself with determination!”

“Um! I’ll try!” she said. She lit up her soul. 

Her brother tilted his head. He looked thoughtful. “Try this.”

His energy pulsed against hers and, rather suddenly, her ears were filled with a slower version of the musical hum she could hear when they did their mock battles. She snickered.

“There’s yours,” she said.

“It’s pretty great, isn’t it?” he said.

“Dude, it gets stuck in my head like, right away,” she said. 

He beamed. He let the sound fade off. “Do you think you can do the same back to me?”

Frisk put a hand over her soul spot. She nodded and concentrated hard, trying to replicate what he had done. He paused. Tilted his head again. He got a little closer and squatted before her.

“Nothing?” she asked.

“Very, very very very slow,” he said. 

“What are you two dorks doing?” Undyne asked. She flopped over the back of the sofa and her ear-fins raised.

“Shh, shh, I’m trying to hear her,” Papyrus said.

“I can just play it,” Sans said.

“Yes, brother, I understand, but I want to hear it for real,” he insisted. “Come on, Frisk, I know you can do it.”

“Huh?” Undyne said.

“Frisk's hum,”Papyrus insisted.

“Ooooh, yeah, I heard like, a note or two of that,” Undyne said.

“There must be a way to…” He grabbed her shoulders. “OH!! FRISK!”

“Y-Yeah?” she asked.

“Sync closer,” he insisted. “You can, can’t you? Follow my pattern exactly.”

“Paps, uh… I get that she’s your sister and all but she’s still a human,” Undyne said.

“That’s fine! Perfectly fine, I bet,” he said. “Frisk is linked to Sans. Therefore, she is linked to me as well! It’s only logical. Frisk. Will you try?”

Frisk nodded. She closed her eyes to help her focus and she felt the rhythm of his soul. He was right. She knew it right away. She tried her best to force hers in time until it, all of a sudden, wasn’t much different from breathing. “Th-Think I'm getting it!” she said.

When she opened her eyes, her brother’s were glowing gently and he had a big grin on his face. He sat down and held her hands.

“Very close. Very very close,” he said. “Just a little more, Frisk, I believe in you.”

She took a deep breath and pushed it, just a little further. She gripped his hands more tightly. She felt a snap, like a crack of electricity, and then a release, and she breathed out. She heard her brother’s bones rattle. He stared at her in silence for a long while, though the glow in his eyes brightened. He looked like she’d somehow answered some great riddle— as if he suddenly understood something much deeper than what he’d been looking for.

“Can you hear it?” she asked.

“Frisk! It’s… It’s so soft, but it’s…! It’s really nice, actually,” he said.

“Yeah?!” she asked shrilly. 

He beamed and nodded. She blushed, but then, all of a sudden, her ears were filled with blaring, heroic notes as Undyne tackled her to the floor and plunged a spear into the carpet beside her head. Papyrus shrieked loudly but Undyne shushed him quickly and listened, ear-fins perking high. Frisk took a deep breath to steady herself, but Undyne quickly picked her up and threw her across the room onto the sofa.

“NO!!!” she yelled. “FREAK OUT MORE!”

“B-But I—!” Undyne threw a spear towards her and she yelped and hopped over the back of the couch. “CRAP!”

Undyne chased her around the room, energy flying all over. Papyrus stuck one finger up as if to interrupt but wasn’t quite sure what to say. Sans leaned his cheek on his fist, his elbow punctuating the scene with a dramatic, off-key thrum, and watched lazily from his seat.

“STOP RUNNING AND FIGHT ME!” Undyne roared.

“Noooo no no no nope,” Frisk said. She flipped out of the way of spears that struck the walls, but Undyne grabbed her and whipped her through the broken front door.

“Frisk!!!” Papyrus yelped.

“Dude, don’t kill my frickin’ kid,” Sans said tiredly.

“I’m not gonna!!” Undyne grinned and rushed out. “FRISK. COME AT ME.”

Outside, Frisk heaved herself up and wiped the dirt from her scraped face. She scrambled to her feet and hopped back quickly to get out of a precise line of three spears that came straight at her.

“Come on, kid,” Undyne insisted. “Gotta get it moving. Remember yesterday? Now the only thing left is for YOU TO FIGHT ME!!”

Frisk looked up at Undyne and frowned. She reached out and grabbed the closest spear, where it became solid. Her soul’s glow pulsed red and the blue lines on her face brightened, as did her left eye. She grinned. “Okay, I guess if you reaaaally want to do this?”

“THAT’S MY KID!!!” Undyne beamed and lunged-- Frisk was out of the way before she even got close.

Papyrus watched from the doorway, fingers clinging tight into the frame as Undyne and Frisk became almost more like dancers than fighters. As Undyne would stab, and thrust, and lunge, Frisk twirled, and jumped, and parried, always just in the knick of time. Neither of them still for more than a second.Her hum— her song— began to grow more frenetic, entwining with Undyne’s until it was as clear as if it blared from speakers. Papyrus didn’t know whether to cheer or bite his fingers.

Sans slid up beside him, but when Papyrus managed to tear his eyes away from the fight to look down at him, he was surprised to see his brother’s face alight.

“Go figure. She got it,” Sans said.

“Yes, that’s fantastic, but are you not seeing this right now?” Papyrus asked shrilly.

“Yeah, looks exhausting,” he said.

“Then why are you smiling like that?” he demanded.

“Just watch,” he said.

Frisk flipped out of the way of an incoming spear, and then twirled the one she had so the blunt end faced out. Juking right, she ran at Undyne in her first even remote semblance of aggression; she plunged the tip into the rock and launched herself like a pole-vaulter. Undyne grunted and they went down together. 

Before Undyne could react, the kid grabbed her shoulders and then gave her a quick smooch on the forehead. She balked and then laughed loudly and their energies flickered down together and relaxed. The music relaxed — Undyne’s dimmed to give Frisk’s a chance to sing out. It echoed around the cave brightly. For some reason, it made the kid’s eyes water. Undyne smooched her head.

“Hey, nice one!” Undyne said. 

Frisk grinned. “G-Got it?”

“Yeah.” Undyne sat up and hugged her close, “That was great, kid! Sounds awesome! Just had to get it ramped up!”

Frisk laughed and squished in close, but then let out a quiet hiss of pain. 

“Oops, sorry, squirt, you okay?” Undyne asked.

“Well you did throw me through a door, dude,” Frisk said.

“Oh. Yeah. Maybe I did go a little overboard,” she admitted. “But hey, at least we all got to hear your stuff!”

“True,” Frisk said. 

She got up and looked a little dazed, and at the doorway she saw her brothers and waved. Sans clapped. She snickered. Papyrus ran over right away and bent to brush his fingers over a smudge of dirt on her brow.

“Little sister, I'm sincerely impressed,” he said, “but you’re all torn up now!”

“My bad.” She stretched her arms above her head and laughed a little, and let her hair down to scratch her claws through it. “Good fight, squirt. Never seen you that fast before.”

“Really?” she said. “Thanks! Hah! Guess I just didn’t want to get stabbed."

“Ah, c'mon kid, I wouldn't stab you this time,” she said.

Frisk snickered. Undyne ruffled her hair and then strolled back inside.

“Tea? Tea. Good.”

Sans wandered up and patted her head. “Nice,” he said. “Good enough?”

She grinned and nodded. Papyrus blew out a relieved sigh and put his arms around her. 

“I sometimes forget you are so jumpy and quick, Frisk,” he said. “But you are hurt a little, aren’t you? Would you like me to heal you?”

“Ooh, yeah. Please,” she said.

He smiled bright and lifted her back up to bring her inside.

“Uh, I hope you guys don’t expect me to do anything about this door,” Sans said as he tapped a chunk of it away with his foot.

Inside, Papyrus had already repaired the scrapes on Frisk’s face and was working on her hands. Sans sat beside them and watched curiously. Papyrus’s magic was almost effortless— her palms were free from cuts within just a few moments. Frisk yawned and her brother snickered and squished her cheeks.

“Okay! That should be good, I believe!” he said.

“Um… Would you mind just giving me a general magic thing?” Frisk asked bashfully. “I’m still a bit sore.”

“Oh!!! No trouble at all! I will absolutely do this for you.” He put her in his lap and held her to him, glowing gently through his hands.

Undyne joined them after a moment and passed out tea before flopping down herself. “Great job, squirt,” she said. “Whew! That was fun. Paps, we gotta get back to training now that I’m back to normal.”

“Ooh! Yes please, Captain!” he said. “It’s definitely a highlight of my day!”

“Have you been thinking about more area coverage?” she asked.

“Ummm… I haven’t really tested anything out yet,” he admitted.

“Eh. No worries. We’ll check it out sometime,” she said with a shrug. “Saaaaans, dude, what about you? You in?”

“Absolutely nope,” he said with a grin.

“But it did you so much good last time!” Papyrus said.

Sans shrugged. Undyne chuckled as Papyrus pouted.

“Can’t force it,” Undyne said, and she grinned. “Those blasters, though.”

“I know, right?!” Frisk said. “They’re so cool.”

“I can’t believe you already showed everyone your special attack, Sans,” Papyrus said. “It’s supposed to be only for the climax of dire fights!”

“I dunno, bro, wouldn’t it make more sense to open with it?” he asked.

“What?! No!!” Papyrus scoffed.

“But it’s my best move, though. Y’know. Just get the fight over with?” he suggested.

“What kind of fight would that be, then?! Honestly, Sans, even your battle strategies are lazy!!” Papyrus said.

“Eh. Whatever works,” Sans said with a shrug.

“Works?! How would you even know?! You never work. Or battle,” Papyrus said.

“Heh. Guess you’re right.” He winked. “Not really my thing.”

“I can see that!!”

Undyne chuckled and she chugged her tea. She patted Papyrus on the head and heaved herself up and back to the piano. She ran her fingers over the keys, absently plunking out a relaxing tune. Frisk listened closely as she drank. She felt something familiar about this song, too. It reminded her of the dripping of water in the caves; the plinking sound against crystals; the flow of the rivers deep into the earth. It must’ve been Undyne’s. When she listened closely, she was sure it was.

She was giddy inside. So much so that she started to giggle quietly to herself. She almost couldn’t believe it. Her soul made a sound, just like she’d heard come from her friends. And the song, it felt like her heartbeat. She hadn’t been sure she’d ever hear it herself, but when it sung in the cavern, it made her tingle all over. Papyrus didn’t ask, but he snuggled her closer. She felt his soul snap in sync with hers. It was overwhelmingly warm and full of pride. 

“Ooh,” he said quietly. “Nyeh heh heh. I guess I can just hear it whenever I want, then, can’t I?”

“Can you?” Frisk asked.

“Mhm! It’s right there!” he assured her. “I’m really glad you managed to switch it on, little sister. It feels like, now that I hear it, it was actually quite odd not to hear it before.”

“Y-Yeah?” she said.

“Maybe… Hey! Maybe we should battle or something!” he said brightly.

“Hey, um… Paps?” Undyne said quickly.

“Yes, Captain?” he asked.

“Um, I was just thinkin’,” she said. “Maybe you and the kid could, uh, pick me up a few things from the shop down the road?”

“Ooh, I’m fine with that! Frisk?” he said.

“Yeah, of course,” she said. “Whatchu need?”

Undyne looked as if she’d been splashed with something. She darted around the room and eventually slammed a crumpled notepad to the table. She scribbled some stuff on it and handed it off to Papyrus.

“That’s a lot of crabapples,” he said.

“Yup! Yuuuup, I need. A lot,” she said. “Um. Here. Take my phone, it has my money, annnnnnd… get yourselves something if you want.”

She ushered them out the front in a hurry and scooped up the remains of the door and shoved it in place behind her as she went back in. After just a second, though, Frisk slipped back inside. She pressed her phone into her brother’s hand, smooched his cheek, and then scampered back out with a wave. Sans’s face flushed a little and he pocketed the thing. She didn’t need to, but he guessed she was just being careful.

“So what’s the rush?” Sans asked with an amused grin.

“What? Oh. I, uh… Well. I mean. She just did a fight. I thought she might need a break. And I just had a thought,” she said. “And I, uh… I don’t wanna freak them out. Just in case?”

“So many secrets,” Sans said.

“Hey, don’t gimme that, you’re the one who sent her on some fake delivery yesterday!” she said with a laugh.

Sans shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a jerk,” he said, but he grinned. “But I’m a jerk that wants what’s best for his nerds, I guess.”

“She would’ve just come if you asked her to,” she said. “Told her the truth.”

“It wouldda wigged her out. She’d have come to you all doubtful and crap already. She needed to go in blind,” he said. “S’better that way. Don’t need me distractin’ her.”

“Well. If you say so,” she said. “I think you’re wrong.”

“Okay,” he said, though he was still grinning. “So where’s the fire?”

“What? Oh. I think I just noticed something?” Undyne said. “Hang on.”

She disappeared into her room for a few seconds and then emerged, tuning an old guitar with cracked edges and a water-worn finish.

“What, we doin’ a jam session?” Sans joked.

“Hah-hah. No. Well. Kind of,” Undyne said. “Listen. I just noticed this. I think… I think this is weird. Do me a favour? Play Asriel’s song. The most basic bit. You know, the one from the music box?”

Sans raised his brows. He plopped himself on the piano bench and started plunking at the keys, that tune from the music box filling the room. Undyne nodded. She tapped her foot and, after a few seconds, began on the guitar to play something else. Frisk’s hum. Sans had to stop.

“Wait a second, you’re not—?”

“Keep it goin’, just listen,” Undyne said.

Sans started up again and Undyne matched him. After a few seconds it was abundantly clear— they weren’t two songs. They entwined; fused. Two halves of a whole. Sans shot her a surprised look and she raised her brows high. 

“Oh my god,” he said quietly.

“Does that mean something?” she asked. “I’ve literally never heard anything like it.”

“I have no idea, dude,” Sans said. “Huh… I guess… Hm.”

“What?” she asked.

“…He’s a puzzle piece,” he muttered.

“What?” She looked confused.

“There were… There’s been things missing. From our world. Alphys and I, we tracked stuff. And there were a few things in our data where, we knew something belonged. But we didn’t know what. Frisk was one of those things. Maybe…” He shrugged. He began to play on the piano again, slowly, one hand on Asriel’s song, the other on Frisk’s. “Together, they’re… Hm.” 

“They’re two halves of something,” Undyne said. “Maybe they’re the… I dunno, the story of the Delta Rune? Maybe that’s them?”

“Dunno, dude. Maybe. I’m not big into prophecy. That stuff could mean a dozen things,” he said. “Angels of mercy or angels of death, right? Or just a pretty picture some dude drew of a bird. Who knows? But… These two, guess something about them belongs together.” He stopped, rubbed his brow, and laughed quietly. 

Undyne tilted her head. He shot her a grin.

“Maybe this’ll all work out after all,” he said.

“You had doubts?” she asked.

“I’m kinda a pessimist sometimes,” he said. “Look. I’m happy if everyone is safe. Right now, everyone is safe. But. If… If this… Heh. I hardly know what to say about it.”

He paused playing for a moment and looked thoughtful. He smirked to himself. “I thought I recognized this,” he said.

Before Undyne could ask, he began playing faster, more upbeat, adding little bits here and there. She grinned wide and followed along.

“How’d you get so good?” she asked.

“You been to the Archives, right?” He was still playing without missing a beat. “You seen _Groundhog Day_?”

“Yeah?”

“Welcome to my life,” he said. “Except I’m like if one of the side characters remembered what the weather man was doing.”

“Dang, dude.” She stopped and put the guitar down, and the piano notes slowed and went quiet. “Weird question. How old are you?”

“Um. I dunno. Thirty?” he said.

“I mean for real,” she said.

“Well, I mean, that’s the literal—”

“You know what I meant,” she said.

He laughed. “I have no clue, dude,” he said. “I’m sure I could take a day to try to count, but, honestly, that just sounds super depressing to me.”

“Fair enough,” she said. 

She got up and sat on the bench with him, poking the keys to play out that song from the music box once more. “You’ve seen a lot of crap, huh?” she said

“Guess so,” he said. 

“Where’d you hear that song before?” she asked.

“Dunno if you can see them, but there’s these little things that look like a star or something that float around the underground,” he said.

“Yeah, seen ‘em, why?” she asked.

“That’s where Frisk can save. I used to, too. I heard that song in there,” he said. “But I heard it in Frisk’s memories, too. When she fought Asriel before.”

“That’s crazy,” she said. “What does that mean? About the saves, I mean? Is it ‘cause her soul touches it or something.”

“Not sure,” Sans admitted. “But I heard it before I ever met her.”

“Weird,” Undyne muttered. “All this time stuff is pretty freaky, huh?”

“Yup,” Sans said.

“Can I ask you something else about this?” she said.

“Why not?” he said.

“I mean, this is gonna sound like a stupid question,” Undyne said; she stood up and headed for the kettle again, “but, like, what was the big deal with the world ending and all? I mean, besides that sounding like total crap. Because we’re all still here. Aren’t we?”

“Oh.” Sans immediately looked tired, but he smiled nonetheless. “Y’know. I’ve been tryin’ to come up with a real simple analogy. Uh, in case someone asked. Couldn’t really do it. But I got something that isn’t totally incomprehensible, so…”

“Lay it on me,” Undyne said.

“Okay, so, picture… sorta like a slot machine,” Sans said, twirling his finger. “One side is steady and locked in. That’s us. Our world. Right? The other, it spins. That’s the anomalies.”

“Like Frisk,” Undyne said, resting her back against the counter and folding her arms.

Sans nodded. “So, picture this thing, it’s spinning and some anomalies show up. They’re not that bad, but they don’t fit. Thing stops for a bit, keeps spinning, not a big deal. But then, maybe one shows up that is bad. Real bad. That’s kinda where I come in.”

“Oh yeah? You, uh, tried to stop them, right?” Undyne said.

“Yup. So, now, we got a thing here actually ridin’ a bit on me, believe it or not,” he said. “I win, other side keeps spinnin’. I lose, there’s a chance a small part of our side gets its own spinner. Somethin’ might change. And the more I lose, the more things on our end start spinnin’. And the anomalies, they get a chance multiplier.”

“So… The more the bad ones come, and you can’t get them to stop, the more like that show up?” Undyne asked.

Sans stuck his thumb up. “Now you’re gettin’ it. The more they win, the more our world changes. And lucky me, I get to be the only guy that notices it.”

“So… Wait. Is this place super different than what it started like?” she asked worriedly.

He shook his head. “There was a while where I just didn’t want to play. Didn’t even try. Stayed home. Locked the door, went to bed, let the world go. But, the changes started to pile up and I couldn’t sit around any more. So, I picked up the stupid game again and found myself kinda, uh, invested in it. And suddenly, I start winnin’. And then the spinners on our side, they start to vanish. The really bad ones start to come slower.”

“So the last one, before now, they were okay?” Undyne asked.

“No. That one was a total creep. Killed everyone. Me and Az, at the end, too.” He smiled anyway. “But I guess they saw the real end and chickened out. Hit reset, turned the console off.”

“Uh…”

“Heh, sorry, takin’ the metaphor a bit meta-far, huh?” he said with a wink.

Undyne groaned, but she couldn’t keep the look of fascination off her face. “But then the spinner landed on Frisk.”

“Yup. Jackpot. Perfect match,” Sans said. “And then the game broke. Locked up. No more spinners. Just us. And her. Done.”

Undyne nodded thoughtfully. She started to grin. “Big relief.”

“For sure,” he said.

“So… Was she here the whole time? Does she not exist in the worlds with the other ones?” she wondered.

“How I figure is that, for our world. Our version of it. She was there since the start. Or, always was a piece. Then something happened, disrupted everything, caused that piece that’s the anomalies to spin out of whack,” he said. “Then again, I could be totally wrong and it was just pure luck and random chance that we got her eventually. But, in some of the research Alph and I were doing back whenever, seemed like there were pieces missing from our world. And this red line we tracked through all these timeline things, pretty positive it was Frisk. So. I figure she was supposed to be here.”

“Wow. Dude. Must’ve been such a relief to find her,” Undyne said.

“Oh. God. Yeah,” Sans said with a laugh. “When I finally clued in, I just about passed out.”

“I can imagine,” Undyne said. “Well. Maybe not all the way. But you know what I mean.”

Undyne smiled to herself and then grinned bashfully and pulled a strand of hair back behind her ear. She prepared more cups of tea from the warm water. “Hey, thanks for takin’ a sec to explain that to me,” she said. “I know it’s not super high priority or anything, but—”

“Don’t sweat it,” he assured her.

She sat down and passed him a cup. She sipped hers and began to tap out Asriel’s song once more.

“Heh. What’ve we gotten ourself into, dude?” she asked.

“Scared?” he said.

“NO. No. Just…” She sighed. “I’m worried. About Alphys, about Frisk; about you. Papyrus, well… Not so much Papyrus, that guy is resilient as heck. I dunno. I just… I want to understand better than I do. I… want to help more, y’know? But I’m not super cut out for that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said; he joined Frisk’s melody with what she was playing again. “I think you found something.”

“Heh. It is weird, right?” she said.

“Yup. Definitely,” he said. “Hey. Give yourself a little more credit, huh?”

“Huh?”

“Welp. You helped the kid out, big time. And you started to fix me,” he said. “That’s something.”

“You’d fix yourself eventually,” she said.

“Never could before the barrier goes,” he said. “Never. So. Thanks.”

“Hah! Well. No problem,” she said.

He slid off the bench and stretched his spine. “So, uh, what are your plans with all those crabapples?”

“Uhhh… Hm. Dunno. Crabapple pie?” she suggested. “Frisk knows pies, right? 

“Sure does,” he said. “Alright. Good plan. Good chat. Think I’ll slip off.”

“What? Why?” she asked.

“Eh. I’ll just be takin’ up more couch space,” he said. “Besides. Got some stuff I gotta do.”

“You comin’ back?” she asked.

“Not sure,” he said. 

“You should.” Undyne frowned slightly. “The kid said she gets weird without you guys around.”

“Paps is around,” he said.

“She was real disappointed when she didn’t get to see you after she was done with the acting junk,” she said.

“Huh.” Sans rubbed the back of his skull. “Weird. Guess she’ll get over it?”

“Dude,” Undyne said. “C’mon. What’re you doin’?”

“No worries. Gotta check up on some junk. Probably do the kid good to quit lookin’ at my dumb mug for a while, anyway. Catch up later.” 

He vanished before her eyes. Undyne’s ears drooped. She was left at a loss for a moment. She took out her phone, put it to the side, and hit record as she began to play.


	56. SHOW PLAN STARTO

With her back to the cool stone wall, Frisk kept close to her big brother’s leg as they waited outside the gap that led to Gerson’s store. They could hear the voices of monsters chatting inside, though they couldn’t make out the words. Papyrus tapped the toe of his boot against the ground and fiddled with the Rubik’s cube he had stored in his phone. He offered the solved one to Frisk, and she grabbed it to mess it up again. 

Pawsteps made the kid recoil a little and Papyrus adjusted himself to mostly conceal her behind his skinny frame. There wasn’t much to worry about, however, when the small group of monsters, laughing together and munching on crabapples, headed off to the east and passed them by without a second glance. Papyrus’s sigh of relief was quite loud. Frisk smiled up at him appreciatively and handed him back his puzzle. 

“Ooh, nice one, little sister, that looks fairly challenging,” he said as he whisked it away into his phone’s dimension box. “Think there’s any of those apples left?”

“Sure hope so!” she said as they headed inside the cavern. “There’s a lot on the list.”

The store just beyond the hole in the dark was still orderly and the old turtle monster that meandered about inside was just sitting down on a rickety chair again when they came in. His yellow eyes seemed to light up for just a moment and he grinned at them.

“Wa ha ha! Well, look who it is,” he said. “See you’re survivin’ out there, kid!”

“Hi again!” Frisk said brightly.

“You know him?” Papyrus asked.

“Mhm!” she said, and she hopped up to the table of goods as the turtle heaved himself back up. “Undyne sent us for shopping.”

“Ha! I see, I see,” he said. “Got a list?”

Frisk fished in her pockets and then held it out to him. He took it, squinted, and guffawed loudly. 

“Never knew that girl liked fruit so much! Alright.” He ducked down for a moment and emerged again with a large, brown paper sack. “So, who’s your friend, there?”

“Oh! This is Papyrus! My big brother,” Frisk said with a grin. “He’s the coolest! And Undyne’s training him!”

“Oh! Yes, that’s me, the great Papyrus! Undyne’s most reliable protégé!” Papyrus asserted.

Gerson chuckled as he began to pack apples away for them. “Ahhh, so you’re the kid she mentioned,” he said, shooting him a wink. “Good to meet ya. Now, girl, lemme ask you somthin’. Popped in the other day, talked to Undyne. Said she used an attunement on ya.”

“Oh! Yeah. She showed me kinda how to do it,” Frisk said quickly. “Um. I wasn’t super good, but—”

“Surprised you got anywhere at all, bein’ human and all,” Gerson said.

“H-Human!? Human?! Um. Whaaaaat do you mean, human?” Papyrus said hurriedly, protectively grabbing Frisk’s shoulder. “She’s a skeleton! With, um… skin. And…”

“Aw, Paps, it’s okay,” she assured him. “He knows. Gerson lived on the surface, even. He knew right when he saw me. Right?”

“Ha!! Good catch, kid,” he said.

“Oh. Um. Oh phew,” Papyrus said quickly. “I’m sorry for lying like that, it’s just—”

“I get it, you wanna keep your little sis safe,” the turtle said with a nod. “But, nah, don’t got a thing to worry about from this old monster. Why, my eyes aren’t really the best anymore. Who can really tell what I’m seein’ in this dark cave? Catch my drift?”

“Thank you for understanding!” Papyrus said.

Gerson grinned to himself. He plunked a few cans of cold sea tea into the bag, then shot Frisk a curious look. “Hope I’m not overstepping,” he said, “but I was wondering if you’d show me what you can do?”

“Oh. Um. Which part?” she asked bashfully.

“Can you glow on your own? That’d be a start,” he said.

“Oh! Y-Yeah! I can do that,” Frisk said. She held out her hands until red glimmered across her palms. 

The old turtle grinned. He put the groceries down on the table of his wares and approached her. He knelt down and tilted his head. He reached out and held her gently, his old, battered hands dwarfing hers. 

“Hm. That… song. That you?” he asked.

Frisk nodded. “It’s new. Or. I mean. It might not be new new, but it wasn’t really making any noise before, but they told me it was probably there somewhere the whole time.”

Gerson laughed quietly. “Well, well,” he said. “That’s interesting.”

“Is it? Why?” Papyrus asked quickly.

“Ah. I get it. You’re real young, aren’t you?” he said; he patted the kid’s head heavily as he straightened up again. “Didn’t see the war. This’s your first human, even.”

“Um. Yeeeesss?” Papyrus said cautiously.

“Girl’s red,” he said. “Red ones are the strongest. Other ones, maybe their souls’d sing, but it’d be kinda rare. Red ones, they could make magic almost like ours. So they’d get a song a lot more often. Haven’t heard one in ages.”

“Hope it’s not spooky,” Frisk said quickly. 

“Spooky?!” Gerson laughed loudly. “Nah, kid. Got a nice one. Hm. No wonder Undyne liked you.”

Frisk couldn’t help a proud grin spreading over her face.

They paid and said their goodbyes, and Papyrus grabbed their large bag to carry back. They were just about at Undyne’s when Frisk had a little idea. They left the groceries just at the entrance to their friend’s cavern and the kid prodded her brother to continue onward, jumping one of the streams to the west, and then continuing south down some boardwalks and through the grass that shimmered bright blue when touched.

She pulled him to the falls, took off her shoes, and sat down at the edge of the pool. Even with the memories of the night sky just weeks away from her thoughts, Frisk had always loved looking at the crystals in the black stone caverns above them. She kicked her feet through sparkling water. She liked how it glittered at even the slightest movement. It made the water that poured over the short cliffs absolutely radiant. 

Beside her, Papyrus finally sat, having reluctantly ditched his boots, and wiggled his toes in the water. Frisk thought it was a little funny to watch the flow of current between his leg bones.

“I guess this isn’t so bad,” he admitted. “I thought it would be colder.”

Frisk smiled at him. “Thanks for, um, humouring me and stuff.”

“Well, honestly, any excuse to spend extra time together!” he assured her brightly. “Don’t get me wrong, I love our friends, but sometimes a little time with just us skeletons is really nice, too. So this is where Undyne taught you?”

“Yup,” she said.

“I guess it’s pretty nice,” he said. “To be honest, I’ve never really stopped around here before. I didn’t realize the waterfalls had magic in them like that.”

“I’m not sure that they do,” Frisk said. “I think it was just Undyne.”

“She certainly is extremely cool, and strong,” Papyrus said. “Gosh, I wish I’d seen it.”

“W-Well, um…” Frisk cupped her hands and red glittered across her skin. “Maybe I could…”

She took a deep breath, and when she exhaled, the magic in her palms formed into a small bubble. Papyrus’s face lit up.

“Wowie! Little sister, good job!!” he said. “What does it do?”

“Nothing, I think,” she said; she bit her lip and, when she concentrated, she made it float off her fingertip. “I think it just kinda glows.”

It fizzled out in the dark. Papyrus grinned and gently patted her head.

“Do you think you’ll be able to make bones someday?” he asked.

“Ummm… I dunno,” she said. “I don’t think so.”

“I could teach you!” he said. “You’re very smart, Frisk! And your magic seems like it’ll be quite strong. I’m sure you could get it.”

“But Paps, isn’t that a skeleton thing?” she said. “I’m not one, so—”

“Pfft, that shouldn’t matter!” he said. “You’re my sister. You’re an honorary skeleton. That should count.”

Frisk’s cheeks flushed; she smiled a little. Papyrus put an arm around her shoulders and held out his palm, conjuring a small, floating femur above his hand. White, but it glittered with faint, amber sparkles. He offered it to her. She reached out; hesitated, and then slid her hand onto his. The gold lines on her face sparked to life as she cradled the floating bone in her hand. Papyrus snickered.

“See? That’s fine, isn’t it? In the meanwhile, you can borrow mine, whenever you need!” he said.

“You’re great,” she said.

“I know!” 

He held her hand tight and the magic crumbled. They watched the sparks drift over the water. Blue and gold always looked so nice together. He pulled her just a little closer.

“I think you’re great, too, you know,” he said.

“Th-Thanks,” she said.

“And your song really suits you,” he said.

“You think so?” she asked, her eyes lighting up.

“Mhm! It’s kind of sweet. But kind of cool, too,” he said. “It feels almost nostalgic, to hear it, you know? I know that doesn’t make sense. But it’s how it makes me feel. I guess that’s really what they’re all about, isn’t it?”

“Guess so,” Frisk said. 

“You know, I was quite a tiny Papyrus when mine first became a real song,” he said. “I did a big magic burst and there it was!”

“Lucky,” she said with a laugh.

“Not quite! I’ve always been the top of my age group for magic uses!” Papyrus said proudly. “But I think, once you really get going, you’ll be like that, too.”

“But… I’m human,” she said.

“So? You’re already super strong, Frisk,” he said. “And you can glow and do all kinds of neat things, and that old monster at the store said red humans are the strongest ones. So I bet you’ll get better and better. Plus that whole anchor business. Don’t worry so much. You’ll get good quickly, just like me! You are my sister, after all.”

Frisk snickered. “You’re the best, though.”

“Thank you! You know, I’ve been working really hard on mastering that blue magic recently. Not the lifting one, that one’s pretty natural. The other one,” he said. “Ooh! And recently Sans said he was quite sure I’d be able to do orange magic soon, if I worked on it.”

“The one you need to move through real fast?” Frisk asked.

“Yes, exactly!”

“That sounds cool,” she said.

He grinned. “I’d like to be able to do all the colours!” he said. “Though apparently red is out. And maybe purple, since basically no one has that one so I’m not sure how to find a teacher.”

“Um. Sans has it,” she said.

“What?! Oh come on, did he tell you to say that?” he asked.

“No,” Frisk said with a laugh. “He does.”

“What?!” Papyrus yelped. “No way! Why have I never seen it, then?”

Frisk tented her fingers. Her cheeks flushed with a shameful blush. “Um… W-Well…” She shrugged as he peered down at her curiously. “You… kinda have to be bad to see it.”

“Bad? What do you mean? Then how have you seen it?” he asked.

“Well, um, it’s j-just that… in our dreams and stuff, umm… You know how we’re, um, linked and stuff? Well, uh…” Frisk gulped. She couldn’t finish the thought as her brother’s expression turned to one bordering on heartbreak. She forced a smile and rubbed the back of her head. “I just, um, s-saw a few of his memories in there,” she fibbed. “Um. So that’s how I saw it. It’s pretty cool. B-But, yeah, I mean—”

“OH! Well. Okay. That’s not as bad as I thought,” he said, laughing and waving a hand at himself. “I thought you were going to say you had to take some attacks that were purple when you were stuck in dream battles! Thank god!”

“Y-Yeah, um. Heh. That wouldn’t have been fun,” she said sheepishly.

“I guess not! Ooh. That reminds me. Next time we battle,” Papyrus said. “Once you’re up to it. Since you’ve seen Sans’s. How would you like to see my special attack?”

“Oh! Yeah, sure,” Frisk said.

“Good!” He beamed. “I promise I won’t actually hit you with it. But I think you, of all people, would really appreciate a good special attack!”

“Sounds pretty cool, bro,” Frisk agreed.

Her brother looked pleased. He stood up in the cool water and stretched. 

“Ooh, careful, it’s kinda easy to slip,” Frisk said.

“I’ve got it!” he assured her. He cracked his knuckles and then rolled up his sleeves. He conjured a bone into his hand and tossed it so it skipped across the water before vanishing into sparkles in the waterfall’s mist.

“Oooh, cool,” Frisk said quietly.

“Want to give it a try?” He offered her a bone. “It’s not too hard.”

Frisk cautiously took it from him. He grinned fondly and gently cupped her face. “Look at that!” he said. “My colour looks really nice on you.”

She snickered. She stood up and tried to toss the bone the same way he had. Instead of skipping, though, it plunked straight down in the water and burst in a glitter of gold.

“Pffft!” She couldn’t help but laugh. “Well. That was kinda neat!”

“Yes, actually!” Papyrus grinned and spread his arms, conjuring a line of bones straight above him. “Let’s try this!” He tossed them up and let them all splash down in the pool, each like a small firework when it hit. 

Frisk clapped and leaned over the water, awed. Mesmerized for a second, she got a little too close to the edge; she squeaked as she slipped on the slick rocks and plopped face-first into the cold, glittering water.

Almost immediately, strong fingers grabbed her tight and pulled her back up. She spluttered for air and began to laugh at herself right away.

“Pffft, little sister, be more careful!” Papyrus said, trying not to laugh himself. “You alright?”

“Cold!” she said.

“Nyeh heh, well! Of course! Let’s get you back to—!” He took a step and yelped as he slipped and toppled backwards into the water. “GAH!”

Frisk laughed, squeaking, and clinging to him tightly. He tried to lift her out of the water, but they fell back together. Papyrus snorted a laugh and Frisk clung onto his shoulders.

“Told you!” she said.

“I suppose I did lose my feet,” he admitted. “Nyeh heh heh, how silly. Hope you’re not too cold, little sister.”

“You didn’t actually lose your feet in here, did you?” she asked.

“HAH! No no, just a phrase,” he assured her.

“Good! Because there’s a waterfall!” she said.

“Ah, yes, that would be a problem,” he agreed.

He slid them back to the bank and used blue magic to lift Frisk up and onto solid rock. She reached out for his hand and helped pull him out. Sopping, he snickered to himself and lay back on the stone. The natural, low glow of his soul was clear in his chest through his wet shirt, but he brightened it, the warmth radiating outwards so much that Frisk could feel it. He pointed upwards at the ceiling and patted the rock beside him. The kid flopped down and grinned immediately. It was almost like laying out under the stars.

“So nice,” she said.

“Mhm!” her brother agreed.

“Sans would like this,” she said.

“Well, the laying down part, for sure,” Papyrus joked. 

\- - -

Sopping, cold, but in good spirits, Papyrus and Frisk returned to Undyne’s place.

“The great Papyrus and also Frisk return!” he announced brightly as they pushed past the busted door. “Undyne, we got your crabapples!”

“Ah!” Undyne stood up quickly from behind the piano. “Cool! Thanks, ner— Uh. You guys kinda wet?”

“Yes! We fell in your training pool,” Papyrus said. “Not a worry!” 

He wiped off his boots and Frisk darted in around him. She excitedly scampered to the couch, looked confused, and then peeked around the back of the piano. Undyne took the bag from Papyrus and clunked it onto the counter.

“Whatchu doin’, squirt?” she asked

“Oh! Um. Where’s Sans?” she asked.

“Uhhh… I’m not sure exactly,” Undyne said. “Uh. I’m sure he’ll be back?”

“Aw… Okay. I hope so,” she said. “Feels weird when he’s not around as much…”

She was almost instantly moping. Undyne’s ear-fins drooped. 

“Lemme get you guys some towels,” she said.

“None for me, Captain, I’ll just run back home and grab us some dry clothes,” Papyrus assured her. “Frisk, maybe you could take a warm bath in the meanwhile so you are not freezing.”

“I can arrange that,” she said.

“Wow, thank you,” Frisk said.

“And don't worry, little sister, I’ll find our brother!” he assured her. 

He was out the door again in an instant. Frisk felt a sudden sinking feeling but she tried to push it to the side. She sniffled; the cold starting to set into her skin. She felt a big hand on her head and looked up to see Undyne with a sympathetic grin on her face.

“Gotcha covered,” she said. “Up for showin’ me how to do pie shell once you’re warm?”

“Oh! Y-Yeah! Sure!”

\- - -

By the time Frisk was cleaned up, a pile of clean clothes was tossed into the room with her and she emerged, warm and mostly dry. Obviously, that meant Papyrus had returned in new clothes as well. He was standing in the kitchen with Undyne, peeling apples— Undyne doing so quite skillfully with a spear. 

“H-Hey, Paps! Did you find Sans?” Frisk asked.

“Ah! Hello, little sister,” Papyrus said. “Unfortunately, no. I checked all his usual haunts from here to Snowdin, but not a thing! He probably just fell asleep in a pile of snow or some such nonsense. Don’t worry.”

She tried not to pout and she scampered over to join them. Undyne shot her a smile and dragged over a chair for her. She climbed up onto it to have a good look over the counter. It was already a mess, with red peel tossed around haphazardly and the actual flesh of the fruit occasionally rendered into more of a paste in a large, ceramic bowl with patched cracks and a frog pattern on it. Undyne had also piled up whatever other ingredients she thought might be useful. Some of which were not, but that didn’t matter much.

“So I’ve never actually made pie crust before,” Undyne said. “Show me?”

“Oh, sure!” Frisk said brightly. “Mom taught me to, but Papyrus knows now too!”

“For sure! But I am third hand and you are second,” Papyrus said with a grin. “Come on, this’ll be fun!”

Frisk reached for the butter and a knife to cut it, but her hand stalled above the blade. Her fingers trembled and her heart did a jump. She wasn’t sure why. Before she could even say a word, Undyne took both from her and touched the tip of the blade to the stick of butter.

“Here? Or more?” she said.

“M-More.” She grabbed the bag of flour and the sugar next. “You have to really beat it up.”

Undyne grinned. “My speciality!”

Undyne punched the pastry ingredients together until they seemed to actually form something malleable and resembling a dough that could become food. Papyrus already knew how to roll it out, so he did, and they started to bake it in an old casserole dish. They smushed the apples together with some monster spices, cinnamon, and sugar and and dumped them in the shell to bake again after a few minutes. Frisk had never made a crabapple pie before. She wasn’t sure if they were supposed to do meringue on top like her mom did sometimes with the butterscotch pie. Sometimes Toriel also did a crust on top of the filling, too, so Frisk supposed that was also an option. They haphazardly covered the apple mush with their pastry scraps and some sugar, and hoped for the best.

As they were waiting for it to bake — Frisk had insisted that the “turn-up-the-oven-high-and-then-off-again-right-before-explosions” method was probably not the best one this time — the kid borrowed Papyrus’s phone to try to call her own. Hoping for her brother, she was disappointed to find that he’d dropped her phone into Undyne’s couch.

Clinging to both, her mind involuntarily raced through a plethora of what-ifs. She saw his melting eye sockets when she blinked and it almost made her choke. She wished she wouldn’t. Maybe it was silly of her, but all she really wanted was to give him a hug and be able to reassure herself that he was solid. She wanted to bonk her head on his skull, but without him there, she was at a loss.

She considered trying it with Papyrus, but quickly realized that it wouldn’t be the same. It was Sans’s offer to help her store those bad thoughts away that did it. He’d been right: the ritual really was what was important. 

“Frisk?” Papyrus’s voice snapped her out of it. “Little sister, are you alright?”

“Um! Oh. Y-Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine,” she said quickly. She handed his phone back to him, only to notice that both he and Undyne were giving her concerned looks.

“Uh, you sure?” Undyne asked.

Frisk nodded. She sat back on the sofa and curled up in the corner as she checked her texts. Nothing. She did have a few UnderNet alerts, though. 

She texted Alphys, asking if she’d seen Sans, but she responded with an apologetic “no”. Pouting, Frisk went to check her notifications: one was from Kid — he tagged her in a photo of the dinner his family had on their new bumblebee plates. She couldn’t help a smile. Upliked. She also had a friend request from someone called BIGBUN88. It was that rabbit guard from Hotland who’d been sent to find Sans. Maybe a dog had given him her username. She accepted, and when she did a quick sweep of his profile, she saw that he had recently updated his relationship status to, “DATING darglemargle”. That cheered her up a little. Upliked.

On her main page, she saw that Alphys was posting photos. Selfies with, much to her surprise, Asriel. He looked somewhat uncomfortable, but there seemed to be half a genuine smile in at least one of them. There were pink filters and sparkle stickers all over most of them. They looked like they were in New Home. What were they doing there? Shopping? Mettaton left a comment imploring them not to forget some drink he asked for.

“_Alpphiiiiiiiiie_” Mettaton whined in another comment thread, from just a few minutes prior. “_I was just thiiiiiinking can you narrate our little project on the day of??? <3_”

“_LMAO_” Alphys replied. “_no way_”

“_WHAT WHY_”

“_OH GEE I WONDER _ ಠ ___ ಠ ” Alphys replied.

“_???_” said Mettaton.

“_4 real? maybe you recall MY S S S SPEECH IMPEDIMENT?! LOL!!!_” Alphys said.

“_ppssshhhaawww my darling it’s barely noticeable! PLZ!!_”

“_no lol_”

“_=(find someone then?_”

“_IM GETTING UR DRINK IM BUSY LOL!! Also jeez just PM me next time evry1 in the whole underground can see this!!!!_”

At that moment, it seemed like several monsters had abruptly realized Mettaton was commenting publicly on someone’s page.

“_OMG_” commented Lionaround78 “_does this mean that new mettaton special is coming out really soon??? <3 Im so excited!!_”

“_I’M SO PUMPED!!!!1!!1!!!_” exclaimed MRMUUSCLES. “_ILL TELL EVERBOD!_”

“_ooooo cant wait 2 see it =))) ”_ said WarmSmiles.

“_wow really who cares_” said Xx_killerJ_xX666. “_its not like all mt specials are exactly the same or nything soooooo boring why r u even posting this_”

“_why did u comment then?!?!_” asked Lionaround78. “_didnt u have to alredy b watching alphys’s profile to get here?_”

“_get off my back no 1 asked u_” replied Xx_killerJ_xX666. 

Frisk watched a little speaker icon with a circle and line through it light up beside Xx_killerJ_xX666’s username. The uplikes and shares on the post suddenly skyrocketed to at least twenty.

“_just ignore him. I will lol_” said Alphys. “_thx for the support every1!! ^.^ we hope 2 make it a rlly good show just trying to iron out the deets LOL!!! <3_”

Frisk tilted her head. “_i’ll find someone_” she commented.

“_OMG BBY U R SO PRECIOUS_” Mettaton replied instantly.

“_THX DISASTERBLASTER!!! <3 <3 <3_” said Alphys.

The kid smiled to herself. She felt a shifting beside her. Papyrus leaned over to watch her. He smiled at her.

“Have someone in mind?” he asked. “Oops. Hope you don’t mind me spying over your shoulder.”

“Only if I’m planning you a surprise, bro,” she said with a wink. “Ummm… Well… We need someone we can trust. Someone pretty cool. And who can read a weird script. Right? So… I think—”

“Kid?!” Papyrus asked.

Frisk grinned and nodded. “Kid!” she agreed.

She sent him a quick text asking if he’d be interested. He messaged back, saying he’d ask his mom. Frisk yawned and sighed, leaning back and folding her arms to her chest.

“Hey, Papyrus,” she said quietly. “Do you, um, think Sans is okay? Do you think he doesn’t wanna hang out with me?”

Her brother almost spit his sea tea. “What?! No!! Why?! Did you have an argument?!”

“No, no, nothing like that,” she said quietly. “It’s just, I dunno, usually he’s around a little more. D-Do you think maybe I was getting him down too much?”

“No, not at all! You always perk him up, Frisk!” Papyrus said, looking alarmed. “Why would you think that?”

“Um, I dunno, it’s just, my dreams have been kinda worse lately,” she said quietly. “A-And they’re about him, so… maybe he doesn’t want to hear about it anymore?”

“What?! About…?! A-Are…? Are they future dreams?” Papyrus asked.

Frisk shook her head. “Past dreams,” she said.

“Oh. Well…” He frowned thoughtfully and cupped his chin. “Nnnnooo, that doesn’t make sense, then. That wouldn’t bother him at all. The past is the past, right? It must be something else.”

Frisk shrugged sheepishly. 

“Maybe he’s just up to something sneaky?” Undyne suggested. “He kinda does that, right?”

“Well, maybe,” Frisk admitted. “I dunno.”

Undyne’s ears drooped. She grimaced and tapped her fingers against the table loudly.

“Oh! Hey. Actually, kid, I have something that I was workin’ on with your bro before he stepped out,” she said. “I’ll probably need to explain this, like, a bunch of times once Alph and that little flower punk get back, but I think we found something really cool and weird. Wanna see? Or hear? Whatever?”

“Oh, y-yeah, okay,” Frisk said.

Undyne waved her over to the piano bench, and Papyrus leaned over the back of the couch to watch.

“Now, I don’t know what this means at all,” Undyne said. “But I think you’ll really dig it.”

She laid her fingers out on the keys and played the tune of the kid’s soul. Frisk’s cheeks flushed. It brought a bit of a smile to her face. Undyne grinned and cut her eye at her. She kept playing on one hand and, on the other, brought in Asriel’s song to join up with it. After just a few seconds, Frisk looked absolutely starstruck. Eyes wide, she looked up at Undyne. She was all but glowing.

“But that’s… How did you know they would…? Oh wow,” she said.

“You like it?” she asked.

“Y-Yeah, of course!!” she said. “That sounds so nice. I didn’t know you could do that sorta thing when you play two songs at once! What made you try that?”

“Uh. Well, they just kinda… sounded like they went together, is all?” Undyne said.

Frisk grinned. “That’s so pretty!” she said. “Wow, Undyne, maybe you think you’re not, but you’re actually really really great at music!!”

She hugged her tight. Undyne stared at her, ear-fins perking.

“You, uh… get that that’s Asriel’s song with yours, right?” she asked, patting her shoulder.

“Yeah! Wow, that’s really neat and kinda weird that it works really well together. Ooh, ooh, could you try mine and yours? Or mine and Papyrus’s? Ooh! Wait, what about yours and Alphys’s?! I wonder how that would sound.”

“Uhhhh…” Undyne grinned bashfully and ruffled the kid’s hair. “Maybe a bit later, alright, I’m not so good that I can just do that on the fly.”

“Oh! Okay! That’s really cool anyway, though, I’d love to hear anything else you do!” she said brightly.

Frisk grinned and slid off the bench to peek into the oven. Undyne watched her go, then shot a glance at Papyrus. He seemed starry-eyed. Otherwise, the meaning seemed to have been lost on the both of them. Undyne sighed, chuckled, and shook her head. 

\- - -

Grillby’s was bustling and loud with dogs when Sans wandered inside, a few too many thoughts worming around inside his skull. He wandered up to the counter beside a bird monster and a lazy fish, and Grillby zeroed in on him much more quickly than usual. 

“Hey, Grillbs, what’s cookin’?” Sans asked with a wink.

The man sighed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

“Got a question,” he said as he sat down. “You, uh…? You ever see those things. Star things. Kinda floatin’ around down here?”

Grillby raised a brow, but he nodded. 

“Gold ones, right?” Sans asked. “Ever seen a white one or a blue one?”

The elemental’s brow furrowed. He folded his arms for a moment, and then held up one finger.

“Oh yeah? Where?” Sans asked, pulling out a crumpled paper and pen.

“Behind apartments,” Grillby said quietly. “Dandelion Plaza, I think.”

“Dandelion, huh?” Sans frowned at his paper. “Alright. Oof, guess I got more walkin’ to do.”

Grillby looked faintly puzzled, but he leaned across the counter and frowned and tapped him on the shoulder to draw his attention.

“Oh. Yeah, he’s right,” the bird beside them said. “That tall skele, he’s you’re bro, right? Came through here a while ago.”

“Oh. Weird. Looking for me, huh?” Sans said.

Grillby nodded.

“Welp. He say what he wanted?” he said.

“He said your little sister wanted to see you,” the bird said for Grillby. “He said she was lookin’ around for you. Sounded like he thought you might be nappin’ behind the counter or something, but the way he rambled on a bit, I guess maybe you might be avoidin’ them?”

Sans felt like he’d been slapped. “Avoiding…?” he repeated slowly. 

That didn’t seem right. Didn’t feel right, either. True, he hadn’t been around the kid much the last day or so, but it wasn't because he didn't want to be. He’d only been trying to have her spend extra time with Papyrus. His brother was so positive, and bright, and everything that he wasn’t. She needed that, didn’t she? Until she could see him without the first thing shooting through her mind being that he’d nearly melted right on top of her.

“Eh. I hear you, buddy,” said the fish man, nodding. “Kids, am I right?”

“…’Scuse me?” Sans said, brow furrowing.

“Well, I mean, yeah, kids can be a pain,” the bird agreed.

“Yup, always wantin’ stuff, whining, running around, getting into everything,” the fish said. “Don’t blame you for wanting some time away from the brat, huh?”

“Yup! You were never here,” the bird said, tapping his beak.

Sans felt a little weird. He felt— what was it? His appetite was gone. He frowned. His eye wanted to light, but he didn’t let it. Grillby folded his arms. Sans shrugged.

“Maybe you, uh, shouldn’t run your mouth off about crap you don’t understand,” Sans said.

They seemed taken aback as he slipped off the stool. He shoved his hands in his pockets and headed for the door. “On second thought, Grillbs, might have to catch you later. Thanks for the tip.” He didn’t feel the least bit bad when his magic bumped their stools just enough for them to fumble with their drinks, nor when he was certain that Grillby had cuffed the two around the head just as he made his way out.

Sans didn’t feel good at all. He hadn’t realized what he’d been doing until that word came up. But his kid’d noticed. Of course. She was quick as a whip. He was pissed; mostly at himself. He was supposed to help her, not freak her out. He felt like he was caught between two problems; neither option ended with the kid happy, in his mind. It was just a question of which was worse.

He headed for the house, but then froze to his spot. He patted his pocket. He must’ve forgotten Frisk’s phone somewhere. Hoped he hadn’t lost it and that maybe it had just fallen out of his pocket back at Undyne’s. Screwed it up again. No wonder the kid thought there was something off if she’d called and got no reply. He sighed. He checked back over his shoulder and, when he noticed the other other monsters at the end of the street had their backs to him, he shifted himself.

He arrived at the door to the Ruins, slippers sinking into the fluffy, new layer of snow. As he stood there, he realized the chances of actually getting what he needed here were slim. Nonetheless, he knocked.

“Who’s there?”

Toriel. Good. Got lucky, for once. He smiled.

“Figs,” he said.

“Oh? Figs who?” she asked,

“Figs your doorbell, so I don’t gotta knock anymore.”

“Pfffft.” Toriel giggled. “Nice to hear from you, Sans.”

“Hey, same to you.” He stretched and leaned his back to the stone. “So, uh. Hey. What is it you’re doin’ in there, anyway?”

“Oh! Well, sometimes I read,” she said. “It’s actually quite stagnant here in the Ruins. And there’s just the smallest bit of cold air here near the door. It’s not much, but it can be quite the relief, to be honest.”

“Huh. Alright,” he said. “Ever think of comin’ out?”

“Hm… I… I am sometimes tempted,” she said. “But. No. Not really, up until recently.”

“Somethin’ changed your mind?” he asked.

“Well, yes, of course. A little girl, in fact,” she said with a laugh. “And, to be honest, your brother made some convincing arguments. It’s just…”

“Asgore?” he said.

“Asgore,” she agreed.

Sans slumped, but he nodded to himself. “Kinda get it,” he said.

“Thank you,” she said.

“I, uh, hate to dredge up the past,” he said, “but I kinda have a question for you. I’ve been lookin’ for an answer to somethin’ and I just keep hittin’ walls.”

“Aw, honey, perhaps try looking where you’re going?” she suggested.

He snickered. “I see what you’re gettin’ at.”

“So, what’s your question?” she asked.

“I’m lookin’ for any info on a Royal Scientist,” he said. “Well. Maybe any Royal Scientist, really.”

“Oh? What for?” Toriel asked curiously.

“Oof, that’s a story and a half,” Sans said with a laugh. “There’s been some funny stuff goin’ on. Think it might be connected to someone who worked in the lab. Had to have been more than… twenty-five years ago? Maybe more? I been kinda in and outta the place for most of my life, and I never met the monster, so…”

“I see,” Toriel said. “And you’re trying to find this person?”

“Mhm. I was just wonderin’ if it was you who maybe appointed one, back in the day,” he said.

He heard her humming and hawing quietly through the door.

“You know,” she said, “I recall when we started to set up the lab in Hotland, years and years after we were trapped. And having a Royal Scientist, that makes sense. The position is definitely real, but I can’t recall who we ever appointed. It must’ve been Asgore who did it back then. Could’ve been any number of them since then. I have been gone for a very long time. Have you asked the one who works there now?”

“Yeah. She’s a good pal of mine, actually. Used to work with her,” he said. “No luck. Asked Asgore, too. Basically had the same answer you did.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, I wish I had more to tell you,” she said.

“Ah, well. Guess I’ll have to keep an eye socket out somewhere else,” he said.

“I hope you find them,” she said.

“Heh. Yeah, me too,” he said. “Hey, uh… Could I ask you somethin’ else? Totally different topic.”

“Anything,” she assured him.

He went quiet for a moment to gather his thoughts. “Alright, uh… Say I got someone who’s, uh, havin’ a bit of a bad time. Nightmares, right?” he said. “I should try to keep ‘em away from what’s causing the nightmares, right?”

“Well, I suppose,” Toriel said slowly. “You don’t sound so sure.”

“Welp. Okay. Now, say what’s causing the nightmares is, uh, a person. And the dreams are about the person gettin’ kinda hurt,” he said. “Then what?”

“Oh! Well. That’s different,” she said. “Your friend with the nightmare, if they’re comfortable, should spend time with the monster they’re dreaming about. To reassure them that everything is fine, and normal, and safe. If they’re close, that should be very helpful. Or, at least, that’s my take on it.”

“Simple as that, huh?” he said.

“Simple as that,” she assured him.

\- - -

The streets of New Home were abuzz with excitement. A mysterious show was coming up, sending rumours and excitement drifting through the air. The Archives were doing big screenings today of some of the best movies they had access to. And the King was in town. That wasn’t unusual, but the love old King Asgore elicited from his people was unabashed and overwhelming. All the more reason that Alphys felt awful doing her very best to avoid him.

With Asriel on her shoulder— mug safely stored away— and her phone clutched tight against her chest, Alphys cautiously shouldered her way through the crowds that were building in the streets surrounding the Archives.

“Oh, g-god, I’m so glad I don’t live here anymore,” she muttered, her eyes skimming the monster apartments that rose high above the stores.

Asriel laughed.“Yeah, crowds and you: doesn’t seem like it meshes.”

She smiled sheepishly, but he was right. She felt extra sweaty just being there. “S-Sometimes I wish I had th-that power Sans has,” she joked.

“Guess it could be useful,” Asriel said.

“He’s lucky.” She checked the time on the screen of her phone and then swiped through her dimension box. “Ooh. After all that, seems l-like I have one space left. For, uh… M-Mettaton’s drink, I guess. Hey, w-would you like something? The, um, _Amore Caffé_ h-has a lot of nice things.”

“As long as it’s not tea,” he agreed.

Alphys smiled to herself. Her cheeks flushed as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “Th-Thanks for coming along,” she said. “M-Mettaton’s chores c-can get pretty boring alone.”

“You’d think he’d have an assistant to just do this crap for him, huh?” he said.

She shrugged. He frowned.

“Just don’t let him boss you around too much,” he said.

“H-Hah! I try not to,” she said. “H-Honestly, I don’t mind helping out every once in a while. Th-That’s why we kind of, um, trade, though. So. He w-won’t ask me all the t-time for things while I should b-be working, or taking care of the you-knows. You know?”

“I know,” he said.

He started to lean back, his eyes fixing on a point across the road. Alphys stopped and shot him a glance.

“What?” she asked.

“N-Nothing. Nothing, it’s—”

“Az, c-come on, it’s okay, what is it?” she said.

“It’s kid stuff,” he grumbled.

“You are a kid!” she laughed.

She turned and looked all around the street. Reluctantly, he pointed a leaf square at a very old looking store. _Sweet Dreams_. A candy store. Alphys’s face instantly lit up. 

“Y-You want some candy?” she asked excitedly.

“N-No!” he snapped. “No. No, um… It’s just, I… used to go there, is all, and— Hey wait!!”

Alphys was already powering across the street back towards the store. He flailed his leaves at her.

“I don’t need to go in!! It’s just—!”

“Nostalgia!” she said brightly. “That’s okay! I don’t m-mind at all!”

Inside was warm and accented with wood, like a cozy cabin, speckled with bursts of colour from a fantastic array of monster candy housed in square displays on shelves. The first thing they were greeted with, however, was a bowl of wrapped, colourful bonbons accompanied by a sign that implored them to take one. Alphys gladly did, taking a second and passing it to Asriel.

She was like a kid again, scampering up to shelves and peeking at all kinds of curiosities. “W-Wow, look at all this st-stuff!” Alphys said excitedly.

“Yeah, I used to come here all the time.” His eyes drifted around the warm brown interior and a smile crossed his face. “Used to sneak out into the city with Chara sometimes. We thought we were being so cool and rebellious, until one time, dad followed us in. We thought we’d be in trouble but then he bought us and all the kids in the store a ton of candy. Then he told us, y’know, we don’t have to sneak out, it was okay to go; just not right before dinner because he and mom worked real hard to cook for us. It sorta became a regular game for the three of us, sneakin’ out and trying to lose him, but we’d always meet up here. But never before dinner.”

Alphys smiled fondly. “That’s so sweet,” she said. “Oh! Th-That wasn’t a… Oh well.”

Asriel scoffed. “So you really never had a candy store, huh?”

“N-Nope. When I was a k-kid, I l-lived on the other side of the city. I d-didn’t really travel at all until I started studying at the l-lab. Ooh, we did have a b-bakery over there, though!” She smiled. “They m-made all kinds of nice things, too. B-But I really wish they had a r-ramen shop when I was a kid.”

“Ah. Makes sense.” Asriel popped the candy into his mouth and shifted it to his cheek. “Monshtersh really are weird, hm?”

“What do y-you mean?” she asked.

“We have sho much shtuff,” he said. “And mosht of ush don’t even go look at it.”

“Hmm… I g-guess you’re kinda right,” she said. “Hmm… If I b-buy some stuff, I’m sure I c-could carry it, right?”

“Mhm. I can’t.”

Alphys snickered. 

She picked up some snail-flavoured candy bars and monster chocolates shaped like Asgore’s face and little crowns. There were some gummy, brightly-coloured fish, and little packages of mixed monster candies— Alphys took enough for each of the monsters that lived in the lab to have one, and a few extras, too. 

“Do you want anything in p-particular?” Alphys asked.

Asriel tilted his head. He peeked around, browsed raised, and stretched up, trying to peek above one of the shelves. “Um, well—”

He shut himself up at the sudden tapping on the glass window that caught them both by surprise. Asriel whirled— recoiled and gulped so hard he swallowed his candy whole and shuddered. Alphys turned and her jaw dropped as she came eye to eye with the big, grinning face of Asgore, pressed up against the window pane.

The King rushed for the door, squeezing his huge shoulders through the frame and, with a massive smile, grabbed Alphys off her feet into a hug. “Well if it isn’t my favourite scientist!!” he exclaimed. “What a coincidence, seeing you in here!”

“Y-Yeah!!” she squeaked, her voice hoarse.

He plopped her onto her feet and smiled brightly, then turned his attention on Asriel. “Hello, little one! I do not believe we’ve met!” He offered his finger to the frozen flower. “I am Asgore! It’s nice to meet you!”

Asriel managed a smile and shook the King’s giant finger gently as Alphys’s mouth opened and closed without a word coming out.

“I’m, uh, Flowey. Flowey the flower. Nice to meet you, your Highness.”

“Well, any friend of Doctor Alphys’s is a friend of mine!” he assured him. “What are you two doing in here, of all places?”

“Oh, uuummm, j-j-just doing some, um, sh-shopping, is all,” Alphys said. “Ummm… A— Um. F-Flowey came here wh-when he was really r-really little and it was j-just kind of, um, n-n-nostalgic for him? Um…”

“Aw, how nice!” Asgore said. “This place is quite nostalgic for me, too.”

Alphys felt almost like she could throw up, but, with a smile on his face, Asgore prowled through the lines of shelves with bright, earnest interest on his face. Asriel nudged her with a leaf and she gulped hard and edged through the rows and up towards the register. She could just barely see the head of the old frog woman peeking over the counter. Asriel turned his gaze onto a small display of chocolate bars in red and silver wrappers. Alphys took note and picked up four of them to add to her stash before she laid everything out on the counter.

“Oooh, sweet tooth, eh?” the frog woman croaked, a smile crinkling the lines around her large red eyes. “You came to the right place, dearie.”

“I s-see that,” Alphys said with a smile. “Y-You, um, h-have a really nice store.”

“Ooh. You’ve made an excellent choice.” Asgore was suddenly leaning over her. “Here, allow me.” He added two more of the same chocolate bars to the pile and gently shifted Alphys aside as he pulled out his money.

“O-Oh, n-no, Asgore!” Alphys protested.

“Hah! Now now, no complaining.” He winked. “That’s an order.”

Alphys squeaked, her cheeks flushing. She nodded sheepishly.

“Nice to see you again, your Highness,” the old frog said. “Same as last time, I see?”

“As always,” he chuckled.

“Y-You, um, c-come here a lot?” Alphys squeaked.

“Once a week, every week!” the frog volunteered cheerfully. “Our King is my most loyal customer!”

Their candies were packed away in a paper bag for them and they headed out together. Asgore gladly carried their bag and seamlessly tagged along with them as they wandered down the road. Alphys cast a worried glance at Asriel, and though he was still nestled in a little closer to her, he didn’t seem too upset. 

“Alphys,” Asgore said, “what made you pick those chocolates from the front?”

“Oh, uhhh…” Alphys said awkwardly.

“I used to get them when I was really little,” Asriel volunteered.

“Oh! Very interesting,” Asgore said. “It seems like most monsters find it to be an acquired taste. Which is quite funny, actually, because I was told that it’s the closest we’ve ever had to the original, human version.”

“Oh y-yeah?” Alphys asked, perking up. “W-Well, good thing I got a few extra. M-Mettaton would l-love to try it, he loves h-human things.”

Asgore chuckled. “It’s not quite the same,” he said. “But, close. Isn’t it strange, that so many of our different foods are built off the memories of only a few monsters? Hah! I guess it can become like a taste version of that telephone game, can’t it?”

“I… n-never thought about it like that,” Alphys admitted. “I guess that is k-kind of interesting. S-So, you think o-once we get to the surface and tr-try human f-food, we might not e-even like it?”

“Monsters are weird,” Asriel said again.

Asgore guffawed. “Absolutely,” he agreed. “Weird and wonderful. Who knows?”

“I w-want to try s-sushi,” Alphys said sheepishly. “R-Real sushi.”

“Don’t do it without converting it,” Asriel warned. “You ever eaten human food, straight up? It hurts, dude!”

“A-Alright, alright,” she said with a laugh.

Asgore smiled. “What is that you tried, little one?”

“Oh. Um.” He grinned sideways. “Chocolate.”

“Oh! So that explains it,” he said. “Me too, actually. My… My daughter— as you’ll probably have heard— was a human. We’d found a few discarded human chocolate bars some time after finding her. They were her favourite, and the whole family tried it! Well, obviously, it made us monsters a little ill, but the taste was very distinct. I recall we searched all over for one that was like it, and my girl settled on these in the red wrapper. It still wasn’t quite right, but we all enjoyed them. Especially my son, he would always just trust in her tastes.”

“Ooooh,” Alphys said quietly. She shot a look at Asriel again. 

He had a bit of a pained look in his eye, but he smiled anyway. “That’s a nice story,” he said.

Asgore chuckled, quickly brushing a fingertip under each eye, and he smiled brightly. “Thank you. It’s a very fond memory for me,” he said. “So where are you two headed, this afternoon? It seems pretty unusual to see you out of the lab at all, Alphys.”

Alphys gulped, hard.“O-Oh! Oh… It’s, um… It’s just that M-Mettaton is d-doing a show s-soon and he n-needed a bit ofhelp,” she said. “S-So I’m just, um, d-doing some shopping s-so he can cook dinner a-and stuff.”

“Oh! That’s nice. That’s good you two are speaking again,” he said.

Alphys blushed shamefully. “It’s not th-that we weren’t!” she protested quickly. “It was… j-just… Well, you know, h-he’s so famous n-now, and he g-got a bit… Well. W-We both got busy. For, um… a year. Or so. I guess. I-It’s all fine now!!”

Asgore chuckled. “Glad to hear it. So do you know a lot about this show or is he keeping it mostly under wraps?”

“Uuuuuhhhhhh…” Alphys began to sweat. “W-W-Well…”

“Don’t bother, your Highness, I tried to make her tell me, too, but she won’t budge,” Asriel said. “It’s a secret, apparently.”

“Hah! Well, fair enough,” Asgore said. 

Alphys let out a long, deep sigh and shot Asriel a grateful smile. Asgore suddenly froze in his tracks and his gaze looked far away. The lizard was about to ask if something was wrong, but the King shielded his eyes, squinted, and then grinned brightly. He passed the bag off to Alphys.

“One moment,” he said, and he was off in a hurry down a side street.

“Uhhh…” Alphys said.

Asriel shrugged.

They followed Asgore cautiously. The huge monster lifted someone up into his arms for a tight hug.

“If it isn’t my favourite ex-scientist!!” he said brightly.

When Asgore plopped his newest hug-victim to the ground, Alphys was shocked to see a familiar, short skeleton in blue stumble onto his feet.

“S-Sans?!” she stammered. “What are you doing here?!”

“Oh, uh—”

“Where’s Frisk?” Asriel asked swiftly.

“Not here,” he said.

Neither of them could keep the skepticism from their expressions. He laughed and rubbed the back of his skull.

“Seriously,”he said, and he jerked his thumb at the clothing store behind him. “I was pickin’ a thing up for her.”

“Aw, that’s sweet,” Asgore said. “Is she feeling much better?”

“Yeah, thanks for askin’,” Sans said. “So, what’re you nerds doin’?”

“G-Going to, um, a c-coffee shop?” she said, and she smiled sheepishly. “_Amore Caffé._ Remember?”

“That’s a hit of nostalgia,” he admitted.

“C-Come with us,” she insisted.

Sans shot a look at Asgore. “You alright, your Highness? Got nowhere better to be?”

“Oh! No, not really,” he said. “I’ve done all my chores for the day, so I am free for the rest of the afternoon!”

The café was a few blocks away, and though the smell of coffee and fresh pastries warmed the air enticingly, the place was all but empty. The monsters squished into a booth, with Asgore taking up almost all of one side as he cheerfully rifled through the menu.

“H-Hey, Sans, so, um… Frisk was l-looking for you earlier, actually,” Alphys said.

“Oh. Really?” He put his cheek on his fist. “Why?”

“Didn’t say,” she said.

“She’s clingy and weird, she probably’s just worried about your dumb head,” Asriel said.

“Pffft. Fair enough,” Sans said. “You wanna text Paps for me? Tell them I’m with you guys? Oh and, uh, ask if I left her phone with them, huh? Hope I didn’t lose the dang thing.”

“You better not’ve,” Asriel said with a frown.

Sans shrugged.

“G-Got it,” Alphys said quietly as she began to text.

An excited-looking fuzzy, devil-looking monster scampered up to them to take their orders, seeming particularly enthralled to find the King there. He asked for a dark tea with milk, Alphys got her usual Sparkle Bubble Latte Smoothie— which Asriel mirrored— along with Mettaton’s drink, and Sans seemed entertained by something labeled ChocoBubble Surprise, so opted for that.

“What a nice little shop,” Asgore said. “They changed the decor a little, didn’t they?”

“A wh-while ago, I think,” Alphys said.

“Hm!” Asgore looked around with bright eyes. “It’s nice! So, how has work been for you two? Not too stressful, I hope!”

“Oh! Ummm… It’s g-good. Fine,” Alphys said, looking up from her phone with a nervous smile.

“Can’t complain,” Sans said.

“And you, little one,” Asgore said, turning his eyes on the flower. “I hope school has been good! Where are you from, exactly?”

“Oh, uh, it’s fine,” he said. “I’m, uh—”

“He’s been bouncin’ between Alphys’s and our place,” Sans said. “Parents are takin’ a holiday or somethin’, right, bud?”

“Right. Right,” he agreed, bobbing his head up and down.

“Sans, really, if you need a raise—” Asgore began, but the skeleton laughed and shook his head.

“We’re okay,” he said.

Asgore pouted for a moment before he got a sort of glint in his eye. He put on a resigned face and sighed. “Well,” he said with a shrug, “if you say so!”

Sans held in a laugh. Asriel gently tapped Alphys’s phone. She jumped, but she quickly took out his mug and put it on the table. He slithered down her arm and plunked himself back into the dirt. Asgore started to beam.

“That’s adorable,” he said. “Oh, look, it’s got a heart on it! And wheels! What a good idea! I suppose hardwood isn’t exactly easy to navigate, is it?”

“Not so much,” Asriel admitted. “But this is good.”

“Wonderful,” Asgore said, and then turned to Alphys. “Doctor, you be sure to let me know if you need anything to provide more help to this little fellow or anyone else like him, alright?”

“Oh! Th-Thanks,” she said. “I think we’re, um, m-mostly okay. Undyne l-lives r-right beside the dump, s-so getting parts isn’t t-too hard, actually.”

“That’s great to hear,” he said.

After a moment, the fuzzy monster returned with a bounce in her step and a tray of drinks balanced precariously on one hand. “Alright! Here you go,” she said brightly, handing each out carefully, “and you, and you, annnnnd you!”

Asriel’s drink had a special, twirly straw in it.

“Thank you very much, my child,” Asgore said with a smile.

“Thank you for stopping by, your Highness!” she said. “Enjoy!”

As she left them, Alphys quickly stashed Mettaton’s pink drink away in her phone, and then took a sip of hers. She always liked the faint fizz of it. “S-So, um…” She turned her eyes on Sans. “Wh-What were you d-doing over here, anyway?”

“I dunno, shopping?” he said.

“Pfft, doesn’t sound like you,” Asriel said. “Especially without Frisk.”

“Well, it’s, uh, kinda supposed to be a surprise,” he said with a shrug.

“Aw, that’s lovely,” Asgore said. “What’s the occasion?”

“Ah. Well. Not so much that. More like an apology,” Sans said.

“Why, what’d you do now?” Asriel asked.

“Now?” Sans laughed. “What’d I do before?”

“N-Never mind, Sans, you’re a g-great brother, I’m s-sure whatever h-happened, th-there’s no way sh-she’s really upset, is there?” Alphys said. “I m-mean, if she wasn’t m-mad at me after I… Um…”

“Oh. It’s just, kid’s been havin’ nightmares,” he said with a shrug. “Kinda about me. She saw me get hurt in the woods and it wigged her out. I thought she should spend a little more time with Paps than with me until she’s settled. Since he’s so great and, I dunno, cheerful. And I’m kinda… Well, you know. But I, uh, got some advice that said I should probably be hangin’ out with her just as much to make sure she gets I’m not messed up.”

“So you were avoiding her,” Asriel said with a frown.

Sans sighed. “Wasn’t intentional.”

“Ah, it’s hard to know what to do, sometimes,” Asgore said. “I find that, usually, a glass of warm milk, a cozy blanket, and a caring ear to listen are more than enough.”

“Never thought of that warm milk thing,” Sans admitted.

“Also, soft music,” Asgore suggested. “I remember— and I hope she wouldn’t mind me telling you this— Captain Undyne used to have quite a lot of nightmares when she was a little girl. I used to have a music box that would calm her right down. We placed it in a statue out in Waterfall, but I’m sure no one would mind if you borrowed it.”

Sans shot Asriel a look. The flower didn’t budge other that to sip from his swirly straw.

“Th-That sounds n-nice,” Alphys said.

Sans nodded. He picked the straw out of his drink and tipped the glass back into his face. 

“H-How is it?” Alphys asked.

“S’got some goopy bits in it,” he said. “Kinda dig it.”

“Oh good!” she said. “S-So. Um. A-Asgore, are you, um, doing anything at the, um, film festival t-today?”

“Actually, they had me open it,” he said brightly. “Such a committed bunch, over there. Alphys, did you know? They’re having whole meetings to try to figure out what Mettaton’s special is going to be about.”

“O-Oh really?” she asked more shrilly than she had intended. “Wh-Whyyyy would they b-be doing that?”

“Buncha nerds,” Asriel joked.

“I suppose they’re all just curious,” the King said with a chuckle. “He’s given no hints at all! It’s fun to guess. I overheard some monsters saying there might be hints in that new _U-G-H_ special.”

“What, for real?” Asriel asked quickly.

“Oh, yes, I heard them say they were rewatching it several times, looking for clues.”

Sans choked and snorted through a gulp of his drink and then put an arm over his mouth, grinning to the point that blue began to shimmer in his left eye. “Wait. Wait a sec. Are you tellin’ me,” he said, pointing at the King, “that a bunch of nerds are sittin’ around. Watching that _U-G-H_ special. Over and over and over. Analyzing it. And lookin’ for clues?”

“I believe so, yes,” Asgore said.

Sans and Asriel both burst out howling with laughter as Asgore smiled innocently. Even Alphys had to laugh, though she hid her face in her hands. The skeleton thumped his fist on the table, took a deep breath, and grinned widely.

“That’s gotta be the best thing I’ve heard all week,” he said, wiping his eyes. “Oh, man, I gotta tell Frisk. Kid, remind me, that’ll just crack her the heck up.”

“Oooh, man, that’s the worst,” Asriel snickered. “Dang. I mean. Wow.”

“So I take it you think it’s a waste of time, then?” Asgore asked with a chuckle.

“Proooobably?” Alphys said sheepishly.

“Oh well! That’s alright, I’ll just have to wait until the day to see it,” Asgore said with a grin.

Alphys almost spit her drink. “W-W-What?!” she squeaked, her scales taking a sweaty sheen. “Y-You’re not g-g-going to that, are you?!”

“Well, I was thinking about it,” he said.

“Y-You can’t!!” Alphys said shrilly.

“I can’t?” he asked, puzzled.

“Ummm…” Alphys suddenly became painfully aware of all the others staring at her. “Uuuuhhh… W-Well… It’s just, umm… I… I w-was… I w-was thinking, umm… W-Well… I, um, I n-need to l-look at the, um, h-h-human souls f-for my, um, n-new research, and I was th-thinking we c-could maybe spend some t-time together. The, um… Th-Th-The show is going to be, um… r-r-really loud in p-person anyway, s-so it’d p-probably be b-better to watch the, um, special on r-r-recordings? Um… S-Since I know your, um, ears are k-kind of… s-s-sensitive?” Her cheeks her flushed and she nervously clutched her drink closer to her. 

Sans stared at her with his brows raised. Asriel bit his lip and looked between them with wide eyes.

“Alphys…” Asgore’s ears lifted. “That’s so thoughtful of you! But don’t you worry, come over early and we can do all of that and more! And we can go to the show together, doesn’t that sound nice? Don’t worry, I’ll bring my earmuffs!”

She all but melted onto the table. Asriel raised his brows and Alphys opened her mouth to protest, but the King seemed distracted by something over her shoulder.

“Ooh! Look over there!” he said.

“What?” Sans asked.

Asgore scooted out of his seat and pointed for the counter. “I didn’t even notice, look at all those desserts up front! Ooh! Are those pies?” he said, and he unceremoniously plucked up Asriel and beelined for the counter. “Come, come, little one! Pick something out, if you want! All of you! My treat.”

Alphys let out a sigh so long she seemed to puddle. She put her head down on the table and groaned.

“Sounds like this might, uh, be a royal pain, huh?” Sans said with a tired smile.

“Oh g-g-god.” She sat up quickly and grabbed his shoulders, pushing close, eyes wide with desperation. “Wh-What do we do? What d-d-do we d-do?!”

“Dunno, but we’ll have to think kinda fast, huh?” he said, and he counted down on his fingers. “Uh, two days and a morning to pull him off the tracks, huh? Not so bad.”

“What d-do I s-s-say?!” Alphys insisted.

“Dunno, Doc,” he said. “Might be time to come down with a cough or somethin’.”

Alphys groaned again and hid her face in her hands. Sans patted her shoulder, held in a sigh, and downed the rest of his drink. Kinda felt like he needed another, too. Maybe something a bit stronger.


	57. But The King Can’t Watch

Alphys had attempted to start quietly coughing while they were still in the café, but as she and Asriel parted ways with Sans and Asgore, she still had no idea what to do. She clutched the little flower close, nervous. Both of them were quiet until they were on the outskirts, headed for the docks, where a small boat could get them down to Waterfall.

“H-Hey,” Alphys said quietly. “Are you okay?”

“I feel like throwing up,” Asriel said, but he laughed quietly. “Holy crap.”

“I’m s-sorry, I… I thought h-he’d be at the Archives,” she said.

“It’s…” He took a deep breath. “It’s fine. It’s okay. It wasn’t that bad. He, uh… He looks good, huh?”

“Y-Yeah,” Alphys said.

“We can’t let him see that stupid play,” he said.

“I know. I know, I know,” she said, nodding. “I’ll… I’ll c-come up with something. Um… I guess i-it’s not s-something time travel can h-help with, huh?”

“Unless you want Frisk to try to erase his memories, then, no,” he said.

“E-Erase his memories?!” she yelped. “What?! C-Can she do that?!”

“Well, the other ones could, and she’s stronger than them. Don’t see why not,” he said. “But… that seems sketchy as hell, doesn’t it?”

“She’d n-never agree to that, e-even if I wanted t-to try that,” Alphys said with a tired laugh.“Um… No. No, don’t worry, I’ll… I’ll figure something out. It’s… Ugh. It’s n-not the first time I’ve lied to him. So…”

“Poor guy, he’s such a dope,” Asriel said, and he let out a long, deep sigh. “Pheeeew, that was rough.”

“Mhm.” She rubbed his head gently with her thumb. “G-God, I’m sorry. Y-You did r-really, really well, though. I’m, uh… I’m p-proud of you.”

“Huh.” He laughed quietly. “Weird.”

They picked out a small wooden boat manned by a dark, robed figure, and boarded for the trip to Hotland. Asriel went quiet and curled up, and let Alphys absently stroke his stem as she stared at the water passing.

After dropping off Mettaton’s groceries and fancy drink at the lab, the two made their way back through Waterfall and to Undyne’s house, where the sound of video games bounced around the cavern.

When they peeked inside, the lights were dim but the room was brightened, instead, by the TV set where Undyne and Papyrus were sitting on the floor. Frisk was in her brother’s lap, with a very determined look on her face and a controller in her hands.

“Come on, come on, come on,” Papyrus insisted.

A bright light flashed, a victory fanfare played, and Frisk put her hands in the air.

“DONE!” she said.

Papyrus whooped and hugged the kid; Undyne pumped her fist.

“NICE!” she said. “Jeez, I couldn’t even do that level, that was great!!”

“Super determined!” Frisk joked, and she turned and waved at the two coming through the door. “Alphys! Az! Hey!”

“Welcome back, nerds,” Undyne said.

“Good to see you both!” Papyrus added, grinning. “I trust you’ve had a nice afternoon?”

“Uuuuugghhh,” Asriel groaned dramatically.

“Aw, c’mere,” Frisk said, putting her hands out.

Alphys laughed tiredly and handed him over— as Undyne fumbled for the controller as the next level on whatever game they were playing seemingly started up on its own— and the kid gently hugged him. The little lizard walked around to the side of the couch and climbed over it. She leaned over and gently kissed Undyne’s cheek, which immediately caused the “whoops-you-fell-off-a-cliff” music to begin to play in the game. Undyne didn’t care at all, though, and turned to give Alphys a smooch and grinned at the sheepish smile she gave when they pulled apart. 

“You killed me,” she joked.

“S-Sorry,” Alphys said with a laugh.

“Alphys! Kid said his mom’d let him be the narrator,” Frisk said.

“Oh! Th-That’s great, Frisk! Thanks,” she said. “I’ll make sure M-Mettaton knows to get him a sc-script.”

The kid smiled and nodded, and then turned her attention on Asriel. “So what were you guys up to?”

“We got candy, but Asgore showed up, and uuuugghhhhh,” Asriel whined.

“Oh. Dude, you okay?” she asked worriedly.

He sighed. “Yeeeeah, I guess, it’s just…” He drooped and flailed his leaves. “He’s gonna cause us some trouble.”

“Really? Like what?” Papyrus asked.

“H-He… He really wants to see Mettaton’s show live,” Alphys said. “I tried t-to, um, talk him out of it b-but it didn’t really work.”

“Oh… Yeah, that doesn’t sound good,” Undyne said. “Got a plan?”

“Sans s-said I should pretend to be s-sick on the day,” she admitted. “I… I w-wish we could j-just explain to him why h-he can’t go…”

Frisk frowned a little. She looked back at them. “Maybe we can?”

“I thought you wanted to keep him out of the loop,” Undyne said.

“I could… I guess I could just try to bring his memories back,” Frisk said. “I… I mean, I dunno if that would work, even. It didn’t work on Kid… But. Maybe then we could tell him we’re just trying a different way to break the barrier, but the show’d be really emotional for him so he shouldn’t see it.”

“I feel like that might just make him want to see it more,” Undyne said. “The amount of hell he’s put himself through for us… If he thought it’d help in any way… But then again, if you were really sure about it, and he remembered you, he’d remember you broke the barrier before, right? So he’d probably just take your word for it.”

“So is it worth a try, then?” Papyrus asked.

“Don’t tell him about me,” Asriel said quickly. “You can’t. I don’t want him to know that I’m… That I’m still this.”

“Are you sure?” Undyne said with a frown. “He’d be more than happy to see you, however you are.”

Asriel shook his head adamantly. “I can’t, I just can’t.”

Frisk held him a bit tighter. “I… I could give it a try,” she said. “I’m not sure if I can. But, um… I’ll see if I can talk him out of it, tomorrow maybe? I won’t tell him about you, promise.”

“Th-Thanks, Frisk,” Alphys said. “B-But… Look, if it… If it d-doesn’t work, or you th-think it’s a b-bad idea, and you n-need to back out, please don’t feel b-bad, okay? I… I know I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

She nodded. “Tomorrow,” she said.

Asriel puffed out a sigh. Papyrus leaned over to look at him, and then gently touched his stem with his gold-tinted fingertips. 

“Hey, so, um,” Frisk said, looking over at Alphys curiously, “you saw Sans, right?”

“O-Oh! Um. Y-Yeah, we did,” she said.

“Was he okay?” she asked.

“Y-Yeah, of course,” Alphys assured her. “He’s, um… Well, when w-we split up, h-he mentioned he was just l-looking for some st-stuff around town. And, uh, h-he said t-to tell you he was s-sorry he dropped your phone.”

“Oh phew,” Frisk said.

“So clingy,” Asriel joked.

The kid shrugged and smiled sheepishly. 

Undyne snickered and got to her feet, handing off the controller to the little lizard behind her.

“Hey, squirt,” she said on her way to the kitchen, “think you could do me a solid?”

“Yeah, of course,” she said.

“If you decide on seeing Asgore, you wanna, um…” She grabbed a small box from her cupboard and tossed it to her. “You wanna give that to him? It’s my newest batch.”

“Ooh, alright, no problem!” she said.

“Good kid,” she said.

“I d-don’t know h-how to play this game,” Alphys squeaked.

“Here, Doctor, I’ll take it,” Papyrus said with a laugh.

She eagerly handed it off to him as her little puffball of a character tumbled off a cliff again. She pulled up her phone and tapped on the screen quickly with her thumbs and few times, and then drew out a large bag that almost instantly toppled over on the couch.

“Aah!” she yelped. “Ummm… Oh. Uh. W-We brought sn-snacks?”

“Hah, wow, look at all that junk,” Undyne said, leaning over, ear-fins perking up. “Nice.”

“H-Here.” She tossed a few things, including those foil-wrapped chocolate bars, to the kids. “T-Take as much as you w-want, you guys.”

“Oh! Are you sure?” Frisk asked.

“Y-Yeah, of course,” she said. 

“Thank you!” She noticed Asriel already fiddling at one of the wrappers and she took it from him. “Here, let me.”

The foil was covering a brown bar divided superficially into squares. It somewhat resembled what Frisk was pretty sure was chocolate. She handed it back, and he snapped off two squares and offered her one.

“Wanna try?” he asked.

Curious, she took it, sniffed it, and then bit off a corner. It was a little sweet, and bitter, and rich. It reminded her a little of coffee, but she liked it a lot more.

“It’s nice, thanks,” she said brightly.

“Yeah? Cool,” Asriel said with a smile. “Is it a lot like human chocolate to you?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted.

“H-Have you n-never had it?” Alphys asked, gratefully accepting another square from Asriel. “Ooh, th-thank you.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a chocolate bar like this,” Frisk said. “I had a, umm… A pastry thing? A stale one. With a bit of chocolate on top. But it wasn’t a lot, so it’s kinda hard to tell. The chocolate I know best is monster hot chocolate, actually!”

“Okay, better question, maybe,” Asriel said, tossing more squares at the other two monsters, “is what human food did you like? What was your favourite?”

“Uuuummmm…” Frisk tilted her head and thought for a while. She looked thoroughly stumped. 

Alphys popped the chocolate in her mouth and made a bit of a face. “Oof, guess i-it is an acquired t-taste,” she said with a laugh.

“I sort of like it,” Papyrus said.

“Weird!” Undyne said. “I could see gettin’ into this. Maybe if you put it on something else. Oh. Right, Alph, remind me to send you a thing, okay? It’s kinda important.”

“O-Oh yeah? What is it?” she asked.

“We can talk about it later,” she said, waving a hand.

Asriel poked Frisk. “Well?” he said.

“Uhhh… OH! I know! There was this one time, I was out near this river, right? And there was a place a couple other people would live, but outside? And I had this, um, stale bread.”

“Stale?” Undyne repeated.

“Y-Yeah, it’s like… Some human food, when you bake it, if you leave it out, it starts to get hard a bit and people don’t like it as much for some reason? Anyway, so I had this bread, and this old guy at the river, he brought me to this fire pit, and we put it in there for a bit, and then he put some fish on it and we shared it, and it was like, the best thing I’d ever had,” she said with a grin. “I think that was my favourite!”

“Fish?” Undyne said, ears perking. “That sounds kinda good.”

Frisk nodded enthusiastically.

The oven made a dinging sound and her face lit up. She got up and scampered around Papyrus’s legs to get to the oven and pulled it open to a blast of hot air. The pie inside was pleasantly brown.

“Hey! It looks pretty good!” she said.

“Is it done?” Papyrus asked, leaning in over her shoulder to grab it. “It looks… brownish. Is this right? Should it be darker?”

“L-Let’s just t-trust Frisk on this one,” Alphys suggested.

\- - -

The pie was good. A bit sharp, and quite sweet, with a nice, flakey crust. The monsters split it into thirds, and with theirs in hand, Papyrus grabbed the kids and brought them home when it started to get late. Alphys waved them off and then dragged the fractured door back into place. 

When she turned back to the room, Undyne had kicked back on the couch and waved her over. There didn’t seem to be a place for her to sit, though. She edged closer and Undyne picked her up instantly. She yelped, only to find herself laying up against her girlfriend’s chest. Her cheeks went stark red.

“H-H-Hi,” she said.

“Pfffft, hi.” Undyne gently kissed her snout and then hid a huge yawn behind her hand. “Got anywhere to be?”

Alphys hurriedly shook her head.

“Cool,” Undyne said.

“Um… Uummm…” Alphys could barely think straight; it took a lot of effort even to get a word out. “Y-You, um…You w-were gonna t-tell me something?”

“Hm? Oh. Yeah,” she said. “It could be nothing. But Sans thought it was something. I kinda do, too. I, uh… Well, I got Frisk’s hum goin’, right?”

“What? Y-Y-You did?!” Alphys gawked. “Oh m-my god, y-you’re amazing!”

“Hah! Well, that’s only half of it,” she said. “It sounded… familiar, somehow. And I thought it was kinda like something I’ve heard before. So, don’t ask me why, but I played it with Asriel’s. The song from that old music box, right? They match.”

“Th-They’re the same song?!” Alphys squeaked.

“No, no, not like that, but they’re like… They sound like two parts of the same song, it’s hard to explain. So, I basically recorded it. I’ll send it to your phone so you have it, hang on. I mean, I could just play it, but I don’t wanna get up.”

She squirmed to get her hand in her pocket, pulled out her phone, and jabbed it with her finger a few times. Alphys’s phone made a cat sound. She squeaked and hurried to grab it, and then brought up the file.

“N-Now?” she asked.

“If you wanna,” Undyne said with a shrug.

Alphys bit her lip. She played the clip. The piano came through clear.

“That bit’s Frisk,” Undyne said, tapping her foot in time. “And then…”

The second song chimed in. Alphys listened closely, her eyes going wide. She didn’t make a sound until the clip ended.

“W-Wow…” she breathed.

“Weird, right?” Undyne said.

“You pl-play really well,” she said. “Umm… Um. Y-Yeah. Yeah, I’ve… I’ve never h-heard something like that.”

“Think it means anything?” she said.

“I… I’m n-not sure,” Alphys admitted. “Um… Wh-What, uh…? What did S-Sans think?”

“Said something about a missing piece,” she said. “Not totally sure what he meant. Something about the timelines, maybe?”

“Hmm… Y-Yeah, maybe,” Alphys said. She pocketed her phone again and leaned forward. Though she hesitated a second, she gave Undyne a gentle kiss, unable to stop her tail from wagging. “Th-Thanks for giving me that,” she said. “I’ll l-look into it. Wh-When I have a l-little more time.”

Alphys felt a tremor of nerves through her body, but nonetheless, she pressed a little closer to Undyne and wrapped her arms around her. “Y-You’re so good, y-you know that?” she cooed.

“Eh, sometimes,” Undyne said.

“Seriously,” Alphys said. “Y-You’re… You’re so strong a-and cool, and… wh-what you can do, what y-you’ve done for… f-for that whole family. You’re… amazing. W-Would it be, um…? W-Would it b-be weird t-to say I’m so proud of you?”

Undyne’s ears perked and she grinned. “That’s really sweet,” she said.

Alphys’s face immediately brightened and she blushed. Undyne chuckled and gently snuggled her.

“You’re real cute,” she said. “Specially when you smile like that.”

Alphys squeaked and bashfully hid her face. Undyne grinned, snuck in a little closer, and as soon as the little lizard looked up, she gave her a soft kiss. Alphys squeaked even louder and Undyne beamed and laughed as she all but melted in her strong grip.

“Wanna go out for dinner?” she asked.

“B-But M-Mettaton’s supposed to be cooking and—?”

“So? We can catch up with him later. Two dinners,” Undyne said. “You and me. What d’you think? You could use a break. You wanna?”

“D-Do I ever,” Alphys said.

\- - -

At home, the first thing Papyrus did was make a beeline for his closet, leaving the kids alone. Only out of view did Asriel let any tears begin to fall. Frisk understood. She held him against her and neither of them said a word for a long while.

When Asriel finally coughed and rubbed his eyes, he looked up at Frisk with a furrow in his brow. “You don’t need to do this, you know.”

“What d’you mean?” she asked.

“I’m pathetic…”

“You’re not!” Frisk said shrilly. “You’re super not.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better,” he grumbled.

“Hey, lookit me,” she said. “You really think that?”

Asriel awkwardly forced his gaze up to match hers, but couldn’t hold it for long. He sighed and curled up against her. 

“Hey… Do me a favour?” he muttered. “Forget the Asgore thing?”

“For real?” she said. “What do we do about him seeing this weird play, then?”

“I… I don’t know. Anything? Anything else, I just… I don’t want to open this door yet,” he said.

“What if I don’t say anything about you?” she said. “I said I wouldn’t, right?”

“I trust you. But some of the others…” He frowned. “It’s just that they’ll slip. I know they will. If he knows, he’ll want to be around more. Maybe when I couldn’t feel anything I could keep up with not being his kid, but now, it’s… It’s tough, okay?”

“That’s… That’s true, but…” She frowned. “You don’t think he could help us if he knew what was going on? And then he for sure wouldn’t get all messed up over seeing our weird play thing. Right? Because he’d listen if we told him not to go.”

Asriel frowned and grimaced. He folded his leaves and the mechanical arm. “…Ugh. Fine. Try,” he said. “I think it’s a bad idea, though. Just putting my vote in.”

“Okay,” Frisk said. Her smile turned sympathetic. 

Asriel scoffed, and she patted his head gently.

“I-It might not even work,” she said.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he muttered.

He clammed up as the door upstairs banged open and Papyrus ran downstairs. He plunked himself on the ground with the others and slammed down a pink and orange plastic case and began yanking the drawers out. Frisk leaned around to watch as he plucked what seemed to be several dry paint palettes from one drawer and globby facepaint from another and laid them out with some paper.

“Wow, where’d you get all that stuff?” Frisk asked.

“Around! Dump. Trades. It wasn’t too hard. Some of this is even MTT brand, see?” He held up a tube of pink glitter proudly. “Though… It doesn’t get all that much use. BUT NOW! The great artist Papyrus will be trying to figure out how to disguise you!”

“Still could just paint her blue or whatever,” Asriel said.

“I don’t wanna!” Frisk said. 

“Nyeh heh heh! Never fear, little sister, I’m sure I can come up with something!” he said brightly. “Something that does not involve painting all your visible skin, to be more specific.”

He grabbed a palette of browns and a piece of paper. He held it up next to her face and squinted. With a paintbrush, he dabbed some of the paint onto the paper. He grasped Frisk’s face gently and eyed her analytically.

“Hmmmm…” He mumbled. “Daaarker. I see. And, could you just open your eye very wide, please?”

Frisk held the skin around one eye to stop herself from blinking for a second, and Papyrus got very close.

“Nyeh heh, wow, weird, they look all wet,” he said. “The colour is so nice, though!”

“Thanks!” Frisk said, blinking quickly when he pulled back. 

He mixed some colours on the page in two patches and then held them next to her face. “What do you think? Asriel?” he asked.

“Um. Oh. Uh. Looks about the same,” he said.

“I thought so! Perfect! Now, let’s just…” He took some of her skin tone and began to make a small batch that was lighter, and some that was darker. “If I can do this right, I might be able to make scales on you!”

“Wow, that’s really cool,” Frisk said, leaning in to watch. “Where’d you learn that?”

“Mettaton specials!” he said, building up the colours effortlessly. “He used to do some on makeup before he changed his mind for some reason and started doing cooking. To be honest, I prefer the cooking, but also to be honest, I’ve watched just about everything. I think I’ve said that before, but I only repeat it for emphasis!”

“Not a lot of shows,” Asriel agreed. “I think I remember that one. There was a lot of, uh, glitter in it.”

“Fashionable!” Papyrus said, nodding as if agreeing with a point Asriel hadn’t made. “I don’t really like using it, though, it just gets everywhere. And sticks to everything. And gets between your bones. And makes a mess. Which I then have to clean.”

“You don’t need it anyway, bro, you already sparkle,” Frisk said with a grin.

Papyrus’s bones flushed and he giggled, pleased, and he affectionately patted her head. He dipped his brush in the paint and held the kid’s chin gently to steady her head and began to gently draw circles on her. She snickered.

“Don’t move too much, okay?” he said.

“I’ll try, it just tickles!” she said.

After just a few minutes, Papyrus backed up and surveyed his handiwork. He’d dotted some freckle-like scales on her cheeks in patches. Quickly, he whisked out his phone and took a photo of her, and then spun it around to show her. It surprised her how much it looked like what was intended. 

“Ooh, nice,” she said. “I bet that’ll look really convincing from far away!”

“Pfft, no way, it’s just gonna look like you got rocks all over your face,” Asriel said.

“What? You think so?” she asked.

“People are real far from the stage,” he said.

“Hmmm…” Papyrus said. “Well… Let me check!”

He jumped to his feet and backed up away from them. He tilted his head. He went a bit farther back and rubbed his chin. To Frisk’s surprise, he opened the front door and ran outside to the edge of the path and squinted back inside, letting out a loud noise of contemplation. When he came back in, he went straight for the kitchen.

“He’s right!” Papyrus decided. “In fact, it’s pretty hard to even see it from all the way back there!”

He returned with a damp, warm cloth, and began to wash Frisk’s face.

“I don’t mind being a rock monster,” Frisk said.

“Well, if that actually worked, you could… I dunno. Maybe be a rock, uh… goat? Or rock dog?” Asriel said

“Hm. Maybe updog?” Frisk suggested.

“What the hell is updog?” Asriel asked.

The kid grinned wide and cut her eyes at him. “Not much, what’s up with you?” she said.

Asriel opened his mouth, frowned, raised a leaf as if to protest and instead put his face against them, groaning and laughing despite himself. 

“Pfffft, oh Frisk,” Papyrus said.

“You’re the worst,” Asriel said with a snicker. “Holy crap.”

Frisk beamed and clapped her hands. “I never got that one to work before!” she squeaked happily.

“Because it’s stupid!” Asriel said. “Gah!!”

Frisk snickered, her face alight, and Asriel couldn’t help but catch her smile. He rubbed the back of his head. Papyrus finished wiping off the facepaint and then tilted his head.

“Maybe I went about this in a less than ideal way,” he said. He pawed through the other palettes and frowned slightly. 

Frisk leaned over to watch him. “Whatchu lookin’ for?” she asked.

“Hmmm…” He held up one of the makeup cases beside her face andlooked thoughtful. “Little sister, do you trust me?”

“Yeah, duh, of course!” she said.

“Then! I am going to do something to you! And we’ll see if it works!” he announced. “Though I’m sure it will!”

“Whatever you want, bro, go ahead,” Frisk assured him.

Grinning, Papyrus took a tube of blue and mixed it on his paper with a few other things to brighten it a little. Then, he took his brush, pushed up her bangs, and began to paint on her forehead.

“What’s the plan?” she said.

“You’ll see! I think you’ll like it,” he said. “And then all you will need is fake ears or some horns or something and nobody will suspect a thing! Nyeh heh! I could be a master of espionage, I bet!”

“What’s an espionage?” Frisk asked.

“Oh! Like, spies!” Papyrus said. “I am saying I could be a spy-master! Because of disguises. You get it?”

“Oooh, yeah, okay,” she said. 

Asriel leaned closer to look and frowned a little. “Well, at least it’ll stand out,” he said.

“No one will think she’s a human for real,” Papyrus said confidently. “I am not worried one bit!” He stroked across her forehead with the brush a few times and then moved to her cheeks.

“Hey, Papyrus,” Frisk said. “What do you think about this Asgore thing?”

“Hm…? Oh! Well. I guess my policy is always that honesty is best!” he said. “But. All at the same time time. I understand that sometimes you have to temporarily delay the honesty in order to make sure someone isn’t hurt. It’s complicated, isn’t it?”

“So you think she shouldn’t tell him, right?” Asriel pushed.

“Well. It’s hard to say,” he admitted. “Little sister, tilt your head? This way.”

Frisk did as he asked and he moved over to her other cheek.

“So. You either tell him the truth and mess him up. Or don’t and… mess him up? Unless Alphys tricks him into staying home.” Asriel sighed. “Damn. You really don’t have any opinion on it?”

“Well. It’s tough, even for me,” Papyrus confessed, tapping the back of his paintbrush against his teeth for a moment. “I don’t know King Asgore very well. I know a lot of people like him a lot. And I know that I feel like I like him a lot, too. But, at the same time, I know now that he killed my little sister before and that is… not so good.”

“Wait a sec, how’d you know that?” she squeaked.

“It’s pretty obvious,” he said, carefully painting around her eyes now. “Once Sans said that the human who goes to Asgore gets their soul taken. I realized that must’ve happened to you. Only your soul can’t be taken.”

“R… Right,” she muttered. “Please don’t be mad at him. He didn’t know another way.”

“There’s always another way,” he said. “Don’t worry! I’ll teach him sometime! But, anyway, I guess my feelings are pretty mixed. I mean. Little sister, if I had… I mean, if in some weird alternate timeline where my personality was completely different spontaneously occurred and I did kill you, I don’t think I’d ever want to know. I don’t know if I could stand the guilt of it. I mean, I don’t even like that I probably bonked you too hard a few times the first time we battled. Or any time, really. So, I guess that’s my take on it.”

“Yeah…” Frisk said quietly.

“Well! Don’t worry about a thing. Whatever you choose, your great big brother Papyrus is behind you one hundred percent! And now…!”

He pulled back and took another photo of her, and then flipped the camera to show her. She took it and looked with wide eyes. He’d done a set of pointy stripes on her cheeks, a simple tabby-like pattern on her brow, and some stripes under her eyes, all in a bright blue.

“Hey! That looks pretty cool!” she said. “Az, what d’you say? Could I pass?”

“From far away,” he said. “But I guess that’s the point of it.”

“Let me just…!” Papyrus was on his feet, and rushed out the door again to stare at her from across the street. “Nyeh heh heh heh!” He stuck both thumbs up and sprinted back to them, tossing the door closed behind him before snow could drift in.

“So it’s okay?” Frisk asked.

“Looks good! Okay! We’ve accomplished something important today, my small friends! We should be proud!” he said.

“Should we?” Asriel wondered.

“Yes! Of course!” Papyrus insisted. “Okay, so let’s get you cleaned up and we’ll cook some dinner, what do you think?”

“Sounds good to me,” she said. “We, um… We’ll make extra for Sans, right?”

“Of course,” Papyrus assured her.

“Stop worrying about that dork so much,” Asriel said.

Frisk winced reflexively and closed her eye as Papyrus came at her with the damp cloth again.

“Don’t worry, little sister. Our brother may be a lazy slob, and he sleeps in stupid places, but he always comes home,” Papyrus said.

\- - -

The sprawling streets of New Home were still loud and busy with monsters bustling about even as night settled comfortably in. Reminded Sans why he had moved away the first chance he got. The park was still nice, though. Asgore’s fruit trees and flower gardens were always immaculate, and the small playground and an open field were still getting some use. Sans was painfully aware of this as his nap on the park bench was cut short by the shrill laughter of children. Even so, he wasn’t expecting to be face with a small gaggle of them in their typical striped shirts when he opened his eyes. A puppy, a pink lizard, a dark purple fish monster with blue hair, and a little rock elemental that looked vaguely like a ram. All unfamiliar, but all looking excited.

“It’s him, it’s gotta be!” the lizard squeaked.

“Hey, mister!” the purple monster said, shoving a phone up to him. “This is you, right? Isn’t it?!”

Sans stared blankly until his eyes refocussed on what appeared to be a video. His fight with Undyne. He was taken aback. He figured that was old news.

“Uh. Yeah.” He stretched. “Sure is.”

The kids erupted in quiet, excited babbling, the little puppy’s tail wagging and the gems on the elemental’s cheeks lighting up with gentle blue.

“I knew it!” the lizard said proudly, grinning brightly as she nudged the purple monster with her elbow. “You’re so cool! We watched the fight like a million times!”

“Oof, that’s a lot of time, kid,” Sans said. “Couldda spent it sleepin’. Or eatin’. Readin’ a book?”

“How’d you get into a fight with Captain Undyne?!” the fish monster insisted, eyes bright. “How’d you get OUT of it?!”

“Oh, uh. We’re pals,” Sans said with a shrug. “S’just practice.”

He slid to his feet and knocked his toes back into his slippers as he stretched his shoulders.

“You must be super strong, then,” the small rock monster said quietly.

“Nah, not really,” Sans said.

The puppy ducked under his hand, to his surprise, and looked up at him hopefully. He patted the pup’s head and his tail began to wag right away. 

“Hey, could you show us those things that shot the big lasers?!” the purple monster asked, standing on his toes to look him in the face. “The ones from the video? Please?!”

“Ooh, yeah, those were so cool!” the lizard agreed brightly.

Sans froze. He cast a look around him. These kids must have parents somewhere, right? He caught on a large stone ram under a nearby tree who had his eyes fixed on them. He raised a brow and the man stuck his rocky thumb up. Sans smiled sideways.

“Welp. Guess it couldn’t hurt,” he said.

The kids jumped and cheered, and he waved at them to back up. With just a bit of focus, he held up his hand and the massive, monstrous skull dropped down from nowhere. The little monsters screamed giddily; though the elemental shrunk back behind her friends. Sans grinned and rested his elbow on its snout.

“Not bad, I guess?” he said.

“It’s so cool!! Can we touch it?” the lizard asked.

Sans shrugged one shoulder and nodded. The little monsters circled the blaster. The puppy, especially, seemed to take great pleasure in petting its horns. 

“Does it have a name?” the lizard asked.

“Depends on the day,” Sans said.

“Can we play with it?!” the fish monster asked.

Sans shrugged, but with a flash of blue in his eye, his blaster snapped its jaws playfully and floated off into the park. The kids yelped and giggled and gave chase, except for the little elemental. She watched hesitantly and then looked up at him with big blue eyes.

“I-It won’t bite, will it?” she squeaked.

Sans grinned sympathetically. “Nah,” he said, and he lowered hie voice. “It’s, uh, basically a puppet, kid. Can’t hurt ya, don’t worry.”

“Oh!” Her face lightened. “S-So it’s just a… You’re making it do all that?”

“Yeah, no worries,” he said.

“That’s not so scary, then,” she said.

“Heh. Didn’t mean to _rattle_ you.” He rubbed the back of his head when the kid smiled innocently up at him. “What? Nothin’?”

“Umm…” The girl turned as her friends called her, and she smiled sheepishly. “Thanks, Mister Skeleton!” She scampered away.

Sans watched them with an amused grin. Kids were kinda funny, weren’t they? Shrieking and running and laughing. For some reason, his mind floated astray. He imagined Papyrus, little, in his old red sweatshirt and tall yellow, rubber boots, scampering alone through that park. He’d brought him there several times. They hadn’t lived far. Before he could help it, a vision of Frisk joined him. It let him imagine them playing, if only for a moment. That would’ve been nice. They would’ve been happy, wouldn’t they?

He didn’t know why, but heavy nostalgia hit him, and an uncomfortable chill sunk through his bones. He didn’t like thinking about his sister’s past for the same reasons she didn’t. Ten years was a long time, especially for a kid. And there he was, a somewhat functional adult who hadn’t even known she existed. It broke his heart. Then again, even if he had known, what could he possibly have done? After this was finished— once she’d saved the world again— they’d have all the time in the universe to make it up. Maybe she’d finally get a chance to be a kid, even if she wasn’t one that ran around on jungle gyms or played with toys or screeched for no reason besides excitement. He smiled to himself. He supposed he could do without that, especially the screeching bit. Frisk was fine the way she was.

He took note of the large, stone elemental from under the tree approaching him. 

“Hey there.” The man offered him his hand. “Thanks for reassurin’ my girl. Lari’s a shy ‘un.”

“No problem.” Sans shook his hand and then leaned back, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Lari. Like, larimar?”

“Yup. Suits her, huh?” The man smiled proudly. “I’m Flint. Rockram.”

Sans grinned. Considered for a split second and decided to go for it. It was too perfect not to.

“_Gneiss _to meet you,” he said. “I’m Sans. The, uh, skeleton, if that wasn’t clear.”

Flint’s eyes lit up and started to glitter. Right choice.

“…Hope I’m not losing my _marbles_, but that sounds an awful lot like a joke,” he said.

“Eh. It’s kinda my thing. I got a _schist_-ton of ‘em,” Sans said with a wink.

Flint guffawed loudly, his voice starting to growl like grinding rocks. “My wife made me _pumice_ not to make them any more. Calls them lame dad jokes_,_” he said, rolling his eyes. “And then, o’course, I need to _gravel_ for forgiveness.”

“Oof, that’s _tuff_, buddy,” Sans said. “No, though, they’re super legit.”

“Daaaaaad, stoooooop!” the little purple monster called from across the field. “I can hear you from here; you’re embarrassing Lari!”

“O-Only a little,” the girl squeaked.

“Sorry, kids!!” Flint chuckled and he turned back to Sans. “You sure know your stones.”

“The lengths I go to for a joke, dude, you don’t even know,” Sans said with a grin. “The list of stuff I’ve read up on for literally no other reason is stupidly long.”

Flint grinned big, marble-like fangs. He folded his arms and watched the kids fondly for a moment. They were still galavanting around with that huge, monstrous skull.

“I think think I’ve seen you around before,” he said.

“Used to bring my bro here, but that was a while ago,” he said.

“Ah. That would be it,” he said. “Not many skeletons around, hm?”

“Grand total of two, far as I know,” Sans said. “We’re in Snowdin now, though.”

“In town for the show?” he asked.

Sans’s brows went up and he grinned. “Everyone’s real into it, huh? Hope it delivers.”

“Aye, my wife thinks there’s no way it’ll live up to the hype,” Flint says. “Me, I’m just glad for an excuse to go to any show, t’be honest. Gets pretty monotonous in the city, sometimes.”

“Hey, fair enough,” Sans said.

He suddenly felt the twinge of a headache. His face must’ve showed something, because the rockram’s brow furrowed.

“Y’alright, mate?” he asked.

“Yeah. No problem.” He turned his attention on the kids and his blaster. “Guess I’ll have to dial it back in a sec.”

“Thanks for that, by the way, you probably made their week,” he said.

“Funny,” Sans said with a laugh. “But, uh, no problem.”

“You’re pretty good with kids, huh?” he said. “Got any?”

“Nah. Raised my brother. Raisin’ a sister, now,” he said. “Good enough for me.”

“Ever thought about it?” Flint asked.

“Can’t,” he said with a shrug.

Flint seemed to understand. A monster could usually sense his overall weakness if they gave it a few second’s thought. He didn’t mind, though. Wasn’t as if it had ever been different. When another flicker of pain crossed his face, the rockram patted his shoulder and took a few steps towards the kids.

“Oi! Kiddos! How about some nice cream, huh?” he said.

“Oooh! Yeah, yeah!!” the lizard cheered.

“Really, dad, can we?” the little rockram asked.

“Sure thing, sweetheart,” he said. “C’mon. Adaro, get yer head outta that thing’s mouth, huh?”

The purple monster boy pulled away from the blaster with with bashful grin and scampered up with the rest of the kids. Sans finally let the thing float away in sparkling, blue-tinted dust. 

“Thanks a bunch, mister!” the boy said as he ran up, giving Sans a big, toothy grin.

“Yeah, thank you!!” the lizard echoed.

The puppy hopped up to lick him on the face before scampering away as the large rockram began to lead the kids from the park.

“See you at the show, maybe!” Flint said.

Sans stuck his thumb up and raised his hand when the kids turned around to wave at him as they left. 

He plopped back onto the bench wiping his cheek on his sleeve. Dogs never did have much sense of personal space, but that was alright. They loved everyone. Couldn’t be too much harm in that.

He had to take a moment to catch his breath. He didn’t usually have magic active that long. Wasn’t too bad— just a bit of pressure in his eye sockets and a tremor in his bones. Would probably be a good idea to pick up a snack somewhere anyway, though.

He forced himself back onto his feet and started walking. This was part of why there was no way he wanted to stay in the city. Too many monsters around. Shortcuts would get noticed. 

There were a few food stalls set up near the park. He picked up a spider donut for the road and wandered off towards the apartment complexes of Dandelion Plaza.

The tall, relatively bland batch of three buildings wrapped in a simple a garden and framed in the front by a picket fence, looked rather similar to the others scattered around the city — Buttercup Building, Posey Place, and Sunflower Towers. Sans knew Dandelion Plaza well. Used to live there, in fact. Couldn’t shake the idea that Grillby seeing a light there, of all places, was more than a coincidence. 

He strolled onto the lawn like he belonged. Not hard to do when the place hadn’t changed an inch since they’d moved away. He had to admit, though, that he’d never been down some of paths behind it. Never had a reason to be there.

There were a couple kids playing in the yard, but no one paid him any mind as he slipped around the side of the building to come to what looked like a small, dark maze of pathways behind it. He was a little surprised how easy the tear was to spot. In a tiny, blackened crevice between buildings, the edge shone from an alley just barely off the path behind one of the apartments. From the vantage of a monster taking out the garbage, it could easily have been mistaken for a light in a doorway somewhere. He knew better, though. That telltale blue-white felt like it was seared into the back of his head.

He wandered down through the shadows, following that glow until it almost blinded him. He squinted through it. It wasn’t as big as the one in the woods. He pulled out his list and leaned against the wall to give it a number and mark where it was. The pressure in his head was starting to get a little worse.

He caught himself starting to lean, as if pulled by the light. He looked at it with raised brows. He was curious. Felt like there was a whisper in his skull. He had to force himself to take a step back. He stared at the light suspiciously. He wanted to know what it was; what was going on. His fingers reached for it only for a second. Bad idea. He backed off. It was too risky. Stupid. Reckless. Imagine turning to dust for something so avoidable.

Exhaustion was setting in; making his bones tremble. However, he still had a few more places to check. 

Since he was alone— out of sight— Sans shifted himself to the outskirts of a puzzle in Hotland. A patron at the MTT resort had mentioned seeing a light far down, near the magma flows. With just a little looking around, he picked it out. There was no way he was reaching that, however. It hung above molten rock. He could feel the heat from where he stood and, for some reason, staring down at that lake of blinding orange made him feel a little sick. He wanted nothing more than to be home, asleep. Just a few more, he told himself.

Other tips about Hotland and Waterfall turned out to be nothing. One was nothing but a reflection off some sparkling gemstones from a certain angle. The two others were usual saves, glittering across a chasm or behind a waterfall, far off the usual paths. With that, his leads ran dry. He was barely a step closer to answers, but it was better than nothing. 

Alone in the cavern, he shifted himself to a bench far out of the way to take a break. God, he was tired. Wasn’t cut out to be an investigator, it turned out. His head hurt. He sighed and rubbed his temples. Something in the cadence of the cave was putting him off. For just a second, his vision tunnelled. He felt like he was falling.

“No. No no nope,” he muttered. He put a hand to the side of his skull and set his magic alight until the ill feeling started to fade and he could see a shimmer of blue. He puffed out a sigh. He needed to get home. He took just a moment to update his notes and then, eagerly, he took a shortcut straight back to the living room.

The place was silent. Papyrus must’ve actually gone to bed, for once. He flopped facedown on the couch and was seriously considering just staying there for the rest of the night. Walking was really not his thing, was it?

On the border of drifting off, Sans heard some small noise that forced his mind back into thinking for a second. Then, quiet. Maybe he’d imagined it. But then, there it was again. A quiet shuffling and a soft, huffing of breath. 

Slowly, he rolled off the couch and sat on the floor for a few moments. He stood up, popped his spine, and wandered the room. Nothing. Peeked into the kitchen and had to stop himself from laughing out loud.

Frisk was up on the counter, somehow, out cold, curled up beside half a lopsided pie near a tall jug of spoons and dried spaghetti. It was pretty funny to him. Wasn’t even sure how she’d gotten up there. He supposed she could’ve jumped and pulled herself up.

He grabbed her soul to pull her down and wandered slowly back into the living room. As he gently plunked her onto the couch, he looked up at the bedrooms. Blankets seemed kinda far. He’d have to fight with the mess in his room for some. He could bring her to Papyrus, but that’d probably wake him up. He’d have to explain where he was, do that whole song and dance, and we wasn’t sure he was up to that, either. After some consideration, he worked up the will to shift himself to his bedroom to grab a blanket, and— after a struggle with one wedged halfway under the mattress that seemed to go on for far too long— returned to the couch with it. 

He tucked the kid in, but she didn’t look quite comfortable where she was, half slumping over the side of the sofa. He picked her up under her arms and held her for a moment, losing his train of thought completely as he stared at the cushions. He was mildly surprised when she stirred. 

Her big brown eyes opened just a crack, and she blinked at him sleepily. “Heeeey, bro,” she said with a smile. “Missed you.”

He melted. Couldn’t help a fond grin spreading on his face. She was real cute, wasn’t she?

“Yeah? Sorry,” he said.

“Naaah, s’okay.” She slowly put her arms around his shoulders and went limp. “We dreaming?”

“Nah.”

She let out a small, relieved sigh. He almost thought she’d dozed right off until she gently patted the back of his head.

“You can put me down, if you wanna.”

“I’ll just put us both down,” he said, plopping back onto the couch. “Heh. Gravity’s fightin’ me super hard.”

“Oh yeah?” Frisk blinked heavily and rubbed her eyes with her knuckles as she sat back. “Tired, huh?”

“Bone tired,” he said with a wink. “I did way too much walking. Won’t make that mistake again.”

“Where’d you end up?” she asked.

“Hm. Tomorrow?” he said.

She nodded. He reached out and lazily patted her head. 

“Good kid,” he said.

Frisk snickered. She grabbed the blanket, stared at it for a few seconds, and then scooted up close to her brother again. She settled in under his arm and slumped against him.

“Made pie,” she mumbled.

“Oh. Nice,” he said.

“Don’t forget.” She managed to get her eyes open again and smiled up at him. “S’good for breakfast.”

“True. Hey, get some sleep, huh?”

“Mhm. You too.” She stretched up and kissed his cheek. “Night, bro.”

The skeleton was warmed deep into his bones. He wrapped the kid in his arms and she smiled and snuggled close. Funny how such a little thing could make her so happy. Maybe the same could be said for him, too. 

He supposed she had barely been awake, because she was out again the second she closed her eyes. He rubbed her head sleepily. Good kid, he thought. Glad she didn’t seem upset. Still, counter was a funny place to go to sleep. Must’ve be waiting up, the poor little nerd.

He had just barely drifted off when stomping on the stairs roused him. Then, it stopped abruptly. He heard Papyrus’s voice sigh with relief. His brother patted him gently on the head, and when he opened one eye just a crack, he saw him fondly pet Frisk’s hair and straighten the blanket up around her shoulders. 

“Oh! Brother,” he said. “I didn’t know you were awake.”

“Eh. Half,” Sans said. “You, uh, want the kid?”

“Oh, no no, it’s okay, you two look so comfortable,” Papyrus said.

Good, Sans thought. Didn’t really want to give her up.

“Did you have an alright time?” Papyrus asked, tilting his head. “You look awful.”

“Heh. It was fine,” he said. “Hey, uh, you stayin’ up?”

“Just for a little, why, what do you need?” he asked.

Sans squirmed a bit to get his hand in his pocket, then fished out his list of the blue-white light spots and held it out to his brother. Papyrus took it with a skeptical tilt to his brow, and then looked it over, squinting.

“What is this?” he asked. “Have you been snooping? You better not have been doing something dangerous, Sans.”

“Not dangerous,” he said. “You think you could, uh, check the UnderNet, see if anyone mentioned a weird blue or white star thing hangin’ out anywhere? Like, on the forums or whatever.”

“Um. Hm. Alright,” he said. “Leave it to the great research sleuth, Papyrus! See you two in the morning.”

He bounded back up the stairs, seeming surprisingly eager. Sans was grateful. He looked down at Frisk fondly and readjusted her in his arms. Somehow, she found that reassuring, so he did, too. 

\- - -

Much to his chagrin, the next time Sans woke up, it was because his kid was shaking like a leaf. He sighed. So much for that. Should’ve let Papyrus take her. She was pushed in unusually close, shivering at every puff of breath; cheeks tearstained. They hadn’t linked up, so he knew what it must’ve been. He _tsk_ed quietly.

He sat up slowly, and the movement was enough to jar her awake. Her eyes shot open and she looked around in confusion until she focussed on him. Then, to his surprise, she was all smiles.

“Bro! When did you get here?” she asked.

“Uh. Don’t remember last night, huh?” He smiled sideways when she looked back at him bashfully. “That’s alright, didn’t miss much. Nightmare?”

“Just a little one, it’s okay.” She grabbed his shoulders and hugged him tight. “Missed you!”

He wilted and cozied her close. Guess he didn’t need an excuse. It’d mean something to tell her the truth, wouldn’t it? “Missed you, too,” he said.

“What, really?” she said shrilly.

“Mhm.” He patted her head and smiled tiredly. “Had a bit of an existential thing. Just… glad to be back.”

Frisk blinked back at him with surprise all over her face. She looked suddenly determined and grabbed his head to bonk his brow against hers.

“Took it,” she said.

He laughed. “You got enough in there,” he said, tapping the side of her skull.

“Too late.” She grinned. “Ooh! Hey, come with me, we made pie, it’s super good.”

She hopped off the couch and grabbed his hands to pull him up. She seemed so energetic. He was surprised. Maybe the nightmare really hadn’t been that bad after all. He followed her as she ran into the kitchen and watched as she grabbed the edge of the counter, bounced a few times on the tips of her toes, and then hopped and pulled herself up all the way onto it. She grabbed a blunt knife and began to cut off a chunk of the pie for him and a smaller one for herself. When she turned to the microwave, however, her eyes went wide.

“Oh man, it’s so early!” she exclaimed.

“Oh well. Pie,” Sans said.

Frisk snickered. She shoved the slices onto plates and then into the microwave. She sat down and kicked her feet. “What’d you do yesterday, I hardly saw you,” she said. “Um. If it’s okay to ask?”

“S’no big deal, I was just doin’ a bit of info gatherin’,” he said. “Gotta admit, I did take a nap somewhere in there. But. Also, this.” He lifted his shirt a bit and pulled a small bag out of his ribcage. 

She tilted her head, and he offered it to her. She was distracted by the beeping of the microwave, and she quickly grabbed his slice of pie.

She slipped from the counter and held it out with a grin. “Trade,” she said.

“Nice,” he agreed.

“Mom said it goes really well with cheese. She said a strong one, but I’m not really sure what that means,” she said as she handed it over. “But she also said that we don’t have the right kind down here. Have to get it outside.”

“Right, right,” he said. “Hey. Open that, huh?”

“Oh! Right!”

She opened the bag and tilted her head. She pulled out the white t-shirt from inside, and then unfolded it. There was a symbol on it. White heart in a black circle, with a black ring around it.

“W-Wait, but that’s…” She looked up at him with big eyes. “How’d you…?”

“Eh. Had it made at some place, no big deal,” he said. “Just thought, y’know, you had a big few days, maybe a sorta congrats gift’d be nice.”

The kid’s eyes welled up and she quickly grabbed him into a hug. He grunted; patted her head and carefully slid his plate onto the counter.

“Thank you!!” she said shrilly. “Big bro, oh my god, that’s so nice!!”

“Thought you’d dig it.” He grinned. “Hey, don’t cry too hard, huh?”

“H-Hah!!” She leaned up into him and he could feel her soul pulsing happily. “Sans, you’re the best.”

“Nah. Glad you like it.”

She wiped her eyes and grinned up at him brightly. “I gotta get you one!”

“Uh. What?” he asked.

“Yeah! Like. Sometime. I’ll get you one, too,” she said, and she pointed to the symbol on the shirt. “This is us. So you gotta have one, too.”

She looked so excited there was no way he was going to fight her on it. He ruffled her hair and she hugged him again, snickering and pleased.

“Love you, dude,” she said.

“Thanks, kiddo, love you, too,” he said. 

She was absolutely beaming. “Oh man, I wanna wear it right now, can I change in your room?” she said.

“Sure, knock yourself out,” he assured her.

She scampered away quickly. Sans took the time to try the pie. She was right, it was pretty good. He’d never had one with crab apples in it before. He wondered if a ketchup pie might work out somehow. Toriel could probably pull it off.

When the kid got back, she looked thrilled. The shirt had been the smallest he could find without going for baby-sized, but it still hung just a little long and a little loose around her shoulders. Didn’t look too shabby, though. She was hugging him again the second she came in the door.

“Thank you so much!” she said. “It’s great!”

“Yeah? Good,” he said, patting her head. “It’s, uh, a full magic one, so it should grow with you a bit.”

“Ooh. I hope that wasn’t expensive,” she said.

“Nah.” He grinned. “For some reason, stuff from the human world is always more pricey. Doesn’t really matter either way, I got a stash.”

“That’s super nice, thank you,” she said again.

“Might as well have somethin’ that started off yours,” he said, shrugging.

“Dude, that’s the nicest,” she said.

He passed her her plate and she picked at the pie for a minute before sitting on the floor with it. They ate in a relaxed silence. When Frisk finished, she stood and popped her plate up onto the counter again with a gentle clink. 

“Undyne’s pretty great, huh?” she said.

“She make the pie?” he said.

“Everyone helped,” Frisk said with a smile. “She smashed the fruit and stuff! But, um, I was just thinking, how she actually listened to me when I told her how to do it.”

“Course she did, you were the one who knew how to pie,” Sans said.

She shook her head. “On the surface, it isn’t like that,” she said. “Grown-ups don’t listen to kids very much. Even if they’re right. I really like that you guys all, you know, treat me like I’m a friend, too. It’s super nice.”

“Guess it never occurred to us to be different than that,” Sans said with a shrug. “You got a good head on your shoulders. Guess with the circumstances, it was a requirement, huh?”

A yawn caught Frisk off-guard. She trundled back off to the couch sleepily and sat, stretching her arms before pulling the blanket up over her legs. “So what were you looking for?” she asked.

“Oh. More of those light tear things,” Sans said as he joined her.

“Wow, really?” Frisk asked, perking up a little. “Did you find any?”

“A few. Couldn’t check ‘em, though,” he said.

“I’ll check them,” she assured him quickly. “Where are they?”

“Just the one. New Home. Some back alley,” he said. “There’s another one in Hotland but it’s basically in the magma, so screw that.”

“Hah! Okay,” she said. “I was gonna go in that direction today anyway, so maybe we could go together and do that, too?”

“What were you plannin’?” he asked.

“Oh. Um. You were with Alphys yesterday, right? You know about the Asgore thing?” she asked.

“Yeeeeah, why?” he said.

Frisk looked almost nervous for a moment. She squeezed her own fingers tight. “Well, when Alphys told me about it, I thought… I mean. Maybe…” She grimaced. “I might try to bring his memories back. To, you know, get a bit more of an explanation to him.”

“Oh yeah?” Sans said.

She nodded. “Asriel doesn’t want me to. But I might try if it’d help everything out and keep him from seeing the play. But I also don’t even know if it’s gonna work,” she said. “And at the same time, I dunno, I… Okay, maybe this sounds weird, but I don’t…” She sighed and folded her arms tight against her chest. 

Sans tilted his head. “What?”

“It’s just…! Okay, so, this memory thing you did to me, it doesn’t just show people the last timeline, it shows them all of them where I was there,” she said. “So… S-So then Asgore’s gonna remember killing me like a ton of times at the same time as remembering that he liked me. So. That’s kind of messed up, huh?”

“See your point,” he said. “See all the points, actually. So. What’re you gonna do?”

“Go there,” she said. “And… And if I change my mind, Alphys said it was okay, but I want… I dunno, I want to at least see him. Undyne gave me some tea to deliver, so…”

Sans laughed and rubbed his temples. 

“Welp. Better than nothin’,” he said. “Alright. I’ll drag you around later.”

“Thanks so much,” she said.

A look of relief washed over the kid and she seemed a lot brighter in the dim light of the room. Sans found that kind of funny. He folded his arms behind his head and Frisk scooted a little closer. 

“Hey, uh. Undyne play you that song?” he asked.

“Oh! Yeah! That was really cool,” she said.

“Sound familiar to you?” he asked.

“Yup! Mine and Az’s,” she said. “I’m really surprised they went together so well.”

“Heard it before out loud though, right?” he pushed.

“Um…” Frisk squinted and rubbed her head before a lightbulb went off. “Oh! You’re right! When we fought! That makes sense, I think.”

“Kinda strange they meshed like that, huh?” he said.

“I guess so,” she said, giving him a suspicious look. “Is there something more to it?”

“Not sure,” he said, kicking back and closing his eyes. “Think it means we’re on the right, uh, _track_, though.”

Frisk snickered. 

She nestled up against his side again. She didn’t look too sleepy, but she was snug, and she reached into the cushions for the remote.

“D’you mind? Until we fall asleep?” she said.

“Nah. Do whatever,” he said. “Sure you don’t wanna go sleep in an actual bed, though?”

She nodded. “Just kinda wanna sit with you. That’s okay, right?”

Sans couldn’t help a smile. He patted her head and she looked content right away and flicked on the TV. A cooking show was on. Something to do with baking. 

“Hey. Uh. Look,” Sans said. “I know the, uh, nightmares? They aren’t great. So if you need to, like, poke me in the face. For any reason? Just go ahead.”

Frisk looked up at him and a sheepish smile crossed her face. “Kay thanks.”

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while as the show went on. Hot dog decorations on a cake. Sans seemed to like the look of it, despite being close to drifting off. Frisk smiled to herself.

“Oh. Hey. I got Az with updog,” she said.

“What’s updog?” Sans asked sleepily. He realized too late. 

Frisk grinned brightly and earnestly. “Not much, you?” she said.

“Oh my god.” Sans started to laugh, shaking his head, and he roughly mussed up her hair. “Got me, too.”

“I can’t believe that worked twice!!” she said, beaming.

“Dude. Proud,” he said.

The kid glowed. He did, too. A spark of purple prickled in the air and she hugged onto him with a big, goofy grin on her face.


	58. But The King Also Can’t Watch

Dreams of shattered bones and grey dust plagued Frisk’s mind until her own shaking woke her. She jumped and recoiled to gain a glimpse of her surroundings. Normal living room. Normal green couch. Normal sock in the corner near the two TVs. And, of course, her brother was fine. He looked happy, in fact, as he dozed, squished against the back cushions snugly. That put her at ease. She reached up as he slumped; wrapped her arms around his skull and kissed his brow. She held him until the headache that throbbed in her temples was too much. She got up, rubbing sore eyes and running her fingers through her hair.

There was nothing to drink in the fridge. She stood on her toes to peek at the clock on the microwave and pouted. Still barely 6am. But, there was at least one person in the house who might be up. 

Upstairs, she tapped gently on the first door with her fingertips and then cracked it open. As she hoped, Papyrus was at his computer, in that copycat blue hoodie, twirling the Rubik’s cube in his magic. He turned to look at her with a smile

“Good morning!” he said quietly. “Wowie. Little sister. You look tired. Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Whatchu doing?” she whispered.

When she got close, he picked her up and sat her on his legs so she could see. He had a blank paper on his desk with _PUZZLE_ scrawled across the top of it.

“New puzzle?” she asked.

“Absolutely! You see, I thought, to help me get into character, I might try to make a puzzle exactly like how Sans would do it! There is no better measure of a monster’s character than their own personal puzzle designs!” he said. “But. When I try. For some reason, I think this blank page is probably the most accurate.”

Frisk snickered and looked up at him fondly. “Mhm. That or something way too complicated where if you mess up the first step, the whole rest you can’t even do,” she said.

“Nyeh heh heh! What makes you think of that?” he asked.

She tapped the side of her head. Papyrus smiled.

“That reminds me of the ones he’d show me when I was a tiny Papyrus,” he said. “Every once and a while. Of course, I’d always solve them. Obviously. Nyeh heh. Puzzles are in my bones, after all. Not literally. I mean, unless you count a skeleton himself as a puzzle! Which is fairly accurate, I’d say.”

He stared at the page for a moment and then grinned. “Maybe we can compromise,” he said. “I’m sure if I pushed him, he’d do something. So…”

He drew a very simple configuration of five switches, blocked only by one lump of snow and a reset switch in a mildly inconvenient place. He offered the pencil to Frisk and gestured to it. With just a moment of looking at it, frowning through the pain in her head, she traced a dotted line along the path she would have had to take. Papyrus smiled proudly and patted her head.

“You’re very clever,” he said. “You’re squinting, though. Can you see alright? It’s not blurry is it? Is it too dark? Oh! Do you need some glasses, Frisk? I have some in our closet somewhere if you want me to find them.”

“No, no, it’s just a headache,” she said quickly.

“Oh! Little sister, why didn’t you say so?” he scolded jokingly, putting glowing fingers against her temple. “Here.”

Relief set in within seconds. Frisk sighed.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Of course!” he said. “You’re trembling a little, though. Do you mind if I just hold you for a while?”

“Mind? Pfft,” she said. “It’s one of my favourite things.”

“Oh good!” He immediately lit up with warmth that seeped from his bones. “Hey. Maybe… You know, since Asriel is still asleep and all… How would you like to go out and do some puzzles with me? Would you be up for that? We could talk a lot louder.”

“Sounds great,” Frisk said quickly.

Her brother beamed. She liked seeing him smile like that.

\- - -

There was a soft, fresh coating of snow outside again. It made the whole town seem somehow renewed. Frisk liked seeing the snow when the first steps to break the surface were theirs.

She could just barely make out a brown bear monster wandering around far down the road, but, just ahead, she could have sworn she saw a little yellow tail darting behind the library. She paused.

“Was that Kid?” she asked.

“Where?” Papyrus asked.

Frisk scampered forward and peeked around the corner to, indeed, see Kid. He squeaked with surprise, but was instantly grinning with relief and ran to her. She greeted him with a hug.

“Hi!” she said. “You’re up so early!”

“I, uh… Don’t tell my mom? I just kinda snuck out to return my book and get a new one,” he said bashfully.

“Snuck out for that?” Papyrus peeked over with an amused grin. “I thought sneaking out was supposed to be for bad things!”

“It’s just, she gets real worried about nothin’,” he said bashfully. “And my family’s all asleep! I didn’t want to wake them up, but I stayed up all night finishing this!”

“Oh!! How was it?” Frisk asked.

“So good. SO good.” Kid beamed. “Hey, d’you know where Flowey lives? I could take it out again for him.”

“Flowey?” Papyrus asked; Frisk gently nudged him with her elbow. “OH! Flowey. Yes. Actually, he is staying with us!”

“Oh! Perfect!” Kid grinned. “Wanna come in with me?”

“Yeah, for sure!” Frisk said.

Inside, that same green lizard monster as last time was resting against the counter. He looked like he might have spent all night there. Otherwise, the library was vacant. Kid pulled the book out of where he’d tucked in into a fold in his scarf and put it up on the counter.

“Hey!” he said. “Good morning!”

The librarian snapped upright and rubbed his eyes. “Oh, hey there, little guy,” he said groggily. “Checking back in?”

“Yeah, but my friends want to take it out, next, is that okay?” he said.

The lizard monster blinked and leaned over the counter to look down at Frisk, and then up at Papyrus. “Oooh, I recognize you,” he said, pointing at Papyrus, and he handed him the book. “Here. And you, down there? You don’t have a library card, do you?”

“Umm… No?” Frisk said awkwardly.

“Well, that won’t do, every kid needs a library card. Here.” He handed her a form on a sheet of pink construction paper and a pen. “I remember everyone who fills out a sheet.”

“Oh! Okay, so… Wait, do I need an actual card then?” she asked.

“Yes, of course! It’s a wonderful thing, to have a library card,” he said.

“But I don’t need to bring it to get books?”

“No, no, of course not, I have a photographic memory,” the lizard said proudly. 

Frisk tried not to laugh. She smiled and nodded, and took the form to a table, where Papyrus followed close. 

“Let me know if you need to know how to spell something,” he said, turning the book over in his hands. “OH! Gosh, I didn’t even know this one was out! I’ll have to read it after A… a-after Flowey is done.”

“It’s so good,” Kid said again, grinning. “You’ll love it. There’s a new character in it that really reminds me of you.”

“Of me?!” Papyrus repeated, all-but sparkling. “Really?!”

“Yeah! He’s like, tall, and nice, and generous, and good at battles! But he doesn’t like hurting people. That’s why he reminds me of you,” Kid said.

“Wowie! Kid, that’s so nice!” Papyrus said brightly.

“…Do you think someone in town writes it?” Frisk wondered.

“What?” Papyrus asked.

“Maybe it’s someone who’s seen you around. I mean, there’s not that many monsters, right?” she said. “I bet a bunch of characters are kinda based on people who stand out a bit.”

“Oh. Wow, maybe. I never thought of that!” Kid said. “Frisk, you’re really smart.”

“I could be wrong!” she said with a laugh.

She turned to the form and started to fill it out as Papyrus snuck into a chair beside her and put Kid up on the table with them. _Name?_ Frisk._Birthday?_ She had no idea. She wrote, _sorry don't know, but I’m 11 _on it. _Type of monster?_ She wasn’t sure how to answer. She showed it to Papyrus and tapped on it. He snatched the sheet up and looked it over quickly

“You don’t know your birthday?!” he squeaked.

She shook her head. He pouted and put an arm around her shoulders.

“Litttleee sissssterrrr,” he whined. “Boo. Well, when do you want one?”

“Umm… I dunno,” she said.

“Think about it! We’ll figure it out,” he promised. “Okay. Here. We’ll put in _squishy skeleton,_ okay?”

“I buy it,” Kid said with a laugh.

“Good!” Papyrus said. “Do you need any more help? Here. For _Outside_, we’ll put _skin _and _brown_, eyes are _brown_, magic issssss _red_! And you live _next door at the skeleton house._”

“Why is it asking for favourite foods and stuff?” Frisk wondered.

“I don’t know,” he said.

Frisk shrugged and answered as best she could, though it was a hard choice between the milkshakes and hot chocolate for her favourite drink.

“Oh, by the way. Frisk?” Kid asked, leaning across the table. “Was all that stuff with that weird light okay? I, um, went back there to check on it— don’t tell my mom— and it was gone.”

“It was weird. But it was fine, kinda,” Frisk said. “Me and Sans went there to double check it and it kinda blew up and vanished.”

“Oh, jeez, was everything okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, mostly,” Frisk said with a shrug. “Weird though.”

“Super weird! I’m glad your eyes were alright after that,” he said.

“Why, what happened to your eyes?!” Papyrus asked.

“They went all black! It was weird,” he said. 

“Oh, right. Yeah. Super weird,” Frisk agreed. “Oh! But, look, I can do this now!”

She cupped her hands and concentrated. It took a little push, but her palms went red and a small orb of magic floated up. Kid sat back, gawking, and then grinned.

“Dude, that’s awesome!!” he said. “Ooh! Oh, watch! Actually, I can do this, now!” He tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and blew out a few bubbles into the air. 

They glowed with a faint green shimmer until they popped, scattering little sparkles overhead. 

“Wowie, nice one,” Papyrus said.

“Kid, that’s so great! When’d you get it?” Frisk asked.

“After you tried to do that memory thing on me, actually,” he said; he smiled sheepishly. “I’m, uh, still sorry I don’t remember, dude, but I think it gave me a little boost.”

“At least it’s good for something!” she said brightly. “That’s great.”

When Frisk turned in her form, the librarian gleefully gave her a new, laminated library card, and the three were on their way again. She stashed it safely in her pocket.

“So! Kid! Frisk and I are heading just out of town to do some puzzles! Would you like to join us?” Papyrus said.

“Oh, wow. That sounds kinda cool. Lemme just go ask my folks, okay?” he said. “Sneaking to the library is one thing, but… Well, don’t want them to worry too much if they’re up. I’ll meet you there?”

“Okay, just head west,” Frisk said; she gave him a hug. “Hope they say yes!”

“Me too! Okay! See ya!” He scampered off, tripped in his excitement into the snow, but righted himself and was on his way before either of them could help him up.

Papyrus scooped Frisk up onto his shoulders and she grabbed the top of his head as he continued onwards.

“I was thinking, let’s go to the ice slide puzzle today!” he said. “Not too far. Alright with you?”

“Yeah, of course!” she said.

He was off like a bolt and Frisk held on as tight as she could. When his boots hit the ice, heslid effortlessly to the other side and stopped, perfectly still. Frisk was starry-eyed. He knelt to let her down onto her feet and then stood up quickly to survey the ice.

“Do you remember this one?” he asked.

“Yeah, of course, I’ve done it a bunch!” she said. “Watch, I bet I can still do it in one go!”

“I’d love to see that,” Papyrus said brightly.

She beamed and headed straight for the closest panel, near the edge of the cliff, and quickly slid to it. She stepped out onto the ice again quickly and went straight, wobbling a bit until she stumbled into place. The puzzle was easy for her. Up, left, down, right, and then right again. Switching each magic icon over from blue O’s to red X’s as soon as she touched them. She slid down towards the cliff again, then back to the left and up again, almost in a circle until she reached the centre and lined up perfectly with the grey switch, already depressed across a swatch of ice. She took a step and crossed the ice and landed right at the end. She turned to the sound of her brother’s applause and waved at him.

“FRISK, THAT WAS GREAT!!” he called. “COME BACK AND WE’LL DO A NEW ONE! OH! ACTUALLY!”

He seized her soul in blue quickly and whisked her over the ice and caught her in his arms. “That’s much easier!” he said. 

“Yeah! Thanks!” she said. “So, what d’you wanna do?”

“Well, since I am, in fact, a puzzle master who is great at puzzles, I already have a plan!” He set her down and, grinning, he produced a sheet of graph paper with a new design on it. She looked it over quickly. It was vaguely in the shape of a skull, where the ending slide would lead from the “nose” to the final button. 

“That looks great,” Frisk said.

“Of course it does!” he said proudly. “Now, watch!”

He stood up straight, his eyes brightening with amber, and he raised a hand. The coloured symbols on the ground lifted off into the air and dissolved into the wind. Within seconds, ice glistened and began to spread over what had been bare patches of compacted snow. Awed, Frisk squatted down and leaned over the closest patch to watch as the ice seemed to simply regrow.

“Does it always do this?” she wondered. She reached out curiously, feeling the chill against her fingertips. She scooted just slightly closer on her knees to watch as, with a dull crackling sound, the snow was covered up.

“Ooh! Frisk. Don’t touch it,” Papyrus said.

She pulled her hand back and turned to ask why; felt a sudden drop in her stomach as she realized her foot had left the snow. Had also left the ground entirely.

She was falling before she could even get out a _whoops! _and braced herself for the cold puff of snow far below when she snagged in midair. Papyrus’s fingers were clamped tight into her sleeve as he dangled with her, hanging by one arm from the ice. Her eyes went wide.

“Bro, thanks! But it’s okay, just let me drop,” she said quickly.

“Nonsense, little sister! The great Papyrus has you now,” he said. “Maybe I can…”

His eyes brightened with magic and he seized her soul. He cautiously unhooked his fingers from her hoodie and floated her back up onto the ledge.

She plopped back into the snow and hurriedly scrambled back towards him. “Lemme help!”

“Oh, it’s okay, I can—” He swung his other arm up towards the ice, but the second his fingers came into contact with it, he recoiled. “Whoops! Still too cold!”

Frisk bit her lip. She unzipped her hoodie and began to pull it off.

“What are you doing up there?” Papyrus asked. “Don’t take off your jacket, you’ll be much too cold!”

“I’m gonna toss it and you grab it, okay?” she said. 

“Oh, well I guess that’s not a terrible idea, I’m sure I can—!” His fingers disappeared from the ledge. 

Frisk rushed as close as she could get and peeked over. He was gone. She couldn’t even see him in the snow. Before she could call out, she heard a dull thunk and a clunking sound. Then, nothing.

“P-Papyrus?” she called.

He didn’t answer. Her heart plummeted to her feet. 

Frisk scrabbled upright, slipping on the ice as she went, and sprinted for the hill that lead down to the little snow cavern below. She leaned back, trying to keep her balance as she ran, but she lost her footing. First sliding on her backside, as she tried to right herself, she toppled forward, tumbling down the hill until she landed facedown in the freezing fluff.

Groaning, she forced herself up. She finally saw her brother, laying on his back, on top of where a snow sculpture of himself had once stood proudly, flexing. 

“Paps!” she squeaked.

“Ohh…” He looked dazed, but he smiled weakly as she rushed to his side. “Hey. Look at you. You’re covered in snow. You didn’t fall, too, did you?”

“N-No, no, I’m okay, are you okay?” she demanded. “You don’t look so good.”

“I fell on myself,” he said with a quiet laugh. “Silly.”

“You don’t sound so good, either,” she said worriedly.

“Well, no, I guess not, am I, in fact, hurting quite a bit right now, actually,” he said. “So, let me just give you this piece of advice, little sister. Don’t use rocks as the base of your snow Papyrus! Because what if a real Papyrus lands on it, that would not be so good.”

“Holy c—! Dude!!” Frisk yelped. “Okay, um. Hang on, hang on, let me—”

“It’s okay. It’s fine,” he assured her. “I just can’t move. So, maybe go get a doctor, if you don’t mind? I can wait. Please don’t tell Sans, he’ll just worry.”

“Papyrus!!” she said. “I’m not…!! Okay. Okay, hang on, let me just…”

With trembling hands, she grabbed him and turned him over, thankful for how light he was as she pulled him away from a surprisingly tall, solid rock and laid him flat on the snow. She yanked off his hoodie and pulled his shirt up. She felt sick. Two cracks. Lower vertebrae. It looked awful, dark and wrong. She wanted to cry. Her throat tightened and she felt like she swallowed sand.

“It’s… I’m s-sorry, I should have watched what I was—”

“Noooo, no no no, it’s fine, it’s okay, you didn’t did anything wrong. It was so slippery!” he said. “No no, I shouldn’t have redone the ice all at once with us so close, that was silly.”

“Shh. Shush, okay, let me…” Frisk felt a surge of determination and she grimaced and put her hands gently near his bones. “I can… I can fix you. I can f-fix you.”

“What? No, Frisk, it’s okay,” he said. “A doctor could—”

“Wait. Wait wait.” Her hands began to glow red as her soul pulsed and she closed her watering eyes. “W-Wait. I can… I can do this.”

He stiffened under her touch. Her body heated up, her song thrumming in the air. Her mind was suddenly assaulted by images of bones in various states and colours, zipping through her consciousness. All she needed was two minutes ago. Just two minutes. Fix him, fix him, fix him, fix him, fix him…

The air snapped. There was a crack; the first sound before the roll of thunder. Frisk gasped and reeled forward, panting, shaking; eyes wide. Her hands were on her brother’s spine, but the bones were as white and pristine as ever.

“Oh!!” Papyrus immediately flipped over and looked up at the sweaty, shaking girl with wide eyes. “Frisk, what did you…? Are you okay?”

“I… I j-just…” She looked at her hands. “I… healed you.”

“You healed me,” he repeated. 

She nodded stiffly. 

“How?” he asked.

“I… I think I t-turned your… I think I turned your bone back in time,” she said.

They stared at each other for a long while. Suddenly, her brother was beaming. He started to cackle and whisked her into his arms. The relief overwhelmed her and she began to laugh, too, holding him tight around his shoulders. Their souls burst; joined close in warm orange. The music was slow but abundantly cheerful.

“Wowie!! Little sister, that was amazing!!” he cheered. “Oh my god! I didn’t realize you could just—! Nyeh heh heh!! Full of surprises, aren’t you?”

“I’m just so glad you’re okay!” she said.

“Of course! I am the great Papyrus after all. I was alway okay. Just. In a lot of pain for a little. It’s alright. Don’t you worry,” he said. 

“Oh man… Sans is gonna be so mad,” she said.

“Nooo. No no, no,” Papyrus said. “He’s going to be so proud.”

He grinned so genuinely that she she believed him. She snickered and gladly buried herself into his arms, and her big brother nuzzled her head and laughed.

They stayed there, cuddled up together in the snow until a familiar voice called out above the wind. The words were a mystery, bouncing around in the echoing cave.

“That sounds like Kid,” Frisk said.

“Mhm! Alright!” Papyrus hopped to his feet nimbly, like nothing had ever been wrong. “Let’s go meet him! Oh! And you must be cold.”

Frisk shook her head. He looked puzzled and tilted his head. She smiled sheepishly.

“Nah, bro, you’re too warm for me to be cold,” she said.

“Aw! Little sister!” He snuggled her gently. “You’re so cute, you know that? Alright! Up we go!”

He snatched his coat up from the ground and clambered back up the tall, steep hill with little effort. They came upon kid on their side of the ice, looking at Frisk’s hoodie with worry all over his face. His expression shifted completely when he saw them. 

“Oh! There you guys are! What were you doing down there?” he asked.

“Slipped,” Frisk said sheepishly. “No big deal.”

Papyrus put her on the ground and she retrieved her hoodie and brushed it off. 

“I am very glad you made it, Kid!” Papyrus said. “Are you ready for the great Papyrus to show you how to do an excellent slide puzzle?!”

“Oh! Um, yeah! Yeah, I’d love to see that!” Kid said. “I’ve never made a puzzle before!”

Papyrus absolutely glowed. “Your first one?! That makes this even more exciting. Let’s get started, then!” he said. “I assure you, you will not be disappointed.”

\- - - 

Papyrus was just as lively as ever as he bounced and slid around the ice, marking new spots by cracking the ice with a magic bone in all the places he showed on his plan. Once cracked, the ice would recede into a perfect patch of snow again. Magic.

The kids slid after Papyrus in his pattern, watching with awe as he drew the symbols he needed with a long, magic femur and they simply appeared. They would even switch from X’s to O’s and to triangles if they kept touching them. They took turns skidding along the ice and flopping back into the snow on the west side of the puzzle when they goofed up.

As Papyrus completed the finishing touches on the skull-shaped puzzle, Kid and Frisk practiced a little on their own. Huddled together snugly in the snow, they tried small bursts of energy, taking turns sending them upwards. Green and red bubbles coloured the air and lit the wind with sparkles when they popped. 

Shortly after they were done, Kid got a call to go home, so Papyrus and Frisk walked him to his house before doubling back towards the inn so Frisk could use the starlight. She was shivering, but she was happy, and Papyrus still seemed completely unfazed.

When they walked back into the house, Sans was in the kitchen doing something with the microwave and Asriel sat on the table, drinking cocoa through a straw and eating a dismembered hotdog sandwich.

“Double dork alert,” Asriel said.

“Good morning!” Frisk ran over and smooched his head. “Sleep okay?”

“Meh.”

“Great!” She turned her attention on Sans and raced to hug him. “Hiiii bro.”

“You look cold,” he said, patting her head. “Uh. You two okay?”

“Whaaaat? Why on earth would you ask that?!” Papyrus asked shrilly.

Sans grinned. “Gee, I dunno, bro, Frisk looks kinda off and you don’t have a coat on.”

“I don’t have a—!” Papyrus’s face flushed. “Oh!!! I must’ve forgot it, I— Oh, whatever, I’ll get it later, it’s not like it’ll get stolen. Everything was fine, I just had a little accident.”

“Oh. You okay?” he asked, his brow furrowing as Frisk shrunk away to hide in the corner.

“Oh, yes, just fine! Nothing puts a stop to the great Papyrus! I just fell a bit and cracked a bone on a rock but—”

Asriel almost spit his drink. “Wait, what?!” he demanded.

“Wait yourself!” Papyrus said with a laugh. “I was going to say, it’s all fine. Nothing wrong. SANS! Don’t give me that face.”

Sans’s eyes had lost their light, but he smiled and shrugged anyway. “Uh. How much?” he said quietly.

“Oh! Well, it definitely hurt like a sixty but couldn’t have been more than a fifteen, it just hit in an unfortunate spot,” he said. “Like I said! Not to worry! Frisk used her superpowers, and it’s not even sore anymore, okay?”

Her heart sinking, Frisk cleared her throat. “I-It was my fault,” she squeaked quickly. “I slipped and he went to catch me, and I c-couldn’t pull him up and—”

“Oh? Is that all?” Sans turned to look at her, the light fading back in as he rubbed the back of his skull. “I was gonna say, Paps, you don’t just have accidents. Worried me for a second there. Sheesh. Good thing you guys were out there together.”

“But if it wasn’t for me he wouldn’t have—!”

“Oh, no, little sister, don’t think of it like that!” Papyrus said quickly.

“Don’t be a martyr,” Asriel sighed.

“Wh-What’s a—?” Frisk said.

“Yo. Chill,” Sans told the flower sternly. “She’s not. She’s worried. Annnnd we still gotta work on that sense of self-worth, don’t we, pal?”

“Y-You’re not mad?” she squeaked.

“Mad?” He seemed amused at the very thought of it. “Pffft, kiddo, chill out.”

She bashfully tented her fingers. “But, um… m-my backwards healing thing actually worked again,” she said. “I… I c-controlled it and everything!”

“It’s true, she did, look!” Papyrus turned and pulled up the back of his shirt to expose the vertebrae that had been cracked. “Not a scratch!”

“Yeah?” Sans grinned. “Would you look at that.”

“You sure that was broken?” Asriel asked.

“Oh yes, absolutely, it was awful!” Papyrus said, his voice full of pride. “But Frisk apparently has magic powers now! Enough to fix something like that, anyway!”

“That’s pretty on-point,” Sans said. 

He turned to look at Frisk as she finally eased herself out of her corner and, to her relief, patted her on the head. She smiled sheepishly.

“Kiddo, that’s great. Proud of you, for what it’s worth,” he said.

Frisk’s face brightened and Papyrus barked out a laugh.

“I told you, didn’t I?” Papyrus said brightly.

Her cheeks flushed and she nodded. Sans’s expression turned sympathetic. He tapped the side of her head with a little, reassuring spark of blue, and then passed her a sandwich.

“Thank you!” she said brightly.

He chucked a bowl of reheated pasta at Papyrus.

“Oh! How thoughtful, Sans!” he said. “Oh!! And Asriel, I have something for you.”

He pulled out the book and placed it on the table.

“The… new _Trident of Vengeance_?” he asked with surprise.

“Mhm! Kid said you were next in line for it, and he just finished it,” he said.

“Oh. Uh. Thanks,” Asriel said.

“Hey, bro. Find anything online?” Sans asked.

“Hm? Oh! About the mysterious lights?” Papyrus said as he twirled spaghetti onto his fork. “Unfortunately, no. Nothing new. All the conversation is around a film festival at the Archives, and some weird conspiracy stuff, and Mettaton’s show. Oh! And Frisk’s ghost friend low-key advertising about stirring some sounds on the show, whatever that means, which I think he should play up because I listened to some of his music and I liked it quite a bit, actually!”

“Oh. Right. That reminds me,” Sans said. “About that film festival, right? Like, half the city is there. And they’re doing some stuff about Mettaton’s shows. And, get this. Some monsters think there might be hints in some of his more, uh, recent programming.”

“Oh?” Papyrus said.

Frisk’s eyes went wide. “You don’t mean—?” 

“So. Until the show goes live, there’s gonna be batches of nerds up in the archives,” Sans said with a grin, “spendin’ all their time, watchin’ and rewatchin’ that _U-G-H_ special. For hours. On a loop.”

Papyrus looked aghast. “No.”

“Oh yeah,” Sans said.

Frisk made a weird squeaking sound and put a hand to her face, and after a moment, burst out laughing. “Oh my god!” She tried to stop but couldn’t, and leaned back against the counter to keep from doubling over. She was in complete hysterics. 

Sans grinned and couldn’t help but laugh along with her. 

“Oh, dude! Dude!” she said, half-choking. “That’s the worst! Oh my god!”

“I know, right?” he said.

He beamed, especially when Papyrus finally let out the snicker he’d been clearly trying to quell. Frisk took a deep breath; wiped some tears from her eyes, and coughed.

“Gosh. You can’t just spring that kinda thing on me, wait for me to sit down next time or I’m gonna die!” Frisk said.

“Thought you’d like that,” Sans said. “Alright, get some food in you. When d’you wanna go?”

“Go? Go where? Where are you going?” Papyrus asked.

“New Home,” Frisk said. “Gotta check out another weird time light thingy. And see Asgore.”

“Oh! Right, of course, that makes sense,” he said, nodding. “Yes, when are we going?!”

“We? Uh. It’s a long walk, bro,” Sans said.

“That’s alright, I don’t mind it at all!” he said. “I am great at walking, in fact! One of the greatest, I bet!”

Sans shot Frisk a look. She smiled and shrugged. He shrugged, too.

“Alright. We can cut through the lab,” he said. “Hey, bud, you in? Or would you rather, uh, _plant_ your butt on the couch for the day?”

“Haaaah, oh ho ho so funny,” Asriel said. “Umm… Yeah, you know what, I’d be interested to see what happens.”

“Family trip!” Frisk said brightly.

“Totally wussing out of the Asgore part, though,” Asriel said.

“Don’t you worry for one second, Asriel!” Papyrus assured him. “I will simply take you home before that even happens and PRESTO! Heartache and complicated emotional mess promptly avoided. Trust the great Papyrus to do this for you! Okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, okay, sounds fine,” Asriel agreed.

“Ooh! And!!” Frisk grinned brightly. “We can totally go exploring in New Home!”

The kid’s face absolutely lit up. Papyrus nodded enthusiastically.

“Just keep your hood up, huh?” Sans said. 

\- - -

The lab was still a still an unmitigated disaster when they arrived a few hours later. Filled with costumes, false trees and rocks made from cardboard, fake flowers and a pile of real ones, and lazing amalgamate monsters, it was hard to find their way around. Alphys was out. She was at Undyne’s, working on even more costumes in a space where there was, in fact, space. Frisk was certain they didn’t need even close to the number that Mettaton was keeping around. He was happy to see them, but they snuck away to the elevator mere seconds after he had begun to rehearse a newer version of one of the scenes whilst playing every character.

Sans knew the code for the elevator to take them where they wanted without even looking at it. He folded his arms and leaned back in the corner as the floor rumbled and they began to rise. Papyrus seemed unfazed, though he held Asriel and his mug a bit tighter. Frisk elected to simply sit. She didn’t want to admit how tired she was before they even started.

“This is pretty exciting, isn’t it?” Papyrus said. “We don’t normally go to New Home! Do we, Sans?”

“Nope,” he said.

“Why? Sick of it, too?” Asriel asked.

“It’s a long walk,” Sans said.

“Pffft, you can teleport,” he said, rolling his eyes.

Sans shrugged.

“Lazy bones,” Papyrus scolded before turning his attention on Frisk. “Little sister, was there anything there in particular you’d like to see?”

“Ummm… I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Maybe, um, if it’s okay with you guys, you could just show me around a little on the way to this place we have to go to?”

“Great. More walkin’, my favourite,” Sans said.

“Oh, stop your complaining, brother, I’ll carry you if you get too tired,” Papyrus said. “Seeing as I am clearly the one with the greatest upper body strength and walking legs.”

“Eh, I’m half-jokin’, it’s not that far,” he said. “But thanks, bro, ‘preciate it.”

Papyrus sighed dramatically. 

The elevator soon rumbled and clunked into place as it stalled. With a pleasant _ding_, the doors slid open. Beyond was a small, grey building, closed in by a black, metal gate. The walls were green with creeping ivy. Frisk scampered out and looked around curiously.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“City,” Sans said as he wandered for the gate.

“Yeah, I figured,” Frisk said with a laugh. “I mean, like, where though?”

“Sorta out of the way.” He turned a simple latch on the gate and pushed it open. “Cave wall behind some shops.”

“Why’d Alphys put it here?” Asriel wondered.

“Oh. Wasn’t her,” Sans said as he waved them along. “All these weird paths’ve been around for a while. Think there’s a few more, too, but this one basically gets us where we need to be.”

“That’s surprisingly resourceful of you, Sans,” Papyrus said. “Then again, I guess getting places with the least number of steps is sort of your speciality.”

“Sure is,” he said.

Outside the small building revealed a long row of the backs of shops before them. To their back was a rock wall with more vines creeping up it, while more still embraced the walls and roof of the small place itself. There was a sign posted in front, in a deliberately clear version of Alphys’s handwriting, politely asking people to stay out, please and thanks, along with a smily lizard face in glasses beside a pink heart. Sans closed the gate behind them and reached through to click the lock again. Asriel looked up at the sign and then back at the gate.

“What’s the point?” he wondered.

“No clue. Can’t use the the elevator without a code anyway. Pretty redundant,” Sans said.

“They probably just didn't want anyone making a mess in there,” Papyrus suggested. “I mean, who wants to clean the mess of a bunch of strangers left in a mysterious elevator? Nobody, I’d guess.”

“Seems kinda dumb to have it so… open. I mean, you’d think someone could eventually guess a code. Or hack it,” Asriel said. “What if someone wanted to break in?”

“Why’d anyone wanna do that?” Frisk wondered.

“Nobody’s broken in before, bud,” Sans said, and then winked. “Except, uh, you and Mettaton, of course.”

“Oh great,” he said.

Sans took a moment to pull up Frisk’s hood, and then patted her head. “Alright. We’ll, uh, find a save or somethin’,” he said. “Don’t mean to tell you what to do, kiddo, but it’d probably be good if you don’t go off on your own here.”

“I won’t!” she assured him.

They slid out onto the quiet street between buildings. There were some shops there and what were possibly houses. Buildings, mostly, with columns incorporated into the design and roofs like castle ramparts. There was a scrap-shop and an antique shop conjoined before them. If they’d been there a while, it suddenly made sense why a door from the lab would lead right here.

“Ooh, wow, look at that,” Papyrus said. “I guess they must have a bunch of relics from the surface, right?”

“Guess so,” Sans said.

The tall skeleton’s face lit up. “Want to look inside?” he asked. He and Asriel were already on their way in before they got an answer. 

Sans looked a bit tired all of a sudden, but he shrugged and tilted his head towards the door. Frisk patted his arm and followed them in.

The interior of the antique shop was laid out as if the objects on the shelves were in a museum display, as well as for sale. Old, rusty tools, cracked dishes, and bits of broken electronics were lovingly placed above placards with mostly incorrect labels scrawled across them and price tags as high as the mountaintop. It smelled like a combination of tea, old dust, seawater, and a musty something that may have been mould.

Frisk slid up beside Papyrus at the opposite side of the store. He was looking at a batch of baubles under the label of “Unique Uselesses” on a table she had to stand on her toes to look at.

“Guess this junk must be familiar to you, huh?” Asriel asked quietly.

Frisk shook her head. It was mostly bits and pieces of bigger things, it seemed. A weird metal ball with a screw-on bottom, an ornate but weather-worn piece of what might have been a chair leg; a banged up, plastic tube with a clear cap at one end and a coloured one on the other. There was one thing she did recognize, though. A thick, red rectangle with rounded ends.

“That one does something,” she said.

“Really? How weird! Why’s it over here, then?” Papyrus asked, placing Asriel on the table as he took the thing and looked it over. “Hmmm… I’m afraid I don’t quite see what it’s for, though.”

Frisk held out her hand and he passed it down. She dug her finger into the side and flipped out a little metal pair of scissors. Asriel looked surprised and Papyrus’s eyes began to glitter.

“Secret scissors!” he said brightly.

“These usually have a couple things in them, like… this!” She flipped out a twirly piece of metal. “I dunno what it’s for, but it’s kinda neat, huh? I saw some people under a bridge one time with these.”

“Hey, surprise, that actually looks sort of useful if you can just kinda keep a bunch of tools in it,” Asriel said.

“Do you want it, Frisk?” Papyrus asked.

She shook her head and passed it to him. He rolled it around between his fingers.

“Well, then! I will get it! And you can use it any time you want,” he said. “Wowie. A human-made multitool! Seems like a useful thing to have!”

“Isn’t it kind of expensive though?” she said.

“Don’t even worry about that, little sister,” he said.

He moved on, humming to himself.

“Check for flowerpots!” Asriel insisted.

“I will, I will, don’t you worry at all!” Papyrus said.

Frisk stood a bit taller and and pulled Asriel into her arms. She turned around to look for Sans. She could just barely make out a bit of the blue of his jacket between shelves. 

“Let me know if you see any human games or something that look good,” Asriel said. “S’kinda boring being this, you know.”

“Oh. Um. I’m not sure I could, but I’ll try,” she said. 

“Why? Don’t tell me you don’t know games either,” he said.

“I had a little portable gaming thing in the, um, future bit, but it was actually kinda new so I don’t think we’d find one here,” she said apologetically. 

“Oh. Hm. Nothing else? Nothing from before?” Asriel asked, tilting his head. 

“Az, before I came here, I had just my clothes and that’s it,” she said. “Aaaannnddd I sort of stole those?”

“Stole them? Really?” he asked.

“Well, yeah, it’s not like I had money,” she grumbled, but then she smiled sheepishly and shrugged. “My name is _Frisk_, isn’t it?”

“Oooooh. I get it,” he said. “Not so perfect after all, huh?”

“I-I never said I was perfect!” she protested.

“That’s pretty funny, actually. So you’ve done bad things, too,” he said. “Not so different, are we?”

Frisk felt a sick knot of shame in her stomach, just before a familiar hand closed on her shoulder.

“That’s not a fair comparison and you know it,” Sans said, his voice surprisingly stern.

Frisk looked up at him; Asriel looked taken aback. He opened his mouth as if to protest, but shrunk down unwittingly as Sans’s left eye shone back at him.

“You and me, we’re the same colour, and it’s pretty dark, ain’t it?” he said. “But her? Well, her shade of grey is just a hair off the other end. If you knew what I knew? Welp. You’d get it. Kiddo, give ‘im here.” He took Asriel and his mug from her and wandered off. 

She drew back against the table, her heart carrying an uncomfortable tightness in its beat. She took a deep breath and tried to ward it off. 

Her eye was caught by a skeleton arm waving in the air. Papyrus. She edged through the rows to find him. He grinned brightly at her and picked her up to help her look over the table top. It was covered in action figures, paint worn and pieces missing.

“See all these? Strategic planning figurines! They’re pretty cool, aren’t they?” he said. “Would you like to get one? I know I have quite a few and you are more than welcome to use any and all of them, but if you’d like to have one of your very own, well, there’s a lot here!”

“Oh, Paps, I’m not sure, they’re really expensive, aren’t they?” she said.

“Don’t worry about that at all, little sister,” he said. “So? Do you want one?”

She didn’t, really, though she appreciated his enthusiasm. She smiled up at him.“Which one do you want?” she asked.

“Oh! Well…” He tilted his head and then pointed at one in the back. “At first, I sort of wished I could get just this one’s arm! It’s very similar to one of mine that is missing a piece, actually, but then I thought about it a bit more, and, really, missing his arm gives mine character! So. I’m not actually going to get one. I just thought I’d see if you wanted one.”

“Paps, that’s so nice,” she said.

“I really am not sure why they are here with toys and games though,” he said. “Honestly it seems like a lot of the sorting in this store is quite inaccurate and weird, isn’t it? Well. Want to take a look at anything else while I am holding you here?”

“Ummm…” Frisk’s eyes scanned the price tags. “Oh! Um. Hey, these boxes look ch… um. Interesting.”

“Boxes?” Papyrus gently placed her on the floor and reached up to a shelf at his shoulder-height and brought a water-damaged box down to Frisk’s level. “This one? I suppose there’s a lot you can do with a box.”

She lifted the lid and her eyes lit up. It was a board game of some sort. Though the holders inside were ruined, the pieces were all in plastic bags.

“Maybe we could get this?” she suggested.

“Oh my god, do you actually want a toy?!” Papyrus asked gleefully.

“Well, not really, but Asriel said he was looking for games, and this is one,” she said.

“Oh. Well! You know what, close enough. Of course we’ll get it,” he said.

“I can buy it,” she said.

“No, no no no, no,” Papyrus assured her. “No, you’re the youngest here, and you barely ever ask for anything, and it’s still not even entirely for you!! Don’t worry about it for one second, okay? Getting a little sister something sometimes is a big brother’s responsibility!” 

He patted her head affectionately and dashed off in a hurry with the box under his arm. Frisk lost him amongst the shelves that were taller than he was. She peeked around corners, but she couldn’t find Sans or Asriel either. She wasn’t worried, but it seemed strange and quiet. 

She heard soft footsteps behind her and turned to face what she expected to be Sans. Instead, she was face to face with a monster all in black with a white, smiling face and cracks in his head. She froze and tasted ash in her mouth. The dark of his body made her dizzy to look at it. She felt like she couldn’t move. She felt like she couldn’t see.


	59. But The King Still Can’t Watch

The old, three-eyed boar monster behind the counter at the antique store was a sounder sleeper than Sans was. In fact, despite several instances of prodding, Papyrus still couldn’t get him to wake up. Sighing, he backtracked to the price tags of the things he and Frisk had picked up. He placed them on the counter along with the right amount of coinage before putting the things away in his phone. 

“Hey, bro.” He turned to see Sans, holding Asriel, leaning up against the counter beside him. “Done?”

“Yes! Asriel, Frisk found you a game of some sort!” he said. “Hope you like it!”

“Oh.” Asriel’s face flushed. “Uh. That’s… nice of her.”

Sans rolled his eyes. The flower grimaced, then stuck his tongue out at him.

“Hey, uh, where is the kid, anyway?” Sans said as he gently poked Asriel’s head with the tip of his finger.

“Oh! I think she is still looking around!” Papyrus said. “I’ll go find her.”

With a bounce in his step, Papyrus checked down each row of shelves, the counter seeming far away behind 

“Frisk?” he asked quietly. “Hey, little sister, where did you go?”

She didn’t answer. He probably just wasn’t loud enough. A few more rows and he found her, a hand to her head as she stood with her back to one of the display cabinets. 

“Ah! There you are!” 

She didn’t move and his brow furrowed. 

“Frisk? Are you okay?” He knelt down to take her by the shoulder and she jumped as if he’d caught her off guard.

“Oh! S-Sorry!” she said quickly. “Lost you in the shelves.”

“Are you okay?” he asked again. “You were just staring off into nothing.”

“Was I?” she asked. “Sorry. Um. I guess my head does hurt a bit.” 

“Aw. Let me help,” he said, pulling back her hood and wrapping his fingers around her head, his thumb pressed gently against her temple. “Just a moment.”

“Thanks,” she said gratefully. 

“Hey.” Sans popped up around the corner. “Alright?”

“Yup yup,” Frisk said.

“Lookin’ kinda weird, Frisk,” Asriel said.

“Feeling kinda weird!” she said with a laugh. “Just got this huge headache.”

“Which will be gone in just a minute,” Papyrus assured her.

“Cool. Ready to head out?” Sans said.

Frisk nodded, but when she took a step, she wobbled like she couldn’t keep her feet under her. Papyrus scooped her up instantly, the sound of a small something clunking down onto the planks below drawing Sans’s eye. As he dipped down to check, Papyrus put his hand back on Frisk’s head, his fingers lighting up.

“Just hang on for a second,” he said. “Let’s get out of this musty place.”

He brought her outside and, after just a few moments more, her head was clear. She hugged him gratefully. It took Sans another minute to emerge from the shop, looking at something he held with a curious expression.

“What took you so long?” Papyrus asked.

“Hm? Oh. Not much,” Sans said, flicking something into Asriel’s mug. “Hang onto that, alright?”

“Uh. Okay?” he said. “Uh. Frisk? What, did that time healing thing get to you finally, or what?”

“I’m not sure,” she said. “Maybe?”

Papyrus gently plunked her back to the ground, and he beckoned for them to follow as he snatched Asriel from Sans and began to move up the street. Just a block up, though, he froze, perked up, and rushed into another store. The name on the storefront was mostly worn away, with only the word “Artists” visible in old paint, but through the shutters, they could see what seemed to be comic books.

Frisk rested her back against the wall and took a moment to breathe. For some reason, she was suddenly exhausted.

“Hey,” Sans said. “Kid, you alright?”

“Kinda,” she said.

“So you just got a huge headache outta nowhere?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Could be the smell?” she suggested.

Sans didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t have a better answer. She shrugged again and, gently, he patted her head as he moved to lean back lazily against the wall beside her.

“Don’t let him get to you, okay?” he said.

“It’s fine,” she said.

“Not really,” he said.

She laughed and shot him a bashful smile. “Well. It’s a little true, though, isn’t it?”

“Nope.” He shrugged. “Seen it all myself now. I can make my own judgements. Gonna disagree with yours.”

“Hah! Well, I don’t think yours is right either,” she said. “About you, I mean.”

“Heh. We finally disagree on somethin’. Funny,” he said, shooting her a grin.

“Well, I think we disagree about ketchup in milkshakes, too,” she said, snickering. “But I don’t mind at all.”

“Fair enough.” He patted her head again. “Seriously, though.”

“I’m okay,” she assured him.

“Can I ask you somethin’?” he said. “From the time you lost track of Paps, to the time he found you, how long do you think it was?”

“Um. Oh, jeez, um…” Her brow furrowed and she tapped her chin with her knuckle. “Dunno. Twenty seconds? Thirty?”

“Hm. Weird. Okay,” he said.

“Why weird?” she asked.

“Well, it’s just that I noticed him messin’ around up at the front counter for a couple minutes before he went lookin’ for you,” he said, and he quickly grinned apologetically. “Not sayin’ you’re lyin’ or anything, though. Obviously.”

“But I… Wait…” She frowned. Her heart thumped, eyes went wide, and she quickly checked her palms. She gulped, hard. “Oh. Oh g-god.”

Sans took her hand. On the right left one, in red ink, were the numbers _3-1-9_. It was her own handwriting.

“H-He came for me in there?!” she squeaked. “That’s so weird!!”

“You okay?” he asked.

“Y-Yeah, I guess so,” she said. “Oh weird. Super weird. Oh man, I’m just so glad he didn’t take me out of the store!”

“No wonder your head hurt,” he said sympathetically. “After what the guy did to me…”

“It didn’t used to be like that, though,” Frisk muttered. “And it seemed like he’d grab me a lot longer before.”

“Probably not intentional,” he said. “Maybe he can’t control it. Maybe with whatever’s been goin’ on, he’s unstable or something. Maybe that’s why he’s been pushin’ for you so hard.”

“I wish I knew,” Frisk said quietly. “What do you think this means?”

“Room number,” Sans said. “Or locker number, maybe.”

“What makes you say that?” she asked.

“You dropped a key in there,” he said with a shrug.

“Oh.” She laughed tiredly and rubbed her forehead with her palms. “Today’s not my day, huh?”

Sans put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You wanna bail?” he asked. “Alternatively, we could save, and then bail, and then come back in a few hours.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” she said. “I wanna try the weird light thing. And the Asgore thing. And maybe even the dumb mystery key thing, too! And the reset thing would screw up a bunch of the stuff the others are doing for the play and stuff, huh?”

“True,” Sans said. “Keep forgettin’ that’s a thing.”

“Not me! It’s gonna be bad,” Frisk said with a laugh.

“With my two favourite kids starrin’ in it? Can’t be all that bad,” Sans joked.

Frisk scoffed and laughed. “Well, it won’t be good.”

“Probably right,” he said, grinning. “But, who knows? Might do some good.”

“Hope so!” she said brightly.

After a few minutes of casual lazing, Papyrus came out of the store in a huff as Asriel blew a raspberry at the door as it shut behind them.

“No good?” Sans asked, leaning off the wall.

“Should call the place the goddamn _Scam Artists_,” Asriel snapped. “What a ripoff.”

“I have to say, even I am a bit put-off,” Papyrus admitted. “They rip comics in half in there and sell them as part one and two at huge prices! It’s ridiculous.”

“Oh. So. I guess they’re kind of, um… Literally a ripoff, then, huh?” Frisk suggested. “If they’re ripping off the back-end of a book.”

Papyrus raised a finger, opened his mouth, frowned, and let out a loud groan and stomped away down the road. Frisk shrugged and grinned bashfully. Sans snickered and they high-fived.

Papyrus’s sour mood shifted as Frisk scampered up to hold his hand. It put a smile on his face right away.

“Hey, are we almost there or what?” Asriel asked.

“Well, I’m sure we—! …Wait. Actually.” Papyrus came to an abrupt stop and turned to look at Sans. “Brother, where are we going, exactly?”

“Dandelion,” he said.

“Dandelion? What do you mean Dande…? OH! Seriously?” Papyrus asked. “There? That’s so weird!”

“Why, what’s so weird about that?” Asriel asked. “Isn’t that just some apartments?”

“Why’s it called Dandelion?” Frisk asked.

“Dandelion Plaza. Asgore named them all after flowers,” Asriel said, and he whipped around to look at Sans. “Why there?”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t seem to be a pattern to these things that I’ve seen,” he said. “Why, that name mean something to you?”

“No, I… I’m not sure,” Asriel said, frowning. “I… Hm…”

“What is it, Asriel?” Papyrus asked worriedly.

“I feel like I’ve been there,” he admitted. “But I can’t remember when exactly.”

“Well, we have definitely been there,” Papyrus said. “We used to live there! On the third floor, actually. Hey, Frisk!”

“Yeah?” she asked.

“Do you remember that? Since you have Sans’s memories?” he asked.

Frisk had to take a moment. She stopped in her tracks. It was strange; like her vision flashed over to his for a second. There were high counters and a stepping stool. Lots of ramen noodles in the cupboards. An old radio that looked almost like it was made of wood, like Toriel had. She felt, for a second, the warmth of holding a tiny Papyrus in Sans’s lap as he read to him, that same Fluffy Bunny book as he kept close by the bed even now. There was that same green couch from back home. They had lived in that cozy little space for years.

Frisk’s breath snagged for a moment, but she smiled and nodded. “Y-Yeah,” she said. “It was small there, huh? But it was pretty nice.”

“Does that make you feel a little like you were with us, then?” Papyrus asked gently.

“Um. Well. It’s familiar,” she said. “It’s… kind of a nice feeling though.”

“Good!” Papyrus said brightly.

“God, that’s weird,” Asriel said.

“I kinda like it,” Frisk admitted. 

She blushed a little at Sans’s memories of cozying baby Papyrus. He loved that kid so much it echoed through just about everything he did. That much was obvious, but the feeling almost made Frisk wish she could have hugged a tiny skeleton at least once.

Papyrus pointed out the apartments as they got closer to them. They looked similar to the ones Frisk recognized from the surface, with the exception of the castle-styled rooftops. There was a tear of sparkling starlight at the edge of an open park nearby. There were some kids playing there on colourful metal bars in twisting shapes and swings hanging from an old, sturdy frame.

New Home reminded Frisk of a human city, though it was a lot quieter and calmer. It also had the feeling of a permanent, cozy overcast. At the same time, though, the dull light made her feel a little anxious, like she was waiting for it to rain but it wouldn’t come.

“Hey, guys?” she asked as they moved on. “Is it always like this here?”

“Depends, really,” Papyrus said. “It’s unusually quiet today but I suspect that’s due to whatever might be going on at the Archives. I’d guess that it’s actually a lot busier here than when we lived here. I hear it’s getting overcrowded, actually!”

“Oh, um, not that.” Frisk tilted her head back. “Do… Do you get weather? Like, through magic or something?”

“Not really,” Asriel said. “Unless something changed since I bit the dust.”

“Nope,” Sans said. “Light up and light down. That’s, uh, about it.”

“Oh…” Frisk said. “They can’t even do snow here?”

“Not enough demand for it,” Sans said. “And most monsters, they kinda get into a pattern, y’know? They want change, but at the same time, offer it and a lot still just wanna be comfortable where they are.”

“A-Are… Sheesh. I wonder if they were okay,” she mumbled.

“What do you mean, little sister?” Papyrus asked worriedly. “Did someone have some sort of problem?”

“I guess I just never thought about it,” she said. “When the mountain opens, it sounds like that could be so tough on everyone. After living here, like this, suddenly feeling hot, and cold, and rain, and thunderstorms, and all that kind of thing.”

“Monsters do have it a lot better down here than they realize,” Asriel said. “At least they’re safe here. But… Well, whatever. Hey, are we nearly there or what?”

Sans pointed at the base of the apartment buildings. When they got close, Frisk felt a hit of nostalgia that wasn’t her own. She shot Sans a look, but he seemed outwardly nonplussed. He took them around the back of the building to a shadowy section of alleyways. However, Frisk could see the edge of a blue light the second they turned down it.

“Is that it?” she asked.

“Sure is,” Sans said.

Frisk took a deep breath. “Alright,” she said, pulling her hood back and rolling up her sleeves. “Gonna do it.”

“Be careful,” Papyrus said.

“I will,” she assured him.

She walked down the alley and the others followed . When faced with the light, her ears started to burn and she felt a chill in her stomach.. Nonetheless, she extended her hand and let her fingertips brush through the light. It tingled through her skin and all up and down her arm. She grabbed hold tight.

Instantly, all she saw was blackness and a distant smattering of stars. She drew in a trembling breath. “…A-Am I still with you guys?” she asked quietly.

“Uh. Yup,” Sans said.

“It’s like last time,” Asriel told her. “You seein’ something else?”

“Dark. Dark dark,” she said.

“Welp. Didn’t grab you. That’s good,” Sans said.

“Grab her?! Sans, is this overly dangerous?!” Papyrus asked.

“Don’t think so,” he said. “So. Uh. It was a message last time, right?”

“An old save. Someone’s, um, memories, I guess,” Frisk said. “It just kinda happened, though, I’m not sure if I… If I should do something, or what?”

“Oh, gosh, Frisk, your eyes!!” Papyrus yelped.

“Went black again,” Asriel said.

“Oh. Um. Okay. Don’t worry,” she said. “Umm… Hang on. Nothing’s happening yet.”

“How long do we wait?” he wondered.

“Don’t do anything crazy, little sister, please,” Papyrus said.

She could feel him holding her shoulders and she smiled. “Don’t worry,” she said, keeping the word _yet_ just on the tip of her tongue.

She started to catch the beat of her own heart in her ears. A note or two of music. She wasn’t sure if she recognized it or not. It was too slow. The stars began to fade down into black.

“Something’s happening,” she said.

“What?” Asriel asked quickly.

“Hang on,” she said.

She felt Papyrus grabbing her a little more tightly. The black before her eyes started to come in grey. She realized, after a moment, she was looking down the same alleyway in the dark of what was presumably nighttime. She was in the head of someone who was walking casually towards the same light she now grasped to. She got the feeling that they were groggy. 

When the person reached the light, they used their sleeve to wipe their eyes quickly and then pushed their arm into the light. 

“Alright…” he said quietly to himself. Sounded like the same man she had heard in the other odd save. Same accent.

“Dad?” A small, sleepy voice called out to him. 

He turned. They couldn’t see much other than the dark outline of a tiny someone at the end of the alleyway. The bright of the tear made everything away from it seem a lot darker.

“Heeey, kiddo, what’re you doing up?” the man asked. “Did you follow me all the way down here?”

“Iunno…” The little shape shifted— maybe shrugged, it was hard to tell. “Whatchu doing?”

“Hah… Come here. Let me show you.” 

The man made to pull out of the light and the vision faded over black. Little twinkles of stars crept back in. Frisk took a deep breath.

“D-Done,” she said.

“Done?! Did you see something?” Papyrus asked quickly.

“Yeah,” she said. 

Frisk braced herself and pulled back. Her vision began to fade back in at the edges, but the darkness that lingered was disorienting. She stumbled and rubbed at her eyes with her knuckle, seeing only dark snow on the backs of her eyelids. Papyrus pulled her all the way into his arms.

“You alright?!” he demanded.

“Mhm,” she said.

“Anything useful?” Sans asked.

“Not really,” she said. “I saw… I saw through the eyes of the same guy again.” 

She tilted her head up and blinked at Papyrus. His skull and the light in his eye sockets were illuminated strangely by the tear in front of him. Sans and Asriel came close, peering over his shoulder. She rubbed her eyes again.

“He… He came down to save,” she said. “Didn’t really say much. And then his kid came to talk to him, I think.”

“Kid say anything?” Sans asked.

“Not really,” she said. “Just asked him what he was doing. He said he’d show the, um, time tear thing, I guess, and then the vision stopped.”

Sans looked thoughtful. He tapped his chin. Asriel looked up at him skeptically.

“Seems like a waste of time,” he said.

“Dunno. Anything else about the kid?” Sans asked. “Type of monster? Name? Anything?”

“No,” she said. “It was too dark and the voice was just kind of high. Could’ve been anything, the kid was really little, I dunno.”

“What about the type of monster this man is?” Papyrus asked. “Any hints?”

“No, I don’t think so,” she said. “He’s kinda tall. Feels like mostly an average shape. I mean, like, two arms, two legs. I think he has bad eyes, though. I think he wears glasses, maybe? Besides that, I got nothing, sorry.”

“Waste of time,” Sans said jokingly. “Oh well. Thanks for lookin’, kiddo, hope that didn’t bust your brain too much.”

“Nah, it’s okay,” she said, shooting him a smile. “It’s not so bad!”

“So… So if this was mostly nothing, then,” Papyrus said, “what now? Sans, why is this important again?”

“Just tryin’ to figure out what’s up with the guy no one can remember, that’s all,” he said.

“Oh. So. A waste of time,” Asriel said. “I mean, what does that accomplish, even?”

“It is kinda a weird mystery,” Frisk said.

“So? Who cares?” he said.

Frisk sheepishly raised her hand. Sans shrugged.

“Guy keeps draggin’ my kid off,” he said. “And he seems to want something he thinks is real important. Can you really blame me for wantin’ to figure it out?”

“And it does seem like, sometimes when Frisk touches one of these light things, she gets more time powers,” Papyrus said. “Like the first time, she came out and just a little tweaking and she could use magic in her hands like we can.”

“Right, and this time, messed with the one near the Ruins and suddenly she can turn stuff backwards in little bursts. Huh, kiddo?” Sans said.

“Uh. Y-Yeah. I guess you’re right,” she said.

Asriel sighed. “Well. When you put it like that…” he grumbled. “Ugh. Okay. Fine. But can we get the hell out of here? This light is messing with my eyes.”

“Ah. Yes, me too, actually,” Papyrus said. “Let’s move on. To Asgore’s, next?” 

“Actually, bro, I was thinkin’ of heading inside,” Sans said.

“Well. Okay! Whatever you want. It might be nice to see the old place,” Papyrus said. “Come on, then!”

Scooping the others up into his grasp, Papyrus lugged everyone into the apartment complex. There was a small hallway leading back to some rooms, but most of the front of the building was occupied by a stairwell that went up. Frisk looked up with curious eyes. She’d never been inside a building like this before. 

Papyrus put them down, save for Asriel, and quickly paced what little space one might call a lobby, if they were feeling generous. “Wow. It really doesn’t look any different, does it?” he asked.

“Seems like they patched it up a bit,” Sans said, pointing at an innocuous spot on the staircase. “Guess that’s the, uh, first step, huh?”

“Uuuuggghh, Sans, why,” Papyrus said dryly. “Ooh. Hey. Do you think whoever is in our old apartment would let us take a little peek around for nostalgia’s sake?”

“For you, bro, I’m sure they would,” Sans said.

“Creepy,” Asriel said. “What about this weird crap?” He held up the key.

Papyrus looked puzzled, but Sans plucked it away quickly before he could get a good look and then jerked his thumb up the stairs. 

“That is what we’re here for,” he said.

“It is? What?” Papyrus asked.

“C’mon, kiddo, you in?” he asked Frisk.

She nodded and grabbed the railing, scampering up the stairs quickly.

“Race you guys to the third floor!” she said brightly.

Papyrus’s face lit up. “I’ve already won!” he said. He took off, bouncing up the steps two at a time. 

Frisk grinned and followed as quickly as she could.

Of course, her big brother reached the top first, and he grinned at her and patted her head when she reached their floor.

“Good effort, little sister,” he said, leaning around her to peer back down. “Sans, are you coming?”

“Sure, bro,” the other skeleton’s voice echoed from somewhere below. “Just a minute. Or ten.”

“Pfffft, you are out of shape, Sans!” he called.

“Naw, I’m pretty in shape. The shape is just kinda squat, y’know?” Sans said.

He crested the stairs looking a little sweaty and Frisk grabbed his hand to pull him up the last one. Asriel snickered and shook his head as the skeleton had to wipe his brow on his sleeve.

“I said yesterday was too much walking,” Sans said. “Shouldda listened to myself. Kiddo, remind me to listen to myself, huh?”

She stuck both thumbs up.

Behind them, Papyrus scanned the numbers on the doors. He walked to the end of the hallway before it turned at a sharp corner and his face lit up. He knocked on the door and waited a while. Nothing happened. He put his head against the wood.

“Stop that, dude, that’s weird,” Asriel said.

“I just want to hear if… Nope! Sounds like nobody’s home,” Papyrus said. “Oh well. Too bad, I can’t imagine we’ll be coming back here anytime soon.”

“I still don’t know why we’re here right now,” Asriel said. “Sans, what the hell is that key?”

“What key?” Papyrus doubled back to join Frisk and Sans, tilting his head like a curious cat. “Where’d you get a key?”

“Oh, did you miss that?” Sans smiled sideways. “Don’t worry about it. Just wanna check in on 319.”

“319?” He tilted his head the other way. “Oh! I know where that is. That’s behind our old place, follow me!”

He pranced off down the hallway, boots scuffing on the cheap, flower-patterned carpet. They followed him around the corner to the next apartment, one that seemed like it had its back-end against the skeleton family’s old accommodations. Papyrus gestured to it proudly. Sans got close and knocked. Again, there was no answer. Key in hand, he slid it into the lock until it made a faint, satisfying click. He turned the key and the door popped open without resistance.

Inside was dark and chilly. It had an odd scent of stagnation. The door might not have been opened in years. Frisk immediately took her phone and used one of Alphys’s apps on it to make the screen shine like a flashlight. 

It was a surprise to find that the the apartment was just one room. The only door was at the other end, and it seemed to be to a cupboard rather than a bedroom or something of the like. There was a desk and a few counters. A spinning office chair. Not much else. Papyrus poked the light switch near the door, but the room remained veiled in darkness.

“What the hell is this?” Asriel asked. “Put me down.”

Papyrus did as he asked, and he quickly wheeled himself across the smooth carpet. Frisk followed, lighting his way as he explored around the desk.

“Wowie. Sans, why did you have a key to this place?” Papyrus leaned over one of the counters and winced. “Ew, what’s this brown stuff?”

He ran his finger across the top of the desk. Sans joined him.

“Coffee grounds,” he said.

“Coffee?” Frisk repeated. “Like the lab basement?”

Sans froze up for a moment. He smiled and rubbed the back of his skull. “Just like the basement,” he agreed. “Same guy?”

“Okay, I’m super out of the loop,” Asriel said. “What’s going on?”

“So, okay, we think maybe the mystery guy who messes with memories and stuff is a scientist from somewhere,” Frisk said. “He keeps dropping hints. And there’s an old lab part in the very bottom basement that was this guy’s, we think. It had a coffee smell. So…”

“Well. Okay. I was gonna say coffee on its own might be a stretch, but I guess I see where you’re goin’ with that,” Asriel said. “So why’d he want you here? I don’t see anything.”

“Maybe the drawers!” Papyrus suggested.

He hurried to the desk and began to open each compartment. He lit his eyes up and stared into them, leaning down and letting out a suspicious _hmmm_. Asriel used his metal arm to grasp the side of the desk and clambered up with a combination of mechanics and clinging vines. He leaned over to look, too.

“Hey, I didn’t know you could do that,” Frisk said, a hint of awe in her voice.

“Hm? Oh. Yeah. Getting a little better,” he said. “It’s hard, though. Now what’s… Oh.”

“What?” Frisk asked.

“Paper clips,” Papyrus said.

“Bunch of junk,” Asriel confirmed.

“There are many uses for paper clips,” Papyrus said, counting on his fingers. “Clipping papers, pressing those annoying tiny reset buttons, unsticking small things, possibly lock picking,abstract art projects…”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it,” Asriel said. “There’s not really much else here, though.”

Frisk pouted. She looked around for Sans and found him kneeling in front of one of the counters. She went to join him and give him a little more light. There was a coffee machine down there. Sans sighed and straightened up. He checked in the closet; stared at it for a moment, then closed the door quietly, shaking his head.

“Nothing, huh?” Frisk asked.

“Why did he leave this?” Sans asked quietly. 

“Could it be a puzzle of some sort?” Papyrus asked.

“Kinda is, just don’t know where to start,” he admitted.

“Weeellll… Okay. Frisk went over what we know. Sort of,” Papyrus said. “So what are we missing?”

“You don’t happen to remember a Royal Scientist or somethin’, do you, bud?” Sans asked. “I asked your folks, but…”

“Uh. No. No, other than Alphys,” he said.

“Sounds about right.” Sans frowned slightly and folded his arms. “Gettin’ kinda sick of this.”

“I’m sorry,” Frisk said.

“Sorry?” Sans laughed. “Don’t be. Your the one who keeps getting messed with. Not your fault.”

“Yes, Frisk, you’re simply the middle-monster,” Papyrus said. “I know it’s not exactly fun, though. And it must be so confusing sometimes.”

“All the time,” Frisk said with a laugh.

“All the time, then! But don’t worry! You have the great Papyrus on your side! Always. That has to count for something. I mean, I hope it does.” He smiled bashfully. “I hope that makes you feel better.”

“Course it does!” she said

“What a bunch of saps,” Asriel said. “Hey, is it lunchtime yet? Can we get out of here? This place is weird and I’m getting hungry.”

“Well, I think I’m done,” Papyrus said. “Sans? Frisk? Thought of anything else in here?”

Sans was quiet. He’d taken a place near the cupboard, eyes fixed on the floor as he folded his arms.

“Brother?” Papyrus said.

“Hm? Oh. Uh.” Sans rubbed the back of his head. “Guess there’s not much more to check out in here, huh?”

“Thought you’d be happy about that,” Asriel said.

He shrugged. Frisk snuck over to him and grabbed his hand, looking up at him with big, curious eyes. 

The sound of a phone broke the silence. Frisk recoiled against her big brother.

“Oh! It’s Undyne,” Papyrus said, whipping out the little device. “She has texted and she saaaays… help. Help? HELP?!” His eyes went wide and he fumbled to dial when the text sound twinkled again.

“Is she okay?!” Frisk asked shrilly.

“She says Mettaton is…! …Oh.” Any panic on Papyrus’s face drifted away and he rubbed his eye sockets. “Nyeh heh heh, oh, gosh, she scared me for a second there.”

“What happened?” Asriel said.

“She asked me to call her to ask to do some training, because Mettaton is trying to get them to act out scenes with him and she wants to G-T-F-O, which I assume means _get travelling fast outside_,” he said. “Okay! Calling, Undyne!”

He dialled her up and she answered swiftly, before the first ring had even finished.

“Oooh heeeey, Papyrus, how’s it going?” she said. “What a, uh, surprise. To hear from you. Right now. What’s up?”

“Wellll, I’m just calling because you …” He paused as he saw Frisk shaking her head quickly; took him a moment to catch her drift. “Oh!! I’m calling because yoooou, um, didn’t show up for training this morning! And I thought maybe it would be goooood to get some battle practice in!”

“Oh. Wow, darn, you know, you’re right, Paps, I forgot about that! I guess I’ll just go? Yeah? Goooing? Okay, see ya, good luck, babe!” 

They heard a door slam and Undyne take a deep breath. 

“Ohmygod this heat. Okay. Thanks a million, Paps, I had to get outta there.”

“Was it really that bad?” Papyrus asked worriedly.

“Oh god, he keeps trying to rope us into performing. He’s even got those goopy guys holding props right now,” she said.

“Oh, yeah, he tried to do that to us, too. We ran away,” Frisk said.

“Oh! Hi, kiddo!” Undyne said brightly. “Good idea. Ugh. Okay, Paps, meet you at your place? Maybe we can wail on each other a little, since I can’t really knock some sense into this, uh, metal nerd.”

“Sounds good!” he said brightly. “One little problem, though, is that we are in New Home right this second.”

“Oh. Damn. Um. Okay. No problem, just don’t cut through the lab,” she suggested. “Can I head to your place? Door open?”

“Didn’t lock it,” Sans said. “Seriously, though, he’s still that into it? He didn’t even send our kid or other Kid the script yet.”

“Yeeeeah, I dunno, he said he wants Frisk to just do her thing, be organic, whatever that crap means,” Undyne said. “I’m worried this is just gonna be a disaster. But at the same time, hey, Frisk? You’ve done way crazier stuff than this, haven’t you? Somehow, I think you can make it work.”

“Hah! Thanks,” Frisk said. “And if I can’t the first time, I can always go back a bit.”

“That’s the spirit. Okay. Paps, meet you in Snowdin? I gotta get outta here, this heat is killin’ me,” she said.

“Oh gosh, yes, if the heat is really that bad, hurry up and leave!!” Papyrus said quickly. “I’ll meet you at home soon! Okay love you bye!”

Papyrus pocketed his phone and shot the others a look, raising his brows. “Well! I guess I will head off, then,” he said, “and you can go do your Asgore thing, I suppose! Asriel, would you like to stay, or…?”

“Nope. No. I’m coming with you,” he said. “But get me some food or something, will ya?”

“Alright, then! You two will be okay, won’t you?” he asked.

“Sure thing,” Sans said. “Probably hang out in this creepy empty room for a little longer, right kiddo?” 

“Guess so!” she said.

“Wellll, okay, but don’t stay too long.” With a bounce in his step, Papyrus gave his siblings each a hug before scooping up Asriel. “Meet you guys at home! Good luck!”

Asriel waved a leaf at them and the two were gone. 

Sans sighed. Frisk looked up at him and tugged on his sleeve.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Sure,” he said.

“You don’t sound okay,” she said with a frown.

He smiled tiredly and ruffled her hair. “Nah. S’alright.” He leaned up off the wall and stretched his arms above his head. He looked pretty tired. “Got any other ideas?” he asked. “Even dumb ones.”

“Not really,” she admitted. “I thought maybe there’d be another time tear thingy in here, because last time he sent the message about the Delta Rune, it was because he wanted me to see one of those. But… I mean, really, he just has a ton of paperclips. I dunno. I’m confused.”

“Same,” he said. “Ah well. Maybe we’ll think of something later. C’mon. I’m tired of standin’ around in the dark and not even sleepin’.”

They slipped out of the room and Sans quietly locked the door behind them. He clipped the key to Frisk’s phone. There wasn’t a single monster around, so he grabbed the kid and whisked them to the bottom of the stairwell. They headed out to the street again, and Frisk followed her brother closely. He didn’t seem too keen on walking. She was on the border of feeling the same. She hid a yawn behind her hand.

“This is why I don’t like the big city,” he said.

“So I guess your power’s really weird, huh?” she said as she brushed some wetness from her eye.

“Just don’t wanna have to explain it a thousand times,” he said. “As far as I know, it’s, uh, pretty unique.”

“Lucky!” she said.

“Guess so,” he said. “I wonder… Hey. Got any thoughts on how I did it and brought Paps with? Never done that in the timelines I actually remember.”

“Um. I’m not sure,” Frisk said apologetically. “You always told me you could move me because I could move through time anyway. ‘Cause my determination is really high.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” he said.

“So… I dunno. Maybe it could be that Papyrus could, like… hold onto our souls or something when you moved all of us,” she said. “Or it could be when you got a little stronger, your teleporting got stronger, too? Paps has kinda high determination for a normal monster, right?”

“True,” he said. 

“I wonder if you could do Undyne, too?” she said. “I think she’s just a little lower than he is, right? She can go really high, though. Hey, if something weird happened and Undyne got her super determination powers but didn’t melt, do you think she might have been able to time travel, too?”

“Dunno. Think my base still might be higher,” he admitted. “Kinda weird to think about, especially seein’ what it did to her. But. Could be? Oh, shit, imagine that fight? It’d be a nightmare.”

“It’s a nightmare already!” Frisk said with a laugh. “Oh man. I’m so glad no one has to go through that again.”

“Mhm.” Sans shoved his hands in his pockets and let out a sigh. “I, uh, told her about it, y’know?”

“You did?” Frisk’s voice went shrill with surprise. “I thought you never told them about the old stuff.”

“Usually I don’t,” he said. “But, when you were… When you were down for the count, the Cap and I kinda hung out a lot. She seemed like she was startin’ to get the picture a little, so I filled it in. Told her she did a real good job.”

“Did she ever,” the kid said, nodding quickly. “She’s so tough. And cool. And nice. She… She never deserved what happened. No one did.”

“Why do you sound guilty?” he asked. “You’re the one who put a stop to it. You know that.”

“I know,” she said.

“Those other ones aren’t you,” he said.

“I know,” she said again. “I know, I know, I know. It’s… It’s just… Oh, whatever, it’s okay, dreams are broken, maybe I’ll forget what it feels like sometime!”

She didn’t believe it and neither did Sans, but he patted her shoulder anyway.

As they passed the park again, Sans took a moment to sit on a bench. Frisk plopped down beside him and yawned. He shot her an inquisitive look.

“Still alright?” he asked.

She nodded and blinked sleepily. He patted her head.

“Looks like you need a break, too,” he said.

She nodded again and curled up beside him. She looked at the numbers written on her palm. They were a little smudged now. She fished in her pocket and found, as she suspected, her red pen. She rewrote over the numbers a few times.

“What’re you doin’ that for?” Sans asked.

“I dunno. Just making sure it was mine,” she said.

She pocketed the pen again carefully and leaned sleepily against his side. He started to look drowsy right away. She blinked heavily. Her eyelids didn’t really want to stay open. She could let them close for just a little, couldn’t she?

Sans noticed. He didn’t mind at all. Especially the part where it meant he could take a load off for a while. The park was empty, so it wasn’t like anyone might get suspicious of her. 

He found his mind wandering back to that room. He didn’t get it. How could it be nothing? What was he missing? He sighed to himself and sunk back on the bench. He cast a look at Frisk. Felt a sting of worry, and a pulse of pride. Maybe it was too much to deal with for one day. He felt the kid slumping a little and he put an arm around her and patted her head.

He closed his eyes, too, but his mind was trying to click too many things together to really let him rest. Still, the reprieve was more than welcome, even as the sounds of of monster children began to echo from the field nearby. He didn’t move at all until the kid did, almost an hour later.

He felt her shift and slide on the bench; readjusting herself. He opened one eye. She sat up, staring off at a group of kids in the field ahead, down a little slope. He picked out two he recognized, and their rockram father napping on another bench across the park. He guessed it was a good day for it. The kids were a raucous pack, and Frisk’s eyes followed as they knocked a ball into the air, kicking it and pushing it with soft, magic bursts. She seemed mesmerized.

“Hey,” Sans said, “you wanna go smack it around with ‘em?”

“I shouldn’t,” she said quietly.

Sans shrugged one shoulder. “They’re kids. You’re a kid. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind,” he said. “We have time.”

Though Frisk didn’t take her eyes from the ball, she flinched. Her fingers clenched into the cloth of her pants. “I… I can’t,” she said quietly.

Sans tilted his head. She looked— almost— hurt. What was she seeing that he wasn’t? Before he could ask, she took a deep breath and she turned to smile up at him.

“Um, hey, bro?” she said, her voice a little hesitant. “I, um, hate to ask, but would it be okay if we go get some food somewhere? I’m kinda hungry.”

“Why d’you hate to ask?” he said, slipping off the bench. “You’re hungry. Just tell me to feed you. It’s fine.”

“Oh! Y-Yeah. Alright. Thanks,” she said. She hopped down as he stretched his arms until his shoulder let out a satisfying pop. Her eyes flitted over to those other kids again until she yanked her gaze away. “So where d’you want to go?” she asked.

“Welp. Grillby’s is always a solid choice,” he said. “But. I think I got something else you’ll like. C’mon.”

\- - -

It felt kind of strange visiting that café that he and Alphys used to frequent twice in the same amount of days after leaving it for so long. Still, the familiarity was welcome. Coming up to the door, the scents of their baked goods and the coffee they specialized in wafted from the building. Sans watched Frisk as her eyes lit up with a comfortable nostalgia that wasn’t her own. It was surreal to him, knowing his memories were running through her head; how in that moment, the hit of comfort at the smell of the toasted coffee beans was exactly the same for the both of them. 

Inside, he brought her to the back, near the register, where there were large glass cases. They were full of shelves stacked high with fancy pastries, colourful cakes, and large sandwiches. Frisk hesitated to pick, fretting over prices, but Sans couldn’t care less. He picked up a sandwich for her and a cake covered in some sort of pink glaze that she kept eyeing. 

He nudged her into a booth beside a window as they waited for their chocolate drinks, and Frisk immediately dug into the sandwich. It was made of a flakey, buttery pastry a lot like something she’d had on the surface, though her memories of it had it stale. This, and whatever was inside it, was much better. She couldn’t help but wolf it.

“Not bad, huh?” Sans said with an amused smile.

Frisk nodded and swallowed heavily. “Yeah! It’s great,” she said. “Thank you so much. Y-You didn’t have to—”

“It’s not like I’m gonna let you go hungry,” he said.

“I know,” she said.

“So don’t worry.” He pointed at her food and grinned. “And you don’t have to shove it in your face so fast, huh?”

“Y-Yeah. You’re right.” She smiled. “I’ll try not to.”

He ate some of his own sandwich and his gaze flitted out the window. It took Frisk a moment to notice, so wrapped up in her food as she was, but when she did, something didn’t seem right. She tilted her head. He looked bothered. She was about to ask, but he shifted suddenly; went into his pocket and pulled out her phone. He peeked at the screen and then handed it over to her. Brow furrowed, she swiped it to get to her messages. It was from Kid.

“_so Mettaton just sent me this big script lol he said I dont have to memorize tho so thats nice!_” he said.

“_oh good!!_” Frisk replied. “_I actully still dont even have it lol. thx again for saying youll do the narator thing_”

“_np dude!! Im actually excited 4 it!_” Kid said. “_And my mom’s really proud so thats nice lol she’s a huge fan of Mettaton_”

“_hope he’s not being too weird_” Frisk said.

“_naw actually hes way nicer than I though hed be but he uses a lot of really big words 4 no reason XD_”

“_lol yeeeea_” Frisk said. “_he is a really good guy when he wants to be_”

“_4 sure! g2g mom wants help baking haha u kno I’m gettin really good at doing muffins! cya whenever or at least the day aftr tomorrow!!! =D_”

“_bye have fun!!_”

Frisk smiled to herself. She recalled that sometimes, when she was having trouble sleeping —as was quite commonplace— or if Kid was having a long night, they used to text like this. Sometimes just to talk about nothing. It felt a little like home, and that warmed her. At the same time, though, her heart didn’t ache so much when she thought about it anymore. 

She browsed the UnderNet while she had a minute. The pages were abuzz with talk of Mettaton’s upcoming show. It seemed to have completely consumed anything else monsters might be talking about. Frisk noticed she had a small notification that Papyrus had posted something. She checked and was pleased to see he had taken a few photos of the training they were doing, but they seemed to have just started. Asriel was in the background of a few of them. He seemed a little grumpier than usual. In fact, he’d been like that most of the day, hadn’t he? She hoped he was feeling okay.

She heard footsteps. Sans was still staring out the window when she looked up. A smiling cat monster edged into view and put their drinks down in front of them. Frisk shrunk in her seat.

“Thank you!” she squeaked quietly.

“You’re very welcome, little lady,” the cat said, turning to prowl off. “Enjoy!”

Frisk smiled sheepishly and pocketed her phone, and took a small piece of her pink cake. She wasn’t sure what the flavour was, but it was amazing. Her eyes lit up. She reached across the table and grabbed her brother’s hand.

“Sans,” she said. “Hey, Sans?”

“Hm? Oh. Yeah. Sorry, kiddo, what’s up?” he said.

She grinned and pushed her plate and fork towards him. “Try it! It’s really good!”

He did as she asked, then nodded and slid it back. “It is,” he said. “Good choice.” He picked up his drink and pried off the lid. He ditched the straw, too, and he took a swig. 

Frisk tilted her head and she copied him. There was something like jelly in the chocolate smoothie. It was kind of weird, but she liked it.

“Hey, bro?” she said as she carefully set her drink back on the table. “You okay?”

He shrugged. 

“Whatchu thinkin’ about?” she asked.

“Ah. It’s not that important,” he said; he laughed when she started to frown. “I’m just kinda confused about what the hell the point of that room was.”

“Oh! Yeah, me too,” she said quickly. “Is that what’s giving you the frown face?”

He snickered tiredly and rubbed his brow. “That obvious, huh?” he said. “It’s just… I guess it’s frustrating. Usually the pieces make sense. This one, I don’t get it.”

“Ummm…” Frisk leaned back and folded her arms. “Yeah. I understand. Um. I dunno. Do you think there could be another light like there was in the lab? It kinda came out of nowhere. Maybe he wanted us to wait?”

“Could be. I dunno,” Sans said, shrugging again.

Frisk pouted. She stared at the numbers on her palm again. 319. She frowned at them, as if hoping they’d reveal something new. A small something did pique in her mind, however. She ran her thumb over the numbers and, rather abruptly, realized that something was different. An excited grin spread on her face and she got up on her knees in her seat.

“Sans. Sans Sans Sans,” she said

“What’s up?” he said.

She shoved her hand at him and pointed out the numbers. “Look!”

“Yeeeeah?” he said.

“It’s not in that old skeleton writing,” she said. “Right?! Usually it is!”

Sans raised his brows and he took her hand in his, staring at the skin of her palm. “You’re not wrong,” he said.

“Something’s different, then,” she insisted. “There’s gotta be… I dunno! Maybe a letter, or a message, or something? Something we missed. If…! If the point of it is I can read this now, maybe that means there’s a message not in the skeleton writing somewhere. I don’t know how much he knows. He might not know I have people who can actually read it normally! Maybe he was waiting for… for whatever this is? So that I could read a message, i-if that’s what it is.”

“A letter…” Sans drummed his fingers. “Oh. Actually…”

“You got an idea?” she asked excitedly.

“Maybe.” He tapped his teeth. “The doors aren’t the only things in there with those numbers on ‘em. Maybe it’s a mailbox, too.”

“You think?!” Frisk asked, eyes all but shining. “Oh man, we should go right now!”

She almost sprung from her seat but he grabbed her soul and shifted her back to her food with an amused grin on his face. 

“Whoa there, bucko,” he joked. “Finish your lunch first. ”

“O-Oh. Right. Yeah,” she said. She hurriedly began to shove the rest of her sandwich into her mouth, interspersed with forkfuls of cake. 

Sans held in a laugh. “Don’t choke, huh?” he said.

\- - -

The stairwell inside of the apartment was bustling this time. A pair of monsters were trying to get a couch up to the third floor, and two kids were sitting with their feet dangling through the gaps in a metal railing as they chatted. Frisk grabbed onto her brother’s arm and stayed close. Much to her relief, they didn’t have to go that way. Sans took her around the back of the stairwell, where the hallway opened up into apartments. Buildings always seemed to be much bigger on the inside than on the outside around here.

Along the wall, a few inches above Frisk’s height, were a series of little metal safes built into the building. She stood on her toes to try to get a look. Sans slid up beside her and ran his finger across a row of numbers. He tapped on one, his finger clinking against the metal.

“Here,” he said, holding out his hand.

Frisk hurriedly passed him her phone, and he took the key to try the lock. It slid in without hesitation. He turned it and it clicked. The door flipping open seemed somehow anticlimactic, but though Frisk couldn’t see what was inside, she could see the expression on his face change to one of surprise.

“Is there something in there? You gotta show me,” she said quickly.

Sans pulled a plain, white envelope from the mailbox. Frisk felt a lump in her throat. He flicked the safe closed and leaned back against the wall and held it low enough for her to see. On the outside was simply written, “_backup_” in loose cursive.

“Open it, open it,” Frisk said.

Sans chuckled. He slid his thumb under the side of the sealed lip and ran it along the line ofwhat was presumably glue. The envelope popped open without struggle. He pulled out a folded piece of paper from inside and held it out so she could read it, too.

The page was a series of lists, categorized under each region of the underground, with additional headings for the lab and the CORE. Below each was a series of letter and number combos, matching the pattern of calling the light in the woods near the Ruins “1-S”. Many of them were underlined, and three of them were circled as well. One in Snowdin, one in the lab, and one in the CORE. At the bottom of the page was a short message in the same handwriting as the envelope:

“_Sorry this message will be brief, I’ve been caught off guard. This is for the anomaly. I know the chances of this reaching you are beyond slim, but if it has, I’m sure you’ll understand its meaning. I apologize if it appeared in what seemed to be code, but be sure I will have tried my hardest to get around that for you. Be aware that the light is completely safe for you, with the exception of internal bursts. Avoid these. Stay determined and good luck!_”

Frisk stared at the note, and then turned her wide-eyed gaze up on her brother. His brow was furrowed thoughtfully. 

“H-He… He knew I was coming?” she squeaked. “H-How?”

“Not sure,” Sans said. “If he tapped into time, maybe he saw you somehow.”

“Oh wow,” Frisk said. “S-So. Sooo…”

“CORE’s next,” he said.

“Yeah?” she said.

“Yeah.” He traced between the three, circled locations in the lists. “Lab, you got sucked in, came out with codes and actual magic. Snowdin, got sucked in, came out with time reversal. CORE, well…”

“Oh man, but weird bad things happened both of those times!” Frisk squeaked.

“But the trade-off was pretty good, you gotta admit,” he said.

“Y… Yeah. Yeah. That’s true.” She took a deep breath to steady herself, but her hands were shaking. “God that’s weird. So… So that letter, it’s been sitting there a while, huh?”

“Think so,” Sans said. “Kinda dig it. Saves me a lot of time.”

He shoved a hand in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. He handed it over to her and she smoothed it out. It was his own list of the strange lights. It was much less complete, but the set-up was remarkably similar.

“Wow,” she said. “So should we head to the CORE now?”

“What?” Sans laughed and patted her head. “Kiddo, that’s hilarious.”

“So no?” she said.

“Let’s, uh, wait until your big stage debut is done, huh?” he said. “You and the CORE don’t exactly have a great history, huh?”

“I guess not,” she said. “Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense, sorry, I just—”

“I know. I know.” He folded the letter and offered it to her. “Here. Hold onto that, huh?”

“M-Me? Why?” she said.

“Welp. You’re less likely to wreck it,” he said, “plus, the, uh, message is for you.”

She took the paper and stared at it. She reread the note at its base. “The… The bursts,” she muttered quietly. “Do you know what that means?”

“Not really,” he said, shrugging. “Mightta been what broke my face.”

“Oh… Y-Yeah. Maybe.” She reflexively held onto his arm and let out a deep breath. “Okay. Okay okay. So. Um. Should we go? To, um, Asgore?”

“Let’s take a little break first, huh? Catch your breath,” he suggested. “Might be rough.”

“Yeah. You’re right,” she said. She hoped he was wrong, but she was sure he wouldn’t be.


	60. But The King Really Can’t Watch

Edging towards Asgore’s home wasn’t nearly as nerve-wracking as Frisk had anticipated. The thought that he might try to fight her had crossed her mind, but a little hop back in time could fix that, easily. What weighed most heavily on her were Asriel’s words. It made her stomach knot to want so badly to do something, but at the same time, to not want to do it at all.

The snuck behind the buildings near the elevator they came in on. The second he was sure they were alone, Sans grabbed her and whisked them to the outside of Asgore’s grey house. The first thing she did was sink her hand into the light and lock the world steady. She took a deep breath.

“So, uh, got a plan?” Sans asked.

“I gotta give him some tea,” she said.

“Do, uh…? Do you want me to go in with you?” he asked.

“I don’t want you to get in trouble,” she said.

“Get in trouble?” He laughed. “Think he’ll send me to the dungeon for harbourin’ my own sister?”

“I dunno! I just… I just think of what happened with Undyne,” she said. “I bet part of why she attacked me so fast is, I dunno, I’m a scary human, right? She didn’t know what I might do to… to you guys, you know? She saw me and deep down she was probably really scared.”

“So you don’t want to scare him?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I… I just don’t want him to think I have you, um, h-hostage or something…” she muttered.

Sans couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. He pushed her hood back and drew her to him to bonk his brow on hers. The flicker of blue in his eye gave her a little shock of courage. She took a deep breath in and then released it.

“Okay. Okay okay. I can do it,” she said.

“Yeah, obviously,” he said. 

She gulped; quickly, sent out a group text that there might be a tiny reset soon. She touched the light again, and then headed for Asgore’s front door. She reached up and knocked.

There was no reply. She quickly knocked again, harder this time. No one came. She held her breath and pressed her ear up against the door. She couldn’t hear anything from inside. Hesitantly, she tried the doorknob, and the door smoothly swung open. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. 

She felt Sans behind her and she looked back at him and pointed. “Go through?” she asked.

“Want a shortcut?” he asked.

“Maybe we should check, but kinda slow,” she said. “Don’t wanna jump in right where he is, huh?”

“Fair enough,” he said. 

They slipped through Asgore’s house quietly and then made the trek towards the throne room. Frisk stalled as their path opened up into their golden hallway. She looked up at Sans, but he didn’t seem bothered. Either way, she wanted to hold his hand, and he didn’t mind in the least when she wrapped her fingers tightly around his. She was lucky, she reminded herself, to have a brother who understood, especially as nerves sped her heartbeat. There was no sign of Asgore there, so Frisk suspected that the garden of a throne room was probably the answer. 

When they got there, she hesitated outside for a moment. She darted across the doorway tocling to another sparkle of starlight, and then looked at Sans hopefully.

“So, um, guess I’ll give it a shot,” she said.

He stuck his thumb up, then jerked it over his shoulder. “I’ll be around,” he said. “Cool?”

“Y-Yeah. Yeah. I mean. You’ll know if it goes wrong,” she said, smiling sideways. “Okay. Going in.”

“Good luck,” he said. He vanished. 

Frisk nervously pushed her hair out of her face. Actually, she thought, it wouldn’t be so bad. Whatever happened, it would be nice to see Asgore again. She just hoped the visit wouldn’t involve any tridents or fire.

Quietly, she slipped in through the doorway into a field of bright green and glimmering gold. As she expected, a large form was bent over near the other end of flower patch, cloaked in a regal purple. He straightened up after a moment, his huge horns coming into view like an extension of the crown on his head. Asgore looked pretty cool, actually, before you knew he was just a big puffball. He must’ve been watering the flowers. She could hear the tipping of the can, and his voice gently humming a song from a music box she was becoming too familiar with.

Frisk took a deep breath and stepped forward, her foot hitting the grass with just enough pressure to make a gentle rustling sound. His ears twitched.

“I’ll be with you in just one moment,” he said. He finished tipping some water out onto the flowers at his feet and turned to greet her with a smile on his big, soft snout. As soon as his eyes met hers, his face fell and the watering can slipped from his massive hand. 

It clunked onto its side, water glugging from the top. He took a step back, as if he’d seen a ghost.

Frisk tried to push her worries aside, and hoped to dampen his. She closed a little of the distance and immediately offered her hand to him. 

“Oh… Um… My goodness, I—” he stammered.

“Hi! I’m Frisk!” she said brightly. “You’re the King, huh? King Asgore? Everyone’s told me so much about you.”

Asgore stared. He gulped. With cautious slowness, he shook her hand— it was absolutely tiny in his massive paw, yet his was the one that was trembling. She smiled at him and went into her dimension box quickly.

“I have something for you,” she said, “from Undyne.”

“U… Undyne sent you?” he asked cautiously.

“Yup, I said I’d bring it for her. Here!” She pulled out a box of tea and held it out to the huge monster. “Her mix is really good. She hopes you like it.”

Asgore’s eyes went wide. He accepted the box with a fond, sad smile. “Thank you for bringing me this, little one,” he said.

She nodded.

Asgore’s ears pinned back a little and he slipped the box into his robes. He grimaced. She tilted her head.

“You okay?” she asked. 

“Did…? Did any monster see you come in here?” he asked quietly.

“Only my brother, Sans,” she said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. “He’s just out in the hall, messin’ around I think. Why?”

Asgore tried to hide his surprise. He couldn’t, but he tried. “You’re… Sans’s sister.”

“Yup,” she said.

Asgore put a hand to his face. He frowned slightly, but not at her, his gaze lifting high above her head and fixing on the wall as if trying to wring answers from it.“But that doesn’t… He’s seen…” He rubbed his beard before looking at her again. “He told me about you, in that case. He said he found you?”

“Yup!” she said again. “He, um, he’s been taking care of me and stuff, he’s really great.”

He let out a quiet sigh. He smiled a little, though he looked puzzled. “How long have you been down here, child?” he asked.

“A while,” she said. “Sorry I never got around to visiting before now.”

“N… No, do not apologize,” he said, shaking his head. “Um… What is it that you plan on doing now?”

“Well, probably gonna get some dinner with my brothers soon,” she said with a smile.

“You… are not here to try for the barrier?” he asked. “You do not wish to leave?”

She shook her head. “No, no, definitely no.”

“You…? You are a human, are you not?” he asked.

“Yeah. I am. Um. Sorry,” she said, her smile faltering for a moment. “My brothers, they, um, told me why monsters are scared of people like me. I’m sorry. I, um… I’m not gonna cause any trouble, though. I promise. I just really wanna stay.”

Asgore went down on a knee before her to look her in the face a little more easily. “You, a human, would suffer down here along with us?” he asked quietly; seemed more like he was talking to himself than to her.

“Suffer? Are you kidding?” she asked. “I love it here. T-To be honest, actually, I, um… I never had anyone on the surface, but after I came down here, I suddenly had so many friends and a family. I, um, never had a family before, and it’s kind of the most important thing in the world to me.”

“A… A family,” he repeated. “Sans and Papyrus? Those two?”

“Annnd kinda Undyne and Doctor Alphys, too,” she admitted, smiling sheepishly. “A lot of people’ve been really good to me, you know?”

Asgore couldn’t conceal his surprise this time, but he chuckled softly. “I understand.” He smiled. “Will you do something for me, child?”

She nodded.

“Do not tell anyone you came here,” he said. “I… That is all. I cannot tell you why.”

Frisk knew exactly why, and it made her heart beat harder. She realized abruptly she’d just given him an impossible choice. “Oh! Um. Okay. Do you think I could come to visit again?” she asked. “If I came with Undyne, would that be okay?”

Asgore went quiet for a moment. He rubbed his face. He frowned to himself. “Please, go,” he said gently. “Go with your family. It might be best if you don’t return.”

“R-Right. Um. Okay, but I… Um. C-Could I just…?”

“I’m so sorry, little one, but please. Go. In case someone arrives,” he said, straightening up and looming above her. “I… Hah. I’m sorry. It’s pathetic, isn’t it? I… Hm. No. No no, child. Go. If you return, I’d be forced to…” He put a hand to his mouth and bowed his head. Guilt hung over him like a storm cloud. 

“A-Asgore,” she said gently.

“Child, I—”

“I-I’m going to save you.” The words slipped out before she could stop them, just like the tear down her cheeks. “Asgore, I’m gonna stop this. I’m gonna save you.”

He looked up at her with utter confusion on his otherwise sullen face. She’d gone too far— dropped the naïve act— she knew it already. Nonetheless, she reached out her hands and took his giant paw, cradling it gently.

“I’m sorry. I sh-shouldn’t have come,” she said quietly. “I… I didn’t mean to put you in this position.”

“What…? What on earth do you mean?” he asked.

“I know you’re thinking you have to kill me,” she said. “But… But when I said I was Sans’s sister…”

He flinched. She didn’t have to say more. She held his hand a little tighter. She was surprised when he gently gripped her in return

“You’re… You’re so young,” he muttered, dipping down to look her worriedly in the eye. “Why…? How do you have that concept in your head?”

“Oh. Man. You wouldn’t like the answer to that.” She smiled sheepishly. “Um. But… Listen. Okay? Please. I… Hah. I’m not sure why I’m even saying this. I don’t think you’ll remember. But I want you to know, I’m gonna save you. From having to put those souls in you. And from having to kill anyone, ever again. Okay?”

“Wh… What?” His eyes went wide. “Little one, I’m not sure that you—”

“I know a way around it,” she said gently. “I’m going to do it. Soon. Okay? I hope maybe that’ll give you a little hope. Even if I… Never mind.”

“My child, I don’t understand, how could you possibly know any of that?” he asked worriedly.

Frisk sighed. “Sorry, Asgore. R-Really. I’m so sorry,” she said. “But, um. You got a lot of people here who really, really care about you. Okay? Sorry. I… I never wanted to make you worry more than you already do.” She couldn’t bring herself to go any further. She grimaced. Concentrated. Reached back for the starlight. 

She blinked and was back outside the throne room. She took a deep breath and leaned up against the wall. The guilt he had felt not trying to take her soul— from knowing he should for his people— she didn’t want to allow it. And now, if she even could recall his memories for him, he would remember that as well. She flinched and folded her arms, drawing in on herself. Maybe Asriel was right. Papyrus, too. This had all been a big mistake.

She took out the box of tea and wrote, _FROM UNDYNE_ on the top in pen. She cautiously peeked her head inside. Asgore had his back to her. She left it just in front of the doorway and knocked three times hard on the wall before running away.

Sans was waiting for her in the golden hallway, leaning against a column near the way she came in. “Something went wrong, huh?” he said. “He try to fight you?”

“N-No. No,” she said. “He was really nice. But he told me not to come back. He looked so guilty. It was better if he never met me.”

“So you didn’t do it,” he said.

She shook her head. She rubbed her hands together and grimaced. “I… I just feel like… all that would happen is he’d… he’d just remember he tried to kill me. And that he died. I mean, dang, imagine having that just dropped on you? That you a-actually died? Maybe I should go back, but I… I dunno if I can.” She paced, folding her arms against her chest. “B-But maybe it’s not my place to decide that! I dunno. I dunno what to do. D-Do you think…? Do you think he’d be happier not knowing?”

Sans shrugged. “It’s up to you, kiddo.”

“But maybe it shouldn’t be,” she grumbled.

Her brother shrugged again. She put her face in her hands. He patted her gently on the shoulder. 

“Hey. Chill out,” he said. “You can try again another day. No big deal.”

“Y… Yeah. Yeah, you’re right,” she said. “But the play…”

“Forget it,” he said.

She grimaced. She took his hand and held it tight, but couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes.

“C-Can we go home?” she asked.

They were in the living room again in the blink of an eye, startling Papyrus on the couch. Before he could even say a word, Frisk latched onto him, moping. 

“No good?” he asked.

“Not really,” she muttered.

“That’s okay, Frisk,” he assured her. “We know it doesn’t work on everyone.”

“It’s not that, I didn’t even try,” she said quietly.

“Really? Huh. That’s not like you,” he said.

“I messed up,” she muttered. “I… Ugh. I’m the worst.”

“No you’re not!” Papyrus said shrilly. “Frisk! Come on. What could possibly be so bad?”

“You and me, we had a couple good timelines together before this, huh?” she said quietly. “But… But Asgore and I, the first one wasn’t so great.”

“Wait a second. Don’t tell me you don’t like the King?” Papyrus asked.

She shook her head. “No, I really like him, I think he’s great,” she said. “But… in the first timeline, it was my fault he died.”

“PFFFT!!” Asriel snorted loudly from the kitchen; peeked his head out to give her a look like she was crazy. “You’re frickin’ kidding, right?!”

“N… No?” she said.

“So. You walk in to meet Asgore. You TRY to die and can’t. So you fight. Because you decide you love these boneheads too much to get stuck if the King can’t take your soul. And then I kill him after he surrenders. ME. Not you. I did it. How is that your fault?!” he demanded.

“I should never have gone,” she said. “I shouldn’t have listened to Chara.”

“You’d never have gotten the barrier down,” Asriel said with a frown. “If you hadn’t beaten me down after I stole the souls, I wouldn’t have understood your power. I would never have screwed around with the lab, and we would never have even gotten anywhere. Ever.”

“He didn’t need to die for that,” Frisk said quietly.

Asriel sighed. “No. He didn’t. But it was my fault. Don’t carry that,” he said. “My choices lead to that. Not yours. So shut up about it.”

“Tactful,” Sans said.

Asriel grimaced. He pulled himself closer with his mechanical arm and looked up at Frisk.

“He wouldn’t care that he died, you know. He’d care that he killed you,” he said. 

Frisk rubbed her head as Papyrus looked between the two of them with wide eyes.

“I… I know. That’s… the other part of it,” she said; she sighed and hugged her knees. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“Waiting is a valid option,” Sans said.

“But what about the show?” she muttered.

“Alphys can deal with it,” Sans said. “Like I said, don’t worry. We all said if it doesn’t work, it’s okay, didn’t we?”

Frisk sighed and nodded. She slipped off the sofa. “I’m gonna… I dunno…” she said quietly. 

She vanished into the bedroom upstairs. Sans sighed and gently nudged Asriel’s mug with his foot.

“Hey!” he said.

“If she’s cryin’, you’re grounded,” Sans said.

“I’m already grounded,” Asriel said with a sideways smile.

“Pfft. Not bad,” Sans said. 

“Do you think she’s okay?” Papyrus asked.

“No. Not really,” Sans said.

“Well, what do we do?!” he insisted. “There has to be something!!”

“It’s rough, sometimes,” Sans said. “I mean… I’ve said it before, but kiddo’s basically a time god. And sometimes that means she has more power than she wants to have. Over stuff she, uh, doesn’t really want to have power over. It’s a lot of responsibility.”

“And she’s so young…” Papyrus said quietly, grimacing as his gaze focussed on the floor, though his attention quickly switched to Asriel. “Oh. My god, Asriel, you really killed him?”

“Unfortunately,” he said. “I, uh… Well. I don’t have an excuse. I killed everyone, are you really surprised?”

“Everyone?” he repeated.

“Yeah. You, your brother, my parents, anyone you’ve ever met. Everyone,” he said.

“You really need to stop doing that,” Papyrus said sternly.

Asriel let out a dry laugh. “I’m working on it,” he said.

“Well, I’m glad for that! Keep on that path and I’m sure it’ll all be okay,” Papyrus said. “Um. Hey. Is Frisk coming back?”

Sans shrugged. They looked up the stairs, but it was still silent up there.

“Alright.” Sans sighed and started to get up. “I better go talk to her.”

“Um, brother, could I maybe talk to her instead?” Papyrus asked, tapping his fingertips together.

Sans shrugged. “Go ahead, bro.”

Papyrus rushed up the stairs. He knocked on the door, leaned his head against it and then, after a few seconds, snuck inside. Frisk was sitting on the edge of the bed, head in her hands. Having taken her hoodie off, somehow, she looked even smaller than usual.

“Friiiiisk? Can I…? Can we…? Ugh. Okay. That was not right, starting over.” He stood up tall and straight and put a hand to his chest. “FRISK. Your big brother, the great Papyrus, is here to help you with anything you need! So! So…” 

She still hadn’t looked up. He frowned worriedly and got closer. 

“Frisk. Hey. Come on, little sister, is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”

He knelt before her and took her hands. She sighed and looked up, but she gave him a tired smile.

“Thanks, bro, I’ll be okay,” she said.

“You’re not crying, that’s good,” he said with a smile.

She snickered, but she sounded exhausted. “Y-Yeah, I…” She sighed quietly. “I just wish I knew what to do, you know?”

Papyrus nodded. “It must be hard,” he said. “But, you know you’re not alone, don’t you? I mean, I understand that you have all these important time powers in you, but before that, you’re my little sister and you can always come to me, or Sans, or Doctor Alphys, or Captain Undyne. For anything. Even if it is weird and time-travelly and seventy-five percent of us won’t totally get it. Nobody expects you to do it all on your own, or get everything completely right! And if they do, they are wrong, and disregard their advice!”

“That’s… That’s actually not a bad pep talk,” she said.

“Thank you! I’m glad!” he said.

He gently patted her head. He frowned just a little, though. He almost didn’t say it, but the question was ringing in his mind.“Is it true what Asriel said?” He asked quietly. “Did…? Did you really try to…? To give your soul for us?”

She bit her lip, and then nodded. His frown turned puzzled.

“Why?” he asked.

“Why? B-Because… Because I’m a human,” she said. “I thought if… I mean. You wanted to get out, right? Everyone wanted that. Thousands of monsters. And… And I’m just one person, I thought… Maybe I could give it and then everyone would be so happy afterwards, even if I couldn’t be w… A-Anyway. It wasn’t possible, anyway, but… b-but yeah. I tried.”

“See, that is one of those times where you got it wrong,” Papyrus said. “Which is okay! Now that we’re all back together. But. You need to understand, Frisk, that sometimes it’s okay to focus on just being happy yourself, you know? You don’t need to be reckless. It’s okay to just stay home with the people who love you the most, okay?”

“E… Even if that meant everyone staying underground?” Frisk asked a little shrilly. “It wasn’t selfish to… t-to not give it? To not at least try to—!”

“Of course not!!!” Papyrus said, but he laughed and ruffled her hair. “Frisk! Little sister. It’s your soul we’re talking about here. If our positions were reversed, I know you’d never ask that from any of us in a million, million years! And besides. If anyone here would be being selfish, it would be me.”

“You?” she repeated. “Impossible.”

“No! Very possible. Because, you see, Frisk,” he said as his cheekbones flushed a little, “it’s all well and good to say you want something done for the greater good, but… when it’s your little sister. Someone you love more than anything. Then. Forget it. We’ll always find another way. Because… Because if I had known that was what you planned back then, I would have never let you go to meet Asgore.”

“Y-You…? Wait, really?” she squeaked.

“Of course! I… I would never be able stand it.” he said. “After knowing you, not having you with me…! I just don’t know what the heck I’d do. Sans is the same, you have to know that. When you vanished that first time, I was… I was a mess! A very wet, uncool mess; I had no idea what to do with myself. I felt sick constantly, I didn’t want to cook, or do puzzles, or anything! You were my little sister and my best friend, and I thought I’d never see you again.”

Frisk stared, seeing nothing but the side of the mountain, stained with rain. She remembered that feeling— aching so deeply into every inch of her that she was surprised she hadn’t just crumbled into pieces. Fumbling with a phone that wouldn’t call out no matter how many times she dialled, the numbers she’d saved and that plastic casing itself serving as the only proof she hadn’t just lost her mind. 

She took a deep breath and clenched her hands together. “I… I thought that too,” she said softly.

“Good thing we were both absolutely wrong!You see, Sans and I, we were just the two of us, once, and that was okay back then, but once you joined us, we became three and we can never go back from that! That’s how it works, you know, with a family like ours,” he said. “I know I keep saying it but it is the most true thing I’ve ever said, and you know I try to always say true things!”

She looked at him with big eyes. “P-Papyrus…”

He stood up and lifted her up off the bed under her arms. “Whoever tried to make you make such a horrible decision was wrong,” he said. “They were wrong to put you in that position. So. Now. The only position you will be put in is one to receive many sincere, heartfelt hugs! That’s much better, right?”

Frisk stared at him. Her lip quivered and her eyes welled up, and she reached out for him. He pulled her in close and she wrapped her arms around his neck. 

“Hey, now you’re crying,” he said gently.

“You got me,” she laughed quietly. “God. I’m… I’m an idiot.”

“No you aren’t.” He stroked the back of her head gently. “Did that help at all?”

“Y-Yeah. Thanks,” she said. “Love you. So much.”

“I know, I love you so much, too,” he said.

He sat down on the bed and let the kid snuggle in against him, sniffling as she grasped onto him. He gently squeezed her shoulders. Her soul sunk in against his and the deep orange they made together made him smile. He bent his head and gently rested it against hers, and he felt her little fingers cling tighter against his shoulder blade and the back of his neck.

“Hey,” he said gently, “you know that promise you made us?”

“Y-Yeah?” she said.

“It can’t be one-sided ever again,” he said. “It should be our promise. No matter what, I’ll make sure we’re always together. That’s better, I think. I know you’re the one with the time powers and such, but it shouldn’t all be on you.”

“Oh my god, I’m g-gonna sob, dude,” she squeaked.

“That’s alright. Do what you need to,” he said gently, laughing a little even as a tear dripped down his cheek. “However you feel, that’s just fine! I’m crying just a little, too.”

“Aw! I’m s-sorry,” she said.

“No no, don’t be, it’s okay,” he assured her. “I’m not sad, or anything like that. It’s just that sometimes I just do that when someone I care about is crying. Don’t worry. You are the only one you should be focussed on right now!”

She hid her face against his chest and her little form trembled even as she snickered. He rubbed her back for a while until she moved to catch her breath and wipe her eyes. She started to smile and he grinned back.

“I have the best brothers in the whole world,” she said.

“What a coincidence, we have the best sister in the whole world,” he said brightly.

\- - -

When they left the room together, Sans was on the sofa, spinning Asriel and his mug on his finger. “Wuh-oh, pal, looks like she was crying,” Sans said, catching him and holding him steady.

“Oh, come on,” Asriel said. “Ugh, I’m gonna vom.”

“It’s okay, he’s not grounded! She wasn’t crying when I went in there,” Papyrus said quickly. “She only started when I said… Oh WAIT!!! Does that mean I’M grounded?!”

“Of course not, bro,” Sans said.

“You couldn’t ground me anyway, you’re not my real dad!!!” Asriel protested with false spite in his voice.

“Pffft, duh, like I’d have a kid as frickin’ rude as you,” Sans said.

Frisk laughed and sat with Sans, and he passed her Asriel. “Aren’t you already grounded, though?” she asked.

“I literally just made that joke,” Asriel said.

“Seriously?” Her face lit up. “Hey! Nice!” She offered him her hand. 

He scoffed, but gave in after a second and slapped her fingertips with a leaf. 

“Hey. Um. Look. Didn’t mean to upset you,” he said.

“I know,” she said. “I’m just a mess.”

“That’s my kid,” Sans joked; put his arm around her shoulders. “You’ll get used to it.”

“Oooor maybe one day she’ll be less of a mess!” Papyrus suggested with a grin. “You never know.” He sat with them and patted her head gently. 

“Good talk?” Sans asked.

“Oh, dude, he big-brothered at me super hard, it was really good,” Frisk said.

“Yes?! Oh, I’m so glad!!” Papyrus said brightly. “Though you did cry, though.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay, that’s just me,” she said. “It’s just, like, my brain goes, _oh my god, someone loves me? Someone actually loves me. Holy crap. _And I just kinda can’t help it?”

“Aw, Frisk!!” Papyrus said shrilly

“Still like that, huh?” Sans said sympathetically.

“Might be a permanent condition,” she joked. 

“Frisk, you’re weird,” Asriel said.

She grinned and nodded. He patted her hand, then motioned to be put down. 

She let him onto the carpet and he wheeled himself away. He clinked around in the kitchen. It sounded like he’d somehow got up onto the counter. Papyrus stood up and followed him.

“You guys want anything?” Asriel called. “Ah. Actually, what the hell, I’m getting the pie out, you’re getting some, that’s it.”

“Thanks, Az,” Frisk said.

She took a moment to wipe her itchy eyes. Sans’s hand moved up to her head and he gently brushed his fingers through her hair a few times. She let out a sigh that deflated her and leaned over into him and looked up. He seemed half asleep; like his mind was mostly elsewhere. She hugged onto him and he snapped back into focus and shot her a tired smile.

“Jeez, huggy, huh?” he said.

“Yes,” she said.

“Welp. Guess I get it,” he said.

“Good,” she said.

“You’re, uh, stayin’ in tonight, though, right?” he asked.

“Oh. God. Um. Yeah. Yeah, for sure,” she said. “I… I can’t. I mean. It’s… It’s not like with Papyrus where every time we met, we just ended up having a ton of fun. Every time I met Asgore it was kinda awful for him, so… so I guess I don’t want that in his head just to convince him to not see some stupid play. Does that make sense?”

“Sure does,” he said.

Frisk sighed with relief. Sans ruffled her hair, but then paused and vanished abruptly. Frisk almost fell over. He was back again after just a few seconds, though, inspecting the purple comb Undyne had given her as he plopped back onto the couch. With a flick of his finger, he pulled her over and began to brush her hair.

“Bad again?” she asked.

“Nah. Not really, just been a while,” he said. “People with hair kinda like this, huh?”

“Yeah, s’nice,” she said. “I mean, as long as you don’t pull on it.”

“Got it,” he said. “Hey. Can I ask you somethin’?”

“Of course,” she said.

“So. What’d you tell the King that made him not actually fight you?” he said. “I figured he’d be determined to, uh, at least give it a shot when he saw you.”

“What?! And you still let her go?!” Papyrus called from the kitchen.

“Bro, she was fine,” he said.

“Nyooo, it was dangerous!” he whined.

“She can’t even die, dude, chill out,” Asriel sighed.

Frisk’s cheeks flushed. “Oh. Well, I, um, kinda introduced myself as your sister.”

“Oh.” Sans laughed. “That explains it. Ah, poor guy.”

“I know,” Frisk said, pouting. “I shouldn’t have… God, the look on his face when he was trying to decide if he should try to get my soul or not. I’m the worst.”

“No. Not your fault,” he assured her. “No matter what choice he made, it wouldda been real hard on him. And thanks to you, he won’t have to make them at all. That was a good idea, though.”

“You think so?” she asked.

“Sure. Any version where you don’t get stabbed, kinda prefer that one,” he said.

“I wouldn’t mind it if people didn’t just feel really bad about it after,” Frisk said.

“Well of course they feel bad!” Papyrus said loudly. “If we weren’t technically at war with humans, no one would want to stab you in a million years!”

“Well, not down here at least,” Asriel joked.

“Asriel!!” Papyrus scolded. “No, no one anywhere would want to stab you!!”

He brought them pie, then dragged Asriel from the kitchen and gave him his slice, too. Frisk was feeling a little nauseous. As Papyrus flicked on the TV and Sans finished preening her, she tried to eat but she didn’t feel right. Even as prerecorded Mettaton dancing around on the screen proved a nice distraction, she sunk back into the pillows and put her arms around herself.

Sans noticed, though. She was close enough that her soul was gently pinging against his. There was a strange, dull thrum of guilt in her. She sighed quietly and pulled out her phone. She stared at it blankly for a while, her fingers hovering over it uncertainly. Sans gently nudged her with his elbow. She looked up at him curiously and he held out his hand. She passed it over to him and he sunk back.

Tuning out the TV, he went to Alphys’s number. “_hey_” he said. “_u there?_”

“_KONICHIWA!!!_” she replied within a few seconds. “_thhiiisss isnt Frisk is it???_”

“_no lol_”

“_lol hi sans. u guys go see asgore??_” she asked.

“_yea its a no go_”

“_aw didn't work???_” she said.

“_kid chose no once she saw him_” he said. “_figured old TL bggage would b 2 much 2 risk now. i agree_”

“_oh jeez ok didnt rlly consider that 2 be honest……_” Alphys said. “_omg thats a tough thing. ok ok ok dont worry I got this!!! no worries!! tell frisk not to worry ok???_”

“_got it_” he said.

“_THX!! <3 <3 <3 <3 SUPER DETERMINATION-DESU!!! lol rlly tho I appreciate trying_”

“_k thx_”

When he looked at the kid, she still looked dismal. Papyrus was elsewhere, his attention on the TV and his colourful puzzle cube. She looked like she had something on her mind, but that she didn’t want to interrupt. Sans put his back against the side of the couch and grabbed the kid to sit her on him. She gladly held onto him, her soul clinging almost as tight as she was. Somehow, that feeling of guilt didn’t lessen. In fact, it only seemed to grow. 

Puzzled, he looked down at her. She looked worried, even as she puddled against him. He put his hand on her head and patted her gently, and though the warmth of her soul glowed, that heaviness inside her was like a cinder block.He tapped on her head to draw her attention. She looked up quickly, nerves quickening her pulse. He wasn’t sure he understood. He wanted to know; connected to her more closely until he knew his glow would be purple. It let him into her feelings, for just long enough that it became somewhat comprehensible. Uncertainty about Asgore, guilt for something to do with Papyrus; hoping so desperately that something about her wasn’t a burden to them. That was a lot of worry fitting into such a small kid. 

He snuggled her gently and let his eye glow. She trembled, but everything in her energy started to slow down. He was glad it soothed her the same way it did them.

“C’mon, sis, chill out,” he said.

“Th-Thanks,” she said.

“Hm?” Papyrus cast a glance over at them. “Oh! Sans, your… Oh. Of course, you know. Is everything okay, you two?”

“Frisk’s a little shaky,” he said. “But she’s okay. I think.”

“Yeah. I’m okay,” she said. 

“Frisk, you’re a total mess. Seriously. It’s not a big deal,” Asriel said. “Stop freaking out. Honestly, I’m really relieved you didn’t get Asgore’s memories back. So, uh. For me, anyway, you did something good. Not that that means much, but—”

“No no, it does,” Frisk said quickly. “I… I guess I am glad that I didn’t cause more trouble, y’know?”

“I don’t know, Frisk, I like your trouble-causing,” Papyrus said. “I think it’s good! We never get anywhere without it!”

“Naw…” Frisk said bashfully.

“Dunno, kiddo, I think today might be a good example of it,” Sans said. “You gonna show them the note?”

“Oh!” Frisk straightened up a little. “Hang on.”

She squirmed to her feet and dashed up the stairs, and the purple flicker in her brother’s eye faded away to leave his usual blue. Papyrus snickered at him. He shrugged.

“It’s actually not a bad colour on you,” Papyrus said.

“Yeah?” He smiled and rubbed his eye with his palm. “Kinda dig it. Still not sure why it does that, though.”

“Well, I love that it does that!” Papyrus said brightly. “For us it goes orange. Do you think it’s to do with her being human? It’d be nice if ours changed colour together, wouldn’t it?”

“Maybe if you guys did a super attack or some dumb anime crap,” Asriel joked.

“Oh!! Hey! You could be right!!” Papyrus said. “Oh. But. Sans, I guess you’d be too weak for that.”

“Eh, that’s alright, bro,” he said. “You’re already golden, huh?”

“Pffft, nyeh heh heh, literally, I suppose so,” he said. “That is the perfect colour for the great Papyrus anyway, right?”

“Oh my god you two are just so lame I can’t even,” Asriel said.

“If by _lame_ you mean _lovely and marvellous, extremely_, then, yes, absolutely,” Papyrus said. “Now would you like some hot chocolate? I’m sure you would!”

He marched off to the kitchen and Asriel rolled his eyes.

“Is he just obtuse on purpose, or…?” he said.

“Obtuse? Nah,” Sans said. “Actually—”

“Don’t you dare say some stupid crap like _he’s more of acute _or something!” Asriel snapped.

Sans grinned wide, his iris giving just the faintest blue flicker. “Hey, you said it, not me.”

“Ugghhhh.” Asriel put his head in his leaves. “I hate you.”

“I know.” Sans’s grin only grew. “I better be careful, you’re gettin’ kinda good at that.”

“Out of spite!” he protested.

“No such thing as a bad reason,” he said with a shrug.

Asriel groaned again. He turned his head upwards. “FRISK! Come back, your brothers are driving me crazy!!” he called.

“Hah, jokes on you, Asriel,” Papyrus said. “One day we’ll be your brothers too and you’ll just have to get used to it! But, rest assured, you’ll be—!”

“Wait, what?!” Asriel yelped. “Wh-What do you mean?!”

“Well, you have the same mom as Frisk,” Papyrus said, counting on his fingers as he brought a mug and straw back to him. “And Frisk is our sister. And apparently mom is also our mom. In the future. So.” He grinned. 

Asriel looked mortified, but a blush tinted his cheeks.

He drooped with utter relief as Frisk came down the stairs again, letter in hand. “T-Took you long enough,” he said.

“Sorry! I was just reading it again,” she said. She traded the letter to Papyrus for a mug of cocoa. 

He patted her head affectionately and brought it over to Asriel to look.

“Wait. Wait a sec,” Asriel said. “Where’d you get this?”

“Sans remembered the mailboxes in the apartments sometimes had the same keys as the doors, so we went back and tried it,” Frisk said. “It was in the 319 mailbox.”

“What the hell?” Asriel muttered quietly.

“It is a bit perplexing,” Papyrus agreed. “It’s clearly for you, little sister.”

“What is this?!” Asriel insisted. “How…? Damn. This guy saw through time, huh? Sans, was he like us?”

“Seems like he could save. If that’s true, he might’ve had the dreams, too,” Sans said, shrugging. “Probably saw some of what would happen.”

“Well, what’re the odds he saw Frisk, then?” Asriel asked with a frown.

“Actually. High,” Sans said. “From what we know, whoever this guy is, his stuff happened at least ten years ago. Before the timeline kinda broke all over itself. So, if it’s like our research showed, and Frisk and our part of the timeline were always supposed to click, then it was definitely her he’d be seeing.”

“What? Y-You think so?” Frisk asked hopefully.

“Of course. You remember the Dark Model, don’t you? You’re the red line, confirmed. So. Yeah. Definitely you,” he said, ruffling her hair. “Not that it would matter either way, you’re ours now no matter what.”

She all but glowed. 

“So. Wait a second. If we’re thinking this mysterious letter-writer, and the mysterious crayon drawing, and the mysterious math genius, and the mysterious steals-my-sister-and-leaves-her-in-the-snow person are all the same monster,” Papyrus said, brow furrowed, “I still don’t understand what’s going on.”

“Frisk has a time-stalker,” Asriel said.

“I know I’ve kinda said it before, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” Frisk said with a sheepish smile. “It’s all been weird and kinda scary, but almost everything that guy’s done so far has helped us.”

“Doesn’t make it not creepy,” Asriel said. “Especially this… what is this?”

“It’s a list of the early time tears,” Sans said. “The blue ones and the white ones.”

“Oh. Oh no.” Papyrus snatched up the sheet and peered at it closely. “But! But the circled ones!! Frisk, you aren’t going into the CORE again, are you?!”

“Um… Yeeeeah…?” she said. “Um! B-But not yet, later! I mean—!”

“It won’t be right inside the CORE again, bro,” Sans said. “Just on the tower somewhere, probably.”

“Oh. Thank god,” Papyrus sighed. His long arms reached out and he grabbed Frisk to him, pouting and worried. 

She smiled up at him. “I’m gonna be real careful,” she assured him.

“GOOD!” he said loudly. “And!! Like I said! You don’t have to go alone. Ever. Ever ever.”

“Right,” she said; her eyes went wide. “Oh. Oooh no. Wait. I gotta tell Alphys I goofed.”

“Nope,” Sans said. He tossed her the phone.

She looked at it quickly. All the tension left her back as she puffed out a sigh. “Oh. She’s so nice…” she said quietly.

“Night’s free,” Sans assured her.

“Oh!! I have just the thing!!” Papyrus said brightly.

Papyrus whisked out the human board game with a proud grin on his face. He dropped it onto the table before he quickly dragged it over to the couch. The chair that was often Frisk’s stepping stool was quickly utilized, and he plunked her into it. Although Sans already looked mostly asleep as he rested his cheek on his fist, Papyrus excitedly turned the box out. A folded board and a myriad of plastic pieces in see-through bags poured onto the table, and he found the instruction booklet squirrelled away amongst some dice and some little monster-like figurines. 

When he began to read the instructions to a game of teamwork and exploration, it was suddenly invigorating to Frisk. It was almost like a story in and of itself. When the time came to pick characters, Papyrus picked a knight with a huge shield. Frisk was keen on a healer, and nothing really appealed to Asriel— he picked a thief at Papyrus’s insistence. After much contemplation— too much for his brother’s liking— Sans settled on a wizard. Across the board, they set upon a quest for a magical cup, as drawn from a stack of cards.

The game was slow, but it was pretty fun, if not a little easy. They met a lot of extra characters along the way, but somehow, most conflicts ended in a clean resolution despite Asriel’s penchant for picking fights. Frisk suspected Papyrus might be swaying things in that direction, but she didn’t really mind. Sans’s participation was minimal, but there were a few riddles that he talked them through.

At the end, they faced an unreasonable dragon made of pure darkness and, for a moment, they were at a loss. Papyrus had used up all of his damage-blocking cards earlier, and Asriel had put almost all his skill-points into slick-talking and thievery, which didn’t do well on an angry dragon with no pockets. Sans shrugged and played his only card: his super-move, which he’d kept under wraps for the whole game. As the dragon took damage, though, Frisk decided to try something a little different. The healing magic was classified as light, while the dragon was dark. So, she healed it. 

Papyrus scoured the rules and cards to check if that was even a route they could take. Turned out, it was, but it lead to a joke ending. The dragon shrunk, turned pink, and apologized for being so cranky before turning over the magic cup and bouncing away. Asriel loudly declared its lameness, but Frisk was rather pleased with herself. 

Her brother wanted to go for another round, but by now, the kid was getting tired. She decided to turn in before she fell asleep on her game pieces.

She went up to the room and switched into PJs before clambering into the sports car bed and nestling herself into the covers. No sooner had she done so, there came a hard, but quiet rapping on the door. “Yeah?” she asked groggily.

Sans popped into the room without a sound. She raised a hand to greet him and he stuck his thumb up. He put the comb and her letter back on Papyrus’s desk.

“Hey, um. You can keep the letter,” she said.

“Hm? Why?” he asked.

“Then you don’t have to rewrite your whole list, you can put your notes on it,” she said. “I don’t mind. And if that guy was a scientist, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind either, since you’re also a scientist.”

He smiled and pocketed the note. “Thanks. Doin’ alright?” he asked.

She nodded. 

He wandered over and pulled the comforter up over her shoulders and gently patted her head. “Need anything?” he asked.

“You worried?” she said.

“Eh. Only a little,” he said.

She smiled up at him. “I’m okay.” 

“Have a good rest, huh?” he said.

“You too,” she said.

“Hope I don’t see ya,” he said.

She snickered. “You never know,” she said. “Hope not, though. Good night!”

He smiled, his fingertips tingling with affectionate blue against her head before he vanished entirely again. Her eyelids were getting heavy. She didn’t even bother trying to keep them open.

She wasn’t sure when it was, but the door opening roused her into a groggy stupor. She blinked as light pierced through the crack. She couldn’t see anyone, but she heard the telltale sound of wheels on the carpet. “Az?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah, uh… Turning in,” he said. “Papyrus is still going. Halfway through round two. I totally got killed and it’s late as hell, so…”

“Oh.” She sat up slowly. “Need help up?”

“Uh. Nah. Thanks,” he said. 

He closed the door again and the room went black. Frisk settled back down.

“Sans’s still playing, I guess?” she asked.

“He is, uh… Well, let’s just say not taking it very seriously,” he said. “You might hear Papyrus start making that kinda squawking sound eventually.”

Frisk snickered. 

She heard some clunking, and a little grunting, and then wheels on wood. The room went silent. She closed her eyes and cozied against the mattress. She heard Asriel clear his throat.

“Hey, uh… Frisk?” he asked.

“Mhm?” she said.

He didn’t answer for a long while. She thought she’d dozed off for a second.

“Az?” she asked. “You awake?”

“Oh. Um… It’s just…” He sighed. “Never mind. Um. Good night.”

“Good night,” she said.

\- - -

Frisk’s dreams lead her down a dark path, as she was getting quite used to. She cradled a handful of her brother’s dust in some place that was nothing but black otherwise, trying her best to breathe and remind herself that it wasn’t real.

She was caught, rather suddenly, by a golden light. It felt like the sun; tingled against her skin with warmth. It blew everything else away. Frisk blinked and found herself in the arms of a facsimile of Papyrus, dyed the colour of his magic. She was taken aback, but he merely smiled and her and snuggled her gently, touching his brow against hers. 

“It’s going to be just fine!” he assured her.

“Th-Thanks,” she said.

“Nyeh heh heh! You’re welcome, but you don’t have to thank me, I’m not technically real right now,” he said. “But! Know that even so, I love you very much!! I carry all the positive energy you could ever want!”

“Thank you anyway,” she said. 

The energy was so warm and kind, the panic she felt faded away. She let out a quiet sigh.

“Just rest,” he said gently. “I have you.”

By the time she realized he was gone, Frisk felt a lot better, and her soul was sparking with cozy orange. She wasn’t sure where she was, though. It was dark, but she could see stone. She put her hand against it to find the wall. It was smooth. There was a deliberate shape— bricks. It occurred to her that maybe a bubble might actually have some use here. She held out her hand and focussed. In the dream, the glow of a bubble in her hand came almost instantaneously. 

The dark, stone hallway didn’t look familiar. It curved away in front of her and, when she turned, behind her was a mirror image. She supposed it didn’t matter which way she went.

With a glowing, shifting, red and orange bubble in her palm, she wandered down the tunnel. It felt like it went a long way, but her steps felt light and almost like she could drift in the air between every step. Dreams were weird, she thought. 

After a long while, light ebbed in and Frisk let her magic fade away. There was a faint shine brimming with gold. When she found a corner to peek around, she froze and stared.

She was in the Ruins, in the flower patch. At its centre, stark white stood out. Asriel. Though, he wasn’t a flower. He was a proper monster, standing there amongst the twinkling gold petals. When he shifted in place, Frisk felt herself go numb. Behind him was a human. She was pale with freckled cheeks, red-brown hair shielding her eyes from view as she grasped his shoulder and smiled at him.

Her heart started to pound so hard that it made her chest tight. Her ears got hot and she felt light-headed. The two seemed like they were talking. Frisk wanted to hear. Quietly, she edged out of the tunnel, but within a few steps, the other girl’s head lifted and her red eyes focussed on her. She froze. Chara smiled; her form faded and drifted away as if blown to dust by a gust of wind.

Asriel looked up to watch her go, then turned. He was a flower again in the blink of an eye, as if that were all he’d ever been. He stared at Frisk, startled, and his brow furrowed. Before she could say a word, Asriel looked down. He looked ashamed. The world scattered, colours running like a picture made of sand, forcibly blown away.The dream, whatever it was, had been his. The fractured world went black. 

Frisk floated there, puzzled. She couldn’t see a thing. She folded her arms and sighed. If she were honest, the dark was a relief. She didn’t want to dream. She just wanted to sleep. She closed her eyes and rubbed her eyelids with the heels of her hands.

A chill settled upon her like a puff of snow. Before she could react, arms scooped her up and held her steady. The hug was a surprise, and it was freezing; the whole form of whoever held her was shivering. It jogged a memory deep down, especially as bony fingers gently clenched into her hair. She kept her eyes closed.

“It’s… It’s you, isn’t it?” she asked. “The guy I can’t remember? If… If I keep my eyes closed. If I don’t actually see you. Will I remember?”

The body against her shivered. After a moment, one of his fingers slowly traced an _N_ against the back of her head. She clung to him lightly and bent her head to rest her brow against his shoulder. She was confused, but she felt safe, even though he ebbed cold. 

“I guess we’re friends, huh?” she said.

He answered with a _Y, _and very quickly, too. She smiled. 

“I kinda remember. When you come in dreams,” she said. “Not a lot. I’m really sorry.”

He gently wrote another _N_ against her head. She laughed tiredly. 

“Guess you understand, huh? You must. I’m still sorry, though,” she said. “We’re, um… We’re trying to figure it out.”

“Hmm?” his warped voice asked. It was clearer than anything she’d ever heard from him before. 

She smiled a little. “Oh! Your letter. I got it,” she said. “That was from you, wasn’t it? In the apartment?”

“Oh…!” He sounded so relieved. He made a faint huffing sound. He gently stroked her head. 

Frisk was happy for him. She took a breath, braced herself, and pulled back, opening her eyes. His smooth, white faced shocked her, despite expecting something close to what she was met with. He stared back at her with a wide, frozen smile and vacant, black eyes. She took a deep breath and smiled bashfully.

“One day,” she said, “I’m gonna remember you. Promise.”

He seemed faintly puzzled. Doubtful. His face didn’t change, but something in his energy did. She reached out with a hand sparkling with red. He reflexively drew back just a smidge, and she couldn’t help a laugh.

“This is for my friends,” she said. “We’re friends, right? And it’s just a dream! Don’t worry.”

He froze. He let her cup his cheek and gently pat him, red seeping through his strange form. A bit of white light twinkled in the pits that were his eyes.

“I know it’s… I mean. It must be really hard,” Frisk said. “But we have enough hints that are sticking, okay? We’ll do it. Hey. You met my brother, Sans, right? He’s super smart. He’s like the smartest guy in the whole world. With him, we’ll definitely figure it out.”

The monster simply stared back at her for a few long, silent seconds. He pulled her close in his arms again and huffed a low, crackling laugh. He must’ve felt better. His icy body wasn’t shaking so much anymore.

Frisk could suddenly feel herself starting to get dizzy. As her stomach flipped, she clung tight to his shoulders. “Oh. J-Jeez. Um. Can you faint in a dream?” she asked.

He didn’t reply, but snuggled her gently and began to hum. It was her song. She began to lose focus before she could help it and she slipped off.


	61. But The King Super Can’t Watch

“So you didn’t notice anything else weird?”

“Well, I don’t know!!She’s been like this since I woke up!!”

“Okay, okay, bro, relax, it’s probably just—” 

“She will not budge! I’m worried, Sans, I don’t know what else I can do!”

Frisk blinked. Her brothers were at the bedside. Even Papyrus, who was currently quite loud, was still in his plaid pyjamas, so it must’ve been earlier than usual. She sat up, rubbing her eyes with her knuckle. The movement caught their attention almost right away. Sans, groggy and huddled in his bone-patterned hoodie, grinned and Papyrus slumped with relief.

“Oh! You’re up!!” he said, hurrying to sit down with her. “Are you okay?”

“Um, yeah.” She smiled. “What’s up with you guys?”

“Told you,” Sans said.

Papyrus scoffed. He lifted Frisk’s hand in his and she immediately yelped. The lines between her fingers were glowing, mostly gold.

“Sheesh, how long’s it been doing that?!” she squeaked.

“At least ten minutes,” Papyrus said. “Does it hurt? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She stared at the glow on her skin and rubbed her fingers over the lines. “Oh! Um! Could you check my back?”

“Your back?” Papyrus asked. “Why, what’s on your back?”

“Circle scar,” Sans said. “Good idea. Paps, it’s near her shoulder.”

“Oh! Okay, um…” He scooted back to look and his eyes went wide. “Oh!! Yes, I can see it from through your shirt, even!”

“Oh great.” Frisk sighed and laughed tiredly. “Shadowman, I guess.”

“Did you dream him?” Papyrus asked.

Frisk frowned in thought. It was a strain to recall. She felt a knot in her stomach when that dream’s visage of Chara flashed in her mind. She couldn’t remember any hints of the shadowman, though. She gulped and rubbed her knuckles again.

“I… I can’t remember if I did or not,” she said. “But I guess maybe I did unless he was here again, um…” 

It occurred to her to check her palms. There was nothing there save for the numbers from the previous day, smudged. Her brow furrowed. She looked up at her brothers.

“Nothing.” She showed them her hands. “See?”

“Guess you just gotta wait it out,” Sans said. “Did you, uh…? Did you sleep okay?”

“Mostly,” she said. “I probably did dream of him. I usually remember just a tiny bit when I start writing it down, so… I’ll just go with yes. But yeah, I feel totally fine.”

He looked relieved. Papyrus put an arm around her, but then laid a hand flat against the top of her head and moved it away, staring at it suspiciously. 

“So what do you think?” he asked Sans.

“I dunno. Three?” he said.

“What?” Frisk asked.

“Oh! Well,” Papyrus said. “The reason we wanted to get you up in the first place—”

“I didn’t want to get her up, I was in bed,” Sans said.

Papyrus rolled his eyes. “Anyway, whatever, it’s that Mettaton sent you a message asking how tall you and I are,” he said. “I have no idea why. Or why he didn’t send it to me.”

“Does he even have your number?” Sans asked.

“That is probably a good point,” Papyrus admitted. “Anyway! I assume it is something to do with the play, so I figured we should answer as soon as we could, but then it turned out you were glowing and wouldn’t wake up and it was a minor worry. ANYWAY! Little sister. How tall are you? Do you know?”

Frisk looked a little puzzled and shook her head. Papyrus jumped to his feet and put a proud hand to his chest.

“Well! I am six feet and two-and-a-half inches tall! Which is fairly tall, I think. Certainly the tallest one in the house! Except, um, if Undyne happens to be in the house. But besides then.” He gently plucked her up and put her on her feet. “How about you? Oh! Actually. Never mind, nyeh heh heh, I’ll just measure you!”

He raced to the back closet and disappeared inside. Sleepily, Frisk wandered back to the bed and sat down again. Sans snickered and shoved his hands in his pockets. He let gravity sink him back against the wall and he instantly looked ready to fall asleep. She smiled and waved. He raised one hand.

“Where’s Az?” she asked.

“Went out again,” Sans said.

“Oh.” Frisk flinched. She hoped he was okay, especially since she was sure it’d been his dream she’d wandered into in the night.

Papyrus burst out of the closet again with a long, white strip of cloth in his hand. “Here we go!” he said brightly. “Frisk, come over here, stand near the wall.”

The kid slipped off the bed sleepily and walked over to where he beckoned. He positioned her against the wall and lined up the strip with her heels. There were a lot of little black marks on it— straight, but clearly hand-drawn with a very thin marker.

“Annnnnd…” Papyrus held it up straight until he matched it with the top of her head. “Ah!! Three feet and two inches! Wow. That’s pretty small, but it’s good to know, isn’t it?”

“Uh. I guess?” Frisk smiled sheepishly. 

“Sans, give me her phone, I’ll—” Papyrus squeaked as he caught the phone from the air. “Thank you.”

“What’s, um…? What’s a foot?” Frisk asked.

Sans held out his hands, a bit apart, vertically. Frisk tilted her head. Her brother smiled.

“So. You know you. And you know Paps. Think you could guess me?” he asked.

“Ummm…” She wracked her brain, tried to visualize. “F… Fiiiiiive?”

“Ooh. Nice. Real close.” He winked. “Just a smidge shorter. Good job.”

Frisk grinned brightly.

“I guess that makes me the odd one out,” Papyrus joked. “Unless Frisk gets taller than either of us, Sans.”

“No way,” Frisk laughed.

“Never know with this kid,” Sans said.

“No way!!” she said again. “I dunno, Sans, I don’t think I’d even want to get taller than you, it’d feel so weird.”

He chuckled. With what seemed to be an awful lot of effort, he leaned up off the wall again and stretched his back. He jerked his thumb at the door. “Welp. Since it’s like, four in the morning…” he said.

Frisk darted across the room and gave him a hug. He patted her head affectionately.

“Sans, why don’t you take her with you?” Papyrus suggested. “I think I might stay up a bit longer.”

“Oh,” Sans said. “Well. If that’s something you want, kiddo, you can always—”

“Yes please,” she said. “Could, um…? Could we read a little?”

“Alright, I think I can stay awake for a chapter,” he said.

\- - -

As Papyrus stayed up to do whatever he did at odd hours, Sans set up with Frisk in his room. They got their space book and made their way through a chapter. It was a little data-heavy, but Frisk seemed to enjoy it anyway. She dozed off in her brother’s arms. Even now, though, the lines between her fingers were still glowing. He wondered why. 

He held her hand gently and ran his thumb over her knuckles. There wasn’t any scar or mark that he could feel on her skin where they were. He certainly hadn’t seen one, either. And yet, the ring on her back had clearly been a magic burn. More questions; no answers. He wasn’t even sure what answers would get them at this point. 

He plopped her onto the mattress and tucked her in. He caught himself with a twinge of paranoia. What if the shadowman came for her again? What could he really do against something like that? He hoped the guy had enough sense to keep his distance from her for now. It was clear that his presence in the real world, however he got there, was having increasingly adverse effects on the kid.

He chucked some junk at the light switch until he hit it and then kicked back, putting his arms behind his head. Wasn’t sure if he’d sleep until the kid’s hand stopped acting like a nightlight, though.

\- - -

The sky must’ve been splitting on the surface. The rumble of thunder bounded around the stones deep into the mountain, through only that one, small hole high above the field of golden flowers. Asriel wasn’t sure why he was here again. It was useless, stupid, pathetic… Was that her voice or his? He wasn’t sure.

He could see her eyes when he blinked. Had they always been so red like that? He wished he could see, just once more. He felt like he was in a fog. He slithered through the flowers, her name on the tip on his tongue. It caught in his throat. It felt like a curse. 

“C… Chara?” he whispered. He felt sick. Nerves made him tremble. He waited for an answer, eyes skimming the cavern, preparing to meet those red eyes at any second. He wanted, with every inch of him, to flee. Why had he called if he was so utterly terrified?

Silence was his only answer. Thunder rumbled again up above, making the cave growl low and long, like something was lurking there. He rubbed his brow with his leaves. She had to have been gone, but then why had that dream struck him so hard? Maybe it meant nothing. Maybe he didn’t want it to.

“Chara?” he asked again. He wasn’t sure why he did it. 

She wasn’t there, was she? It felt cold. Like a block of ice was crushing him down into the dirt. He choked when he sighed, and tears dripped down his face. Pathetic. A weak little scrap of vegetation, surrounded by hundreds of clones, all of which would make better company than he had become.

He jolted when he heard a noise; thought it was a footstep and turned quickly. He still expected her, but he saw nothing. Just a splatter of water that had leaked from the surface. He trembled and doubled over.

“What’s wrong with me?” he whispered.

A sudden yearning for that way Frisk would scoop him up hit him like a tank. It felt like a betrayal, but he wanted it anyway. He didn’t know what to do with himself. He felt frozen. Rooted. What could he do?

He didn’t realize how long it had been until he heard footsteps again. He jumped. Were they real this time? He twirled quickly. He thought he saw a glimmer of Toriel’s fur in the darkness. He couldn’t bear it. He left as fast as he could— it was all he could do to prevent himself from screaming out for his mother. He hadn’t felt like that in what seemed to be eons.

He hid himself underground, waiting, bunched up with earth pressing in all around him. He tried to turn his mind off. Maybe it would hurt less. But, deep in the dark, all he could see was red when he closed his eyes.

Finally, he forced himself to move. He felt his way through the earth until he peeked his head out in the chill of Snowdin.

He found himself staring up at the door to the house. He quickly shook himself off and crept closer. He slapped on the door with his leaves. He felt so feeble. No one would hear him, would they? His lip quivered. He was so cold, though.

He tried again. Maybe someone would be on the couch. Maybe someone would be walking by. It felt hopeless. Once more, and he was met by silence. He drooped. Maybe he could sneak himself under the door? But that would tear up all his petals, wouldn’t it?

The door creaked open; startling him thoroughly, though the grinning skeleton who met him didn’t give him any solace at all.

“Sorry, bud, I was in the kitchen,” he said. “You out here long?”

“Uh… N-No, no, I… Uh…” he stammered. “Where’s Frisk?” He couldn’t help it from slipping out. 

Sans shrugged. “Out somewhere with Paps and Undyne, I guess.”

“O-Oh,” he said, drooping again.

“Hey, uh, you aren’t lookin’ so good,” Sans said.

“Sh-Shut up,” he breathed.

Sans knelt down, tilting his head slightly. “Guess it’s not all comin’ up roses for you today,” he said.

“Shut up,” Asriel growled. “Sh-Shut up.” He felt himself bristling; spiking as vines lumped around him. 

“Guess the jokes aren’t hittin’, huh?” Sans asked. 

“Shut up!”

A flash of white set him into a panic and he jerked back. He didn’t realize he’d lashed out until he looked up and saw that his thorns had slashed through part of Sans’s sleeve. Even so, the skeleton had his hand out to him, inviting him closer.

Mortified, Asriel quaked. He wanted the ground to just open up and take him. “I’m s-sorry,” he whimpered. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry.” His voice began to distort; he couldn’t hold the false one. 

Sans’s expression was still static. With a gentleness that shocked him, the skeleton scooped him up, thorns and all, and carried him back into the warmth of the house.

He stared up, frozen. As tears blurred his eyes, he became uncomfortably aware that his thorns were pricking and scraping against the skeleton’s hands. Sans gently placed him on the table and took off his black hoodie. He vanished into the kitchen.

“S… Sans,” Asriel said; he couldn’t force his voice higher than a whisper. He tried to look over into the kitchen, but couldn’t see a thing. He gulped and coughed and tried to recede the thorny vines that built a mound around him, but he couldn’t muster the energy. 

He heard a glug of water. After a few seconds, Sans emerged with a steaming mug in one hand and a clear plastic case in the other. He dragged a chair over and plopped down, placing the mug in front of Asriel and plunking a bendy straw into it.

“S-Sans…” he said again.

“Dang, kid, this is one of my favourite sweatshirts,” he said, cutting his eyes at him as he pulled it off the table. He opened the case and pulled out a spool of dark thread and a little, shiny needle. He kicked his feet up and held the needle up to his eye to thread it.

“I… I’m so sorry,” Asriel muttered.

“S’okay, not the first time,” he assured him.

“Not that. I… I could’ve killed you, if I actually hit you, I—”

“Nah,” Sans said; he pointed a finger at the mug. “Drink that, huh? It’ll help.”

Asriel stared at him blankly for a few seconds. He hesitantly went for the straw and took a sip. He was almost expecting ketchup. Instead, it was hot chocolate, with a hint of something else. It was very warming and familiar.

“Wh… What is this?” he asked. “What’s in this?”

“Cinnamon,” he said. “Not bad, right?”

Asriel drank a little more. He couldn’t stop trembling. He looked up at Sans. The skeleton was simply leaned back, carefully stitching the tear in the sleeve. 

“So,” he said, “that your real voice?”

“H-Huh?” he squeaked. “O-Oh. Um. I…”

“It’s okay. I don’t care. I’m sure you have your reasons,” Sans said.

Asriel stared at him as he sewed. It was mesmerizing. Relaxing, somehow. He sighed and tapped the side of his mug.

“This… This was for Frisk, huh?” he said softly.

“There’s more than enough,” Sans said.

The little flower sighed. The prickly thorns on his vines slowly began to dull. He stuck the straw in his mouth again.

“So. You wanna talk about it?” Sans asked absently.

“Wha…? Uh…” Asriel frowned. When he looked up at Sans, the skeleton shrugged one shoulder. He took a deep breath. It didn’t do anything. It was more of a habit.

“I… I keep dreaming about her,” Asriel said quietly. “Um. M-My… My sister. I… I keep hearing her voice. Every night. It’s… It’s like I can’t get away.”

“So is it getting worse?” he asked.

“Yes! Yes, exactly.” Asriel nodded vigourously. “It… I mean. It was like this before b-but I… I never felt… I never felt sick, I never felt… I never wanted to leave, I just… I…”

“Oh. Alright. Got it,” Sans said. “I dunno. Sounds like a good thing to me.”

“What? How?” he asked incredulously.

“You said it was like this before,” Sans said, “but that you feel different now. So. It feels worse. But it’s because you feel more. Get it?”

Asriel was taken aback. He stared at the skeleton in silence. He shuddered. “S-So… So this is just how I am now?” he asked quietly. “I’m… I’m… scared of my own sister?”

“Maybe you’re just starting to realize some of the stuff she told you was messed up,” Sans suggested. “Look. I know it can’t be easy. But, feelin’ is better than not, isn’t it?”

“It frickin’ hurts…” Asriel grumbled, though he sighed nonetheless. “I guess you’re right.”

“Sorry, bud,” Sans said.

Asriel sighed. He slumped into a pile of vines.

“Do you hate me?” he mumbled.

“Nah,” he said.

“You hate Chara, though, right?” he asked softly. 

“Hate takes a lot of energy,” Sans said. “Determination did bad things to that kid. But it’s not like she’s around anymore.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “She’s… She’s not still in Frisk? Somewhere?”

“Heh. What the heck’d make you think somethin’ like that?” Sans asked.

“I… I dunno,” he muttered. “Nothing, I guess, it’s just… There’s just bits that remind me, I dunno…”

“So?” he said.

“I dunno,” Asriel said again. “Y-You… You knew her too, right? You don’t…?”

“Listen, bud,” Sans said. “I’ve been in Frisk’s head. I’ve seen everythin’ she has in there. Don’t you’d think I’d know if your sis was still there? Don’t you think I’d have said somethin’ by now? Don’t you think I’d have tried to kick her out?”

“I… Y-Yeah. I guess so. Yeah,” he said, pouting.

“Bit confused here,” Sans said. “You do want her in there? Or you don’t?”

“N-Not in her mind, exactly, that’s not… Ugh. I don’t know. I don’t know what I want. I j-just… I just…” He felt hot tears in his eyes again and he bent over, wiping them as best he could. “I w-want to go home…”

Sans sighed. He put his sweatshirt down on the table and dragged his chair forward with his foot. With a bit of blue glimmer on his fingers, he cupped a hand around the prickly little creature. Asriel let out a trembling breath; leaned into him and laughed softly.

“You’re… You’re so weak,” he said, meeting his eyes with a faint, tired smile. “Don’t waste this on me.”

“I can waste it on whatever I want,” Sans said. 

“I don’t understand you,” he said.

“Okay,” he said.

Asriel felt his vines starting to recede. He looked up at Sans with confusion. In fact, rarely had he had a moment in his life where he’d felt so confused. He’d been stuck in a loop with this skeleton for so long, trapped at a strange, threatening impasse. Even the sight of his eye lit with blue gave him chills, but now…

“I, um… I... don't actually hate you,” he muttered.

“Cool,” Sans said.

“I used to hate you so much,” he said. “You were so frustrating.”

“Yeah. Figured,” Sans said. “Guess I did my job well, huh?”

“Pfffft. Guess so,” Asriel said. “Ugh… I’m just so… I dunno. My head hurts. You, uh…? You got any healing stuff?”

Sans pulled back and then pushed the hot chocolate closer to him again.

“Can’t heal, but seriously, drink it,” he said. “Like I said. It’ll help.” He turned back to his sleeve and continued stitching.

Asriel quietly drank his cocoa. It really was good. And warm. He needed that.

“…Why?” he wondered quietly.

“Hm?” Sans said absently.

“Why can’t you heal?” he asked.

“Just can’t,” Sans said. “Used to; not anymore.”

“That’s rough,” Asriel said. “Um… S… Same.”

Sans nodded. He pulled a thread from the needle and pinched it hard between his fingers until it snapped.

“Hey,” he said. “Think I know what might cheer you up.”

\- - -

When Asriel finished up, Sans got him back in his mug. They wandered down the main street and straight out of town. Asriel didn’t ask, but he hoped Sans wasn’t taking him back to the Ruins. He also hoped he wasn’t going to just throw him off a cliff.

They wandered out over the snowy paths, between pines, overlooking small gorges and deep drop-offs into forested, snowy valleys. In the distance, Asriel thought he saw some sparks of magic. Bright turquoise flashed through the icicles dangling from bristling tree branches. There was another flash, amber this time. 

Beyond some holes in the ground that had once sported spikes for one of Papyrus’s puzzles, there was a large plateau where the drop-off of the cliff was barely taller than the trees below. Snow was packed from the paws of training dogs, but now, there was a three-way battle tinting the snow with colour.

Papyrus, in the blue hoodie he’d left near the ice, and Undyne were attacking like a light show, and Frisk, dusted with snow, was hopping from the path of attacks when they came her way. Asriel’s face immediately lit up. They hung back to watch. 

It was like an elaborate game of tag, with bursts of bones and spears flying all over, sticking up in the snow where they landed. Frisk was doing well, hopping and juking just quick enough to stay away from the blows firing towards her. Undyne let out a roar; her energy burst all around her, bristling like the quills of a hedgehog before shooting. Papyrus parried one, but grunted when he took another through the chest. Frisk took the chance to run straight at Undyne, sticking a hand out. It stalled a spear near her head and she dropped to slide like she was running for home base. The magic missed her and she grabbed Undyne’s leg.

“Aw, no way!!” Undyne said, throwing up an arm. “Out!”

“Sorry!” Frisk said, though she was grinning as she sprinted away.

Papyrus yelped and drew up a bone in either hand. He tossed them, and the kid jumped them. He drew them forward as he moved back, catching her off guard and knocking her on her face.

“Sorry, little sister!” he said.

She spit snow out as she scrambled up, and Papyrus quickly shelled himself in a row of bones.

“Nyeh heh!! Get around this!” he said. His eyes flashed; more bones shot at her, flickering blue and white. 

She dodged between them and then froze to let a blue femur sail through her body. 

Sans and Asriel watched as she dashed back and forth. She was fast, but Papyrus was unrelenting.

“Hey, nerds,” Undyne said as she casually strode over, her folded arms behind her head. “Sup?”

“What the heck are you guys doing?” Asriel asked, keeping his voice low.

“Tag, technically,” Undyne said. “Super tag? I dunno. Frisk’s it, one tag is out.”

“You’re done, huh?” Sans said.

“Yeah, didn’t think the kid would be able to get around that move like that,” she said with a laugh. “We finished regular training and Paps wanted to let Frisk focus on her own stuff, so…”

She gestured at the two. Frisk was starting to breathe harder, but she was still dodging effectively. Equally, Papyrus was holding his makeshift fortress steady.

“Not sure how she’s gonna get through that,” Undyne said.

“Maybe if she grabbed a bone and chucked it,” Asriel suggested. 

“Hm. No. No no.” Sans grinned. “Ah. Think I got it. See if Paps misses it.”

“What?” Undyne said.

“Let’s just say he might as well be buildin’ her a bridge,” he said.

Papyrus’s attacks were still coming fast, but he seemed to be running out of steam: the patterns were repeating despite the steady rhythm. Even his hum that pulsed in the air seemed to be stuck in a loop. Frisk caught it. Even from here, Sans could see her eyes flicking across the bones, analyzing; counting seconds. 

She doubled back quickly, and with her brother’s amber shining in her right iris, she bounded up, using bones he’d hoped to topple her with as steps. To his surprise, she raced up the arc at its peak and leapt. Instinctively, he reached his arms out for her and caught her as she hurtled straight through his defensive wall. The bones broke into sparkling gold dust and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“Owww ow ow ow ow!” she whined.

“Oh! I’m sorry!” he said.

She began to laugh and grinned at him, even though there was a little trickle of blood coming from her nose.

“Oh, Frisk—!”

“Aaaah, I ran my face right into it!!” she said with a laugh. “Ow. Hah. But I got you!”

“I didn’t expect you to throw yourself right through the shield, little sister!” Papyrus said. “Gosh. I guess that is what they mean by determination.”

She giggled. “Guess so!” she said. “Done?”

“Done!” he agreed.

She wiped her face on her sleeve and her brother’s extra bones dissolved around them. He snickered.

“That was very good!” he said. “I think you are getting back in top form! And that stutter you can do to attacks now, wowie, very creative and also helpful! I’m impressed!”

Frisk grinned brightly. As Papyrus put her down, she wiped her nose again. Undyne clapped. Frisk turned to give her a thumbs-up, and she immediately grinned even wider at the sight of Sans and Asriel. 

“Hey, guys!!” She ran over quickly and grabbed Sans into a quick hug. “Asriel! Welcome back, dude, you have an okay morning?”

He shrugged. Frisk tilted her head. She looked curious, but before she could say anything, Undyne chuckled and plucked her up off the ground.

“That was some good misdirection, kiddo,” she said. “Oh. What’s…? You hurt?”

Frisk sniffed before she could help it and quickly wiped her face on her sleeve again. “Not really,” she said.

“I’ve got it!!” Papyrus announced.

He dashed over, pulling off one mitt in his teeth and then put his hand to his sister’s cheek as he glowed. “Ooh! Gosh, Frisk, you let yourself get a little low, didn’t you?”

“Worth it,” she said.

Undyne let him take her into his arms, and he turned to Sans and Asriel with a smile.

“Nice to see you out and about, brother! And Asriel, good to see you!” he said. “Did you see us? What did you think of my attacks? Pretty good, right?”

“Stellar, bro,” Sans said.

“I still have actually not got around to showing off my special technique,” Papyrus admitted. “If we’d gone for another five minutes, I might have been pushed to it, though.”

“I wanna see it for sure,” Frisk said. “You can even blast me with it, I don’t mind!”

“Aww, no, little sister, I shouldn’t blast you with it, that might actually hurt you!” he said with a sympathetic smile.

“Blast me with it!” Undyne said, prodding herself in the chest with her thumb. “I wanna see it too, Paps.”

“Oh! Well! Alright, Captain, I will do that sometime, for sure!” Papyrus said.

Once Frisk wasn’t bleeding anymore, they began on their way home. Papyrus grabbed Sans, who had all but fallen asleep on his feet, over his shoulder as he and Undyne gushed to each other about the battles. Frisk had been given Asriel again; they walked a bit behind the others for reasons mostly concerning shortness.

Asriel was more content than he thought he would be. He looked up at Frisk as she yawned.

“Hey, uh… Frisk—” he began, but she came to a full stop, startling him, and stared at him with large eyes.

“Your voice,” she said shrilly.

“Oh, um…” He coughed, and the distortion returned, but he couldn’t force it back to the false one. “Y-Yeah, I, um… Something kinda messed up, I dunno…”

“Oh my gosh.” She held him closer and gently put a reassuring hand against his stem. “A-Are you gonna—?”

“No. No. As soon as I can, I’m gonna… I-It’s nothing personal, it’s just… I d-don’t wanna slip. Um. Around parents. Or anything. You know,” he muttered.

“Oh, jeez, right,” she said. “It’s… Heh. Sorry. It’s nice to hear you again, though.”

Asriel’s face flushed. He nudged her and she remembered to keep following the others. “So, um. You were pretty cool. Out there,” he said.

“Oh! Thanks,” she said with a grin. “I’m still not great at it, but I can kinda delay something that’s gonna hit me, did you see that?”

“Yeah. I saw when Undyne did the big spike ball thing,” he said. “I’ve… I’ve never seen an anomaly be able to do that. But… Who knows, maybe they could. I mean. The mind-wipe thing is pretty universal, right?”

“Uhh…” Frisk stared at him blankly. 

He rubbed his chin. “Then again, I guess that’s a lot like how you can kinda heal people, right? You just shift a bit back to right before it happened, right? Think that’s how the memory thing works, too, don’t you think?”

“Oh. Um. I… I guess?” She smiled sheepishly. “I… never undid anyone’s memories on purpose.”

“Oh! Right, right, of course,” Asriel said. “Um… You ever thought about trying it?”

“Heck no,” Frisk said.

“What would it take to get you to?” he asked.

“Um! I dunno! I don’t think I’d ever do that,” Frisk said. “Unless it was like… Someone asked me. And it was for something, like…Umm… Actually, I don’t know. I can’t think of an example. Maybe if the person got really hurt or something and… You know, I really don’t know.”

“But you have all that power,” Asriel muttered.

“Y-Yeah, but I don’t wanna use it on people, memories are really important,” she said.

Asriel’s brow furrowed, but, for some reason, that made him feel a little lighter. He put his leaves on her hand and squeezed her gently. “Hey, um…” He lowered his voice a little. “I’m, uh… I’m sorry. About yesterday.”

“Sorry?” she repeated, puzzled. “For what?”

“I dunno, I was just kinda snapping at you for nothing,” he said. “I’m sorry. I guess seeing Asgore really rattled me more than I thought it would.”

“Oh, man, that’s okay,” Frisk assured him quickly. “Don’t worry!”

“It didn’t hurt your feelings?” he asked.

“Well, um, it was true, though, huh?” she said quietly, a tired smile crossing her face.

“It was uncalled for,” he said.

“No problem,” Frisk assured him.

She smiled. He stared up at her and felt himself smile, too. Uncertainly lingered for a moment, but what reason would she have to lie about that? She wasn’t Chara. He wouldn’t have to apologize for breaking a toy only to have her bring it up to have him do something for her later. He had no reason to think like that. Despite himself, he snuggled into her hands. Her fingertips sparkled with red; warmed him deep through his stem and leaves. It was exactly what he needed.

They had lost the others completely by the time they stopped near the inn to latch onto the starlight, but Frisk didn’t mind. Asriel was quiet, and was still clinging to her as he leaned into one of her hands. He must’ve been feeling pretty low, she thought.

Midway through town, a dull boom caught their attention. Frisk paused for a moment and Asriel looked up at her.

“Why do I have a feeling that has something to do with us?” he asked.

“It always does,” she joked.

She took off at a jog towards the house and, sure enough, the commotion was coming from there. Undyne was doubled over, laughing, beside an unusually large pile of envelopes as Papyrus was elbow deep in it. It took Frisk a moment to process what she was looking at.

“Did Sans’s mailbox finally give up?” she called as she ran up.

“Oh my god, you should have seen it!!” Undyne said, grinning widely. “It was like… BOOM! Never seen anything like it!”

“Sans, are you even alive under there!?” Papyrus demanded, digging through the layers of paper and small, brown packages.

“Nope.” He appeared beside his brother and nudged him with his elbow. “Alive out here, though.”

Undyne burst out laughing again. She reached into the pile and pulled out a plain, sealed envelope. “Heh. Hey, this is from me,” she said. “Jeez, Sans, did you even read the schedule a single time?”

“Nope,” Sans said.

“Ah!” Papyrus pulled a brown, wooden chest out from under the rest of the stuff. “Here! This is what came flying out! Brother, you should open it, probably.”

“Welp. There’s a place we can stuff Frisk’s junk,” Sans said, tapping it with his foot until it popped open. “Alright. Let’s see…” He knelt down and frowned slightly. 

It was full of dark, cloth bags that clinked when he touched them. He pulled up a letter and rubbed his brow.

“Oh. Jeez,” he muttered.

“What?” Papyrus asked.

Sans handed off a fancy-looking scroll to him.

“_Congratulations! You have been selected as the winner of the totally-random-not-at-all-made-up recent lottery of the underground, so please accept this bounty of gold_,” Papyrus read, his brows raising high. “What? Lottery? Did you enter a lottery?”

“Nope,” Sans said.

“_This money is non-returnable so please accept it and spend it on whatever you need!”_ Papyrus tilted his head. “Well, that’s lucky.”

“Probably not,” Sans said, peeking inside one of the bags.

“Ooooh, hey, I remember that “lottery” thing,” Undyne said. “I, um, “won” it once, too, actually. Want me to drag that inside for you?”

“That’d be good,” Sans said.

Undyne hefted the chest up without issue and walked it through the door. Sans seemed exhausted looking at all that mail.

“What the heck are we going to do with this?” Papyrus asked. “I certainly don’t want to clean it up.”

“Burn it?” Sans suggested.

“But what if there’s something important in there?!” he yelped.

“What, you wanna check, bro?” Sans asked. “I don’t.”

“Well…! Maybe I—! Ugh, FINE! I will go through it!” Papyrus scooped a large armful of letters up and ran them into the house before he sprinted back to do it again. 

Frisk tried not to laugh and she slipped by him to get inside.

A pile had already formed in the living room. Undyne had shoved the treasure chest onto their table and kicked back on the couch. Frisk joined her, and almost right away, she put her hand against the side of the kid’s neck and activated her healing on the ends of her fingers.

“Ooowaaaa, this must years worth of junk!!” Papyrus said as he threw down a final armful of stuff and kicked the door closed after Sans as he wandered in. “SANS! How do you let it get this bad?!”

“I dunno,” he said with a shrug. He plopped down onto the floor and slumped on the wall, folding his arms snugly.

“Ugggghhh, okay, let me just…!” Papyrus delved down into the mess and immediately straightened up again with a thick stack of papers that were stapled together into a book. “OH! Gosh, good thing I thought to look here!! Catch!!”

He tossed the thing towards the couch, and Undyne grabbed it without even really looking. It was the script for the play.

“Oh. Jeez. That’s useful,” she said.

“Ooh, it’s smaller than the last one,” Frisk said with a smile. “Maybe that’s good.”

Asriel looked up at her and rolled his eyes. She snickered and shrugged. Undyne flipped through the pages and Frisk snuck closer to try to read over her arm. 

“Oh! It’s almost only narrator,” she said. “Oh… He… mostly wants us to improvise? Im-pro-vise.”

“Make it up,” Sans said.

“That’s probably a good thing,” Undyne said. “Me too, I guess? Look, it just says _anxious music _here. What the hell is anxious music?”

“You just poke one key in the high range kinda slowly,” Sans said.

“Pfffft.” Undyne rubbed a hand through her hair. “Ah, whatever, I’ll figure it out.”

“Of course you will!” Papyrus assured her. “You’re Guard Captain Undyne! You’re resourceful and clever! It’ll be no problem at all!”

Undyne couldn’t help but laugh. “Thanks, Paps,” she said.

Asriel stretched up to look over the script as she absently flicked through pages. He scoffed quietly.

“What?” Undyne said. “Got somethin’ to say?”

Asriel quickly sunk down and shook his head. He clambered out of Frisk’s lap and to the floor.

“Whoa, you don’t have to leave,” Undyne said.

Asriel waved her off quickly, coughed, and muttered something very quietly about finding something unintelligible before hurrying up the stairs to the bedroom with the use of his mechanical arm.

“Something I said?” Undyne asked.

“No, no, don’t worry about it,” Frisk said quickly. “Um! Hey, have you heard from Alphys? Is she okay?”

“Oh! Uh. We texted a bit this morning. She seems okay,” Undyne said.

“She doesn’t need help with anything before tomorrow?” she insisted.

“Ummm…” Undyne scratched her head. “I dunno. Don’t think so. Anyway, if she does, she’ll say something, don’t worry. You nervous?”

“A little,” Frisk admitted.

“Little sister, don’t be nervous, you’re going to do a great job!” Papyrus said.

“I guess I’m mostly just worried it won’t work,” she said. “B-But… But it probably will, right?”

“If it doesn’t, whatever, we’ll just try something else,” Undyne said. “I mean. Sure, we should do it kinda fast if we can, but we have a bit more time to brainstorm if it doesn’t work, don’t we?”

“Just don’t want anyone to fall down while we’re trying to figure it out,” Frisk admitted.

“No one will fall! Because we’ll be done very soon! And the barrier will be down!” Papyrus assured them. “Just relax, and believe in yourself the same way I believe in you, little sister. There’s nothing to be worried about. Worst thing that happens is we’ve wasted a few days and had to do a play where we thought the writing was bad. No matter what, we will figure this out!”

“Thanks, bro,” Frisk said. “Do you wanna take a look at the script at all?”

“Soon, I’d just like to finish checking through this ridiculously large pile of mail, unless a certain someone would like to finally look through his own things?!” He cast a glance at Sans, but the short skeleton was fast asleep. “Un. Be. Lievable.”

Frisk slipped onto the floor to take a look. It seemed to be mostly junk, and some car magazines. She snuck them out of the trash pile and into the other one. It didn’t take Papyrus much longer to get everything cleaned up, but in the meanwhile, Frisk went upstairs to check on Asriel.

He had managed to get himself up onto the computer desk and was awkwardly browsing the UnderNet when she arrived.

“Hey, you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah.” His voice still hadn’t shifted. “Yeah, um. I’m fine. Thanks.”

Frisk put her back to the door. He didn’t turn to look at her. She tented her fingers awkwardly.

“Do you need anything?” she asked.

“Nah, I’m good,” he said. “You seen these threads? People are goin’ nuts on the speculation on here. And of course, Mettaton’s egging them on. Hope it’s not a flop.”

“Yeah, me too,” Frisk said.

Asriel chuckled quietly. When he finally turned to her, there was an amused smile on his face. “You really are weird,” he said. “That you’d even try something like this… Hah. Well. You know, I kinda hate it as an idea, but thanks, though. It’s… It’s good of you. Better than I deserve, anyway.”

“You sound like Sans,” she said, smiling sideways. “Look, if someone wants to give you a thing, you deserve it, okay?”

“Pfft. Yeah right. That’s burned a million people before, you know? That’s really naïve,” he said. “But. Thanks. Seriously.”

“You wanna come back down?” she asked.

“No. Not sounding like this, I don’t,” he said. “Don’t worry about me.”

She nodded. She snuck closer; peeked up at him for a few moments. “Lemme know if you need anything, okay?”

He shrugged and nodded, but said nothing more.

When Frisk went back downstairs, Papyrus was elbowing envelopes into a garbage bag. Undyne had flopped back across the whole couch, holding her phone up above her face. Papyrus grabbed the script up from near her and quickly flipped through it. He frowned slightly. 

“Huh,” he said, and he cast his gaze over at Frisk and spoke in a lower voice. “Hey, uh, kiddo, mind if I practice a bit?”

Undyne snickered and tilted her head back to look at him. “You already basically got it.”

“So did you just want to talk, or something?” Frisk asked.

She sat on the floor. He tilted his head, but he mimicked her and held the script in his lap. He flicked through it. 

“There a lot of junk in here, huh?” he said. “I’m, uh… Cooper? Cooper. I guess.”

“Ooh, who am I?” She peeked at the script and pouted. “Aw. Just Human.”

“Real creative, huh?” Papyrus said with a wink. “Alright. Uh. We got… The Prince. Princess. Human. And Cooper. Pffft, okay.”

“So he only named your character? Why?” Undyne asked. “Actually. I don’t care, never mind.”

Frisk snickered. Papyrus flipped through the script. His brow furrowed. Frisk snuck a little closer and she peered over his arm. 

“I dunno, we could try a scene or something if you just wanna work on doing the voice,” she said. “But I think you’re doing really good!”

“Thanks, kiddo,” he said, gently ruffling her hair. 

She smiled. He didn’t sound exactly like Sans, but his voice definitely carried the same tone. She was sure it would work.

“Honestly, seems like you could just not call Frisk by name and use as few words as possible, and you’re, like, ninety percent there,” Undyne said.

Papyrus gently nudged her with his elbow and tapped a page. The narration on it indicated that it was the second meeting of “Cooper” and “the Human”. After a reset. Cooper was uncertain what to expect. The Human was already determined to get the Prince a soul. There were a few lines on the page itself, but a note said to use them more as guidelines. Papyrus looked at her and raised his brows.

“Wanna give it a shot?” he asked.

“Um, sure!” she said. “Undyne, would you be okay to read the narrator bits?”

“Okay, okay,” she said, holding out her hand, “chuck it over.”

They ran through a few scenes, though with Papyrus mimicking Sans’s attitude, it was mostly relaxed. Frisk felt it was a little weird reliving some of her memories in this strange, simplified way. But, at least here in the house, it wasn’t too hard to come up with lines to get the point of the scene across quickly. She hoped she’d remember tomorrow. She was sure Papyrus would.

When he finally let his act drop, Papyrus let out a long, high-pitched sigh. Sans, still sitting up against the wall and remaining firmly half-asleep, clapped slowly. Papyrus snickered.

“Not too bad, right?” he said.

“S’pretty good,” Sans said.

“I knew it! The great Papyrus; the great thespian!” Papyrus said proudly. “Nyeh heh heh!! Sans, you really are low-key, aren’t you? It’d be hard to mimic you if I wasn’t already such a good actor. Though, I must admit, it does make me feel a little sleepy.”

“That just proves you’re in character, bro,” Sans said.

“Pfft! True, I guess!” he said. “Though this Cooper character feels a little more proactive than you are usually.”

“I think it’s supposed to be Sans combined with Alphys, a little,” Undyne said. “I mean. Maybe. I don’t see any anime references in here.”

“The nerdiest of fusions,” Sans said, and then pointed at Papyrus. “No idea how we got so tall, though.”

“Maybe if you stood on each other’s shoulders,” Frisk suggested.

Sans snickered. “Skeleton and a lizard in a trench coat. Dig it.”

Papyrus took a seat on the arm of the couch and stretched his arms high above his head. He looked around the room and, abruptly, seemed worried.

“Where’s Asriel?” he asked. “Has he been upstairs this whole time?”

“I, um, think he might be taking a nap?” Frisk suggested, though her voice went a little shrill.

“Oh! Well, I suppose he did wake up very, very, very early,” Papyrus said with a nod. “He is just a little kid, after all.”

Frisk couldn’t help but tap her fingertips together nervously. She caught Sans’s eye; he looked as if he’d caught her fib. He didn’t seem to care in the least. He leaned back and put his arms behind his head.

“Well, that was excitin’,” he said sleepily. 

“Can I raid your fridge?” Undyne asked.

“Go ahead. Not much there, though,” he said.

She rolled off the couch and headed to the kitchen. Papyrus hopped up and peeked in after her, and then stretched again.

“I’m going to go check on Asriel!” he announced. “I bet he’ll be happy to hear he missed our rehearsal!”

As he headed up the stairs, Undyne came out of the kitchen again with a frown on her face.

“Told you,” Sans said apologetically.

“Kiddo, what d’you think, wanna check out that store near the inn with me?” Undyne said.

“Oh! Sure!” she said.

The chill of the air outside was refreshing. Undyne took a long, deep breath, and smiled.

“Nice here,” she said.

“You’re not cold at all, huh?” Frisk asked.

“Hm? Oh!” Undyne looked at her bare arms and laughed. “Um! Yeah, not really, cold doesn’t really bug me.”

“That’s cool,” she said. “They told me it doesn’t really bother skeletons too much either, but the wind through the bones thing can get a little annoying because it whistles. And Sans just likes being cozy as much as he can.”

“Heh, fair enough,” Undyne said. “I never really thought about that.”

“So… So, hey, can you breathe underwater?” Frisk asked.

“Sure can,” Undyne said, pointing at some of the red lines against her neck. “Gills! Cool, huh?”

“Yeah! Have you gone down really deep before?” she asked.

“Uhh… Well, not really,” Undyne admitted. “Deepest part is probably a few meters, I guess. Why?”

“Oh! It’s just that I heard that, in the ocean, it gets really really deep and really cold,” Frisk said. “Maybe that’s why you don’t mind the cold!”

“Hah! Good point,” Undyne said. “Man, I can’t wait to go there, that’s gonna be really awesome, huh?”

“Yeah, for sure!” Frisk said with a grin.

Undyne smiled to herself. They were stopped, for a moment, as a bashful, smiling rabbit boy as he asked Undyne for an autograph. She gladly signed it and let him take a selfie with her before he ran off. She seemed a little proud when they started to move on. 

“You’re so cool,” Frisk said.

Undyne scoffed and grinned.

“It’s just really neat that you’re, like, that hero everyone knows, you know?” Frisk said. “It makes me pretty proud to know you!”

“Pffft. Just doin’ my job, kiddo,” she said. “It is a pretty dang cool job, though. You ever wanna do something like that?”

“Me?” Frisk asked a little shrilly. “I dunno, Undyne, I’m not a fighter.”

“Nah, not a fighter, a defender, you know?” she suggested. “Maybe when you’re older. I mean. You can stop a hit before it even happens. Might be good. You know, as a last resort or something.”

“As long as it’s not hurting anybody,” she agreed tepidly.

“It’d be stoppin’ people getting hurt, kid!” Undyne grinned down at her with pride in her smile, and Frisk felt some of her trepidation float away. “Don’t worry. Won’t be for a long time. I’ll ask you again when you’re older. Even I know better than to try to recruit little kids for the guard! Asgore’d kick my butt.”

Frisk laughed and shook her head. “No he wouldn’t,” she said.

Undyne snickered.

“Hey, uh, Alph told me about yesterday,” she said. “Maybe it’s a stupid question, but did you manage to get Asgore the tea?”

“Oh! Yeah. I left it right outside his garden while he was in there,” Frisk said.

“Thanks a ton,” Undyne said. “Sorry, that’s… I mean, dunno why that’d be even on your radar, sorry.”

“No no, that’s okay,” she said. “It was… It was a weird day.”

“Mm. Sorry it didn’t work out,” she said. “You hold back because of Az?”

“Partly,” she said, wincing. “Partly because I don’t know if I… I mean, Asgore’d remember killing me a bunch of times, and it would just be… complicated.”

“Ah. Hear that. Alright,” she said, though she grimaced a little. “I just really wish Asriel would just come out and tell him he’s here, you know?”

“Yeah, me too, kinda,” she said. “But it hurts a lot. It’s hard to figure out.”

“You kids really shoved yourself into a hard place, huh?” she said sympathetically. “Oh well. Once the barrier’s down, we can do all that stuff together, and you guys can cry all you want, and explain the junk, and it’ll be fine. Right?”

“Right,” Frisk said.

They stopped in at the inn for some cinnamon bunnies, but, on the way back, Undyne paused, staring up at Grillby’s sign. She shot a look at Frisk and jerked her thumb at the door. The kid nodded and Undyne’s face lit up. She pushed her way inside quickly.

As usual, it was full of dogs. They were instantly accosted, albeit pleasantly. As they waited for a batch of burgers and shakes, Dogamy and Dogaressa eagerly regaled Undyne with tales of their last couple patrols. Frisk liked watching how excited everyone seemed, and the genuine smile Undyne received their tales with. The kid got a few affectionate pets from the pooches before they headed home.

Sans was on the phone when they got in. It was Papyrus’s, and he was pacing anxiously; periodically leaning over his brother as if he could somehow read a phone call over his shoulder. Frisk was as quiet as she could as she passed food out to everyone. Sans stuck his thumb up.

“Uh-huh. Gotcha,” he said finally. “Listen, you didn’t… Okay. Mhm. Look, you couldda just said to— Yeah, yeah, I’ll… Okay, Alph. Chill. I’m comin’. Gimme a few minutes.” He hung up and sighed, laughing to himself as he rubbed his brow with his palm.

“What’d she want?” Undyne asked.

“Ah, not much,” he said as he passed Papyrus back his phone. “Some help with something tomorrow. Gotta go see about it, she was kinda babblin’.”

“Aw. Must be nervous,” Undyne said.

“What else is new?” Sans’s grin was sympathetic. “See you guys in a few. Might need to double back for you, kiddo, I’ll let you know.”

“But what about lunch?” she asked.

“Hmm…” he said.

“Sans, honestly, you can eat when you get back!” Papyrus said. “As if I need to remind you that you can just take a shortcut and it’ll take you no time at all to get there and back, you impossible boney goofus!”

“Alright, alright,” Sans said with a laugh. “See ya.”

Alphys had said she was up the broadcast tower in the CORE. Sans had never been inside more than ground-level, so he plunked himself there and wandered until he found an elevator. It was full of rhinestones.

When he reached the topmost level, a broadcasting room, he came upon Alphys, who was running about the place with anxiety in her steps. She whirled on him and, eyes wide, grabbed him into a hug.

“Uh, hi to you, too,” he said.

“Sorry! S-Sorry! Just. Thanks. For c-coming,” she said as she drew back. “S-So can you help?”

“Uh…” He smiled apologetically. “Sure? But, uh, didn’t actually hear what you needed, Doc.”

“OH! G-Gosh, s-sorry, I was talking too fast again, huh?” She sighed and rubbed her hands across her head spines. 

Sans shrugged. 

“O-Okay, I’m, uh… S-So my plan is, um, I’m gonna f-fake sick. T-Tomorrow? When I’m with A-Asgore. But the problem is, I need to g-get back to this broadcast blaster t-to turn it on,” she said.

“So you want me to turn it on?” Sans asked.

She shook her head. “N-No, no, I… I need to get all my gear u-up here and—”

“You want me to teleport your stuff?”

“No!” She laughed. “No, no, I j-just want you to distract Asgore s-so I can sneak in and o-out of his place.”

“That sounds a lot more complicated,” he said.

“N-No, no, it’s actually a l-lot less work,” she said. “I’ve f-figured out how to do all the b-broadcast blaster stuff. I, um… Actually, I tested it. R-Really basically, on Big Dog. Y-Yesterday, when Frisk warned there m-might be a small reset.”

“Hm. Quick thinkin’,” Sans said. 

“Th-Thanks!” She grinned. “The s-setup w-wasn’t actually complete, but it seemed l-like Big Dog remembered something from the lost time, so… So! I’m k-kinda confident that w-with the full setup, it’ll be okay!”

“Oh. Nice. Alright,” he said. “But, uh… got a question.”

“Y-Yeah?” Alphys asked nervously.

“Well. Those guys in your lab, they’re basically swimmin’ in determination, right?” he said. “So the time stuff might just linger on them normally anyway.”

“Oh, j-jeez, um… I… I d-didn’t think of that,” she said. “Oh!! Shoot!! Th-That means… Th-That m-m-means…” Her scales pinked and she started to sweat.

“What?” Sans asked.

“Ahh, I was… I w-was going to use them and us as a b-baseline to see if the b-broadcast blaster worked on n-normal monsters, too, b-but if w-w-we already… No. That w-won’t work at all, w-we’d have to t-test it on people who aren’t in the l-loop,” she said. “B-But… But how? J-Just ask some people at r-random to come d-down to the lab?”

“Hmm…” Sans tapped his teeth thoughtfully. “Uh… Well. It’s like, a radio wave, right?”

“Y… Yeah?” Her eyes went wide. “W-Wait!! Are you…? Are you thinking, like, m-maybe we could just use a receiver, too? Have something bounce back?”

“Basically,” he said. “Do we have any decent, what are those things called? Apps?”

“A radio app?” She pulled out her phone quickly and started to search through it. “I’m n-not sure, but…! BUT! Oh my gosh, Sans, you’re a g-genius, you know that?!”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” he said.

“Okay. Okay okay, w-we… we’ll just design a radio app! One that can secretly scan the monster’s r-resonances and send the data back to me!” she said. “Um. Umm. Oh no. D-Do I have time for that? Oh, god, I need to set up here, and I n-need to… Oh! Sans?”

“You want me to get your stuff?” he asked with a tired smile.

“Um! A-Actually, you know what? I can get Undyne t-to help with that, b-but…! But d-do you think… Well, a-actually, I d-don’t even know if you, um, know how t-to, but I w-was wondering—”

“You don’t want me to design the app, do you?” he asked.

“Well, I know it’s short notice, b-but…” She smiled nervously. “Y… Yes?”

Sans stared at her silently. She began to sweat again. She tapped her fingertips together.

“Got a spare laptop?” he asked. “And some sort of framework would be good.”

Alphys was beaming instantly and she crushed him into a hug. “Thank you, thank you, th-thank you!!” she said. “D-Do you think there’s enough time?”

“Hey, my kid time travels,” he said with a wink. “Can backtrack to get a few extra hours tonight if we have to.”

“And you won’t fall asleep?” she insisted.

“Welp. Not promisin’ that,” he said. “But. I’ll get it done.”

“Y-You’re great! You’re so great,” she said. “Okay! O-Okay, okay, um! L-Let’s go to the lab, and I’ll get you what you n-need!!”

\- - -

Sounded like everyone was in Papyrus’s room by the time Sans got back. He found a plate with lunch on it left out on the table. He could tell it was his because the fries were drowning in ketchup. Lugging one of Alphys’s laptops under one arm, he awkwardly grabbed the plate and plopped himself straight into his bedroom.

He slipped out of his slippers and sat on his mattress, using the wall as a backrest as he opened the computer. He fished the test-phone she’d lent him out of his pocket and plugged it in. She’d included all the basic data she had for radio signals, as well as the simple radio app that already existed under the mountain. It wasn’t used much, though. Seemed like most monsters preferred having a real radio, or just watching TV, since it was all the same programming aside from a rarely-ending loop of Mettaton’s first album that played over the airwaves. He’d never gotten around to inputting the second into the broadcast archives.

Sans hadn’t exactly programmed a phone app before, but he’d set up some similar, simple programs while he still worked in the lab. He didn’t think it would be too difficult. 

He munched his fries as he worked; listened to what was going on in the next room. The walls weren’t very thick, but he didn’t mind. He heard Frisk and Papyrus. It sounded like they were playing that board game again. Then, a loud cheer. Undyne. She’d won a roll for strength, it sounded like.

He wondered how Asriel was doing. He’d looked instantly better with Frisk, true, but he seemed to be isolating himself. Didn’t seem like a good idea, especially if the dreams of his sister were coming on stronger.

Asriel and Chara had shared souls. Sans was probably the only other monster alive who knew what that was like. Even so, the thought of a soul being so full of malice, as Chara was— taking over her brother’s body— made him shudder. Having all of Frisk wasn’t a problem for him, though little bits of her would sometimes make themselves more clear in his head. He knew it was the same for her, when she had dragged up his memories a few times. But if Asriel still had that much of Chara in him… 

He sighed to himself and hoped that being friends with Frisk— and with Papyrus, too— would help to nip what he was worried about in the bud. Just have to keep the kid’s trust. Shouldn’t be too hard, even with those memories and feelings trying to grip him with cold claws. Frisk was warm enough to break through it, he was sure of it.

He dozed off in the middle of a line of code, but woke again to the sound of Papyrus cawing and Undyne making some sort of loud grumbling noise. He couldn’t make out the words. He finished off a few strings, then stared blankly at the screen for a while. He was starting to lose a bit of focus.

Forcing himself up, he wandered over to the other bedroom and quietly slipped in. Papyrus, Undyne, and Asriel were all still gathered around the board game, while Frisk lay on the bed, looking down at them. She smiled at him the second she saw him.

“Oh! Brother!” Papyrus said. “Care to jump in? We’re coming to a village soon.”

“Nah, sounds like a lot of work, you guys go ahead,” he said. “Not playin’, kiddo?”

“I died,” she said, shrugging slightly as he sat down beside her.

“I knew we should’ve played with my rules,” Papyrus grumbled.

“Hard mode’s not too bad though,” Asriel said— his voice was back to the way it had been before.

“Hah! Um. My bad,” Undyne said. “How was I supposed to know humans think skeletons are all pirates?”

“We found a town near the sea that was full of skeletons,” Frisk said. “I went in to say hi and I got totally stabbed.”

“I tried to warn you,” Asriel said. 

“Such betrayal,” Frisk sighed dramatically.

Sans laughed and patted her head.

The game continued through a friendly village and down a path into the forest. The board was one that was in many pieces, to be assembled as it was played. It was different every time. Pretty good for something they’d just picked up at random.They played until Undyne got a call from Alphys and had to reluctantly bow out. After much nagging, Sans took up her character’s mantle to finish the game.

\- - -

That night, Sans somewhat reluctantly returned to coding. Papyrus actually went to bed at a reasonable hour, claiming he needed rest before the big day tomorrow. He was probably right.

The house was pretty quiet, so Sans was a little surprised when, a few hours after he thought she’d fallen asleep, Frisk snuck into his room. She had that gaunt, tired look around her eyes, but she gave him a bashful smile.

“Hey, kiddo, couldn’t sleep?” he asked.

“I guess I’m just kinda excited,” she said. “Can I sit up with you for a little?”

“Heh. Sure. But I’m not doin’ anything interesting,” he said. “Actually, that might help knock you out, huh? Bore you to sleep?”

She snickered and dodged socks on the floor, and walked across his mattress to sit beside him. She leaned over to look at the screen curiously. “Wassat?” she asked.

“Ah. Alph wanted some radio thing made,” Sans said. “Basically it’s to send feedback about the, uh, blue magic signal that’s supposed to sorta help people keep a bit of the memories in the big soul grab.”

“Oh! Important,” Frisk said. “So how’s it work?”

“Receiver at one end. Reader and signal at the other,” he said. “Basic radio but add a hum analyser.”

“Oh! Okay, cool, how are you gonna get people to use it?” she asked.

“Just say it’s a thing at the show tomorrow,” he said with a shrug. “Even if only like five people download it, it’ll be fine for what the Doc needs anyway.”

“That’s good!” Frisk yawned and folded her arms, blinking groggily. “Oof, sorry. You think you have enough time to make it?”

“Uhhh…” He squinted at the clock in the top bar of the screen. “You know, I think so. Maybe another two hours. Wow, that just tired me out just thinkin’ about it.”

“Want some music?” Frisk asked.

“Couldn’t hurt,” he said. “Hey. Also. You mind doin’ me a giant favour?”

“What’s up?” she asked.

“You wanna go do a save for me?” he asked. He tapped the side of the laptop gently. 

She tilted her head, looked like she was about to ask a question, but then smiled and stuck her thumb up. “Sure, be right back!”

She slipped out of the room and vanished for a few minutes. When she returned, she had a little bit of chill about her, but she seemed content and had the walkman Undyne had given her, along with a thin, child’s book from the bookshelf in the other room. She gave him the headphones while she cozied up under one of his many blankets and quietly read to herself.

“Hey,” he asked after a while, “how’s that other kid doin’?”

“Hm? Oh, Az?” she asked. “Um. He’s okay. Why?”

“He get his voice back?” he asked.

“Oh! Gosh, he let you hear his real voice?” Frisk asked with surprise.

Sans shrugged. “Kinda had a panic attack and lost the fake one,” Sans said. “But he calmed down?”

“Y-Yeah,” she said.

He stuck his thumb up. Though she looked a little troubled, she nodded and returned to her book, and Sans got back to work, albeit reluctantly. He’d rather be asleep.

He was happy for Frisk, though, when she finally flopped over, passed out. She needed it before tomorrow. With blue grasping her soul, he floated her to the other end of the mattress and lay her down and, after a few moments, moved to tuck her in. As she clung to the sheet beneath her, he noticed that the lines between her fingers had begun to shine. She didn’t seem the least bit distressed, however. Good thing he was staying up regardless, he thought.


	62. The Show Must Go On!

Compulsively checking the time wasn’t helping Alphys’s nerves, but she couldn’t stop doing it anyway. Every few minutes, she snuck a peek at her screen. The play wasn’t for at least an hour. Besides that, Mettaton had really cut it back in length from the three hours it initially ran. Just a few hours, and if it worked, the prep work would be done. All that would be left was for Asriel to steal the souls and release them again. If it was so close, why did she still feel like she was going to be sick?

She had spent the majority of the morning with Asgore. There was a lot of her work she could show him— while slipping in a couple coughs— and a lot to explain in layman’s terms, to waste the time. He seemed to enjoy being in the loop, and even if it was clear he still didn’t quite understand what she was talking about, he seemed very interested in letting her rattle it off anyway.

“Alphys. Alphys?” Asgore’s voice snapped her away from her phone quickly as she looked up with a startled expression.

“You’re shaking,” he said.

“O-Oh? I, um…” She reached for her teacup and, as soon as it was in her hand, the china began to shudder. “Oh! I guess I a-am.”

“Are you feeling alright?” He tilted his head, a gentle, concerned frown on his brow. “You’ve been coughing, too, did you pick up a bug of some sort?”

“Oh! Um… W-Well, I… I have b-been a bit more tired than u-usual lately,” she said, and let out a quiet cough. “E-Excuse me.”

“Well, drink that,” Asgore said with a smile, “and I’ll get you some more. And maybe some soup. The only cure is food and rest, after all.”

“R… Right,” she said. She tipped the drops of tea from the bottom of the blossom-covered cup into her mouth. As she put it down, the King gently took it from her and left the table for the kitchen. She could hear the water running and the clunk of the kettle onto the stovetop. 

She took the moment alone to quickly check her phone. The UnderNet was full to the brim of eager monsters lining up to get into the theatre, and her friends were posting photos. Backstage teasers from Mettaton, Papyrus having a little grey dusted under his eye sockets to make him look more authentically sleepy; Napstablook bashfully floating near the switcher board to control the audio and the lights.

Nerves welled up in her. She felt herself starting to sweat and went to wipe her brow, but then paused. The sweat was good. If she could just heat up her scales a bit more, she might be able to sell this. She forced a cough — thinking about it made her throat itchy, and she coughed again, a bit hoarser this time. Her mind raced. She wasn't sure what to do.

“Alphys?” Asgore called from the kitchen. “Are you alright?”

“F-Fine,” she answered.

“Would you like some biscuits?” he asked. “They can be very nice with the tea!”

“Um… Ummm… O-Okay,” she stammered.

She hurriedly turned her gaze back to her phone. “_help!!!_” she texted Undyne.

“_sup?_” she replied within seconds.

“_i dunno how to look sick omg i shouldve thought this thru so much more!!! X_X!!!_”

“_ok_” Undyne said.

A few seconds later, a photo came in with the messages. Hesitantly, Alphys opened it. It was a picture of Undyne. Her scales were glittering under the strange stage lights near her, ear fins flared. Her fingers were pulled through her long hair, down around her shoulders, and she was biting her lip slightly. Alphys felt like she could die right on the spot. She started to sweat again and she knew her scales had flushed.

“_OMG_” she texted with shaking fingers.

“_lmfao ur welcome_” Undyne replied. “_u always get sweaty when I fix my hair so_”

“_ffffff omg luv uuuuuu_” Alphys said.

“_lol love u 2 good luck_”

“I’m g-going to die, I’m j-just going to die,” Alphys muttered to herself. She wanted desperately for some sort of box or trashcan to hide in.

“Alphys?”

She jolted, tearing her eyes away from the screen as Asgore returned with more tea and a tin full of flat, pale cookies. His brow was heavy with worry.

“Oh, Alphys, look at you! You don’t look well at all, my friend,” he said. “Do you need to lie down?”

“Um! I-I… I’m, uhh…” She made as if to stand up, and then plopped heavily back into her seat. “Oh… I g-guess I am, uh, f-feeling a little weird…”

“Have you been getting enough sleep?! Oh, you poor thing.” Asgore hurried over to her and all but forced the teacup into her shaking hands. “Here, drink this.”

“Um… Th-Thanks…” She took a sip, though it was a little difficult— the trembling of her fingers was legitimate. “S-Sorry.”

“No, no no no,” Asgore said gently. “Don’t apologize! Oh, you must’ve been working too hard! You poor thing.”

“It’s…! It’s alright, i-it’s just… It’s my j-job, you know?” she said.

“When’s the last time you got a proper night’s rest?” Asgore asked.

“Um…” Alphys couldn’t honestly answer the question. “Uhhh…”

“Oh, Alphys. Come on.” He scooped her up in his arms and she squeaked as her scales flushed. “You know what you have?”

“N-No?” she said.

“We used to call it the overworksies!” Asgore said. “I am an expert at treating this! First thing, you need some rest! You can take a nice nap, and then later I’ll make you some nice noodles and soup, and you just take your mind off whatever’s troubling you for today! I’m sure you’ll feel just fine soon.”

“Wh-What?! Oh! B-But… But…” She hoped she wasn’t just going to faint dead away from the stress that was building in her chest.

Asgore carried her to his bedroom and gently plopped her onto the big, squishy, giant-monster sized mattress. He fluffed the pillows and tucked her in, and then placed her tea on the bedside table.

“Annnnd…! Ooh, I’ll get you some water as well, and, don’t you worry about a thing! Just relax and stay cozy! I’ll be back!” He rushed out of the room, but closed the door behind him very slowly and gently. 

Alphys stared after him blankly for a few moments. She let out a long, tired sigh that deflated her almost entirely. She slowly pulled her phone up and, though her hands were trembling, she group-texted her friends. “_King’s out u guys r good 2 go!! good luck everyone!! ^///^_”

She drew in a shuddering breath and clutched to the blankets. Guilt knotted inside her, but she knew it was all for the best. She could pretend to sleep for an hour or so, right? She supposed her tremors would add to the authenticity.

\- - -

“Okay, Frisk, almost done.” Papyrus held her hand gently and and dunked his paintbrush in the squeeze of blue paint he’d left on a paper plate. “Don’t move!”

“Sorry, it tickles!” she said with a sheepish smile.

Crouched behind the curtain and set walls that divided the performance platform into a stage, Papyrus was just finishing up using the face paint to cover Frisk’s arms in stripes to match the ones on her cheeks and forehead, since the “Princess” character’s outfit was essentially just a striped t-shirt and her regular pants. He wasn’t in costume yet for fear of getting paint on most of it, though the sleeveless tee for under the lab coat and hoodie was fine to mess up. Even so, he was fairly meticulous. Frisk did her best to keep still.

The theatre they’d usurped was Mettaton’s stage near his hotel, though it’d been magically expanded over the days leading up to the show. He was absolutely adamant that everyone who came had a seat, to the point where they’d pulled chairs from the lab and even Undyne’s house and many hotel rooms to try to make up more rows at the back. Good thing they had, too, because the theatre was full to burst.

The sound of wheels caught their attention as Asriel rolled up slowly to join them. Frisk shot him a smile, though surprise was clear on her face.

“Hey, I thought you were staying home!” she said.

“I, um… I hitched a ride,” he said. “Uh… I might peek in. Once and a while, uh… G-Good luck I guess.”

“Thanks!” Frisk said.

He sped off before she could say any more. Papyrus paused mid brush-stroke and leaned around Frisk to watch as he vanished into the shadows.

“What’s he in such a rush for?” he asked.

“Dunno,” Frisk said.

Part of the curtain shifted and Undyne squeezed through a vaguely Papyrus shaped hole in the wall to join them.

“Couldn’t he just do doors?” she grumbled.

“He said it was quieter,” Frisk volunteered, “and, um, easier to hide?”

“Weird!” she said. 

“Hey, guys!” Kid said brightly as he ducked in around her ankles. “Wow, dudes, this is pretty hype, huh?”

“Very much so!” Papyrus said. “Got any jitters?”

“Well… Maybe just a little.” Kid blushed, though he smiled nonetheless. “But I’m really excited, too!”

“Well, good! You’re going to do just fine,” Papyrus assured him. “Besides, you can read all your lines! It’ll be easy! I’m sure of it.”

“That’s true! You guys okay?” he asked. 

“Of course!” Papyrus said.

“Yeah, mostly it’s fine,” Frisk said. “I’m just worried about Mettaton going off the rails and not being able to think of what to say.”

“Eh, you’ll do great, squirt,” Undyne assured her with a grin. “Stay determined and you got this.”

“Did you see Sans?” Frisk asked. “Is he ready?”

“Caught him nappin’ in the third row,” Undyne said, pointing her thumb back over her shoulder. “But he promised he’d be ready. You save?”

“Uh-huh!” she said. “And Napstablook, is he okay?”

“Oohhh…” The ghostly voice made them all jump as Napstablook floated up into visibility. “Oh… Sorry… Y-Yes. I’m okay.”

“How long have you been there?” Frisk asked with a laugh.

“A few minutes… Oh… Sorry… I could have said earlier, umm… Sorry,” he said.

“No harm done,” Papyrus assured him. “Don’t be afraid to come talk to us, Napstablook! We don’t mind.”

“Oh…” The ghosts cheeks flushed pale silver. “Th-Thanks… Um… I think, um, we’re starting soon? So… I guess I’ll just, um… Go? Okay?”

“See you after!” Frisk said.

“You’re gonna do great!” Kid added brightly.

The ghost smiled faintly before drifting like a bubble in an updraft and fading again from sight.

“Oh! Actually. That reminds me,” Undyne said. “Paps, that the shirt you’re wearin’?”

“It is!” he said. 

“Okay.” She brought up her phone and pulled out a box. “Lemme just put mics on you guys.”

“Mics?” Kid asked.

“Yeah, so we can hear you nerds better,” she said, bending down to clip a little black microphone to the collar of his shirt. “That ghost guy said it was probably smart. Oh! Also! Frisk, Alph and I made you some fake ears.”

“Fake ears?” Frisk tilted her head. “Oh! To hide that I’m, um… Right! Okay! Are they made of socks?”

“HAH! No, actually, we did a little something extra,” Undyne said, moving onto Papyrus. “See, we figured, ‘cause you’re the time kid and stuff, you should probably have an ear-piece, too, like I’ll have and stuff, for the behind the scenes whatever just in case something goes wrong somewhere. So we kinda combined it? Uh… Hope you don’t hate it.”

She whisked out some modified earphones with another poke of her phone and handed them to the kid. The ear coverings were disguised in moulded plastic that looked a lot like Undyne’s ear fins. Frisk’s face lit up.

“Ooooh, cool!” Kid said as he leaned over to look at them.

“The, uh, design was Alph’s idea.” Her cheeks flushed a little darker. “It’s not bad right?”

“Hang on one second, Frisk, just let me finish your stripes,” Papyrus said. “Ooh, look, the blue almost matches! Perfect!”

“They look really awesome, Undyne, thanks!” Frisk said brightly. “I love them.”

“Oh. Phew,” she said with a laugh.

Papyrus took just a few more moments to finish up the last stripes on her arm, and then patted her reassuringly on the shoulder. She eagerly tried the earphones on. The band went around behind her ears, so it was easy to hide it entirely under her hair as the fake fins poked out at the sides of her head.

“Wow, that’s really cute,” Papyrus said.

“You think?” Frisk asked; things were barely muffled at all. “I like it!”

“Totally taking pics once this is done,” Undyne said. “Well, that’s a relief.”

“Wow, dude, no one’d think you were a human now,” Kid said. 

Frisk grinned. Papyrus snickered, gently patted her head, and then stood up.

“Okay! So! I guess our costumes arrrree…” he said, gazing around.

Undyne pointed to the edge of room, on a table. The lab coat, blue hoodie, and Frisk’s striped sweater were right there.

“Ah! Good! I think my first one is the lab coat,” Papyrus said. “Since Cooper is a scientist who is moderately less lazy than my brother.” He strode over with a bounce in his step to pick it up, but as soon as he had it on, he walked back to them with a sluggish gate. 

“Guess Mettaton has all his junk already figured out, huh?” Frisk asked.

“Probably.” Papyrus lowered his voice to one that somewhat mimicked Sans’s. “He better. ‘Cause I don’t wanna do this a second time if he screws it up.”

“Whoa,” Kid mumbled, eyes wide.

“I’m sure it’ll be okay!” Frisk said, mostly trying to persuade herself.

“Ooooof course it will, darlings!!” Mettaton announced. He rolled over, a rectangular machine in a green-and-yellow striped poncho, the top of his shell adorned with little goat horns. 

“Are we all ready for the big show?” he asked, and then he chuckled loudly. “What am I saying, of course we are!!”

“Tone it down, Box,” Undyne muttered.

“You say something, hun? Oh, whatever, not to worry!” he said.“You’re all set up! All of you are set up! Riiiiighhttt?”

“Um. I think so, Mr. Mettaton, sir,” Kid said.

“Oh ho ho, what a lovely child, but please, drop the formalities!” he said, putting an arm around Kid’s shoulders. “We are all thespians here! One big happy theatre family! ALRIGHT!”

He wheeled back quickly and extended his arms. No one really knew what to make of it. He didn’t seem to either. He turned towards Frisk and seemed taken aback.

“Frisky, sweetie! I almost didn’t recognize you! Wow, that’s not a bad look on you, I must say,” he said. “But, um, are you not playing a human? Or two?”

“But no one’d expect a real human to be playing a human in your, uh, play, dude,” Undyne said. “C’mon! Last thing we need is people asking questions about that.”

“Oh. Sigh. You’re right,” he said. “Okay! Okay okay! Five minutes? Five minutes, yes, okay, I will see you out there!”

He sped away in a hurry, somehow leaving a trail of sparkles in his wake. Kid took a deep breath and smiled at the others.

“Well! Guess I’ll go to my spot! Catch you dudes afterwards!” he said.

“Yeah, guess I’ll get to the piano or whatever,” Undyne agreed. “Uh, so I read somewhere that you’re supposed to tell someone to break their legs at a big show like this? So, like break your legs! But don’t actually. See you, nerds!”

She stretched her arms up above her head as she sauntered off with Kid scampering just ahead of her. Frisk waved, and Papyrus shot her an amused look and looked around.

“Guess I’ll take my spot,” he said. “You good?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good,” she said. “Um! Paps?”

“Hm?”

“Could I, um…” She smiled sheepishly. “Could I have a hug, maybe?”

“Oh!” He quickly bent down and wrapped her in his arms, glowing gently and touching his face against her head. “You’re going to do great. You’re so good! And it’ll be good. I’ll be right with you. Even when I’m not on, I’ll watch the whole time, promise.”

“Thanks a million, bro,” she said. “Ready?”

“For sure!” He pulled back and grinned at her. “See you out there, little sister!”

\- - -

Frisk waited cautiously at the edge of the stage, near a tiny opening in the set that was just her size. The monsters had all been called to their seats and the excited chatter filled the room with a low, incomprehensible mumble. She cast a glance at the script hidden beside her. She was tentatively confident. She knew the story well. 

All of a sudden, the audience hushed. The lights went dim, and then pitch black. From somewhere, Kid began to talk.

“Um! Th-Thanks, everyone, for coming to the show!” he said. “Please, um, turn your ringtones off and, um, if you want, download our new radio app, PlayStuff, so you can, um, listen to a recording of the show again later, if you want! Thanks!”

A simple tune on Undyne’s piano began to play. Kid cleared his throat, and began to read.

“L-Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: humans and monsters. One day, war broke out between the two races.After a long battle, the humans were vic…” He had to clear his throat and lights began to dance on backdrop— shadow puppets. “V-Victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell. Many years later…”

“Now, honey,” Frisk heard buzz in her ear; it made her jump.

Quickly, Frisk slunk out onto the dark stage as light shone up against the ceiling, mimicking a hole from the outside oh the mountain. The sounds of wind whipped around the stage, then a small black spot broke the light and plummeted downwards. There was a loud _thunk_. Frisk hurriedly found what felt to be the tissue-paper flowers and flopped down amongst them. Finally, the lights went up.

After a few moments of silence, the sound of a wheel announced Mettaton’s arrival, as did the applause of the audience. He hummed to himself and looked around with deliberate hesitation. 

“The King and Queen of the monsters had a son,” Kid narrated. “The Prince of all monsters. He was very kind to everyone, and he loved to explore the caves on his own. But, one day, he found something in the deepest cavern that he didn’t expect.”

Mettaton gasped. “What is…?! Oh! My gosh!” He rushed to Frisk and bent over. “Is that…? A human?” He looked up at the light on the ceiling, and then looked down again. He put a hand against the panels on his front. “What a long way to fall! I wonder if the human is okay?” he said. “Come on, human, get up.”

He gently put a hand on Frisk’s arm and she took her cue; sat up, with her hand against her head.

“Owww…” she whined.

“OH! Thank goodness!!” he pulled her to her feet and held her by the shoulders. “Are you okay?!”

“Who are you?” Frisk asked quickly, pulling back like she was afraid. “What are you?!”

“Oh! S-Sorry! Don’t be scared! You must be injured, let me take you back to my parents,” he said. “They can fix you up, no problem! I promise! I’m the Prince! It’s my job to look out for people.”

“Um! I…” Frisk winced and put both hands to her head, to a worried gasp from the audience. “My head is killing me.”

He offered her his hand. “Trust me,” he said.

Frisk paused. She stared at him silently for a moment. The audience began to rumble, calling quietly for her to trust the Prince. She smiled slightly and took his hand, and he pulled her to her feet. The audience applauded. 

Mettaton walked her to the side of the stage, and the backdrop was suddenly lit up and marked by more shadow puppets, of the King and Queen, and between them, a Frisk-sized cutout and one of Mettaton as well.

“The Prince took the fallen human before his parents, and without a second thought, they decided to nurse her back to health,” Kid said. 

“Oh, p-poor little thing,” a recording of Alphys said gently. “We w-will take good care of you.”

“Yes, human, stay determined and you will pull through for sure!” Mettaton, putting on a much deeper voice, said. “Welcome to our family.”

The shadows vanished. With a little zap of magic, fake walls of a house pushed in, along with a reading chair. 

“Before long, the fallen human was no longer just that, but was now the Princess,” Kid said. “The whole family was glad to have her, especially the Prince.”

Mettaton patted Frisk on the shoulder and pointed her towards the small hole in the wall.

“I’ll let you know when to come back,” he whispered. “It’s musical number one time!”

“Wait wait?” Frisk asked.

He waved at her and then rolled back onto stage, stretching his arms, as music emanated from the loudspeakers. She darted backstage and Mettaton began to sing.

\- - -

The audience packed into the rows of seats all around the stage were enthralled as Mettaton spun around and sang about how happy the Prince was to have a new sister, mostly to the tune of one of his old pop songs. Sans was fairly bored with it, but that didn’t bother him. He leaned back, arms folded, and made himself promise not to just fall asleep. Didn’t really want those kids of his to have to be up there doing all that work without him even paying attention. This was just Mettaton, though, he could kick back until the song was done.

He felt a little tug on the leg of his shorts. Brows raised, he looked down and, in the dark, spotted Asriel. The flower looked nervous, and his face was flushed with embarrassment. Sans bent forward and scooped him up, and plopped him in the cupholder fastened to the arm of the seat.

“Thanks,” he said at a whisper.

Sans stuck his thumb up. 

He took a look around at the faces of the crowd, lit faintly by the stage lights. The place was packed. He recognized a lot of monsters, even if he didn’t know their names. They were from all over the underground. Probably due to his size, he pulled out that rockram he’d met in the park. He had a fish monster— not dissimilar to the type Undyne was— leaning up on his shoulder, smiling along with the song despite the exhausted look on her face. Sans had a bad feeling. She was looking pretty low. Not beyond the point of no return, though. They could pull that back. He hoped so, at least.

\- - -

Alone in the dark behind the stage, Frisk paced, waiting for the song to be finished. It was pretty catchy, though, even though the lyrics were simple and Mettaton kept rhyming the words with themselves. She could hear everything clearly, pumped in through her headphones. 

Again, she caught some doubts. Her stomach twisted. This was crazy. What a dumb idea. There was no way it would work. How could she expect these monsters to give up a part of themselves to help a stranger with just a goofy play as the basis for their generosity? It was ridiculous. There was no way.

She stopped herself; took a long, deep breath. It didn’t matter. She’d figure it out. It could be just fine. Monsters weren’t so negative; weren’t so concerned with their own individual issues like the humans she’d seen were. She told herself it’d be okay, again. Whatever happened, she’d get this done.

The song sounded like it was winding down. Frisk hurriedly glanced around and picked out a copy of the script on a costume table. She flipped through it quickly for the next scene. A discussion of humans between the Princess and the Prince. There was a note to make sure to get out the info about how to pass through the barrier. Okay, she thought. She could do that.

When the song ended, the audience exploded with applause. Frisk hurried to her hole in the set and stared at the pages. 

“Um! Soon, the Prince and the new Princess were inseparable,” Kid said. “They spent all their time exploring the caves as their parents ruled over the monsters.”

Frisk read along, and then quickly tossed the script down. 

“Sister? Hey, sis, where are you?” Mettaton called.

Frisk gulped. She took a deep breath and hurried back out onto the stage. The lights were so bright that it was hard to see the audience, but there was a small round of clapping when she stepped out into a set dressed like a cave with big, cardboard columns all around. 

“Sorry! I’m here,” she said.

“Here, come here!” Mettaton waved her over and hunkered down on his wheel. “I found this bug, I really want to show you.”

Frisk walked over and knelt down. He had a plastic bug in his hands. He offered it to her. She had seen snippets of something like this. Chara would have squished it; laughed when Asriel got upset. She gently took the bug and made a face at it.

“It’s kinda gross,” she said. “But it’s kinda cool, I guess.”

“You don’t mind gross things?” he asked.

“H-Hey, I like you, don’t I?” she said with a wry smile.

That got a small laugh. He nudged her with his elbow and she snickered.

“I’m kidding,” she said. 

He laughed, too, and tossed the bug like a frisbee. “Oh, there it goes! Wow! So fast,” he said. “Oh! Is it flying up out of the cave?”

He pointed upwards. Frisk followed his finger and squinted into the bright lights.

“Guess so,” she said.

“Hey, sis.” Mettaton pushed his index fingers together and took on a bashful look. “Do…? Do you ever wish you could go back up there?”

Frisk stared at him, her brow furrowing. She got up, and folded her arms, adamantly shaking her head. “Nope!” she said.

“Really?” he asked, straightening up as well. “Don’t you miss the sky? The wind? I’ve been told all about those things! They sound amazing. Don’t you want to see humans again sometime?”

“No. I… I hate humans,” Frisk said.

“You do?” he asked.

“Right! Humans are…! Humans were never nice to me,” she said. “You guys are nice to me. And humans were horrible to you, too! To mom and dad, and everyone. I never want to see them again, ever! Why?”

“Oh, it’s just, sometimes our parents are a bit upset about being stuck down here with the magic barrier trapping us all and everything,” he replied, circling her slowly. “They would really love to get outside sometime. A lot of monsters would.”

“They would?” Frisk asked. “But what about the barrier?”

“The barrier? Well, I heard, the only way to get rid of the barrier would be to get seven human souls. I also heard a monster with one human soul could just walk through. It also makes them very very strong, too. Weird, right?” he said.

“Yeah. Weird.” Frisk frowned thoughtfully. “Thanks.” She shot Mettaton a questioning look. 

He subtly waved a finger at her. “A soliloquy, darling,” he said in her headset, and then quickly added, “Go do a little speech about it! Drop some hints, quickly!”

Hesitantly, Frisk edged over to centre stage and looked out over the crowd. Her mind rushed to put something together. She gulped to wet her dry throat. She tried to think of Chara.

“If… If it were up to me, I’d never go to the surface again. But if the monsters really want to be free, don’t they deserve that? Humans can be really cruel and awful. How could they think it was fair to start a war with the monsters and then trap them under a mountain?” She took a deep breath and felt a little reassured by some murmurs of agreement. “I… I hate them. I hate them a lot. These monsters gave me everything, but the humans gave me nothing. If I could get rid of all of them, I would. But, I’m just one kid. How could I help these monsters that helped me so much?”

She paced the stage, cupping her chin as if in thought. When she stopped, she faced the audience again.

“I have a soul that could let a monster cross the barrier, don’t I?” she said. “I wonder… Well. Maybe I can come up with something.” She turned back around to Mettaton, and he waved at her and pointed off towards the edge of the stage.

“Hey! I think I heard mom!” he called. “We should head back, come on!”

He offered her his hand; she took it and he pulled her into the shadows off the edge of the set. The audience clapped for them.

“Nice work, sweetheart,” Mettaton whispered. “You could have played up the hate a little more, but I did put you on the spot.”

“R-Right,” she said.

The next scene was set a long time later, and was acted out mostly by the shadow puppets against the backdrop. As Kid read the narration, he told the story of how the Prince and Princess had misread a recipe to make a dessert, using buttercups instead of a cup of butter. It had made the King very sick, and given the Princess a terrible idea. Frisk was honestly impressed. It was Napstablook controlling all that from somewhere, but it looked really cool to her, from what she could see from the side. She guessed that was why Mettaton wanted to know how tall she was.

Next, Frisk and Mettaton acted out the Princess’s proposal to give her soul almost exactly as they had practiced. The audience seemed to eat it up, gasping and seeming audibly worried. Frisk took centre stage with an armful of buttercups. Mettaton stood just behind her, to the side.

“Sis, are you sure?! There’s no coming back from this,” he said.

“This is the only way for the monsters to be happy,” she said. “We’ll destroy the humans. We can do it together. I promise. It’ll be okay.”

She made as if she was going to eat a petal and the lights slammed off. The audience cried out in alarm. 

Frisk ran offstage and slunk to the side, just as lights began to flash like lightning. Undyne began to play something that sounded low and dark, and the light of a red heart floated and flickered. The audience gasped. A hand reached out and grabbed it. Frisk winced at another blinding flash, and then a spectrum of rainbow colours shone over the backdrop and the audience, too.

When the lights slowly faded back up, there was a white mass huddled in a ball in the centre of the stage. The audience murmured with anticipation and mild confusion. Slowly, fog billowing from nowhere flowed over the stage and into the onlookers and, in the centre of the platform, the figure straightened up. Mettaton was adorned with a purple cloak and a shroud of fake fur draped over his face and shoulders, making a false monster head that was almost canine in shape, his irises shining bright pink through the gaps left for eyeholes.

Frisk was taken aback. He was pretty imposing, actually. A robe obscured most of his body, and when he raised his hands to look at them, he was wearing fuzzy white gloves with claws at the tips of the fingers. It was more similar to Asriel than Frisk had expected. The audience gasped and clapped, though their air of concern still hung heavy.

“What is this?” He’d changed his voice to a much deeper one, closer to the one he used to play the King. “Sister, where are you? I feel… I feel… strong.” He laughed. His voice shifted to one that was very feminine, much more even compared to how he regularly sounded. It also sounded increasingly sinister. “I’m here, brother. You feel all this power, don’t you? Come on, let’s get going. We’ll cross the barrier together,” he said, and then changed his voice again. “And we’ll free everyone.”

Light flashed again and Frisk ducked out. The music ramped up and, to her surprise, Mettaton began another song. She didn’t really want to hear it, though, so as she slunk backstage, she pulled off her headphones. It was enough to just not hear the song blasted straight to her. She rubbed the backs of her ears and sighed to herself. She felt a little tap on her shoulder and, when she turned, Papyrus was squatting there.

“Oh! Hi!” she said.

“You’re doin’ real well,” he said, gently ruffling her hair. “Doin’ okay?”

“Mhm! You getting ready to go on?” she said. “Still in character, huh?”

“I didn’t think it’d be this long, to be honest,” he said, smiling sideways. “Didn’t realize it was, uh, a musical, y’know?”

“Me neither.” She rubbed the backs of her ears again and shrugged. “W-Well. Um. I think I can stop playing Chara now. Probably got a couple minutes.”

“Cool.” Her brother moved her bangs away from her forehead for a moment and then held up one finger. “One sec.”

He fetched his makeup box and paintbrush. “Lemme just touch you up,” he said. “Some of these are, uh, fadin’ a bit.”

“Oh! Y-Yeah, it’s kinda hot under the lights,” she said. “Thanks a million.”

“No problem at all!” He snickered. “I mean, no problem, kiddo. That’s better, right?”

She laughed. She kept still as he redid a couple of the stripes with quick, gentle strokes. 

“Did you see Sans out there?” he asked.

“Oh, um, no, I actually can barely see the audience at all from the stage because of the lights,” she said. “Heh, why, is he sleeping through the whole thing?”

“Nah, only the songs,” Papyrus said. “You know who’s with him, though? Asriel.”

“What? For real?” Frisk’s eyes went wide. “B-But I thought… I thought for sure he was gonna not… Oh man. I hope he doesn’t think I’m doing a bad job as Chara. I don’t want this to be really hard on him.”

“Kiddo, you’re doing fine,” he said. “Heh. I’m startin’ to like callin’ you that. Hey. Will you watch my scene? It, uh… might be okay.”

“Your scenes are gonna be the best ones in whole show!” she assured him. 

That put a big smile on his face. 

As he finished up, she turned her attention back to the song. Frisk had no idea how Mettaton could keep going for so long, but he seemed to be. She lifted her headphones and checked; it seemed like he was singing two parts, in fact. A duet with himself. He was acting out the battle with the humans and the death of Asriel all in song. She took a deep breath and shook her head.

“What?” Papyrus asked.

“This is crazy, huh?” she said.

“Maybe. That’s okay, though,” he said.

“Yeah. Thank you,” she said. “You ready?”

“Absolutely I…! I mean. Yeah. Guess so.” He shrugged and stood up. “See you in a couple scenes, huh?”

Mhm!” She hugged him and grinned. “Do like Undyne said and break your legs but don’t, whatever that means.”

He laughed and ruffled her hair.

As he headed for the edge of the stage, Frisk slipped the headphones back over her ears. After a few seconds, the song crashed to an end, and the audience applauded fervently.

When she peeked out, without having to have the lights right in her eyes, Frisk could finally see into the crowd. She was surprised to see many of the monster faces were wet with tears. Something about it must’ve really resonated. Mettaton was doing a good job. 

As the crowd grew quiet again, the lights dimmed.

“Years passed,” Kid narrated, his words punctuated by more shadows on the back wall. “The Queen, despondent, vanished. The King vowed to gather seven souls to break the barrier and get revenge on the humans who hurt his people and his family. He collected six.”

The souls lit up, an incomplete spectrum around a large, white monster’s soul. Frisk gulped and put her hand to her chest. 

“In the meanwhile, the King needed help. As time went on, things underground got harder and harder. To help all the monsters, he hired the smartest monster he could find, a skeleton named Cooper, to try to find a way around getting one more soul, through the power of magic science.”

When the lights came back on, the set was a facsimile of a science lab, with white tables and gadgets all around. After a moment, Papyrus strolled out, face buried in a tome of notes. He looked somehow older; more mature as he wandered around the stage. He sighed and dropped them heavily on the table.

“Useless,” he grumbled. He plopped down at a computer and put his cheek on his fist, frowning pointedly at the screen. “Waste of time.” He put his hands to his eye sockets. “I need a nap.”

Papyrus put his head down on the table for a moment, the way he grasped onto his skull and heaved out a shaking breath making it seem like he was legitimately close to collapse. His phone rang. Slowly, he sat up straight and looked at the screen. 

“The King,” he said. “Dang. Y’know. He’s countin’ on me, but sometimes I just can’t see the point.”

There was a crash from above and the lights flickered. There were scattered yelps and a scream from the audience, and Papyrus hesitantly got up. He looked around and it happened again. 

“Uhh…” He rushed to a weird instrument in the corner that, from Frisk’s perspective, seemed to only be made of glowing lightbulbs. “Oh. God, that’s the CORE, I gotta…” He raced out without finishing his sentence. 

The lights went up and down again a few times, and the set shifted. Now, it was a lot more abstract, with pieces awkwardly suspended all around, and balls of light flickering above them. Papyrus came back out, shielding his eyes. 

“That’s not good,” he muttered. He dragged over a control panel that seemed to have been forgotten just out of view and fiddled with it as if that would somehow fix the problem. 

The sounds died down. He wilted slightly, a look of relief on his face, but all of a sudden, everything crashed again and Mettaton was wilting nearby. The fur of his costume, now, was stark black instead of the bright white from earlier.

“What the…?!” Papyrus released the controls. “Hey! It’s not safe here, what are you…?”

Mettaton looked up. Papyrus froze.

“Prince?” he asked. “Wait a second, you’re the Prince, aren’t you?”

“The… Prince,” Mettaton repeated quietly.

“No way. No way, you’re dead,” Papyrus said, frowning. “How are you…?”

“I… I can’t feel,” Mettaton said. “I can’t feel anything. Help me.”

“The problem was as clear to Cooper as if he could read it,” Kid narrated. “What stood there in the CORE with him looked like the Prince, but it wasn’t quite him. The monster there had no soul at all. An empty shell of nothing but malice.”

A chill seemed to sweep over the audience, their shudders almost in unison. Papyrus seemed apprehensive.

“Your soul,” Mettaton said. “Give it to me.”

Electric yellow magic came to his hands and he rushed Papyrus. Frisk’s heart thunked. The skeleton raised an arm, and the lights went out once more. The audience gasped. 

After just a second, they were back in the lab. Papyrus stood there, looking confused. 

“What?” he muttered. He looked around, his puzzled frown only deepening. 

Then, his phone rang. Hurriedly he looked at it.

“The… The King.” He frowned. “Wait a sec. That’s the same time as… No way.”

Seconds later, the lights flickered again. It was exactly the same as last time. Papyrus froze in place, and when the lights went up again, he plopped down into his seat.

“No way,” he muttered again. “Did I…? What?”

He got up again and was making his way, baffled, towards some of the scientific equipment near the back of the stage, when Frisk was gently grabbed and whisked backstage.

“Ah—! Mettaton!” she said sharply when she registered who she was looking at. “What’re you doing?”

“Oh, hun, you did really well out there, let me just say,” he said. “Can you. Do me. An itsy-bitsy favour?”

“Don’t I have to go on soon?” she squeaked. “Don’t you?”

“Yes! I thought I’d do another expositional song. You know, explain the whole time travel mess and the battle between the scientist and the Prince, and—! Oh! Can your brother dance?”

“Would Cooper dance?” Frisk wondered.

“Hah! Good point. I’m sure he’ll follow my lead,” Mettaton said. “Anyway! Could you slip out? Just for a moment. I need a word with a monster called Muffet, do you know her?”

“What, right now?” Frisk asked— he looked at her insistently. “Yeah, I know her, but—”

“I asked her to be on call, and she was lovely and said she would be in case I need her and I think I… I’m needed onstage! You’ll go, won’t you?”He began to slide away and shot her a hopeful look. 

She nodded. He beamed.

“Oh, darling, thank you,” he said. “See you soon!!”

He burst back onstage and Frisk heard the music kick off. She hurriedly took the earphones off again, and as quickly as she could, she grabbed her shoes and slipped out of the theatre. 

Muffet was a spider monster. Frisk had met her and her many spider friends before, in a different timeline. They’d tried to kill her, obviously. At Mettaton’s request, in fact. She hoped there wouldn’t be a repeat of that, but if she was expecting him to send someone, maybe it’d be simple enough this time.

The large, sprawling web the spiders lived in was actually right next-door. Frisk hurried out through a passage that lead past some dressing rooms. It was currently crowded with more set pieces than Frisk was sure they needed. 

When she left the theatre, she was confronted by dark and glittering silk that enveloped a whole chamber. In fact, looking at it from here, it was almost like she was midway up a tower she couldn’t see either end of, and it just so happened that a natural path of Hotland travelled through it. The clicking of little, skittering feet tickled the edges of her hearing range.

She watched her steps very carefully as she walked across the web-coated stone. She could feel it sticking to her shoes. 

“Um! E-Excuse me?” she called. “Is Muffet here? M-Mettaton asked me to find her!”

Her words seemed cushioned amongst all that soft webbing. It made her a little uneasy. She wished they had a bell or something. The longer it was quiet, the more nervous she got. She lifted the headphones and could still hear a song playing.

A feminine chuckle snapped her out of her thoughts. She bit her lip and glanced around. A lavender lady with five eyes seemed to float down to the ground to meet her. She dressed in muted reds and pinks, with poofy pantaloons and a blouse with puffy sleeves and a large ribbon in the front. Her feet were delicate when they touched the ground, and she casually swept the long, pointy fingers on one of her six arms through her dark, pig-tailed hair.

“What do we have here?” Muffet asked. “What little thing has stumbled into my web?” Her big, dark, almond-shaped eyes blinked unevenly, and she smiled, showing thin, pointy fangs.

Frisk took a deep breath and offered her hand right away. “H-Hi! Um. I’m Frisk. I’m helping Mettaton with the play and he asked me to come find you.”

“Ooh. I see,” she said. “Couldn’t come himself? Typical.”

“Um, h-he’s onstage right now,” Frisk said, pulling back bashfully.

Muffet cupped her chin with one hand. She tilted her head curiously. She levelled a finger at the earphones she held. 

“What are…? Oh. May I?” She held her hand out. “Ahuhuhu… Let’s see what nonsense he’s up to now.”

Frisk cautiously handed them over. The spider lady lifted them close to her head and, after a moment, she seemed amused. She chuckled. 

“Why were you carrying these?” she asked.

“Oh, um, it’s just, the music’s a little distracting,” she said, “but, um, I’m in the play, too, so he thought I should hear all the stuff that’s going on.”

“Aaah. So he just… Alright. Look, here.” She rolled her finger across something on the bottom of the right ear covering, and the faint music got noticeably fainter. “Tch. There.”

“Oh! Th-Thanks,” Frisk said as she handed it back.

“Huhuhu, why are you so shaky?” Muffet asked.

“I’m not, I…” She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Sorry. Nerves. I, um, I never acted before.”

“Oh! Stage fright, dear? I see, I see.” She smiled sideways. “Your stripes are running.”

“My wh…?! Oh!” She looked at her arms reflexively. 

Muffet smiled slightly and pointed at her own cheek. Frisk felt her face heat up instantly.

“So,” Muffet said. kneeling down and putting a hand on each of her shoulders. “A little human walks into my lair. And so willingly.”

Frisk’s heart thunked. “I’m sorry, please don’t be mad,” she said quickly, her eyes nervously locked on the ground. “I-I’m just trying to help, I promise, I don’t mean to cause any trouble, I—”

“Yes, yes, that’s all well and good,” she said. “But how do you feel about spiders?”

“Spiders?” Frisk looked up. “Sp-Spiders? They’re p-pretty cool, why?”

“Really? Cool?” she repeated. “Is that the truth? Don’t you think they are gross? Don’t you stomp on their heads? Don’t you… pluck at their little legs?”

“What?! No, of course not, why would I do that?! That’s awful,” Frisk said shrilly.

“So you do not hate spiders?” She tilted her head. “I was told all humans hate spiders.”

“N-No, I mean… Spiders are neat. The small ones are kinda fuzzy, you know? And sometimes you see them around here wearing a ton of tiny shoes, that’s kinda cute,” Frisk said, tenting her fingers. “And they eat mosquitoes! That’s really important and useful, too! Um… And some are really pretty colours, kinda like, um, you are, you know?”

“Ohuhuhuhu, but you do seem quite frightened, dearie,” Muffet said.

“It’s just… You’re a lot bigger than me,” she said sheepishly. “A-And I gotta go back and do the play and I can’t if I’m… dead… so…”

“Oh! I see. I see, I see,” she said. “You are a human, so I suppose it would be natural to worry about such a thing. But, don’t worry. I won’t be killing you.”

“Y-You’re not gonna just say that your pet’s gonna kill me, right?” she squeaked. “Because I really like that thing, but she’s huge with such big teeth, and she’s really loud and I would kinda not like to be killed by her either.”

Muffet looked taken aback. “Why are you so preoccupied with me killing you?” she asked.

Frisk wasn’t sure what to say. She gulped.

“Um. It’s just, M-Mettaton said that he kinda asked you to, before we were friends, so…”

“OH! Oh, that. Huhuhuhu, how silly.” She straightened up and waved two hands dismissively. “He cancelled that order a while back. Don’t worry your pretty little head. Did he tell you about Cupcake?”

“Cupcake? Oh! Cupcake, um…” Frisk didn’t have an explanation for that. “N-No, I, um… I just saw her from a distance.”

“She really is lovely, isn’t she? Too bad there’s no room in the theatre for her, she would’ve been marvellous on stage, in a little tutu or something, don’t you think?” Muffet smiled. “Well, now. Let’s go see what that mechanical maniac wants from us, shall we?”

“Thank you so much,” Frisk said.

“Not to worry, little human,” Muffet said with a gentleness that surprised her. “To be frank. I heard about you earlier.”

“You did?” she asked.

“Yes. I heard a little girl in a striped shirt in the ruins was nice to some spiders at our bake sale,” she said. “That was you, wasn’t it?”

Frisk was taken aback. She remembered. She’d visited with her mom before she left the Ruins. “Oh! Yeah, we bought some cider,” she said. “I really liked it.”

“Huhuhu, lovely,” Muffet said with a glow about her cheeks. “It’s always nice to hear someone enjoys one’s cooking! I’m sorry for pulling your leg. No human who buys spider food can be all that bad, surely. Shall we go?”

“S-Sure,” Frisk said.

“Fantastic.” She extended a hand into the air and a spider swung down with a dainty pink handbag, which Muffet quickly slid over one of her shoulders. “Let’s be off, dearie.”

She strode quickly and gracefully across the webbing, and Frisk hurried to keep up. She put her headphones back on and turned the volume up just a little to check in on what was going on. It didn’t sound like much at all. Had the musical number ended? 

She was a bit worried, but when she and Muffet entered the back way, the first thing besides the mess of set pieces they saw was Kid, chugging a bottle of water, perched with Undyne on a chunk of fake castle wall.

“Oh! Hey, there you are,” Undyne said. “Hey, uh, Muffet, right? Welcome to the mess.”

“What’s going on?” Frisk asked.

“Intermission,” Kid said. “Oh my god, dude, this is nuts.”

“You’re doing so good though,” Frisk said.

“You too!” he assured her. “I think they were looking for you backstage, though.”

“Then we will be on our way!” Muffet announced.

“Oh, wait, uh, if you’re up for it,” Undyne said, “I gotta couple things to go through with you.”

“Things?” Muffet repeated.

Undyne shrugged and held up a crumpled list. The spider sighed and slipped over to the wall to join her. Frisk hesitated for only a moment before she ran for the backstage.

“You listen, that’s my kid, okay?!” Papyrus was saying from somewhere, sounding surprisingly cross despite still keeping to his Cooper voice. “It’s dangerous for her to just be runnin’ up to monsters who don’t remember her sometimes, especially monsters like Muffet! She almost killed her, more than once!”

“Yes, I understand, but darling—” Mettaton said.

“If she gets killed, not only is that just straight awful, but we gotta redo everything on this show so far!” he insisted. “Ugh. I shouldda gone with her.”

Frisk quickly found them around the corner, and Papyrus’s expression shifted the second he saw her.

“Frisk!” he said, grabbing her right off her feet into his arms. “Oh. Thank god. You’re okay? Yeah?”

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” she assured him. “It’s okay.”

“Seeeee? No danger at all,” Mettaton assured him. “Though I appreciate that you’re very protective, Papyrus, it’s very sweet of you.”

“Uuugghh…” Papyrus grumbled. “She didn’t hurt you at all, right?”

“No, I’m okay,” she said. “Um. She kinda saw that I was a human right away though.”

“SEE?!” Papyrus said, whirling on Mettaton. “I knew it. That’s so dangerous, Mettaton!”

“Alright, alright!” Mettaton put up his hands and smiled bashfully. “Okay. I understand. But nothing went badly. Did it, Frisk?”

“No, but I think it mightta been mostly because I bought something at her bake sale,” she admitted. 

Papyrus muttered something inaudible and low, and he pouted and snuggled her close. She didn’t mind a bit.

“Hey, um. If we’re doing a break, maybe would you mind repainting a few stripes for me again?” she asked. “Muffet said they were running a bit.”

“Absolutely,” Papyrus assured her.

He plunked her down and ran off to get his facepaint again, and Muffet slid silently up behind Frisk with a smile on her face.

“Well, well, well. Look at you, Mister Mettaton,” she said. “That is you under all that fluff and on top of those long legs, isn’t it?”

“Ah! Muffet, my lovely, thanks for coming on such short notice,” he said, and then gestured to himself with a proud smile, using his thumb to push up the animal-like mask covering half his face. “What do you think?”

“Ooh my.” Muffet fanned her face. “You’re very pretty, my dear. Is this a version 2.0, or…?”

“Something like that!” he assured her. “Though I am very slightly in disguise. The grand reveal will be soon. Count yourself among the few who get to see it early!”

“What a privilege,” she said with a laugh. “As for the short notice, I must say, you are cutting it awfully close, aren’t you?”

“Wait, what’s going on?” Frisk asked.

“Don’t worry at all,” Mettaton said quickly. “Just go about the performance as normal. Speaking of, the next scene is where our new human first meets the evil Prince, and then after that, Cooper. Don’t forget to put on your other shirt, alright?”

“Oh. Y-Yeah,” Frisk said.

“So, no arms, then,” Papyrus said said he came back. “Cool. Lemme get your cheeks.”

He sat down and began to paint her again. Muffet leaned over with a curious frown on her face. 

“Oooh, I see,” she said. She slipped her purse off her shoulder and pulled out a small, plastic case that was shaped like a shell. She flipped it open and produced a pompom covered in fine dust. “Here,” she said, handing it to Papyrus. “This should help, dearie. Who are you, by the way?”

“I am the great Papyrus,” he said brightly. “Captain Undyne’s protégé, first time actor, and Frisk’s big brother!”

He used the pompom to gently dust across Frisk’s face. She scrunched her eyes closed and tried not to laugh.

“Ah! I see, then it doesn’t smudge so fast,” he said, straightening up and handing it back to Muffet. “Thank you!”

Muffet took it back with a smile on her face as she eyed him up and down.

“My, aren’t you a tall, cool glass of milk,” she said.

“Oh! I’m afraid you’re mistaken, I’m a skeleton, in fact! That’s okay, though, I know there aren’t many of us left so you might never have seen one before!” he said, and he turned his attention on Frisk. “It’s our first scene together after this, are you excited?!”

“Yeah!” she said. “Oh! What’d I miss, by the way?”

“Song exposition mostly,” he said.

“Expowhat?” Frisk said, tilting her head slightly.

“It’s like when you explain what is going on, basically,’ he said. “To get across extra story things and information. Kind of like I’m doing right now!”

“Oooh, okay,” she said. “Hey, Mettaton? When did you decide to do a musical? You didn’t say anything about that.”

“Oh, I just didn’t want to bother you all,” he said with a smile. “It’ll be just me doing the singing, you see. Though, Papyrus, darling, you did do a stellar job of keeping up during that last number. And staying in character, too, that was very good.”

“Oh! Thank you,” he said.

Frisk folded her arms and took a deep breath. Papyrus drew her into a hug and grinned.

“It’ll be fun,” he said.

“I’m glad you’ll be there with me,” she said.

“Of course I will!” He smiled bashfully. “If I happen to say anything that is slightly rude and do not hug when it would be normal to hug, it’s just because I’m playing a character, okay?”

“I know,” she assured him.

“Great!” He rushed to a table to grab her change of shirt and a script, and flipped through the thing quickly. “Okay! So. At this point, Cooper and the Prince have been time traveling and fighting each other and basically having a garbage time of it. And Cooper’s already kind of giving up on things. And then the Human arrives and it’s your story, little sister! So, I hope this won’t be too hard.”

“You’ll do fine, honey, your improvisations have been on point so far,” Mettaton said.

Papyrus passed the script to Frisk, and she skimmed its pages and nodded.

“Okay, um! I’ll get changed then! See you soon? How much time do we have?” she asked.

“Let’s give it maybe five more minutes,” he said.

“Okay. Okay. Got it. Thanks.”

“Oh! One more thing, hun,” Mettaton said. “There’ll be a point near the end when I give you a signal. You’ll need to push a button on my back, okay?”

“On your back?” Frisk repeated.

“Mhm!” He spun and swept part of the robe aside. Down the middle of his back, there were a few small buttons. He pointed out one in particular. “This one. You push this one. It’ll send a signal to Alphys. It’s important. Understand?”

“Oh! Yeah, okay, got it,” she said. “Okay! I’ll go get ready!”

Frisk headed away quickly, clutching her striped shirt close. Papyrus headed for the costume table himself, and, as he switched out the lab coat for the blue hoodie, Muffet watched him with interest. Mettaton slid up beside her and rolled his eyes.

“He is far too young for you,” he said.

“Oh, hush, you. I know, he’s just cute,” she said.

“Well. I won’t disagree,” he said. “In that optimistic puppy sort of way.”

Muffet giggled. “You could have sent me a heads-up, you know,” she said. “That little girl was positively petrified. And she is not even afraid of spiders.”

“Was she? Oh.” Mettaton cupped his chin. “I suppose there might be some history I’m not recalling…”

“History? Whatever could you mean?” the spider asked curiously. “That tiny child has a very familiar face, I’ll give her that, but I’ve certainly never met her before.”

“Right. Absolutely. For sure.” Mettaton nodded. “The show is going very well, by the way. If you care to know.”

“I’ve been listening in, don’t you worry,” Muffet said. “So. You’re really going through with it.”

“It’ll be glorious, I promise,” he said with a grin.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, but couldn’t keep an amused smile off her face. “Don’t you traumatize those little cuties, okay, dear?” she said.

“Nonsense, they’ll love it,” he said, waving a hand back and forth dismissively. 

Muffet chuckled and stuck a hand up into the air. Webbing shot up and latched onto beams above and she gracefully floated up and disappeared into the shadows above the stage. Mettaton was almost giddy and he couldn’t keep a grin off his face. He certainly couldn’t wait for the end of the intermission. The rest of his show was going to be very exciting for him.


	63. The Show Must Go On!

Frisk was huddled on the floor again in the dark, waiting for her cue. The set up was exactly the same as her first scene. Mettaton said, “it rhymed, like poetry”, whatever that meant. She tried not to touch the flowers too much. They crinkled.

“Frisky, darling, I’m going to chase you at some point,” she heard whispered through her headphones. “Just let me quote-unquote “kill” you the first time, run the second time, okay?”

She didn’t really have a way to answer, but she made a note to herself. When the lights went up, she still kept herself firmly splatted to the ground.

“One day. Just like before. A new human fell down into the mountain,” Kid read. “The Human was small, and weak, and hurt.”

Frisk slowly heaved herself to her knees and put a hand to her head, wincing with supposed pain.

“But this human was a little different than most. This one had a red soul, full of DETERMINATION,” Kid said.

Frisk took a moment to get to her feet and she cupped a hand under her soul spot, where it lit up red— just bright enough to see. The crowd _oohed _and _aahed_. Frisk looked around as if she was puzzled.

“Mwahaha… What a long way to fall.” Mettaton had put on a darker, more sinister voice, and when he loomed from the shadows at the other end of the stage, the audience was audibly alarmed. “Poor little human. You’ve come such a long way, haven’t you?”

Judging by the reaction— the quiet boos and the growling— he’d already firmly established that he was now the villain of the story. Accordingly, she backed up a little and put on a worried face.

“Wh-Who are you?” she asked. “What are you?”

“Oh, scared, are you? Good. You should be.” The way he moved, cloaked as he was, made him seem like he was gliding as he pushed in close and circled around, and Frisk realized there were little, glistening specks of spiderweb on his shoulders aiding him along. “Welcome to the world of monsters. But, of course, you’re a human, aren’t you? So, of course, they will try to kill you. They will hate you as soon as they see you. But if you come with me, I will protect you. What do you say?”

He offered her his hand. The audience erupted into worried sounds, and Frisk picked out a voice or two insisting she not trust him. Whatever he had setup, he must’ve really turned everyone against him quickly. That was sort of funny to her. She’d half-expected the crowd to be against her for the simple fact that she was the Human. They must’ve been getting into the story more than she thought they would. Suspension of disbelief, just like Mettaton had said.

She took a cautious step backwards. “I… Um. I dunno,” she said.

“What, are you scared? Don’t you want to be friends?” he said mockingly. His fingers glittered with yellow sparks, and, with a swift flick of his wrist, he shot it straight into Frisk’s chest. 

It only tingled, but the audience cried out and the lights went off.

“So. The Human died,” Kid read as a light projection of a red soul floated against the backdrop. “But. That wasn’t the end by a long shot.”

Frisk got the picture; hurriedly sat down again in the tissue flowers.

Illuminated again, she blinked hard under the stage lights and she heard the audience murmur. She looked around with confusion.

“Wh-What?” She looked down at her hands with bafflement. “But didn’t…? Didn’t I just…?”

“Mwahaha… What a long way to fall,” Mettaton said, his inflection exactly the same as before. He glided onstage, and there were some faint boos from the crowd. 

Frisk backed away from him, eyes wide. “Wait,” she muttered.

“Poor little human. You’ve come such a long way, haven’t you?” he said. “Are you scared?”

Frisk took another step back. “D-Don’t come any closer!” she said loudly.

“Oh? You don’t need to be scared of me,” he said. “You’ve come to the world of monster, but they will try to kill you. But, if you come with me…”

“N-No way!! You killed me last time!” Frisk protested. “What’s your deal?!”

“Last time?” Mettaton tilted his head. “Last… time…?” He stood up a bit taller and something happened to the lights; around him looked dark and ominous somehow. His eyes began to glow. “You little brat,” he said. “How did you…?! Oh, well, it doesn’t matter. Just give me your soul and we’ll get this all over with.” 

“My soul?” she squeaked. “N-No!!”

“Guess I’ll just have to take it, then,” he said.

He made as if he was going to grab her, and she dodged as the audience gasped. She took off at a run across the stage until she was off, and then waited for him to slip into the hidden spot beside her before she took off again. 

She sprinted back and forth across the stage as Mettaton menacingly trailed behind her. Halfway through her fourth run, a purple door with the word “OUT” painted quite visibly above it dropped down and she had to stop to not run straight into it. She put her hand out to it, but, of course, it was fake and didn’t budge. The lights dipped to black and she felt something smack her head, probably the door on its way up. She held in a yelp, and was quickly grabbed into a hug and right off her feet.

“So good, Frisky, darling!” Mettaton said through her headphones. “I’ll just put you in your next spot. See you in a few scenes!”

She was plunked down and, in the dark, she could hear things moving around, along with getting fleeting glimpses of little sparkles of yellow magic.

“The Human had escaped the evil Prince. She ran, and ran, and ran, up the tunnels from the Ruins until, suddenly, the world seemed to open up,” Kid said.

When the lights came up, there was a bunch of fake, brown trees all along the back wall and someone from above was tossing down chunks of white confetti, like snow. Frisk was alone on the stage. Her curiosity was somewhat legitimate as she wandered around; it was also authentic when she rubbed her head, assured there would be a bruise there soon.

She was unsure of what to do, and she felt herself starting to get a little hot. She supposed it was good that the bright lights made it too hard to see the audience in the dark off the stage.

When she turned back around, she heard some quiet applause, but was sure it wasn’t for anything she’d done. She paused; pretended like she was lost, and she caught a glimpse of Papyrus from the corner of her eye. He was leaning against one of the fake trees, trying to look casual.

“Oh. Great,” he said, his focus squarely on the audience. “That’s a human there, huh? As if things couldn’t get any worse. Hm… Looks kinda like a kid, though. Looks kinda freaked out.”

Frisk tried to put herself back in her own head. How would she have acted if she hadn’t met Toriel in the Ruins and had just come straight out after being blasted to bits. She probably would’ve been scared and shellshocked, right? Accordingly, Frisk made an act of breathing too hard. She put her face in her hands and dropped to her knees.

Peeking out between her fingers, she could see Papyrus edge closer, caution in his steps. A rumble in the audience urged him forward, though a few voices warned him against it, too. The piano was cautious, but optimistic. He poked Frisk’s shoulder. She looked up at him quickly and plopped backwards onto the floor, eyes wide. He raised a hand quickly.

“Whoa, whoa,” he said. “Chill out.”

“Wh-What are you?” she asked.

“Uh. You serious?” he asked with a wry smile.

She nodded vigorously. 

“Skeleton,” he said, jabbing his thumb against his chest. “And you’re a human, right?”

“Y-Yeah,” she said. “You’re… not gonna hurt me?”

“Uh…” He looked thoroughly surprised. “I was kinda thinkin’ the same thing.”

“Wh-Why would I hurt you?” she squeaked.

“That’s a good question,” he said. “You, uh… You look kinda freaked. You alright?”

“Kinda. I, um… Just fell. From up there.” She pointed her finger towards the ceiling. “And then this shadowy guy, he…” She put her hand to her chest. 

Papyrus tilted his head.

“What?” he asked.

“I… I dunno, never mind,” she said hurriedly. 

“Oh. Uh. Okay,” he said.

“Um! Cooper was conflicted,” Kid interrupted, his voice a little unsteady. “The Human clearly seemed like something was wrong. He wondered, then, if it was possible. He’d felt time drag backwards. Was it the Prince? Or could it have been this Human? There was only one way to find out.”

Frisk tried not to laugh. They must’ve derailed the scene somehow. The narration reeked of Mettaton feeding new pages to Kid. She hoped it wasn’t too much trouble. Papyrus seemed to take the cue, too.

“Uh. Actually,” he said. “You… didn’t happen to get attacked? In there.”

“Oh! Um… Y…Yeah,” Frisk admitted.

“By a monster?” he said.

“I guess so,” she said. 

“And… did you notice anything weird?” he said. “After, I mean.”

“He, um, shot me with lightning or something. It hurt a lot.” She could see in his eyes that, even though the pain was fictional, her brother badly wanted to scoop her up. “But then after just a second, it was like it never happened. And… And it was weird, he said the same thing to me twice.”

“And there it was. The Human had taken the time travel powers away from him, and away from the Prince,” Kid read.

Papyrus stayed silent, staring at Frisk with a quiet hurt on his face. He put a cautious hand on her shoulder.

“Dude, you okay?” she asked— that one was mostly legitimate.

“Hey, uh… Stay away from him, okay?” he said.

“Oh! So you know him?” she asked. “Yeah, I guess he was pretty scary.”

“He’s, uh… He’s trouble,” Papyrus said. “Just, uh… Be careful, huh?”

She gave him a hug. She knew it was out of character for him to do it, but she was playing herself, and she’d hugged everyone who was okay with it right away when she met them. The audience mostly cooed in response. She guessed she'd somehow gotten them to think she was cute. That was helpful.

“Thanks for the advice,” she said, “and for checking on me.”

She pulled back and he looked thoroughly startled. When she got to her feet, he watched her with curiosity.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“I… Uh.” Frisk paused. She didn’t really know, actually, but tried to remember the order of scenes in the script. “I’m… not sure. I should go, though, right? I should stay away from that guy. And, um… M-Monsters won’t really like me, huh? So… So I should try to leave, right? Hey, thanks again! Maybe I’ll see you around?”

She headed off, stage left, and Papyrus watched her go silently. He got up and hesitantly put a hand against his chest. His soul glowed faintly through his shirt. 

“What was that feeling?” he asked. “Who was that kid?” 

He left the stage in the other direction and the lights went dark again. Frisk didn’t think she was in the next scene, but she ducked backstage to find a script. 

Just as she thought, the next part was Papyrus, alone. He was in his lab, realizing that Frisk was a special time kid. She was in the one after that, though. A test. She took a deep breath. She’d have to see where it went. She left the script where she found it and snuck out to the side of the stage again so she could watch her brother’s performance.

The backdrop, once again, was lit just by a spotlight, and puppets seemed to take over the storytelling. There she was, and there were some other monsters too, bouncing around.

“Cooper followed the Human as she headed through the mountain. Monsters battled her, but she never battled back. He found this very odd. He tried to keep his distance, but every once in a while, she’d spot him,” Kid read, “and she’d give him a hug. She seemed lost, though. Uncertain and a little frightened. The Prince had not returned yet. This put Cooper on edge as well. He left the Human for a long while and headed back to his lab.”

The shadows changed, showing a scene of the human in silhouette.

“Meanwhile, the Human wandered, looking for somewhere safe, but even so, the Prince found her again.” The audience gasped as a scary shadow representing the monstrous Prince came into view. “So the Human had to run to stay alive!”

However the shadow puppets worked, Frisk was really impressed. They looked almost like an animation as the little Human ran from the Prince, chasing her like a monster of smoke with long claws extended outwards. 

“She ran and ran, and then, in the heat of Hotland, finally, lost him. Then, she searched for a place to hide.”

The lights began to come up again and Papyrus started the scene by hurriedly looking at fake machines at the back of his makeshift, cardboard lab.

“Red. Red red red,” he muttered. “Everything indicates that this final soul should be red. I gotta check, somehow.” He paced the room and then rubbed his hand across the top of his skull, looking perturbed. He tented his fingers. “Ah. Crap. Kid, don’t hate me, okay?” he said. “If I can just… I’ll figure this out. What a mess.”

He bundled himself up in his coat and left the set. Nothing else happened for a few seconds, though. Frisk slipped back on. There hadn’t been any notes for where the next scene actually was when she’d looked. She’d snuck into the lab in real life, after all. Maybe that’s where this Human had decided to hide.

Cautiously, Frisk tiptoed around the room as if worried something might beep or break. “What a cool place,” she said quietly.

There was a noise behind her and Frisk unwittingly jumped. She spun around, but there was nothing there, not even Mettaton creeping up behind her. She cautiously backed up and then inspected the lab. She hopped up into the chair and peered down at the papers.

“Oh. Guess I shouldn’t touch this, huh?” she said.

She got up again just as Papyrus rushed back into the room, an alarmed look on his face. He froze when she saw her and she did likewise.

“Oh!! It’s you!” She was all smiles. “Hi!! Is this your place?”

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Oh. Um… I just… I got a little lost and…” She gulped when Papyrus drew up a long bone and grasped it in his hand— the audience gasped. “Oh. Gosh. Sorry, did I do something wrong? I can go, I just thought…”

His soul brightened up and linked with hers, and the audience murmured with excitement. 

“Wait, are we fighting?!” Frisk yelped.

Papyrus took a step away and, letting out a sigh, pulled his arm back and then chucked the bone at her. She flung her arms up with surprise and winced, but the dull thunk of the bone against her head never came. The audience gasped and clapped. She hesitantly unwound herself and, when she looked, the femur was stuck in midair, jittering in red magic. Papyrus smiled and snapped his fingers, and the attack shattered into golden glitter. 

“Heh. Sorry,” he said. “Just had to see. You’re a red one, huh?”

“Red one?” she repeated.

He tapped on his own chest. Frisk raised her brows and then put a hand over her heart. Her soul shone through her shirt and, again, the audience seemed enthralled.

“I’ve been, uh, kinda lookin’ for a red one,” he admitted.

“What does that mean?” she said.

“Welp. How much do you know about what’s going on down here?” he asked.

“Um. Well… No. Nothing,” she said, shaking her head.

This got a laugh. Papyrus tapped his chin.

“Okay. This is gonna sound messed up,” he said, beckoning her closer, “but you can time travel. Can’t you?”

“T-Time travel?” she yelped. “Um. Oh. W-Was that what that was?”

“Sure was,” he said. “I used to do it, too. Until you came along.”

“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry!” she said.

He smiled. “No, no. It’s good,” he said. “I was waiting for you.”

“Y… You were?” she asked.

“I saw in my research… Well. Here.” He scooped her up and plopped her back in the chair at the desk, and he leaned over and pointed to some papers that were actually just more pages from the script. “See?”

“Uhh…” She looked up at him with big eyes.

“What?” he asked.

“I’m a kid, I can’t read this science stuff,” she said.

“Oh.” He laughed and reflexively tussled her hair. “Basically. Time went off balance. You kinda steady it.”

“I do? How?” she asked.

“Your soul, kiddo,” he said. “It’s a special red one.”

“Oooh…” Frisk looked confused. “It that why he wanted…?”

“What?” he asked.

“Oh, um… That, um… That guy? Who was chasing me before,” she said. “He said he wanted my soul.”

“Oh. OH. That’s… not good,” he said. 

“Do you know that guy?” she asked. 

“Unfortunately,” he said.

“He’s dangerous, huh?” Frisk asked worriedly. “Oh, jeez, I’m sorry, I should get out of here then, right?”

“What?” Papyrus asked blankly.

“Well, I mean, I don’t want him to hurt you if he’s really after me,” she said.

That got an _aww_ from the audience, for some reason. Frisk hopped off her chair and made for the side of the stage.

“W-Wait!” Papyrus called, his voice almost faltering for a second before he cleared his throat and got it back. “Wait.”

She turned around and tilted her head. He stared at her and rubbed the back of his skull.

“It’s just… You’re so little,” he said. “You have somewhere safe to stay?”

“Well, no, but that’s nothing new for me, don’t worry,” he said.

“But you must be gettin’ tired,” he insisted.

“I… I guess.” Frisk could see where this was headed; she was pretty sure it wasn’t in the script, but she wasn’t worried. “Why?”

“Well. You could, uh… You should stay here, then,” he said. “That guy, he can’t get in here. So. You’d be safe.”

“What? Really?” she asked. “Wow, that’s super nice of you!”

He shrugged. She scampered over and hugged him again, and once more the audience was cooing and pleased. He gently patted her head.

“Thanks so much, Mister Skeleton!” she said brightly.

“Cooper,” he corrected. “Uh. No problem, kiddo.”

The lights fell abruptly. The audience started clapping, and Frisk looked up at her brother in the dark. She could just see the faint outline of his eye sockets, highlighted in amber.

“Exit, stage left, darling,” Mettaton said in her ear. “Nice addition there, good character development! We can work with this. I’ll take over for a bit.”

She grabbed her brother’s hand and pulled him with her offstage just as the set began to glimmer with magic and shift around again.

As soon as they were back behind there, away from the crowd, Papyrus let out a deep sigh, like he’d been holding his breath, and lifted her into a hug.

“Sorry sorry sorry,” he said.

“What for?” she asked.

“I thought you would be ready for the fight but you looked so surprised I just could’t… Nyoo…” he muttered. “Sorry, little sister, I hope I didn’t scare you.”

“Oh! It’s okay!” she said. “Sorry, I was just a little surprised. It wasn’t in the script.”

“What?! What do you mean it wasn’t…?” He looked back at her, gawking for a moment. “It was in mine! Let me—”

The prerecorded music began to swell from beyond the curtain and Frisk heard it clear through her earpiece. She turned it down so it was just barely audible, though they could hear the melody from the front of the stage, too. Papyrus quickly snapped back to focus and whipped the script out of his phone. Holding her close up under his arm as he sat on the floor and lit up his eye sockets, he hurriedly flipped through the script until it came to the scene they were at. Papyrus’s version had a note, scrawled by hand, about engaging Frisk in a battle, so the character Cooper could discover she had the red soul. She tilted her head with confusion. Hurriedly, she slipped away from her brother and grabbed the script near the costume table, and another that was left near the other end of the stage.

She sat with him again and turned to the same page in both copies. She wasn’t surprised that the one she’d been looking at the most was different. She was surprised, though, to find that the other one was different from both of them. Not only did it have a short battle, it had the scene set in the same set as the CORE. Frisk frowned and pouted, shooting Papyrus a puzzled look. 

“For real?” she said.

“Guess so,” he said, trying to contain his exasperation, and he grabbed her to hold her close. “Nyooo. Gosh. If I had known, I wouldn’t have—”

“C’mon, Paps, you didn’t even hit me,” she assured him with a smile. “Let’s look at your script and make sure there’s no more dumb stuff like that.”

“For sure!” he said. “I hope Mettaton’s song is long.”

“Me too,” Frisk said with a laugh.

\- - -

It was incredibly surreal for Asriel to watch Mettaton waltz around the stage, singing about his evil plan to get the Human’s soul. Some cheesy musical number with a bastardized version of his own emotions. It made him a little nauseous. He looked up at Sans. He seemed disinterested, but that could just be his face. Why’d he have to get stuck with him?

After a moment, the skeleton’s face changed. Barely to a grimace. He realized rather quickly that he was desperately holding in laughter.

“What?” he asked at a whisper.

“This is awful,” he said as low as he could. “Oh man.”

Asriel stared at him. Just the skeleton’s expression made him feel a tickle of a laugh in the back of his throat. He gulped it back. He guessed, from a certain angle, this was pretty funny. He leaned forward to look at the monsters on the other side of Sans. They were entranced. Emotional, even. He saw a little deer lady who looked legitimately frightened; could hear the faint sound of her hooves tapping nervously against the floor. Somehow, a song that was rhyming words with themselves was causing such a reaction. Monsters really were weird, weren’t they?

Undyne was off on the side platform where she and Kid were doing their roles. The lights were dim over them, but even so, he could see the fish monster’s bored look from here. Kid, on the other hand, seemed pretty entertained, though he kept looking down at the script as well. Trying to read along as best he could, probably.

When the song finally crashed to a halt, punctuated by maniacal laughter, the audience erupted into raucous applause. In the noise, Sans finally let out a laugh, trying to hide it behind his hand. Asriel found himself snickering, too. 

A spotlight brightened back over Kid, who jumped, startled, and then quickly grasped to the script and flipped through it, before holding a page tightly. “Th-The Prince may have had a plan, but so did Cooper,” he said. “Oh! And, um, now, with the human on his side, he had a little hope that it might work.”

Asriel saw Sans finally perk up along with the lights, especially when Papyrus strode back out onto the stage. However, his face quickly fell to what could almost be described as a pout. He slipped a phone out of his pocket and his left eye lit up very faintly. Even so, the sight of it still gave Asriel a chill.

“Crap,” he said softly. “Looks like I’m needed. You good?”

Asriel nodded. Sans got out of his seat slowly and shuffled past the other monsters and slipped off into the shadows. The second the light stopped reflecting from his bones, he was gone completely. 

\- - -

Alphys strained her ears, listening hard for any sign; any little movement to indicate Asgore was getting close to the door. He probably wasn’t. He hadn’t for a little while. Nonetheless, she was stricken by paranoia. She pulled the comforter around her up and over her shoulders and, bundled up, she stared intently at her phone. She started to sweat. Sans had Frisk’s, right? He’d answer, wouldn’t he?

When her phone buzzed, she had to stop herself from squealing with surprise and she answered it as quickly as her shaking fingers would allow. “Why are you c-calling?!” she hissed into it.

“Didn’t wanna type,” Sans said.

“Uggghh, S-Sans, I’m pretending to be asleep,” she whined.

“You’ll be fine,” he said with a laugh. “So. You need me now? I’m not sure how much longer this is. I think Frisk did a thing that let them skip like four scenes, so that was nice.”

“O-Oh! Okay. S-So… So. Okay. G-Good. I was g-gonna say, come in twenty minutes but n-now might be better.”

“Why didn’t you just text that?” Sans asked.

“I d-didn’t want you to be asleep,” she said.

“Eh. Fair enough,” he said. “Fine. Got you, I’ll be… Oh… Oh. No.”

“What?” Alphys didn’t hear an answer and she pushed the phone even closer to her ear. “Sans, what?”

She heard a bit of static over the other end of the line. She felt a chill in her gut.

“Sans?” she asked again. “S-Sans?!” She could hear him talking. Couldn’t make out the words. Had someone followed him out? 

There was a clunk of metal that reverberated clearly, and then nothing. She pressed her ear as close to the phone as she could. 

“Sans?! Sans, wh-what happened?! Where are you?!” she demanded, her voice getting shrill. “S-Sans, please!!”

There was another wash of static, louder this time. Then, everything went quiet. Her heart sunk. Disconnected? She was about to hang up and redial, but a sort of scraping sound caught her ear again.

“Huh? Oh. Sorry, Doc, think I spaced for a sec,” Sans said. “Dropped you.”

“Are you okay?! What was that noise?” she asked.

“What noise?” he said.

“Who w-was there with you?” she insisted.

“No one, I was… Oh. Crap.” He sighed. “And that’s why I have a headache. Great.”

“Wh-What?” she pushed.

“Shadowman,” he said. “How long was I gone?”

“What?! R-Really?! Are you s-sure?” she demanded.

“Think so,” he said. “Doc?”

“Oh. U-Um… Not long,” she said. “Scared me, though…”

“Heh. Sorry,” he said. “Hear anything?”

“N-Not clearly,” she said. “D-Did he leave anything around? M-Messages or anything?”

“Uh… Hang on.” She heard the clicking of buttons and it seemed like he was walking around for a few seconds. “Nope. Nothin’.”

“Th-Then what happened?!” she asked.

“No clue. Hey. Maybe he’s just here for the show,” he said.

“Pffft. Well. W-We can always hope,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“More or less,” he said. “Okay. I’ll head over. Get ready.”

“R-Right,” she said. “Hey. Sans? Th-Thanks.”

“Sure thing, Doc,” he said.

\- - -

Immersed in the strange, pricking ozone smell, Sans leaned up on one of the CORE’s railings and put a hand to his head. He just needed a few seconds. He would never have realized what had happened if Alphys hadn’t said anything.

He knew Papyrus was probably onstage, but he brought up his number on Frisk’s phone anyway. His bones were rattling a little when he went to text. He stopped himself; took a deep breath. “_hey its me dnt rply if u cant but dnt let frisk b alone i jst ran n2 shdwman up the core_”

She had to be safe with all those eyes on her. That’s what he told himself, anyway. 

He shifted himself to the front of Asgore’s house. He gave it another minute and then rapped his knuckles against the door before stepping inside. “Hey, uh, Asgore?” he asked. “You in?”

“Ah! Yes, absolutely.” Asgore rushed out from the room to the left with a tired smile on his face. “Howdy, Sans! It’s so good to see you again! What brings you here?”

“Do I need a reason?” He smiled sideways. “I, uh… just so happened to win a certain lottery I didn’t enter.”

“Oh!” Asgore’s ears perked and he tried to suppress a wide grin. “Congratulations!! What luck.”

“Yeah yeah,” Sans said with a laugh. “Thanks, huh?”

The King merely smiled in response. He gestured for Sans to come into the other room, and the skeleton did so readily.

“So, uh, not at the play either, huh?” he said.

“The pl…? OH! God, I completely forgot,” he said with a laugh, shaking his head. “No, poor Doctor Alphys came down with something so I’ve been keeping an eye on her this afternoon.”

“Oh? Anything serious?” Sans asked.

“No no, just the overworksies,” he assured him. 

“Overworksies?” he repeated.

“Hah, it’s what we used to call getting overtired from overwork!” he said. “I insisted she stay. She would simply go home and keep working otherwise, I’m sure of it. She’s napping in my room. Speaking of napping, Sans, you’re looking quite tired yourself. Do I sense some mild overworksies on your end as well?”

“I think that might just be my face,” he joked. “I’m okay. Thanks, though.”

“Care for some tea?” he asked.

“Please,” Sans said.

As Asgore headed back for the kitchen, Sans quickly texted Alphys the go-ahead. As he went into the dining room, he kept an eye on the hallway. After a moment, he saw the tip of Alphys’s snout poke out of the bedroom. He pulled out a chair and let it thunk heavily to mask the sound of the door. 

She waved sheepishly at him as she slid quietly towards the front door. Sans smiled slightly. He wandered over towards the King’s kitchen. He was just filling the kettle with more water. He flicked a finger at Alphys and he hoped she saw it.

“I have to admit, it’s been very nice to see you and Alphys more than usual, even if a few of those occasions were a little less than ideal,” Asgore said. He clunked the kettle gently onto the stove and blew a small stream of fire into the burner below it. “Such as right now for the poor Doctor! Ooh, also! Would you like to try Undyne’s new tea? The dear girl left me a box of it the other day, though I didn’t see her around. Must be busy, poor thing.”

“Yeah, Undyne’s always runnin’ around, it seems,” Sans said. “Wouldn’t mind tryin’ it.”

“Oh good! Honestly, her mixes have just been getting better and better,” he said, his voice bright and his face glowing with pride. “She’ll be better than me one day, I’m sure of it!”

“She’d fight you on that, I bet,” he said with a wink.

“Hah! Of course she would. But it's true,” Asgore said. “Do you see her often? I don’t recall if you two are well acquainted.”

“Welp. She’s the boss,” he said with a grin and a shrug. “But. Yeah. We’re buds, too.”

“That’s good,” he said. “She’ll make a great queen someday.”

Sans raised his brows. “Why, you goin’ on vacation or somethin’?”

“Oh, ah, no. No no, it’s just…” Asgore’s face took on a bashful look, though his brows knitted and he clenched his hands. “Ever since Alphys’s work has started moving forward, the whole thing with the barrier has been on my mind.”

“Oh. Well. You wanna talk about it?” Sans asked.

“I don’t wish to trouble you, my friend,” Asgore said.

“Dude,” Sans said.

Asgore chuckled. He tilted his head slightly towards the kettle, listening to the steam for a moment. He reached to his cabinet and delicately brought out three pale teacups with snowflake patterns all across the china.

He had a box of Undyne’s tea— the same one Frisk had left— near the back of the counter, and he pulled it over and carefully laid a bag in each cup. He poured the steaming water over them for just a few seconds, and then removed the tea bags. He had some sugar cubes in a little dish, and dutifully plunked very specific amounts into each.

“For Alph, right?” Sans said, holding out his hands. “I’ll give it.”

“Thank you, my boy,” he said.

Tea in hand, Sans wandered to Asgore’s room, gently knocked on the door, and then moved inside. Of course, it was empty. Sans put the teacup on the bedside table and then rolled and bunched some of the blankets to give the impression of a lump of a lizard somewhere in there. He shoved one of the pillows halfway in, so it wouldn’t be strange to not see a single scale of her if Asgore peeked in quickly. He backtracked and then walked out quietly, turning back to the room as if she was in there.

“Look, just, uh, rest up, okay?” he said to the empty air. “Yeah, yeah, it’s fine. See you later.” He closed the door quietly only to see Asgore smiling fondly at him from the dining room.

“She’s alright,” Sans said as he joined the King. “Said thanks.”

“I’m glad she’s resting,” Asgore said. He slid into his chair and beckoned Sans closer. 

The skeleton sat and took a sip of his tea. Perfect, as always. The headache drifted away within seconds. 

“So, uh, let me play therapist for a sec,” Sans said. “This thing with the barrier’s buggin’ you, huh?”

“Oh, Sans, you don’t have to…” He smiled ruefully when Sans raised his brows. “This doesn’t leave this room, alright?”

“Don’t have to worry about it for a second,” Sans said.

“I guess it is fair to say the thought has been nagging at me,” he admitted. “If… If Alphys is successful, and she makes a seventh soul on her own, I will have to take them all into my body still, will I not? We… We still do not know what will actually happen. All that determination…”

“Hm. So even if you release the souls, you think you’ll…”

“It’s alright. I’m prepared,” Asgore assured him. “I will leave everything to Undyne. She’s proven herself worthy over and over. I made her my heir a long time ago. I… Hah. I don’t know that I ever actually told her that, though.”

“Welp. She’s a good choice,” Sans said. Despite the heavy tone, he had to hold in a snicker at the thought that Undyne’s proper title, then, was Princess. “I… I don’t think it’ll come to that.”

“It’s alright,” he repeated.

Sans frowned slightly. It put a pressure in his head. He wished he could just tell Asgore there was nothing to worry about, definitively. He guessed it was good he’d come over, deception or not. He put his cheek on his fist.

“You told Alph you’re worried about that?” he asked.

“Not directly,” he said. “Please don’t—”

“You should,” Sans said. “She’ll try to make a vessel again. That’d make you feel better, right?”

“But who knows how long that could take?” Asgore said. “She’s already exhausted with all this work building a replica soul, if that even works. I can’t ask more of her. And I… I can’t make everyone wait.”

“You can and you should,” Sans said, tenting his fingers. “Look. Your Highness. I know, I know, take the seven souls, become a god, blah blah, whatever. But see, thing is, we’d really rather have a great King than a monster god, you know?”

“That’s very kind of you, Sans, but I don’t think I have much of a choice,” he said with a smile.

“Sure you do. Wait,” Sans said. “Just a little more. Tell Alphys to work on a vessel when the soul’s done. It’ll give you a little relief, right? If it doesn’t work, fine, but what’s the harm in givin’ it a second try?”

Asgore went quiet, staring into his teacup. He smiled faintly. “I’ll consider it,” he said. “Thank you, Sans. You’re very logical. And I appreciate your concern.”

“Just for your own, uh, state of mind,” the skeleton said.

“Hm! I suppose you’re right,” he said. “That… That would make me feel a little better. I’ll… I’ll put a time limit on it. But. I will ask her.”

“Cool,” Sans said. “The others, they don’t realize what this means, huh?”

“Hah! Yes. It’s… odd. Encouraging them to cheer for and wait for such a thing,” Asgore said with a bashful smile. “Ah… It’s what we all want, isn’t it? But there’s so many complications.”

“Sure seems like it,” he said.

“Sans? If… If it really is true,” Asgore said, “and we will be able to see the surface soon, please, will you promise me something? Wherever we end up, please, you and your family, don’t wander far from our new town. At least at first.”

“Got somethin’ else worrying you, huh?” he asked.

“I won’t lose the last skeletons. I won’t allow it.” Asgore smiled ruefully. “I know maybe it’s hard to understand. You don’t really have any connection to them, do you? But, you’ve read what happened during the war, haven’t you?”

“Mhm. Read about the surprise attacks. How the skeletons went first. The small bunch that stayed out to get the other monsters past the city walls, and the whole Field of Bones things,” Sans said. “Rough stuff.”

“It was my fault. I should have seen the attack coming,” Asgore grumbled. “I knew relations were strained, but—”

“Whoa whoa, stop,” Sans said quickly. “Dude. Don’t blame yourself for that, blame the ones that did the killin’. I know. You’re the leader. You wanna save everyone. But you can’t stop crazy, violent people sometimes, you know?”

Asgore went quiet, but he smiled softly and he stroked his beard.

“Did your parents ever tell you anything about those days?” he asked.

“Nah,” Sans said.

“Are they… still around?” he asked hesitantly.

Sans shrugged and shook his head.

“I’m sorry,” Asgore said.

“Nah, don’t be,” Sans assured him. “Don’t worry. We’ll be careful. Don’t really have a big wanderlust myself.”

“Thank you.” Even just the assurance seemed to have Asgore relieved. “I remember the afternoon you were brought to me so clearly! You were just a few days old. I had never in my wildest dreams expected to see another skeleton after what happened. After the sacrifices your ancestors made, I could never bear to lose you or your brother. Sorry if that is a lot of pressure.”

“No. No. I understand,” Sans said. “Don’t worry. We’ll, uh… We’ll keep safe. Hey, I’m pretty used to that anyway.”

“Ah. Yes. I suppose you would have had to be more cautious than average, wouldn’t you?” he said. “Ah, listen to me! I’m like an old man! I’m sorry, Sans, I hope that didn’t come off as condescending.”

“Nah,” Sans said. “So. Guess it really was bad up there. It was only really the skeletons who were wiped out, huh?”

“To that extent? Yes. There were others who suffered greatly in the war. Goblins. Dragons. Sea serpents. But the skeletons were…” Asgore ears drooped and he clung a little tighter to his teacup. “Humans are… not like us, you know? When they die, they don’t become dust. They become… empty. And their bodies, they… They fall apart, slowly, over time. And what’s left is bones. By some weird trick of fate, how a monster might look is the same as a dead human does look. I believe that’s partially why they were so frantic in their attacks. We tried to explain, time and time again, but they would never hear us.”

“That’s weird,” Sans admitted.

He thought back into Frisk’s memories. She’d known humans had bones in them, but when she’d seen him for the first time, she didn’t think of him as being a dead human. Didn’t even cross her mind until she saw it in a movie. Maybe she’d just been too young for that to really enter her consciousness on the outside. She didn’t have the same cultural references that the other humans did. Same reason she didn’t realize a town of skeletons in that board game she was playing might not be friendly. 

“Welp. Guess we’ll all have to be a little careful,” he said. “It’s gonna have been a long time since a human’s even seen a monster, huh?”

“Exactly,” Asgore said. “It’s… It’s strange. In one moment, I hope Alphys is right and that, even without the true seventh soul, we’ll be able to be free. But in the next moment, I absolutely dread it. Oh! Please don’t tell anyone I said that! I… I need for us to all be free. I need to stop the ones near falling from leaving us. It’s… It’s very important.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sans assured him. “But, uh, dunno, I got a feelin’ it won’t be too bad up there.”

“I hope you’re right,” Asgore said with a smile.

Sans knew he was. He wished he could reassure the King a little more than that, but it’d be okay. Just a little while longer…

“Hey,” Sans said. “Maybe you don’t wanna talk about it, and that’s fine, but I was sorta wonderin’… What’s the surface like, anyway?”

“You… You want to know?” Asgore’s eyes sparkled and he perked up a little. “I always took you as someone who was fairly resigned to the mountain, Sans.”

“Welp. Kinda am. But my brother’d be real interested in a story or two,” he said. “Plus, I mean, if we’re gettin’ out, kinda good to know what we’re walkin’ into, huh?”

“Hah! Right you are,” Asgore said. “Actually, I have plenty of stories! What would you like to know about first? Perhaps just the sky? Or what about the ocean? Oh! I have some old maps and drawings, hang on!” He got up and hurried over to a bookshelf near the fireplace. He leaned over and gently blew some fire across the logs before starting his search through the rows of tomes he had squirrelled away.

Sans smiled to himself. Just had to buy a bit more time, not that it was a bother. He wondered how the play was going. Couldn’t have tanked in the last few minutes, right? He imagined Alphys booking it up to the broadcast centre and had to stop from snickering. She’d probably be there by now. He quickly checked the phone.

“_good?_” he asked

After a few seconds, she sent him a thumbs-up emoji. That was good enough for him. Papyrus hadn’t replied to the other text, though. They were probably still on stage, then. Even though he didn’t particularly care for the show, seeing his siblings having a good time up there— especially Papyrus, who was glowing like the sun, as always— was worth it to him. 

He turned his attention to Asgore. The King had started to hum to himself, seeming pleased as he began to assemble a few books from his shelves into a pile.Keeping a secret like this from him didn’t feel good at all. But, what else was new?

\- - -

The end was near. Had to be. They’d established the Prince was trying to end the world, and that they were all stuck together until everything was resolved. With just the three of them as actors, there wasn’t much further they could push this. In the script, the scene right before the very vague ending was in the lab, where the Human decided she wanted to save the Prince.

This was what Frisk was waiting for right now. She had her head down on a copy of the script that was masquerading as scientific notes on the table of Cooper’s lab. She was pretending to be asleep, careful not to slip off for real. The heat of the stage lights was a little much, though.

She heard footsteps coming closer and her brother’s hard fingertips met her shoulder.

“Lookit this dweeb,” he said. “Passed right out. To be honest, I’m jealous.” He moved off and, after a moment, he did something that made the audience laugh. Then, he tapped her on the head. “Hey. Kiddo. That can’t be too comfortable, huh?”

Frisk sat up and then looked around quickly, as if she’d forgotten where she was. “Oh! Um, sorry,” she said. “I was looking at your notes and I fell asleep.”

“Sheesh, I didn’t think they were that boring,” he joked.

The audience chortled.

“It’s just, I think maybe we’ve been looking at this thing with, um, the Prince, kinda the wrong way,” Frisk said.

Papyrus was suddenly paying rapt attention. The kid smiled nervously and tapped the table.

“It’s just… He wasn’t bad before. You told me that,” she said. “But he started being bad. So. Maybe we can convince him to not be bad. We could save him if we all worked together.”

“Kiddo, only way to save the Prince would be to get him a soul. A new one. Never been done,” Papyrus said, folding his arms. “But. If we could just get all the monsters, in solidarity, to give a small piece of theirs… I dunno. It could work.”

“You think so?” she asked brightly.

He shrugged.

“Do you think the King could help?” she wondered.

“The King? Pfft. That’s a death sentence, kid,” he said.

“Nuh-uh, I can’t die, remember!” she insisted.

“Well, technically, you can,” he said. “You just don’t stay dead.”

“Whatever,” Frisk said, sticking her tongue out at him. “But, look, you said the Prince used to be nice, right?”

“Guess so,” he said.

“And you said that if he doesn’t get stopped, we’re all just stuck in a big dumb time loop and the monsters will never get out from under the mountain, right?” she said.

“Not in so many words, but… yeah,” he said.

“So, I think I should go talk to the King about it!” she said. “He has some human souls, right? Maybe it could help.”

“Doubt it,” Papyrus said.

“We won’t know unless we try,” she insisted. “I’m going!” She hopped off her chair and rushed offstage. 

Papyrus put a hand to his brow and shook his head.

The lights dimmed as usual, and, at the edge of the stage, Frisk felt a fuzzy hand on hers. Mettaton gently moved her backwards a few feet and then patted her shoulders.

“Nearly there, darling,” he said through her headphones. “Just a little more. This will be exciting!”

She heard a swooshing sound and she was sure he was gone, despite not being able to see her own hands in front of her face. Glitters of magic pricked the dark. The platform groaned and creaked as it moved. Frisk felt a slight shift under her feet, too. Her stomach dropped. Were they moving upwards?”

“So, the Human traveled up through the mountain towards the King,” Kid said as the skyline of New Homes was projected against the back of the stage. “But what she found there was not what she expected.”

The lights came on with a loud, clunking noise that startled both Frisk and the audience thoroughly. All the props were cleared entirely; the floor revealed to be a shiny, polished black. The stage had indeed raised up a little, and the audience themselves had been shifted around it in an arc. It struck a note of familiarity in Frisk’s head. She realized quickly that she was completely alone out on this dark plane, with not a thing to hide behind. She looked around nervously. Where was Papyrus?

All of a sudden, the stage rumbled. Frisk squeaked and up from the floor rose a lump of dark something, framed by three little portals on either side as a cool, wispy fog that caught the light began to seep up from the ground. She could hear the notes of piano plunking out something vaguely apprehensive. Sounded like it borrowed from Papyrus’s hum, somewhere. Frisk hesitantly got a little closer to centre stage as the fog brushed her, coming up past her ankles. 

“H-Hello?” she asked hesitantly.

“Oh. Heh heh. Hello, Human. You’re just. In. Time.” Mettaton’s voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, and the kid couldn’t help but flinch. “Come to join your kin?”

She didn’t know what a “kin” was. With a thunk, the portals in the floor lit up vibrantly, orange, yellow, blue, cyan, and purple, staining the fog around them. Frisk suddenly got the picture. Mettaton stood from where he sat, balled up, and the audience gasped. He seemed to loom, and that glossy, dark fur made him certainly seem a bit intimidating. She realized after a moment that his eyes were squarely on her. She should say something.

“W-Wait!” Frisk squeaked. “Um! Prince! You, gotta, um… You gotta stop!”

“Hmm… No. I don’t think so,” he said.

“B-But! But I came here ‘cause I wanna find a way to get you a real soul! So you don’t have to be bad anymore!” She realized rather abruptly that she didn’t really have an argument or know what to say, or even how any of this was supposed to work. “Uhh… I mean! J-Just… M-Maybe if you work with Cooper and me, we can save you?”

“Save me?” he sneered. “I think it is you who needs to be saved. Now…!”

He spread his arms wide and the colourful lights began to pulse. Balls of energy shot up and began to swirl around the both of them, a vibrant whirlwind. He brought them into his chest and let out a deep, ominous laugh. 

“Finally.” His voice was bordering on baritone, now. “I can… take. Them. All.”

The fog swirled up around his body, whipping around the stage violently, shining with colours. It was absolutely dizzying. Tiny spotlights began to swirl all over the crowd watching, agape, from their seats.

“ALL YOUR SOULS ARE MINE!!” Mettaton roared. 

Frisk winced and spun, watching as the dozens and dozens of lights shot back up the stage and focussed straight on Mettaton’s chest. Bright white, almost blinding. Everything flashed; Frisk couldn’t see for just a second, and when she could, Mettaton’s disguise of fur was shining white. He opened his eyes, letting them glow brightly, as fog began to tumble away from his robes as if it were coming from his body. A sharp noise of feedback shuddered around the room; into Frisk’s ears and she yelped and hurriedly turned down the volume. She instantly had a headache.

As the spotlights made him shimmer and glow, his body made a clicking sound and two panels— wings— unclipped themselves from somewhere in his frame and spread out, making him look even bigger. Frisk took a step away. Instantly, she felt a tug on her soul and before she could say a word, Mettaton’s hum began to resonate around the room, boosted by speakers projecting it out to everyone. Frisk felt a chill all through her body and her stomach dropped. He couldn’t be…

She looked at him with worried eyes, but he didn’t flinch for a moment. Lightning crackled from his fingertips and she backed up a bit farther.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Oh ho ho ho ho!! Foolish Human,” he chortled loudly, spreading his arms wide. “If you really want to save me! Fight me!!”

The crowd vanished to her. The lightning bolts he brandished around his arms were all that she saw. A flicker— they were coming. She braced; he attacked. There was a flash of light, and she jumped back and threw out her hand. The red in the tips of her fingers stalled the blast for just a second— long enough that they exploded on their own, a burst of light showering the stage in sparks and glitter.

The audience— waiting with bated breath— erupted. The energy of the room was electric. The music pounded and Frisk suddenly understood.

“You’re crazy!” she shouted.

He sneered at her and lunged towards her, magic in hand. She stumbled backwards out of the way and hopped around to his right. She had to readjust; bounced on the balls of her feet. Had to be quick, because he sure was. He chased her around the stage and she spun like it was a dance.

His magic was sharp; crashing around her, and it was making the hair on her neck stand up. She could feel static bristling , charging the air. No pattern, nothing, he was just relentless, slashing and jabbing with bright magic. Frisk was just a bounce ahead. That is, until he paused mid-strike, and let loose a large, electric burst in a wave. Frisk took the hit, yelped, and tumbled across the smooth floor. Through her heart pounding in her ears, she could hear the audience losing their minds. Screaming with cheers, urging her on. But, she picked out something else. Thumping. A pounding noise. What was that?

A burst of yellow magic shook her alert and she scrambled upright. A bolt sailed straight at her; she pushed it back and it burst into light. Mettaton reeled away, and she thought she might’ve heard something in his body rattle.

“H-Hey!” she called, but before she could say more, he struck her again.

She grunted and slid back, almost off the edge of the stage. She heaved herself to her feet, frowning and wiping her brow. A little blue came off on the backs of her fingers. He was grinning, and he raised his hand, lightning shimmer off his fingertips. 

Some second energy struck Frisk for a fraction of a second. It felt like the whole world froze for just a moment, then a section of the back of the stage blew out with the impact of a large laser. Dust of shattered backdrop overtook the place for a moment, and Frisk shielded her face with her sleeve. She saw a figure emerge from the fog, glowing with pinpricks of amber. While she was trying to knock the daze out of her head, she was suddenly grasped with tight hands and was whirled to look straight into Papyrus’s eyes.

“You okay?!” he demanded.

She tried not to gawk; nodded hurriedly. The audience roared. He straightened up, a bone glimmering into existence in his palm. 

Through the fog and dust, lightning crackled and they heard Mettaton let out a deep laugh. Papyrus put himself between Frisk and the arcing magic. 

“Oh ho ho ho… Now, how did you get out?” Mettaton asked.

“Uh. Y-You think I’m not gonna be here to see this kid wipe the floor with you?” Papyrus said. “Been through too much for that, don’t you think?”

“It matters not,” Mettaton asserted. “I will take both your souls, too!!” 

He shot at them like a jet, parting the clouds of fog. Papyrus slipped to the side, flinging magic of his own right back at him. In that second, his soul linked with theirs, and the music shifted to some amalgam of three songs, exuberant and lively. An explosion of light overwhelmed them both, shooting the fog out like golden waves. Frisk braced herself; cringed as the force of the blast dragged her backwards. She gritted her teeth and ran straight back in. Yellow magic crashed into her chest and bowled her over onto the floor, but through her scrambled vision, she saw another heading at the outline of her brother. She shot her hand out and hoped — the shot stalled and blew up into glitter. The crowd was on their feet.

“I didn’t sign up for this,” she grumbled as she struggled back up.

Through the fog, she could see the two monsters going at each other, magic punctuating the air with bright notes. She rolled up her sleeves, just as one of Mettaton’s arms dropped off. She froze, eyes wide, but he merely cackled and didn’t miss a beat shooting another barrage at Papyrus as he glided around the stage at incredible speeds. Her brother staved it off; he moved like a feather caught in a breeze. Frisk sprinted to join him, deflecting a blast. Papyrus was in front of her almost instantly, cutting through another, wielding a long bone like a sword. He grabbed Mettaton’s soul in blue and held him back.

“Chill out,” he said, albeit a little shrilly.

“Oh. Playing like that, are we?” Mettaton asked. “Well, you’re stronger than I thought, I’ll give you that.”

“Okay, like, is this real? What the heck is even happening right now?” Frisk asked. “Dude, your arm, it—”

“You honestly think that will stop me?” he said. 

He struck Papyrus. It was too fast; Frisk hardly had time to react until he was already flying backwards. She yelped and watched, horrified, as her brother tumbled across the stage and was penned in against the floor by bars of lighting. Heart pounding, she sprinted for him— her vision flickered for a second and she jumped backwards just in time to miss a shining yellow spear stabbing into the fog at her feet. She whirled on Mettaton, her blood running hot.

“What are you doing?!” she demanded.

“Just you and me now, Human,” he said. “Attack me! Defeat me! If you can.”

In one swift sweep of his arm, arcs of shining magic shot at her. Before anything else, she threw herself in front of Papyrus. She took the hit and fell. It actually hurt; made her whole body tingle. Her mind raced. Why was he doing this? She threw out her hand; froze him for just enough time to stumble out of the way as he came at her. The audience screamed; cheering for her, much to her surprise. 

He was barely deterred. Using the lightning like a sword, he slashed at her, far too close. He caught her across the stomach and sent her flying straight off the stage. She landed on someone soft, and though dazed, she turned to apologize. Instead, she was greeted by a mass of dogs staring at her with big, amazed eyes. She knew every one of them. Dogaressa held her, and the mess of canines immediately began baying and cheering, egging the crowd on.  
“Go, puppy, go!!” she told her with a huge grin.

“You can do it!” Dogamy said.

Stunned, Frisk nodded. “Th-Thanks,” she said.

Together, the dogs lifted her back over the edge, only to be greeted by a line of magic like a firing squad. Determination swelled in her, and all she could think of was getting between him and Papyrus. She made a break for it, her vision scrambling, her senses telling her of a hit that hadn’t happened yet. She slipped off-course, just enough for him to miss her, and she took the attack meant for her brother without hesitation.

Frisk didn’t have time to right herself as something grabbed her soul. She was being bounced around like a plaything before she could even get her bearings. She was utterly dazed and aching all over; the sound of the music blaring and blending with the cries of the audience and the thumping of her heart.

When the magic finally released her, she peeled herself off the ground and glared at Mettaton with watery eyes as he towered above her and cackled. He’d gone absolutely nuts. Had to have. She heard a sort of growling sound. She tried to process what it could possibly be now. It wasn’t Mettaton, though, he was staring right over her. Frisk turned to look.

“Alright. That’s it!” It was Papyrus. His magic began to swell, bright gold and like a fire, seeping from every gap in his bones as he grappled to get off the floor. His face was the utter picture of determination. “You can throw me around all you want, but not my little sister!”

His energy burst as he let out a yell, dissolving the beams around him, and he stood up, drawing bones up at his fingertips. Frisk was in awe, starry-eyed. The audience went wild. Mettaton started to grin and electricity glimmered on his hand.

“Oh ho ho, you think you can beat me?” he jeered. “What, you, a mediocre scientist and a tiny, naïve child?”

He shot out at Frisk, and she yelped and skittered backwards and out of the way. The audience gasped. Papyrus bristled, magic setting his eyes aglow. The bones at his hands began to spin, faster and faster until they became like hard disks, sparking with energy. Frisk’s eyes went wide. Mettaton began to cackle, pleased, drawing the spotlights to him as if by sheer magnetism.

“Let’s dance,” he announced.

It was like a light show all over again. Papyrus’s discus of bones flew in an arc, passing through Mettaton’s retributional magic and knocking him hard in the side. Frisk deflected and jumped, slipping out of the way as much as she could, in tandem with her brother. Colours of sunset fired out, staining the fog that burst in waves back over the crowd. 

Papyrus raised bones all around Mettaton in a circle, but the robotic menace released another pulse attack that shattered them and knocked Frisk aside. Papyrus cried out and raced to his sister, but Mettaton intercepted. He hit him full force again, throwing him out of the arena and out into the darkness. Frisk yelped; hadn’t managed to scramble upright, and a bolt plunged into the stage beside her hands.

“Mwahaha, now that that’s out of the way. And I have taken his SOUL! By the way,” he said. “How about a little duel? If you think you can beat me.”

“I-I’m…! I’m n-not gonna hit you!!” she squeaked.

“What? Still won’t fight back? Still won’t strike out?” he asked.

“Y-You know I won’t!” she said. “You’re going way too far! What are you doing?!”

“Haven’t you been listening at all?” he said with a sneer.

He raised his hands to his ears, almost like he was mocking her, and he began to taunt her, but she could hardly hear past the blood rushing in her head. Her heart sunk. She felt a hot shock of embarrassment through her body. She cautiously raised a finger to her own ear and rolled it along the volume control.

“Sweetheart, can you hear me?!” he demanded. “Come on, I can’t buy much more time!!”

Stiffly, Frisk tilted her head down, just enough to nod. He began to circle her.

“Oh, thank god, Frisk,” he said. “You weren’t hearing my instructions?!”

She shook her head. He almost stuttered outwardly.

“Oh, my precious little thing,” he said, his voice sweet and very apologetic. “Oh, you must’ve turned it off during the feedback!! Entirely my fault. It’s alright. Just let me come at you. I promise it’ll be okay. It’s almost done.”

Frisk gulped. She stared at him. The audience clapped to the beat, cheering her on. Trembling, she stood. She reached for the bright blade of magic, felt the tingle of static across her skin, and took it in her hands. She was surprised with how solid it felt. She raised it like a sword and Mettaton rushed her, slamming his against her with monumental pressure. She’d hold it. She had to.

“STRIKE ME!!” he yelled.

“No!!” she said.

“THEN GIVE ME YOUR SOUL!!” he ordered. 

“No way!!!” Frisk yelled back, her voice warbling. “You gotta stop!! There’s no way for you to be saved like this!!”

“I DON’T…!! I don’t want to be saved!!” his voice started to crack. “Don’t you see what I am?! I’m an abomination!! I’m…! I’m…!”

Frisk understood now. She knew. She loosened the grip on the blade and let his slam into her, but her soul glowed. Turned it back. Just a fraction of a second, over and over. She grabbed him into a hug. The audience gasped. 

“I got you,” she said. “You don’t have to be like this anymore.”

“I’ll kill you!!” he snarled.

“No you won’t,” she said, squeezing him tight; he was rattling pretty hard. “No way.”

He growled. The magic in his hand evaporated into yellow twinkles, brightening the air. He heaved out an agonized noise and he started to glow. She felt something loose in his shoulder. She squeezed her eyes shut and held him even tighter. When his magic burst, it was laced with pink, and so bright she could see it through her eyelids. His form trembled and collapsed to the floor, clunking heavy and hard against the stage. Finally, there was silence. All she could hear was some metallic shivering and her own raspy breathing.

When she looked at him again, he was an absolute wreck. Not a limb to be seen, just a shell draped in a white cloak of fur and a purple robe.

“Oh, no no no.” She dropped to her knees and heaved him up in her arms. “A-Are you okay?”

He grinned. “Oh. Honey. You did it,” he said gently.

“Are you okay?!” she insisted shrilly.

“Yes, yes, of course I am,” he said, and he raised his voice. “To think…! I could be beaten by someone so small! So weak! And yet… I feel something. Something new. And something old. Deep, deep inside me. What could it be?” He turned to the audience in silence, inviting them. 

“It’s a trap!” someone in the distance called.

“No, it’s friendship!!” said someone.

“He’s hungry!” another shouted.

Mettaton chuckled along with some of the audience. “What I feel… Is HOPE!” he announced. “Hope in the future! For the first time, I see that power… All this power… It won’t grant me what I want.”

“What do you want?” Frisk asked.

“I want to all the monsters of the underground to be happy. That’s all I ever wanted. Though my methods were flawed. I hope that, one day, I can be forgiven. And… I have hope in you, little human. You can protect all these silly monsters. Can’t you?”

“Y-Yeah. Yeah. I will,” Frisk said quickly. “B-But I’m not going without you.”

“Nonsense, dear girl. I am fading away. Once I release all the souls in my body, I will shrink, and shrink, and shrink, until I feel nothing but anger once again,” he said. “The future is up to you!!”

Frisk took in a deep, shaking breath. He winked at her. She couldn’t help but smile. She pushed a small button on his back. The lights turned down on them and pulsed, making them seem to glow. They sent whirling trails out into the dark of the audience, zooming around like spectres as they gasped and clapped. Then, everything went black.

“A-And with that, all the souls returned to the monsters,” Kid read. “And CRASH!!”

A bright white light flashed through the whole room, like a bolt of lightning. 

“The release of all those souls SHATTERED the barrier!! The Human and the Prince had saved us all. But, the Prince was left small and weakened, once again.”

When the lights faded up, Mettaton’s costume had changed. Though he hadn’t tried to change back into his box-like state, he was draped in the green and yellow poncho, and his hooded cloak now lacked its large horns. Frisk had no idea how he’d done it. She hadn’t felt a thing.

“All the souls are returned to all the monsters. I will fall soon, my friend,” he said. “You should leave me. Before I…”

“No. I won’t,” Frisk said. “There has to be a way to stop you from falling. Maybe…”

“What is it?” Mettaton asked.

Frisk looked up, trying not to squint in the lights.

“The Human thought back to Cooper’s experiments, and what he had told her,” Kid narrated.

“Ahem!” Papyrus said quietly over the speakers, before he put on his imitation voice. “Kiddo, only way to save the Prince would be to get him a soul. Never been done. But. If we could just get all the monsters, in solidarity, to give a small piece of theirs… I dunno. It could work.”

Thank god he was okay, Frisk thought. She let her soul shine, much to the crowd’s delight. 

“The human was filled with determination!” Kid said.

“I know! I know exactly what to do,” she said. “All the monsters could help us!”

She hoped Alphys heard her; hoped she got the cue. She propped Mettaton up to face the crowd and extended her hand like she was reaching for the stars. 

“If every monster in the whole underground tried as hard as they could; if they really believed they could help, and they really wanted to help, and they all worked in solidarity, you might get just enough energy not to fall!”

“Yes!” Kid agreed. “If all the monsters!! If all of you! The audience! Would work together! Surely we could save the Prince?”

The audience murmured. Undyne tapped on the piano, a slow, building, tune. Someone lifted their phone. And then another, and another. Some set magic aglow on their fingertips. Frisk felt her heart begin to pound. They’d actually do it? She tried to keep in character.

“I’m sure they’d help!” she said.

“How could anyone want to help me?” Mettaton said; his voice was weakening.

Frisk flinched. She held him a little tighter. Blue sparkles of magic dusted the the air. She could feel the extra thrum of the copy of Sans’s signature. 

“It’s working,” she whispered.

“Good…” Mettaton smiled slightly. “Sorry, darling, I’m…”

She felt a clunk inside his frame and he became heavy in her arms. The magenta in his eyes was completely gone. He was done. 

“But the monsters did want to help,” Kid read. “And with all of them, together! All their hearts, their souls, their appreciation, they used the tiniest fragment.”

The light show of souls began again as the stage went dark. An orb began to grow on the centre of the back curtain.

“It grew and grew until, finally! A new soul was born! And it joined with the prince!” Kid said.

Frisk felt, somehow, Mettaton lifted from her arms. The audience gasped.

When the lights came up, he was floating, but not enough to be able to see that nothing was holding him up except, perhaps, thin strands of sparkling silk only visible— barely— in a certain direction under the lights. Frisk scrambled to her feet. She didn’t know what to do or say, but the robotic frame dipped forward in a bow. She gulped and copied it. The crowd erupted into cheers. Frisk’s heart was pounding.

“Um!! A-After thanking the Human,” Kid said as Mettaton was quickly whisked offstage in that magic, “the Prince returned to meet the King and Queen, and they had a great and happy reunion.”

Frisk was left alone in the middle of the stage. She stared awkwardly into the dark audience. 

“In the meanwhile,” Kid continued, “with the barrier broken, the human returned to the surface to look out over the world. But, really, the human didn’t have anywhere to go.”

The lighting changed to gold, a lot like a sunset. Puffy fake clouds drifted by behind them. Frisk looked around. She almost couldn’t contain herself when Papyrus walked out casually, hands stuffed in his pockets. The audience clapped.

“P…! Um! C-Cooper!” Frisk squeaked. “You’re okay!”

He smiled. “Course I am,” he said. “You, kiddo?”

“Y-Yeah!” she said.

“Guess you did it,” he said. “Barrier’s gone. Prince’s saved. Nice one.”

“It… It was all because of your research,” she said quickly. “A-And how you saved me in that fight.”

He shrugged and wandered closer.“So, uh. What’re you gonna do now?” he asked. He gestured out across the audience. “Got a whole world out there for you, I guess.”

“I, uh… I don’t know,” Frisk said.

Papyrus raised his brows. “What? No one waiting out there for you?” he asked.

“N-No. No. I, um… No,” Frisk said quickly.

He rubbed the back of his skull. He looked down at her. “So, uh… Thought about, maybe, stickin’ around?”

“What?” she asked.

“It’s just, I kinda got used to you hangin’ out and all,” he said. “And I got an extra room. If you’re interested.”

“Oh! Th-That would be great! If, um… If I could,” she said.

Papyrus knelt down, resting his arm across his knee, and he tilted his head. “Well. You know. I always kinda wanted a little sister, so…”

Frisk couldn’t help herself. She threw her arms around his shoulders. The audience was cooing right away, and they erupted even more loudly when Papyrus wrapped her in a hug. Frisk could heard her brother snort out a soft laugh, doing his best to suppress his characteristic cackle. The curtains closed around them like a protective shell, and the crowd cheered and clapped, so much so that the closing narration and happily ever afters couldn’t even be heard through the cloth.


	64. The Show Must Go On!

Wrapped in her brother’s embrace, Frisk breathed a long sigh of relief, deflating against his shoulder. He hefted her up off her feet and snuggled her close.

“You did so well!! You did SO well!!” he cooed.

“You too, you were great!!” she said. “Are you okay?”

“Yes! Yes, I’m fine,” he said. He pulled back enough to gently bump his brow against hers. The glow in his eyes was bright and warm. 

She giggled and all but melted against him. “Ohmygosh,” she mumbled.

“I know, right?!” he said.

She took a deep breath, trying to contain giddy laughter. “Oh. Gosh. Is Mettaton okay?” she asked.

“Yes. That spider lady’s got him,” he said. “Too bad about all his limbs! Gosh. Do you think Doctor Alphys can fix him?”

“Y-Yeah. For sure,” she said. “Oh man. Oh man! It worked! It all worked!”

“It absolutely did!” Papyrus said brightly. “Are you okay? You got hit an awful lot.”

“I-I’m fine,” she said.

“Let me heal you,” he said.

He brightened his magic and it seeped into her body immediately. She blew out a long sigh, warmed to her core and sleepiness settling in. 

“He really went a bit crazy on you, didn’t he?” he asked gently. “I wasn’t expecting it, were you?”

“No, I was kinda scared!” Frisk said with a laugh. “So. Wait. Does that mean you actually just totally wailed on Mettaton for real?”

“Wh-What?! Um… I-I…” Papyrus’s face went bright with a blush. “I… I just… I was worried about you, okay?”

“Dude. You were amazing!” she said.

“I was?” He stared at her blankly for a few seconds before getting a little starry-eyed. “I was, wasn’t I?!”

“And that spinning bone attack!!” she squeaked, grinning wide. “I’m so happy you figured it out again!”

“Again?” he asked.

“It was one of your special moves! In the future, I mean,” she said. “Remember, you said not to give you any more hints about it?”

“OH! Oh, gosh, that. Wow. Okay.” He smiled bashfully. “I was just so determined to get him away from you that I guess I… It just came naturally.”

“So. Dang. Cool,” Frisk assured him.

He giggled and nuzzled against her, and she beamed and clung even tighter. She suddenly felt incredibly light. Maybe it was just coming down from the battle, but she was absolutely glowing.

“Hey, Paps?” she said. “I know this was a weird thing, but I’m so glad we did it together.”

“Me too,” he agreed, grinning.

Behind them, the curtain rustled. Kid, looking a little shell-shocked but smiling faintly, wobbled in to join them. Papyrus dashed over and scooped him up, too.

“KID! You were a fantastic narrator! Excellent job!!” he said.

“Y-Yeah? Oh. G-Good. Hah!” He slumped and let out a long, loud sigh. “Oh my god. You guys did a good job, too! That final fight was nuts, how many times did you have to practice it?”

“None,” Frisk said. “Mettaton just started chucking things at us for real.”

“Jeez!” Kid said shrilly.

Papyrus gently plunked the kids back onto the floor and took a deep, satisfied breath.

“Let me get you something to drink, Kid, your throat must be dry after all that,” he said. “And, little sister, stay put, I’ll find you something, too!”

“Thanks a million, Paps,” she said as he headed off towards some mysterious way out.

“Hey,” Kid said, “you know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you battle before. You were really good!”

“Me? I dunno, I got smacked a lot,” Frisk said.

“But your attacks were really cool,” he said.

“Um, actually, I didn’t really attack at all,” she said.

“What? But those explosions,” Kid said, tilting his head.

“Oh! N-No, that’s just, um… My magic doesn’t attack, it just kinda… turns stuff back in time really quick, over and over? I think?” she said. “So, um, what happened was when I let it go, for some reason it kinda blew up.”

“Wait, so…? You never attacked even one time?” Kid asked, wide eyed.

Frisk shook her head. “N-No, I, um… I don’t do that,” she said. “I could really hurt someone. I only block and dodge, really.”

“Oh, right right. Human,” Kid said, smiling sideways and rolling his eyes at himself. “You know, actually, that’s really impressive to get that far in a fight and kinda win it, too, without even hitting someone! That’s cool! But attacking would be a lot easier, wouldn’t it?”

“I mean, technically, I guess, but I’d never want to hurt anyone,” Frisk said.

“Wow. Hah! I guess that’s why you’re a human everyone trusts so much!” Kid said with a grin. “If you won’t even attack during a play-battle! Hey. That’s really cool of you.”

“Thanks! Phew. I’m so glad that’s done,” Frisk said. “I…! I think it might have actually worked!”

“Yeah! Everyone seemed to like it!” Kid said cheerfully. “Oh man, my parents are gonna be so hyped, dude!”

Frisk grabbed him into a hug and he snickered and leaned into her happily. She smooched the side of his snout and he giggled and grinned.

“Thanks for this,” he said. “I never imagined being able to do cool stuff like this, or meet Mettaton in person, or be in one of his shows! It’s been really great!”

“I’m really glad you’re happy,” she said.

“FRISK?! Friiiisk! Frisk.” Papyrus ran back up with canned drinks gathered up in his arms and quickly passed them to the kids and sat down, beckoning them closer. “Lets, um, all just relax together for a little, okay?”

“You look pretty worried,” she said.

“What?! Um. N-Noooo, no, I’m not worried,” Papyrus said. “Um! Drink that, okay? It’ll make you feel a lot better, I promise!”

“Thanks a ton,” Kid said brightly.

He sat down, clutching the can in his foot, and he popped the tab and eagerly took a swig. Frisk copied him, sitting close to her brother and drinking deep from a can of soda that contained a drink that tasted vaguely of some sort of fruit. Maybe blueberry and something else. It did make her feel better.

“Whew, I’m still buzzing,” Kid said with a snicker. “Hey, what’d you guys think of the songs?”

“They were nice,” Papyrus said.

“Kinda wish he’d told us about them,” Frisk said.

“Oh! He didn’t tell you, either?” Kid asked. “Heh, no wonder you guys weren’t in any of them!”

“Hey, nerds!” Undyne swept a corner of the curtain aside and strode in with a big grin. “Shit, Frisk, Paps, you had that handled! I almost jumped in a few times. Did he malfunction or something?”

“Noooo, it was my fault, there was a really loud noise and I turned the headphones down,” Frisk said, levelling a finger at them. “He was talking in my ear to tell me about it but I couldn’t hear.”

“Oooh, because of that horrible screeching noise,” Papyrus said.

“Oof, right, I had to reboot mine after that,” Undyne said as she sat down heavily. “Kinda didn’t make a ton of sense, but everyone seemed to like it.”

“Your music was nice,” Frisk said.

“Psshh. Low effort,” she said, waving a hand dismissively. “But thanks! Glad he decided to go with his own stuff for those singing bits because he, uh, didn’t tell me they were happening.”

“Us either!” Kid said with a laugh.

Undyne grabbed Frisk up on her knee and and pulled out her phone. 

“Gettin’ a photo,” she said, and then grinned as she snapped a selfie of the two of them before flipping the phone around to show her. “What d’you think?”

Frisk hadn’t actually seen herself in the costume before. The stripes almost matched the blue of her shirt, in fact, and the fake ears looked pretty cool. She looked a little like some sort of hybrid fish monster. She snickered and grinned.

“You guys all did a really good job on this,” she said. 

“I need a goddamn nap,” Undyne grunted, flopping onto her back. 

Frisk fell onto her with a squeak, but gave her a tight hug before rolling off and plopping back onto the floor. Kid snickered and tipped back his drink.

“Oh, uh, Undyne, would you like something to drink, too?” Papyrus asked.

“Nah, I’m good here,” she said.

Through the sound of the rumbling chatter of the audience beyond the stage, they heard a rough flapping of fabric and a sort of mumbling. Kid immediately perked up.

“Are we allowed back here now?” a woman’s voice asked.

“Mom! Yeah!” Kid said, hopping to his feet. “We’re back here!”

Peeking around the curtain came the long, serpentine neck of Kid’s mother. She was wearing one of the dresses, a white one with blue flowers, that they had passed to the family from Mettaton’s gifts. Alongside her was another monster kid, a bit taller than Kid and very similar in appearance, though she had one spike more and little arms, and a very slightly elongated neck, like her mother. 

“Hey, you dork!” she yelled jubilantly, dashing over and gently punching Kid on the shoulder. “Look at you, big famous play guy! And… ohmigosh. Wait. Waaaait. A-Are you all here?!”

“Uh… Yeah?” Undyne said uncertainly as she rolled upright.

“Y-You’re Guard Captain Undyne, right?!” she squeaked. “A-And that’s… the girl who played the human, and Cooper?!”

The scales on her cheeks flushed and her eyes went as round as saucers as Papyrus raised his hand to wave and Frisk smiled bashfully. Kid scoffed and bumped his sister with his hip.

“C’mon, sis, don’t be weird, they’re just normal people. Really cool normal people, but still,” he said.

All but ignoring him, she made a beeline for Papyrus, blushing. “I-I thought you were r-really cool!” she stammered.

“Oh! Thank you very much,” he said.

The red on her cheeks deepened. “Is that what you sound like?” She said, and she mumbled very quietly, “Oh no, he’s really cute.”

“Yes! I was, in fact, doing a fake voice for the character,” Papyrus explained, putting his hand on his chest. “Did you enjoy the show?”

“Y-Yeah!!” Kid’s sister said, nodding vigorously. “Yeah, it was great! E-Especially the part where you were fighting the Prince!”

Kid rolled his eyes. “C’mon, Daisy, knock it off,” he joked.

“Kid!” His mother was calling, back near the curtain as she helped a third, dusty brown monster into the backstage. “Sweetie, you were fantastic. Come give me a hug.”

“Mooooom,” he whined. He was blushing a little and he looked at Frisk hesitantly. 

She was surprised; unsure, but she quickly stuck her thumbs up. His embarrassment fading, Kid scampered over and was greeted by a warm hug from his mother. Behind her, accompanied by a heavy clunking sound, came a slightly taller monster, one that Frisk had never seen before. 

She knew he had to be Kid’s dad, though. He looked a bit like him: reptilian with spiked ridges down his head and back, and wearing what was essentially a poncho. His face was a little jarring, though, despite smiling proudly at his son. The right side of his head looked as if, at some point, someone had simply taken a chunk out of him. His scales were marred by three long, straight scars, and there was nothing left to speak of of the eye on that side. His leg was made of wood and metal fashioned into the same shape as the other. 

“Dad!! You came!” Kid said, eyes alight as he rushed over to him.

“Of course I did. Wouldn’t miss my son’s big show,” he said, bending in to nuzzle his head. “This is a whole family deal! You did real well, Kid.”

“Th-Thanks!” he said brightly. “Hey, wanna come meet my friends? You haven’t met ‘em yet, right?!”

Kid’s dad leaned around him to look. Undyne raised a hand and Frisk waved and smiled. The monster man seemed most comforted by Undyne’s presence. 

“Captain,” he said, bowing his head.

“Just Undyne this afternoon, man,” she said with a grin. “Good to meet you. You got a good kid in, uh, Kid.”

Kid snickered. His mother was aglow.

“It’s good to meet you, too, ma’am,” she said. “Thanks for looking out for our little Kid. He talks about you all the time.”

“Mooooom,” Kid whined again.

Undyne guffawed and shot Kid a grin. “They’re just proud of you, don’t be embarrassed.”

“I know, I know,” he said, his scales flushing pink. “Um! So, this skeleton over here, this is Papyrus!”

“Oh, you’re Papyrus?” his father asked. “He talks about you a lot, too. I didn’t realize you were an actor.”

“Oh! I’m not, really,” Papyrus said. “But thank you for thinking so!”

“And this is Frisk,” Kid said. “She’s, uh…”

“The one who helped with your magic, right?” his sister asked, and she shot Frisk a smile. “Thanks for that, we thought he’d never get it.”

“Knock it off!” Kid squeaked, reddening shyly. 

“I-It’s okay, I was learning mine at the same time,” Frisk said quickly.

Kid’s father peered down at her, raising a brow. The gaze in his good eye was rather intense. She had a chilling thought as her eyes darted to those scars on his face. Papyrus leaned a little closer in behind her.

“You played the humans, right?” he asked.

She nodded. He smiled slightly and tilted his head. 

“Funny. You did a good job, but there’s no way a human would be like that second kid,” he said.

“Dear,” the woman chided gently.

“What? It’s true,” he said, and he chuckled. “It’s not her fault, she didn’t write it! I’m just saying, if it all wasn’t so ridiculous, I wouldn’t have bought it.”

“What do you mean?” Papyrus asked, his long fingers wrapping tight around Frisk’s shoulder.

“There’s no way a human would help us like that,” he said.

“Well, I—!” Papyrus started to protest, but Frisk cleared her throat.

“Um, yeah, it’s pretty unlikely,” she said. “But I guess it makes an okay story! That’s what Mettaton thought, anyway. And, you never know, maybe there’s… Maybe there’s a few nice ones somewhere, but, um… yeah, they’re not… great.”

“Yeah, weird choice to make a human the good guy in this!” Daisy said, but she was smiling. “But the way you played her, I actually liked her a lot! If there was a human really like that, I bet that wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Thanks,” Frisk said.

Kid had started to sweat a little. “R-Right! If there was a human like that,” Kid said with an enthusiastic nod. “Um! H-Hey! How about we…? How about we head home and get some food or something? I’m starving!” 

“Hah! Of course you are! You were so nervous you didn’t eat all morning,” his mother said with a smile.

“Mooooom,” Kid grumbled. 

She laughed and his father chuckled and gently bumped him with his snout. 

“Don’t worry, we’ve got something nice planned for our big star!” he assured him. “Hey, nice to meet you all. Good work out there.”

“Thanks, dude,” Undyne said, sticking her thumb up. “Have a good trip back.”

“We will!” Kid said. He hurried to Frisk and she gave him a quick hug. He smiled sheepishly. “Glad you finally got to meet my family.”

“Me too!” she agreed. “See you later!”

As he was herded away by his family, his sister clinging to his shoulders and grinning wide, he shot an apologetic glance back at Frisk. She stuck both thumbs up and he smiled slightly. They left through the curtain, and whoever was still in the seating area started to clap. Undyne shot Frisk a look with furrowed brows.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, of course, why wouldn’t I be?” she said. “I was almost worried he’d realize what I was, but…”

“Really? You think he would?” Papyrus asked a little shrilly.

“Well, yeah, you see his face?” she asked. “What else could have done that?”

“You’re a hundred percent right, kiddo,” Undyne said with a sigh. “You, uh… You think you’ll run into him much in town? What’ve you done up to this point?”

“He, um, doesn’t go out, I think,” Frisk said. “I’ve never actually met him. Not even in the future bits.”

“Oh. Okay. Hope that’ll be fine, then,” she said. “Maybe save extra when you’re in Snowdin, then.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she said, and she turned to Papyrus. “So what’s with the worried face?”

Papyrus immediately looked even more worried than he had just a second prior. “Worried face?” he repeated shrilly. “I’m not sure what you mean!”

“Paps,” she chided.

“Uhhh… Welllll… Okay. Just this,” he said reluctantly. He showed her his phone. 

There was a text from Sans there. It was about the shadowman.

“Oh. Jeez.” Frisk’s eyes went wide. “Did he say if he’s okay? What happened?”

“I don’t know, I think he’s fine,” Papyrus said. “He just said to keep an eye on you, just in case. So, naturally, I will keep two eyes on you.”

“Add one more,” Undyne said, ruffling the kid’s hair. “You guys hungry? I am.”

“I wanna sleep for a week!” Frisk joked. “But I could go for a snack.”

“Alright.” Undyne hefted herself up and stretched her arms high above her head, cracking her knuckles. “I’m gonna go track down that flower kid. You two, just stay here, okay?”

“Absolutely!” Papyrus assured her.

As Undyne left, they noticed the sounds beyond were starting to die down. Frisk finally took off her headphones and rubbed her ears. 

“Oh, hey, little sister, want me to clean those stripes off you?” he asked.

“Sure,” she said. “Can I borrow your phone?”

“Of course!” he said.

He passed it over to her and when he got up, walked backwards away from her, careful to keep his eyes on her the whole way back to his makeup case. Frisk tried not to laugh.

“_hey its frisk_” she texted to her own number. “_done done done!!_” She wasn’t entirely expecting Sans to answer, but when the phone chirped in reply, her heart skipped a beat.

“_k good work_” he texted back. “_c u as soon as i can ok?_”

“_yea!! going ok?_” she asked.

“_yup no prob_” he said “_tell me abt th show l8r?_”

“_i will!! cya soon bro!! <3_”

“_lol yea_” he said.

“Who are you writing to?” Papyrus asked.

“Sans,” Frisk said.

“Oh!” He sat down beside her with a water bottle and some paper towels. “Has he been doing his part of the plan? I suppose he must’ve. He didn’t fall asleep in the middle, did he?”

“I don’t think so, he got back to me right away,” Frisk said. “Don’t worry. He’s really been reliable about this.”

“Mm. I see,” Papyrus said. 

He dampened the paper towel and then began to dab at her face. The lines of blue began to rub off.

“You know,” he said, “you certainly aren’t wrong, little sister. I’ve been a bit surprised, to be honest. But, I’ve said it before: you have been very good for him. He seems to actually enjoy helping you, which is strange because it involves work, but I guess that just proves that he loves you a lot! I mean, as if that needs proof. But you know what I mean, right?”

“Heh. Yeah,” she said.

She sat still as her brother gently scrubbed at her cheeks. Then, he rolled back her sleeve and started to wipe away the smeared blue streaks on her skin. 

“You know, I think I just realized something,” he said.

“What?” she asked.

“I don’t think we’ve ever done a battle on the same team like that,” he said.

“Um. Oh! You know. I think you’re right,” Frisk said. “It was fun to work together! Maybe we could do it again sometime?”

“Yes, of course!” he assured her. “We make a great team.”

By the time he was halfway done her other arm, Undyne pushed her way back through the curtain. She had a puzzled frown on her face. Frisk raised her brows.

“No luck?” she asked.

“Nah,” she said. “Does he have a phone?”

“Um. Sans has mine,” Frisk said hesitantly.

“And I have mine,” Papyrus said. “So… I guess not. Oh. What should we do?”

“He mightta just gone home,” Frisk said. “He didn’t really wanna see the show to begin with, right?”

“Oh. Yeah. That’s probably true,” Undyne said. “Alright. Outta here? Get a snack or somethin’ and then grab a few of those other nerds and get dinner?”

Frisk’s eyes lit up. “Yes please!” she said enthusiastically.

\- - -

Heat coursing through her, a nausea permeating her whole being, the ding of the elevator as it sped down into the lab couldn’t come quick enough for Alphys. She paced, sweating, and the instant the noise hit her ear, she grabbed the opening door and shoved it back, stumbling out into the main floor. She was greeted by a somewhat unfamiliar monster, standing opposite, checking the nails on one of her many hands, foot tapping impatiently. 

“Oh, Doctor Alphys, I presume?” she asked, turning to her. “I hope you don’t mind, Mettaton let me borrow his key.”

“A-Are you Muffet?” she squeaked.

“Indeed I am, dearie,” she said.

“Is h-h-he okay?!” Alphys asked.

“Possibly,” Muffet said. “He suspected something like this would happen. I’ve left him upstairs on your table. And with that, I will be off!”

“Oh, wait!” Alphys said, causing her to pause mid-stride. “Th-Thank you. A l-lot. For b-bringing him back.”

“Oh, no problem at all,” Muffet said. “It’s good to have Mettaton owe you a favour, huh? Fuhuhuhuhu!” She took Alphys’s hand and slipped the key into her palm before walking jauntily off towards the east exit. 

Before she even heard the door close, Alphys booked it up the escalator, taking it two steps at a time. She stumbled when she hit solid floor. She froze at the sight of the limbless, metal torso sitting up near the edge of her work bench. Even the wing panels she’d begun to install looked loose. Stuttering incoherently, Alphys rushed for him and lifted him into her arms. She knocked on the casing.

“M-Mettaton? Mettaton?!” she demanded. “Are you okay?!”

“Ahem.” 

Alphys whirled at the voice behind her only to come face to face with a cute pink ghost with a phantom hair-swoosh on the top of his head.

“Oh, th-there you are!!” she squeaked, grabbing him and squishing him close.

He sunk inwards like a soft pillow and giggled. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” he assured her. “I’m sorry I wrecked all your work! But it was a glorious show!”

“It’s fine, it’s f-fine, I, um…” She had to stop and gulp. “I built th-them once. It w-won’t be hard t-to make some new ones.”

“To be fair,” he said with a smile, cheeks flushing darker pink, “most of the pieces will probably still be in the theatre.”

Alphys nodded. Mettaton chuckled and phased through her arms, only to pull back and wipe under her eyes.

“Now now, no need to cry,” he said.

“I-I’m not!” she squeaked, hurriedly wiping her face. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

“Well, naturally,” he chuckled. “Look, I know you have a lot of work to do, darling, but how about you and me watch the recording tomorrow? The show really was fantastic.”

“Okay. O-Okay, okay, okay,” she said. “Um! I… I need to fix y-you, though! B-But I… I h-have to get back to Asgore’s, I—”

“It’s alright! It’s alright,” Mettaton assured her with a laugh. “Tomorrow! I can… I can deal with this. For a night.”

He gestured to himself and tossed his hair. Alphys let out a long, relieved sigh.

“Thank you,” Alphys said. “Okay, I’ll…! I-I’ll!”

“Go go go!” Mettaton cheered.

Alphys’s fingers were shaking and sweaty as she texted Sans to let him know what was going on. She was sure the first two— sent by a mistype— were utter gibberish. She scuffed her toes on the grey stone as she stumbled up towards Asgore’s house. She slouched lower and lower the closer she got, and when Sans replied with simply the letter “_K”_, she nearly jumped out of her scales.

She crept up to the door and stood flush with the wall. She was getting sweatier as she waited, unsure if she should text again or not. Her stomach dropped when the door creaked open just a crack. She deflated when she saw white, boney fingers gesturing her inside.

Hurriedly, she slipped into Asgore’s house and grabbed Sans in a tight hug, barely even registering his face as she made her way as fast as she could to the bedroom — tunnel vision setting it. She couldn’t relax until she was in the huge blankets on the bed again. She chugged the entire cup of sweet, cold tea.

The waiting was nerve-wracking. She could hardly even pretend to be asleep. Her ears kept trying to pull on snippets of muffled conversation, and her internal schematics of Mettaton’s limbs were rearranging and making adjustments every time she recalled the repairs she’d have to make. 

It felt like she was there for hours. She heard footsteps near the door and froze entirely, the beat of her soul thrumming uncomfortably in her ears. With a stiff arm, she pulled up the comforter. She had to stop herself from squeaking when the door snuck open.

“S’alright,” Sans was saying. “I’ll get us outta your beard.”

“I don’t mind!” Asgore protested.

“Course you don’t, but the Doc’ll be bummed that she put you out of a bed,” he said. “Don’t worry about it. Not the first time I’ve yanked her back home after fallin’ asleep somewhere weird.”

She didn’t move at all until she heard the door close again. She shot up like a bolt. Sans was there, looking like he was trying very hard not to laugh.

“Jeez, Doc, you look like you’re gonna be sick,” he said.

“Ohmigosh, shush!” she said, waving her hands as if to push the volume down. “H-How’d it go?”

He shrugged. “Fine. What’d I miss?”

“Oh. G-God, um.” She smiled sheepishly. “A lot? Um. I-It might better to ask Frisk or P-Papyrus.”

“That bad, huh?” he said.

“Oh my god, it was chaos. It’s h-hard to even describe, um… Um! But! Um. W-We’ll, um, know by tomorrow if the, um, b-blue takes. So. That’s, um, good,” she said.

“Hm.” Sans nodded. “Alright. Headin’ out?”

“D-Do I look sick enough?” she squeaked.

“Dunno, but that tea there is a bit of a cure-all, right?” he said. 

Alphys blushed and nodded.

The little lizard’s sweaty complexion certainly added to the facade of illness. Asgore talked them into staying for one last cup of tea before they headed out. Alphys was mostly focussing on catching her breath, so they walked back to the elevator mostly in silence. Sans didn’t really mind. He’d done a lot of talking today. A lot of listening, too. He was starting to feel a little drained. Even so, he was eager to hear how his siblings had done in the show. He was sure it’d be on reruns on TV for a while, too. He supposed he’d have to hang onto the King’s stuff for a while longer, then. Maybe he’d glue some lights or something to the casing.

When they got into the elevator, Alphys recoiled against the back corner, folding her arms to her chest. She let out a tired snicker.

“You know,” she said, “I th-think that tea a-actually did do me some good. Oh m-man. It’s gonna be a long night.”

“Why, what’re you doin’?” Sans asked.

“Oh, g-god, I have to start f-fixing Mettaton. I warned him n-not to go crazy, but h-he totally did and all his arms and l-legs fell off, and he e-even wrecked some of his w-wing panels!” she said, trying to hide her exasperation. “A-And I should start watching the radio app t-to see if that, um, is g-getting any early readings, and—”

“Relax, will ya?” Sans said. “You’re gonna overheat if you keep shakin’ like that.”

“B-But I…!” she stammered.

“Just don’t push it,” he suggested. “If not for yourself, for my kid, okay?”

“For F…? Why? D-Does she worry?” Alphys asked, eyes wide.

He shrugged and nodded. “Sure. Always.”

“A-Aw, no! I l-like what I’m doing,” she said. “It’s j-just… Well… M-Maybe I have been… I dunno. I-If I don’t d-do it, who will, you know?”

“Gotcha,” Sans said.

The elevator hit the floor with a series of clunking sounds and, with a pleasant, dinging chime, the doors slid open.

“What? Nothing?” Alphys asked. “Y-You aren’t going t-to try to convince me to slow down?”

“Sounds like you’re already doing that yourself, Doc,” Sans said with a grin. “But, uh. I know how you feel.”

The lizard blushed a little and she rushed out into the lab with a sudden sense of urgency. Sans wandered out after her and cast his gaze upstairs. He took a step onto the escalator and let it slide him upwards.

“W-Wait, Sans, what are you—?!” Alphys said.

“He’s up here, right?” he said, jerking his thumb towards her work bench before he disappeared around the railing.

Alphys squeaked and hurried after him to find him already peering intently at the metal casing. He was checking curiously inside the socket that once held the right arm.

“He’s got a dent or two,” Sans mentioned casually as he lit up his eye to look in the hole. “Kinda a strange shape. Paps didn’t whack him, did he?”

“H-How’d you know?” Alphys asked. 

Sans’s brows raised. “For real?” he said, and he started to grin. “Jeez, what happened?”

“Oh, um, so M-Mettaton thought it’d be good to end with a battle and I’m… not sure he actually told the others about it?” she squeaked. “It l-looked like your brother was j-just trying to make sure F-Frisk didn’t get hit.”

“Pffft. Alright,” he said. “Should pop out, I think.”

“Yeah, d-don’t even worry about it,” Alphys said quickly. “It, um, l-looks a lot worse than it is.”

“So where’d he end up?” Sans asked.

“Wh…? Oh. OH. Y-You… know. Right?” she said.

“Yeah,” he said.

She sighed. “Mettaton! You can come out, if you want, it’s j-just Sans,” she called.

“Uggghhh,” Mettaton said from somewhere, “but I’m not decent, Alphie!”

“Well, whatever y-you want,” she said.

She was startled when a shimmer of pink began to appear in front of their eyes, and after a moment, the ghost was there, pouting slightly and drooped over. Sans looked moderately surprised, but his grin widened.

“Oh. I guess that makes sense,” he said.

Mettaton waved his little arms at him, but then gasped. “Wait!! I thought you knew!!” he squeaked, round eyes growing even rounder.

“I did. Never saw, though,” he said.

“What?!” he yelped. “And you’re seeing me as this mess? Oh my god.” He floofed his spectral hair curl and twirled away, primping himself. 

Alphys shook her head and Sans held in a laugh as he turned back to the torso.

“So’d you run straight into the attacks or what?” he asked.

“Shush, you absolute brute,” Mettaton scolded. “I was trying— and succeeding, by the way— to put on an excellent and memorable show. A little temporary damage is worth it, isn’t it?”

“Speak for y-yourself, I h-have to fix it!” Alphys said with a laugh.

“Which is absolutely amazing of you,” Mettaton said, drifting around behind her and holding her shoulders. 

Alphys sighed and snickered. “You scared me, you know,” she told him with a false frown on her face.

“Why!? I’ve been through worse than a little bit of limb-loss, darling,” Mettaton said with a laugh.

“Welp.” Sans stretched. “This is great and all. But I should probably track down those kids. Seen ‘em anywhere?”

“I sort of missed that end bit, unfortunately,” Mettaton said. 

Sans shrugged. He pulled out a phone and started texting. He looked thoughtful and his brow furrowed slightly.

“You guys seen that flower kid anywhere?” he asked.

“N-No, I don’t think so,” Alphys said, turning to Mettaton. “You?”

“Ummm… He was in a cup, yes?” he asked, tapping his cheek. “I think I saw him slip off somewhere after the final song.”

“Fair enough. I was surprised that he showed up at all,” Sans said. “Okay. They’re, uh, waitin’ in New Home. Either of you in?”

“Not I!” Mettaton said.

“Um! I’ll… I-I’d like to, um…” Alphys looked at Mettaton again with a sheepish smile. “Y-You don’t mind, do you?”

“Of course not! You deserve a break!” he said.

Alphys wilted with relief, and she waved her hands at Sans quickly. “Y-You go on ahead,” she assured him. “Th-They’ll r-really want to see you.”

“Sure. Gotta track the nerds down anyway. I’ll text ya.” He stuck his thumb up and vanished completely. 

Mettaton gasped and put a hand to his chest. “God. He could be part ghost,” he said. “How does he do that?!”

Alphys shrugged and smiled.

\- - -

Asriel wished desperately he hadn’t sat through the entire show. It felt like a curse to have Mettaton’s music stuck in his head, especially since he couldn’t remember all the words. How pathetic was that? He’d thought the lyrics were so simple, and yet he could barely make them stick in his head even though the tunes were firmly lodged.

He was glad that no one had noticed him creep up onto the stage during the fight. He felt a little foolish thinking Frisk was actually in danger. Felt even more foolish that he’d almost chucked himself into the line of fire. He was glad he’d left before she’d seen him.

As he was now, though, he was on his own. And he was hungry. And very glad that Frisk never cared one whit if he took a few coins out of her pockets.

There were vendors outside the theatre, and the overpriced spider bake sale nearby. He had no use for any of that, though. In fact, he didn’t want to talk to people at all. He only really knew one solution anywhere nearby.

He ducked into the lab, but rather than raid Alphys’s fridge, he headed downstairs for a vending machine. In the basement, he was almost immediately greeted by the chasm of what would have been Big Dog’s face, had they had one. They were oozing black goo, tail wagging frantically. Asriel scoffed and tried to wave them away, but it only served to have them prance around him in a wide circle. Sighing, brow furrowed, he did his best to ignore them and rolled to the vending machine at the end of the hallway. 

He took a few coins out of the dirt in his mug and reached out to plunk them into the slot. There wasn’t much but bags of chips in there, so that’s what he got. The little spiral of metal that swirled to release the bag turned so slowly he isn’t sure if it was broken or not. He couldn’t help watching that huge monster bound around right at the edges of his vision. He puffed out a long sigh.

“Could you not?” he asked sarcastically.

Of course, Big Dog didn’t answer. Their enthusiasm wasn’t dimmed in the least, and Asriel was sure that there were more of these colourless monsters heading their way from the sound of the door creaking down the hallway. 

Finally, the bag dropped and Asriel reached in to grab it. It was a little bit of a pain to pop it open with a mechanical arm tugging on one side and a leaf struggling with the other, but it was a huge relief once he did. As he put the first chip in his mouth, he was surrounded on all sides by the amalgam monsters, looking at him eagerly. He pouted and clutched the bag to his stem protectively. Though, he couldn’t eat the whole thing, could he? He sighed. He hurriedly shoved a few chips into his mouth and then tossed the bag out onto the floor. It was immediately pounced upon and he slunk away as quickly as he could. 

He didn’t really feel secure until he had secreted himself back into the elevator. It was hard to reach the buttons, but that didn’t stop him. The doors closed and he took a small, quiet breather. Those melty, mashed monsters unnerved him. Determination had done that, hadn’t it? It set an uneasy feeling deep inside him. Maybe because he knew that feeling of one’s body refusing to hold itself together. He was instantly nauseous thinking about it.

When the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, Asriel hurriedly rolled himself out. He stopped to take a breath, but he heard voices somewhere from in the lab. He felt a heat of panic run through him but, after a second, he realized that it was just Alphys and Mettaton. They were getting a little closer.

“Anyway,” Alphys was saying. “No way. N-No way it would work. E-Ever! Building a s-soul like this? Nuh-uh.”

“Did you tell them that?” Mettaton asked.

“O-Of course not,” she said with a tired laugh. 

Asriel froze. His heart sunk down to his roots and a chill rattled his whole being. He gulped and backed up, only to clunk soundly into the door behind him. Before he could make a break for it, Alphys was upon him.

“Oh!! A-Asriel!!” She started to smile right away and scooped him up. “There y-you are!! Everyone was l-looking for you!”

“They were, huh?” he said.

She nodded. “I’m j-just, um…! Just g-glad you d-didn’t get stepped on or something,” she said. “A-Are you okay? Did you e-enjoy the show? What were y-you doing downstairs?”

“I, uh…” He felt like he was in a daze. “I wanted some chips.”

“Oh!! A-Are you hungry? Do you, um, w-want me to get you s-something? OH! I’m supposed to g-go meet the others in New Home, w-we were g-going to get dinner, do you want to come?” she asked.

“No. No, I’m good,” he said. “Uh… I was actually a bit, uh… drained. From the show. So I was gonna head home.”

“Oh…” She looked disappointed for only a second before she forced a smile. “W-Well! That’s okay. We’ll bring you something b-back; you can have it for breakfast! I’m s-so glad you turned up.”

“Really? Why?” he asked.

“Nobody knew w-where you were, you silly kid,” she said with a laugh. “They’ll b-be really happy to know you’re okay.”

“I… I guess that makes sense,” he said. “You, uh, wanna put me down?”

“Oh! Yeah, sure, s-sure,” she said.

She knelt down and gently placed him on the ground. She smiled at him so fondly. He didn’t understand. How could she be like this to his face and yet…?

She must’ve noticed some trepidation in him. Some change in his expression. She tilted her head and her brow furrowed with concern.

“Hey,” she said gently. “S-Seriously. Are you o-okay? You l-look a little… I dunno.”

“I’m fine,” he said. “See you whenever, alright?”

“R-Right. Of course,” she nodded and gently patted his head. “See you s-soon!”

\- - -

It took a little longer than Sans would have liked to get to where Papyrus had said he and the others were. He didn’t know the alleys there; wasn’t one to normally just sneak down them all the time. The thought crossed his mind that maybe he should make a day of just walking them; getting a better map. He immediately tossed that idea right in the trash the second it fully materialized. The amount of work that would be was nowhere near worth it. It would have saved him this walk, though, towards what Papyrus had described as “a noodle soup place that is not spaghetti but is probably still moderately okay”. Probably the ramen shop.

He turned onto a small street, where he saw a few familiar forms near a wall about halfway to the next corner. After a few seconds, Frisk must’ve caught notice of him. Her arm shot up in the air and she waved frantically, and then took off running.

Before he knew it, her arms were around his shoulders and she was absolutely beaming at him.

“Sans!! There you are!” she said. “I’m so glad you came!”

He snickered and hefted her up, a ping in their souls connecting them for just a moment. She’d missed him, for some reason.

“Hey, kiddo.” He grinned. “Doin’ okay?”

“Yeah!” she said brightly. “Did you watch the show?”

“Course I did,” he assured her. “Missed the end, though. Work stuff.”

“Oh! That’s okay. I bet it was weird,” she said with a laugh. “Mettaton fought us without telling us and it was a bit of a mess but I bet it was pretty cool.”

He snickered and shook his head. “I heard. Alright, though?”

“Uh-huh!” she said. “Papyrus was the coolest, I can’t even.”

“What else is new?” he said, carefully putting her down. “You sound pretty hyped.”

“I guess I am,” she said. 

She had a big smile on her face. She snickered and grabbed one of his hands tightly. “We’re almost done,” she said. “We’re so close.”

“Glad you’re happy, kiddo,” he said.

“Are you?” she asked. “It’s good, right?”

“For sure.” He gently mussed up her hair. “Doin’ good work out there.”

“Did you have an okay time with Asgore?” she asked.

“Yeah. Drank way too much tea,” he said. “If there’s such a thing.”

Frisk giggled.

“Ah! Sans! There you are.” Papyrus was still dressed quite similarly to his brother when he strode up and thumped him on the shoulder. “Finally! Did you run into the you-know-who again?”

“Who?” he asked.

“You know.” Papyrus rolled his eyes when Sans merely started back at him blankly. “The shadowman thingy!!”

“Oh. That. Uh. Don’t think so.” He rubbed the back of his skull and smiled sideways. “Not that I’d remember, huh?”

“Well, I mean, if he wants me for something important, I don’t mind if he brings me somewhere,” Frisk said, “as long as I have my phone.”

“That’s brave,” Papyrus said, but the furrow in his brow said that he didn’t really approve. 

Frisk laughed and reached up to grab his hand. “Well, you’ll keep me safe, right?”

“Of course I will!” he assured her quickly. 

“Pfft. You don’t need that much protection,” Undyne said as she strode up. “You’re pretty good at holdin’ your own. Hey, Sans. You missed your sis giving Mettaton a run for his money.”

“But he kicked my butt!” she said.

“And you still won,” Undyne said with a laugh, ruffling her hair. “Funny how that happens, huh?”

“Thanks to Papyrus,” she insisted.

“We were a very good team,” Papyrus said with a grin.

“Welp. You’re gonna have to give me a play-by-play.” Sans said, pulling out Frisk’s phone. He pressed a few buttons and then passed it back to her. 

She smiled and nodded. “Yeah sure!” she said. “Oh it’s so nuts! Come on, come on!” She grabbed his hand and he let her drag him into the ramen shop. 

“Never seen him move that fast,” Undyne joked.

Papyrus snickered. He began to follow, but turned back when he saw Undyne wasn’t following.

“Aren’t you coming?” he asked.

“Oh! Yeah. Soon. Just gonna wait for Alph. I mean. Just in case she gets lost,” she said.

“Ah! Very considerate! I’ll see you inside soon!” he said, sticking both thumbs up.

\- - -

It was funny to think, now, that Frisk had been so uncertain about the show. As she and Papyrus explained what had happened to him and Alphys, Sans couldn’t help but find their energy encouraging. That, and Frisk’s appetite. She’d finished a child’s size bowl of noodles with no problem at all and was halfway through a normal sized one as the bulk of the story wrapped up.

Alphys was audibly aghast at the sheer disorganization, but it didn’t surprise Sans at all. When they got to dessert, the kid was finally starting to slow down, leaning up against the short skeleton’s side with a bowl of ice cream and a spoon that seemed a little too big in her hand.

“Honestly,” Papyrus said as he tapped his fork against his plate of mocha cake, “in some ways, I really liked doing the show! But. At the same time. I’m not sure I’d want to be an actor for real.”

“Oh yeah?” Undyne rested her cheek on her fist and shoved a bite of a large cinnamon roll into her mouth. “Why?”

“Well! When I was acting with Frisk, sometimes I wanted to laugh, or to grab her like I do normally, and I couldn’t because it wasn’t good for the story,” he said. “It feels weird holding back like that.”

“You’re t-too honest!” Alphys said with a grin.

“So, um, Alphys,” Frisk said, instantly drawing her attention. “What do you think? Did all the sciency bits work?”

“Oh! W-Well. We won’t know f-for sure until tomorrow,” she said, “but yeah! F-From just the start of it that I s-saw I… I r-really do think th-this has a g-great chance of working!”

“That’s great,” Frisk said, eyes lighting up. “Really good. Asriel’s gonna be so happy.”

“Of course he is! This is what we’ve been working for,” Papyrus said with a grin. “It’s going to be so nice for him to feel normal again.”

“I know, right?” Frisk said.

“So. Is he much different? When he’s normal?” Undyne asked.

“Well. I’m not sure,” Frisk said. “The, um… The memories I got from his sister, they were from before all the awful stuff. So, back then he was a bit different.”

“Right. Right right. All that stuff must’ve affected him,” Undyne said with a nod. “Well. Whatever the case. I want this to work, too. And then he won’t be so grumpy, huh?”

“Y-You’d be grumpy, too,” Alphys joked.

“Sans isn’t,” Undyne said, pointing at him.

“No humour in it,” Sans said with a tired smile.

“Y-You know,” Alphys said, “I was telling M-Mettaton, a b-bit earlier. I… At the start of this… I really thought there w-was no way this would ever work, n-not in a million years. B-But I’m glad I… I didn’t say anything. And th-that we kept trying. Because n-now, with a-all this stuff we’ve tried, and all this new r-research, it’s actually really exciting!”

“Oh! Why didn’t you want to say anything?” Frisk asked curiously.

“W-Well. I mean.” She blushed. “J-Just in case. I d-didn’t want to, um, d-discourage you. But I g-guess I didn’t r-really have to worry about that a-anyway! I’m s-so glad. I’m, um… I’m really proud of you, Frisk.”

“Aw, thank you!” Frisk said, smiling brightly.

“Well, you did try a ton of stuff,” Undyne said. “That’s a lot of work.”

“Oh man, don’t even! You guys all did way more work than me,” Frisk insisted. “I just… kinda told you guys we needed to do a thing.”

“Nonsense, little sister, you did a lot,” Papyrus said with a reassuring smile.

The kid’s cheeks pinked a little and she stuck a half-spoon of ice cream into her mouth. Sans put his hand on her head and tussled her hair. She smiled and leaned in, warmed and content. 

\- - -

Frisk’s energy didn’t even begin to run low until a few hours later, when she crashed quite abruptly as they started to walk home. At Papyrus’s insistence, Sans grabbed the sleeping kid and whisked her back to the house. He and Asriel surprised each other as the flower rolled out of the kitchen with a teacup full of spaghetti perched on the edge of his mug, wrapped in vines. He looked a little gaunt in the face.

The flower opened his mouth as if to say something, but then reconsidered and raised one leaf as a greeting instead. Sans nodded and then froze, weighing his options. He gently plopped the kid down on the couch. He pointed at her.

“Can you keep an eye on her for a sec?” he asked at a whisper.

“Why?” Asriel said. “She’s not a baby.”

“Got a bit of a hunch that monster no one remembers might be out for her,” Sans said. “So?”

“Oh. Uh.” The flower sighed. “Okay. Fine.”

“Thanks a ton,” Sans said.

He vanished and Asriel rolled his eyes. He made his way over to the couch and, with a little bit of finagling some vines and his arm, he managed to drag himself up and onto a cushion. He had a lot less control up there, so he scooted himself into the back corner and began to eat his cold pasta. He should have asked that bony guy to give him a boost to the microwave, now that he thought about it.

After a minute or two, Frisk began to shift. Asriel froze. He saw her eyes open just a crack and she blinked at him with groggy, squinted eyes.

“Az?” she asked softly.

“Uh. Hey, Frisk,” he said.

She smiled softly. He knew he had gone pink.

“Hey, how are you?” she said, reaching out to gently scoop him up. “I hope the thing wasn’t… awful.”

“Oh. Uh. No. No, it was… I mean. It was too dumb to take seriously,” he said. “And you… didn’t crap all over Chara’s memory, so. That was nice. For the other stuff, I kinda went between laughing and butthurt, though.”

“…Butthurt?” Frisk hadn’t heard the word before and snickered. “What’s butthurt?”

“You know, like… kinda offended? But there was no point in being offended,” he explained.

“Butthurt,” she repeated again. “That’s funny. I mean. Not that you were. Just the word.”

“Pffft, you’re such a kid,” he said.

“Yeeeeeah,” she agreed with grin. “What else do you expect?”

He snickered. 

Frisk yawned and Asriel couldn’t help but mirror her. He blinked heavily, then shook his head.

“Um. So. You were…? You were okay, right?” he asked. “I saw the fight.”

“Yup! Just fine,” she assured him. “Thanks.”

“Good. Um. Hey.” He gently poked her. “Uh… Do you think this really helped?”

“It looked like the blue magic thing worked,” she said.

Asriel nodded. He grimaced and grabbed her hand. “Do you really think this is gonna work?” he asked quietly.

“I really do,” she said. “And if it doesn’t, don’t worry, we’ll figure something else out. But it’s really looking good, I think!”

“Okay…” He squeezed on her fingers. “I just… Um. If we could at least get me some arms, that’d be good.”

“I promise I won’t stop until you’re okay,” she said.

“Don’t underestimate that determination, huh?” Sans had reappeared, leaning back against the wall near the kitchen, arms folded and a tired grin on his face. “It’s strong stuff.”

“Sans!” Frisk said brightly. “Sup, bro?”

“Just gettin’ the bed ready,” he said. “Wanna go read until you clock out?”

“That sounds great,” she said. “Az?”

“Nah. I’ll, um…” He slipped out of her hands and shrugged. “I’ll just stay here and eat my noodles.”

“Alright. Good night, then,” she said. She smooched him on the forehead before scampering off up the stairs.

\- - -

Frisk didn’t last long with the book and was asleep in her brother’s lap before he’d even finished a chapter. He didn’t mind. He was pretty tired, too. He tucked her in but stayed there and read a bit ahead just to try to keep himself awake. Couldn’t doze off himself until Papyrus got home, at the very least.

He stole a glance at Frisk and lifted her hand. No glowing. Good. He noticed the kid still had just a little fleck of blue paint on her forehead, mostly hidden by her hair. He wiped it gently with his sleeve. It was kind of nice seeing her get to rest. Winding down. Nearly there. Strange to have those thoughts cross his mind and not have them immediately sink into a pit of doubt. 

He heard Papyrus come in the house and exclaim a shrill, pleased greeting to Asriel. The next thing he knew he was groggily staring into his brother’s frowning face. Nothing would have made him happier.

“Sans, honestly, you couldn’t even put your book away first?” Papyrus gestured to the space book, pages open on the floor where it had landed. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

“Heh. Sorry, bro,” he said, rubbing at his eye socket. “Not too loud, huh?”

“I know, I know.” Papyrus’s face softened and he helped Sans to his feet. “Were you reading together again?”

“Yeah. Knocks her right out,” he joked. “She needed it.”

“You too,” Papyrus said.

“Absolutely. Stick with her, huh?” Sans stretched before bending down to pick up the book and brushing it off with his fingertips. “Hey. You did real good out there today.”

“Nyeh heh heh! Of course I did! The great Papyrus is a great actor when he has to be!” he said proudly. “What was your favourite part?”

“Oof. Tough. You were in it a lot, huh? Kinda liked when your guy and the kid became pals,” he said. “Maybe when I see the end I’ll change my mind.”

“The end is very exciting,” Papyrus said. “Sans, I’m surprised at you!”

“Hm?” he said.

“That scene you mentioned was in the middle! You didn’t sleep through it,” he said.

“Nah. Only the songs,” he said.

“Pfft. Well. You know, I appreciate that,” Papyrus said. “Don’t worry about Frisk. I’m not letting anyone take her anywhere.”

“Hey, thanks a million,” Sans said. “You get some rest, too.”

“Yes! Um. Could you wait. Just. One. Second?” Papyrus asked, pointing at the back closet.

Sans stuck his thumb up.

Papyrus ducked into the closet and, after just a few seconds, he popped out again in his red plaid pyjamas. Sans sleepily patted him on his arm and vanished into thin air. Papyrus quickly masked a yawn behind his hand and went to turn the lights out. Only then did he notice a faint, telltale glow of magic in the bed. He felt ice all through his bones and flicked the light back on quickly. He saw Frisk flinch and he put his hands to his mouth and ran over to her, staring intently at her hand. There were those lines between her knuckles, flickering pale gold with a little blue. 

Nervously, Papyrus looked around the room. “H-Hello?” he asked, though he kept his voice quiet. “Are you here? Mysterious man that no one remembers? Hellloooo?” He checked under his desk, and then quickly flung back the closet door. 

There was nothing in there except bones, boxes, extra puzzles, and clothes. Certainly no monster man who resembled Frisk’s crayon drawing. To be honest with himself, he wasn’t even sure what he’d do if he found someone like that. He closed the closet door gently and checked once more around the room. Cautiously, he returned to the light switch and hesitantly pressed it. The glow was still flickering. He sighed and, trying not to be too nervous, he hopped into bed and, pouting, he grabbed Frisk into his arms as he settled down. She didn’t stir at all. He wasn’t going to let her go, no matter what mysterious thing wanted to take her.


	65. The Mysterious Arc

Asriel didn’t remember going to the flower patch. He looked at all the golden blossoming around him with a heavy nausea inside him. Their perfumed scent stung in his nose as petals drifted on a faint, swirling wind that bounced down from high above and moved around the walls on its way down.

He took a step. That struck him as odd. A step? He looked down at himself and was taken aback by the white, yellow, and green not being where he expected. He clenched his fists. His head began to hurt.

“Hey, you,” a small voice said.

He whipped around. Smiling at him from across the flowers was his sister. She was pale, but she was smiling. Her eyes glimmered.

“C-Chara?” he stammered. “Oh my god.” He grabbed her and held her tight. 

She chuckled and thumped his back, just a fraction too hard. That was always the way, wasn’t it?

“Alright, alright, stupid,” she said gently. “Calm down.”

“Is it you?! Is it really you?!” he demanded, pulling back, eyes wide as he skimmed her face.

That grin looked right. Every freckle was in its place. Had her eyes always been as red as that? Must’ve been.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“I… I…” He wilted, ashamed. “I don’t know.”

“Heh. Figures,” she said.

“I’m so confused,” he muttered.

“What else is new?” she asked, grabbing his shoulder. “What the hell are you still doing here?”

Asriel was taken aback. He gulped. His shoulders trembled. “I… I can’t go. I can’t leave,” he said. “This… This isn’t right. This isn’t my body anymore.”

“No, we were taller,” she said. “Stronger. Remember?”

“Of course I remember,” he said quietly. “That was the last time we were… w-we were…”

“Hey. Crybaby.” She grabbed his face in her hands and frowned into his watery eyes. “Stop. Don’t you frickin’ dare.”

“S-Sorry,” he said softly. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve. 

She tilted her head slightly, her hair falling over her eyes. “So what are you doing to get strong again?” she asked.

“I, umm…” He wiped his eyes again. “I have some friends, they’re trying to b—”

“Build you a soul,” she finished. “Stupid. Won’t work.”

“I-It won’t?” he squeaked.

“Of course not. That’s stupid,” she said. “Take one instead.”

“Take one? From where?!” he yelped.

“One of dad’s? Who cares?” she said. “Kill someone if you have to. There’s a girl, right? A little kid?”

Asriel opened his mouth to retort, but he felt ill. He put a hand to his chest. He felt that tiny ping of red inside him swell. “I couldn’t kill her even if I wanted to,” he said quickly. “And I… I don’t want to.”

“Really? Wow. Weird,” she said, smiling a little. “That used to be all you thought about. Day and night. Wasn’t it? All you dreamed about? Ooh, remember? You killed her a few times, and you just replayed it over and over and—”

“Chara, c’mon, stop,” he said quickly. “Stop. I… I don’t want to be that anymore.”

“Huh. Suit yourself,” she said with a grin and a shrug. “But remember. Don’t count on them.”

“Why not?” he asked worriedly.

“We can never count on grown ups,” she said. “And we could never count on anyone who wasn’t us. Right? So when they screw up, you move in and handle it yourself. Take what you need.”

“R… Right,” he agreed hesitantly. “Hey… Um. A-Are you…? I mean. Are you…? In me? Are you in Frisk? Where are you?”

“What do you think?” she said, smiling. 

He didn’t know. That’s why he’d asked. As if she’d read his mind, she giggled. 

“Remember, Az. Kill or be killed,” Chara said. “Anyone crosses you? Gets in your way? Lies to you? Don’t you dare let them.”

“Right.” He nodded. “Right, right.” He put his hand over his eyes and rubbed them. He felt sick. His head hurt. 

When he looked again, Chara was gone, and he had leaves and thorns. 

“Right. Right. A dream,” he grumbled. He curled up in a spiral, burying himself down under the other leaves. 

That mantra played in his head over and over. It sounded like a deep, pounding thrum all through his body. He was so cold.

\- - -

Frisk was warm. Even in the dark, she was warm. She felt a cozy lethargy. Little lights, like stars, filled the scope of blackness. It was pleasant. Comforting. 

A gentle, hard finger tapped on her shoulder and her mind woke up. She turned curiously. She was taken aback by the smooth, white face that stared back and her unblinkingly. The only reason she could even discern his body was because it blotted out the stars.

“Y-You!” she squeaked loudly.

He recoiled and raised his white hands quickly. Surrendering, almost. She took a breath to steady herself, but she was simultaneously unnerved and fascinated by what she saw. She guessed her drawing wasn’t that far off.

“Oh! Sorry!” she said. “Jeez, sorry to yell in your face, you just scared me for a second.”

He nodded and drooped as a reply, wilting like a weight was upon him, and Frisk’s eyes went wide. She waved her hands at him quickly.

“Wait wait wait, no, not scared,” she said. “Not scared! Like, surprised. You know?”

The shadowman stared at her for a few seconds, though he slowly straightened up a little. He nodded again. Frisk smiled sheepishly.

“S-So. I guess… You really don’t like scaring me, right?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“I knew it,” she said. She grinned. 

It seemed to surprise him. He moved in slowly, tilting his head. 

“To be honest,” Frisk said, “I was sort of expecting something with you to happen tonight.”

“Hm…?” he asked quietly.

“Oh! Well, it’s just, my brother saw you,” she said. “He didn’t remember because that’s, um, just kinda what happens. But he figured it out. And you mostly show up and meet me, right? Or…? Actually, we have no idea, it could just be nobody remembers, huh?”

He tilted his head again, but then pointed squarely at her chest. 

“You’re coming to meet me?” she asked.

He nodded. He held out one hand and knelt down. Frisk looked at him curiously. Cautiously, she gave him her hand. His fingers were smooth and freezing. Carefully, he flipped her hand over and he began to trace letters in her palm. This was very familiar to her. He continued until he had spelled out “_CORE_”.

“CORE?” Frisk repeated. “Oh! Yeah. I know. Don’t worry.”

He looked mildly confused.

“From your letter, right?” she said. “I know! We’re gonna go soon. We just had to do a show, it was kinda silly but it was important.”

He looked even more confused, but, somehow, interested. He flowed down into mostly a lump, like he was sitting down. He patted the ground in front of him, inviting her to join him. A little puzzled, she plopped down with him and he took her hand.

“_S-H-O-W_,” he wrote. He cocked his head curiously, and then tapped where an ear might have been with one finger.

“What? You… wanna hear about the show?” she asked.

His fixed smile widened just a little and he nodded rather enthusiastically. Frisk felt a little jump in her heart and she couldn’t help a smile.

“Oh! Okay! Sure! It was part of this weird plan to get my friend a soul, and the guy who was in charge did a bunch of crazy stuff! Do you wanna hear the whole thing?”

He nodded again. Frisk was more than happy to tell him all about it.

\- - -

Frisk wasn’t waking up. She was still glowing, and her mind was locked off. Papyrus sighed, pouting as much as was possible for a skeleton to do, and clung to her tightly. He didn’t like when this happened to his siblings. The only upside was that Frisk seemed very calm. Her energy had a bit of an odd twinge to it, but otherwise she was absolutely relaxed. Unusual. 

Carefully, he knitted his fingers with hers, hoping to perhaps feel some extra clue through those runs of magic on her hand. Instead, he felt a jolt of surprise. His fingers matched the shape of those marks almost exactly. 

“What does that mean?” he wondered aloud. “Oh, Frisk, hurry and snap out of it, okay?”

He held her close for a while longer, frowning, lost in a flurry of questions. Had he somehow made those marks? Was that possible? Even despite testing it before, he was uncertain now. He looked at her hand, setting his eyes aglow to get a better look in the dark. No, it couldn’t have been him. The marks were like his fingers, but they were just a tiny bit longer than his were. 

Confused, he half-considered running Frisk to their brother’s room. Maybe he could just pop into her brain and give her a shake, but before he could, the kid let out a soft sigh and the magic dimmed, leaving the only glow Papyrus’s own gold. He let out a deep, relieved breath and gently shook her.

“Frisk? Friiiiiiisk?” he said quietly.

He saw her eyelashes flutter slightly and she winced for just a moment. “Hmm?” she asked sleepily.

“Phew! Are you okay?” he asked.

She opened one eye a crack and looked up at him. She smiled faintly and reached up to pat his cheek.

“Hiiiii, bro,” she said groggily. “Is it morning already?”

“No no no, Frisk, you were stuck in a dream,” he said. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Oh? Was I?” She buried herself against him and closed her eyes again. “I don’t remember.”

“I don’t mean to alarm you but it may or may not have been about that shadowman thing,” he said. “Your hand was glowing.”

“Oh. Guess that makes sense,” she said.

“You’re not scared?” he asked. “Or worried?”

“Nah,” she said.

“Okay. Okay. Fine. Yes. Good.” He settled back down and held her protectively. “Okay. If you aren’t worried, I won’t be, either.”

“Cool, bro,” she said softly. “G’night.”

She seemed to be asleep again the second she shut her eyes. Papyrus breathed a sigh of relief. He let the light in his soul swell and it connected with Frisk’s. Maybe he’d dream with her instead of whatever else was going on in her head. That would be much better.

\- - -

Wandering the lab, Alphys had a bounce in her step. She was feeling, dare she say, good. Energized. Maybe she really had had the overworksies after all, just like Asgore had said. All that tea she’d gulped down gave her a little boost. She whistled along with her bright, peppy J-pop as she worked with her sparking screwdriver, reattaching the fold-out panels of Mettaton’s wings at the back of his torso. It wasn’t too difficult, snapping them back and tucking them away. The damage was mostly superficial there, thankfully. 

The dents buffed out easily, much to her relief. Seemed like Papyrus hadn’t been attacking for damage at all, but for disruption. Of course, that made perfect sense. He was such a good kid.

The ports on the back of his neck and the buttons were untouched. Those were some of the most fiddly of the small functions, so she could cross repairing them off her list. Now all that was left were the limbs. She’d found one arm in the theatre, but his other arm and both legs were gone. Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to be mad. The image of some monster bringing home one of Mettaton’s legs, bright magenta boot and all, as a souvenir was far too funny for her to be upset.

She opened up the casing and gave all the little bits inside a once-over. It all looked perfectly fine. That put a smile on her face. 

There was a magic core attached on the inside of the chest plate— a clear cylinder filled with a twirling, coil, glowing with her yellow magic. She breathed in deep and then touched two fingers to it, letting out a small, focussed burst. The core lit up like a lightbulb. Satisfied, she pulled back and closed up the casing. She wiped a bead of sweat from her face.

She turned to her checklist and readjusted her glasses and ran her claw down it. Feed her charges, fix superficial damages; charge the magic core: check, check, and check. The limbs might take a little longer, but she’d done it once and still had quite a bit of scrap metal from the last dump dive.

A loud thumping on the west door announced Undyne’s return. Alphys peeked over the railing and saw her come in in slacks and a tank top, a backpack over one shoulder and a shiny disk in the other hand. Alphys blushed and she waved at her.

“O-Over here!” she said.

“How’s it goin’?” Undyne asked.

“Really good!” Alphys said.

Undyne leapt upwards, grabbed the railing, and vaulted over. The little lizard gawked, starry-eyed, and smiled.

“You’re so c-cool,” she said.

“Pfft.” Undyne dipped and kissed her head, and then jerked her thumb at Mettaton. “He okay? Can he hear us?”

“Oh! Um… H-He’s, uh… He’s fine,” Alphys said, smiling sheepishly. “He, um… He’s n-not there. He’ll be, um, h-hanging out in, uhh… the UnderNet?”

“The UnderNet? Really?” Undyne asked, eyebrows raised.

Alphys’s cheeks flushed. Her voice caught in her throat for a moment. Couldn’t bring herself to tell her that Mettaton was really just hanging out with Napstablook until the repairs were done. She gulped and nodded.

“Y-Yeah. Um. D-Don’t worry,” she said, edging over to the table and flicking her speaker setup to turn her music off. “Though it is kind of weird h-having his, um, body just s-sitting here, huh?”

“Yeah, a bit,” Undyne said with a laugh, casting a glance around the room. “Where’s the old one?”

“I think h-he must’ve broken it,” she said. “I r-really don’t know.”

“Oh well. I mean. The new one’s a lot more expressive.” She grinned. “He does look a lot like an anime! I mean, to be honest, I find the guy a bit crazy, but you did a great job building him.”

“Thanks,” Alphys said brightly. “Did you, um…? Did you get it? Is th-that it?”

“Yup!” She grinned. “Napstablook recorded the whole thing.”

“Oh g-good!” she said. “I, um. I’d like to t-take a little break, you?”

“For sure,” Undyne said.

Alphys grinned and wheezed a little laugh, and then scampered away to her closet. She grabbed her pyjamas and ducked downstairs to change. Undyne strolled over to the block that hid Alphys’s bed and gave it a kick. The frame popped out, fully assembled into a cozy bed— blankets and pillows included— within seconds. She dropped her backpack onto the floor and yanked out a paper bag of cookies, slightly burnt around the edges, and popped a thermos of tea out of the dimension box in her phone. She flopped down on the bed and put her arms behind her head.

Alphys returned in baggy sleeping clothes, blushing faintly. She had a laptop under one arm and a tray under the other. She put them beside Undyne. 

“One m-more second!” she said. She scuttled off and was gone for just a minute, but when she came back, she was carrying a cup of ramen and soup in each hand. 

Undyne took them from her and she scrambled up to sit with her. She flipped open the laptop and slid the disk of the recording into it. She looked up, whistled once, and then clapped her hands twice. The lights dimmed.

“Nice,” Undyne said. She dragged Alphys into her lap and the blushing lizard turned the show on. 

The camera was set up across the room from the stage, in a wide enough shot that the whole thing was clear and visible. Undyne was a little interested to watch the show from here. She’d been off in a corner the whole time, after all.

Turned out, though, she was enjoying watching Alphys a lot more than most of the show. She seemed to be really liking it, and her ramen. Undyne blushed. The way she snorted when she laughed; the way her eyes seemed to sparkle. She was too cute.

“Th-This isn’t t-too bad, huh?” Alphys asked, looking back over her shoulder, starry-eyed.

“Welp. It’s definitely not the worst thing I’ve ever seen,” Undyne said. “But, uh…”

Mettaton’s first song started up and Undyne winced. Alphys, on the other hand, seemed excited. She kicked her feet a little and clasped her hands.

“Oh! I d-didn’t know he was reusing these old songs!” she said excitedly. She hummed and tapped her feet in the air along with it, since the lyrics would have been different than what she knew. 

Undyne smiled fondly. Far, far too cute.

It was weird to sit through the thing again. Hearing her own music cues. Frisk had done well, even if she did look a little too confident to be entirely convincing as a scared little kid after a little while. She’d perked up upon seeing Papyrus, probably without even meaning to. The songs were too long, though. At the time, she’d welcomed the reprieve, but watching it, she was just happy the crowd had been into it. Alphys certainly was.

Even she had to admit, though, as they came up to the finale, Undyne was feeling a little excited herself. They heard the battle resonance swell and watched Frisk duke it out with Mettaton. A blast and a crash announced Papyrus’s arrival, and Alphys visibly jumped and let out a loud squeak. She clapped.

“Oh, m-man, he’s so cool!” she said. “I s-saw this already, but i-it’s still pretty exciting, huh?”

“Guess so,” Undyne said.

“Oh my g-god,” she breathed; she yelped when she saw the kid go down. “Oh!! Jeez!! He was r-really tough on them, oh my god.”

“They win in the end,” Undyne said, grinning.

“I know, I know,” she said, laughing. “W-Wow…” 

She was enraptured. That is, until Mettaton’s arm fell off. Then, she groaned and laughed, rubbing her forehead.

At the end, the food was gone, and Alphys was misty-eyed. She laughed and clapped, and raised her glasses to wipe her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Wh-What a sweet ending,” she cooed. “Aww! That was n-nice! Hey, Undyne, I…!”

Alphys turned to look back. The big monster’s eye was closed. She snickered and smiled fondly. She paused the video and quietly folded her laptop closed. She leaned over and put it on the floor. Scooting to the side, she gently grabbed Undyne and settled her down on the bed properly. She smooched her forehead gently, slipped off, and tucked her in. It was getting late, but just another hour or so of work couldn’t hurt. And now she had all that music stuck in her head.

She snuck back to Mettaton’s casing and went to work as quietly as she could. It was mildly annoying to her that her beta build had almost got back to alpha with these kind of fixes. She’d have to replace everything again… again. Couldn’t be helped, she thought. 

She channelled her magic through her special screwdriver, using it like a welding torch to touch up the arm that’s she’d recovered. Too bad the legs were so complicated. Perfectly possessed shell or not, it still needed to be able to move and bear weight.

There was only so much she could do tonight. Building that sort of thing could be pretty disruptive. She decided just to assemble her materials, piling up some metal and cables; some ball joints and tubes. When she finished, she noticed a clicking sound she hadn’t before. Was it a computer? It was pretty uniform though. Footsteps?

She peeked over the railing, half expecting to see the white form of one of the monsters who normally lived downstairs. She did see white, but also a bit of black. Curiously, she slipped downstairs, squinting through the dark. That is, until her computer’s screen lit up and began running a diagnostic. She felt a hit of panic but then, to her surprise, she realized it was Sans at her computer.

He was in just shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt. Pyjamas, almost. His eyes were totally black and fixed on the screen, fingers typing without even looking. 

“Sans?” she asked.

He didn’t reply. She got closer cautiously.

“Sans, what are you doing?” she asked again.

Still nothing. She tilted her head.

“A-Are… Are you asleep?” she wondered. Gently, she grabbed his shoulder and shook him. 

He winced and blinked heavily. He rubbed his eye and his white pupils faded in. He looked confused.

“You okay?” she asked.

“What am I…? Oh.” He laughed tiredly and rubbed his brow. “Great. Sorry, Doc.”

“I-It’s okay,” she assured him quickly. “Sleepwalking?”

“Guess so. Uh. Whoops,” he said.

“Don’t w-worry about it,” she said gently, patting his back. “Still d-doing that, huh?”

“Not really, actually,” he said. “Haven’t in a couple years.”

“Stressed?” she asked.

“I’m, uh…” His brow furrowed. “No. I mean. Not more than usual.”

Alphys _hmm-ed_ and folded her arms. Sans squinted up at the screen he’d turned on. He sighed and tapped on the keyboard a few times, shutting down the diagnostic.

“What did you d-dream about?” Alphys asked gently. “W-Was it the CORE again?”

“Yeah,” he said.

She looked at him expectantly. 

“I thought someone called me,” he said. “Said there was a problem. Like back then.”

“B-Back when you actually had a phone?” she joked, smiling sympathetically. “Y-You know, I… I sometimes d-dream about that too, still. I’m… s-sorry I wasn’t there.”

“I’m not.” He shot her a grin. “S’better it was me.”

“Why?!” she squeaked; she was a bit too loud and she winced and slumped her shoulders a bit, as if being smaller would make her quieter. “B-But why?”

“You got a lot of work done. Besides. Gave me time to take care of Paps without a ton of distractions,” he said. 

He didn’t say the rest of it, but they both knew. It had been haemorrhaging determination. She wouldn’t have survived it. Or, if she had, it would have been worse. Alphys pouted. Sans laughed.

“Seriously,” he said.

“But w-what if I could’ve h-helped you?” she insisted.

“Nah. Don’t worry about it,” he said.

“It was so surreal,” she muttered. “D-Do you remember?”

“Which part?” he asked.

“Well, i-it was just… You vanished for two d-days, and then show up the n-next morning like normal. You s-sat at your desk for like t-ten minutes, grabbed a book, and walked out. A-And you didn’t come back,” she said. “F-For years. Except when you w-were, well, l-like this. Wh-What was going through your h-head back then?”

“Hard to say,” he said, and he stretched. “Welp. Guess I’ll get outta here. Sorry for breakin’ in.”

“No no, it’s fine,” Alphys assured him. Her cheeks flushed a little. She gave him a hug— he felt so small without his hoodie on.“This i-is sort of y-your place, too, you know? Always will be. S-So, um. So if y-you accidentally p-pop in like that, d-don’t even worry. Okay?”

“Oh. Uh.” He patted her shoulder and chuckled. “Thanks, Doc.”

“Uh-huh,” she said. She drew back to give him a once-over. 

He stuck his thumbs up and vanished from right in front of her. 

She put a hand to her chest and took a deep breath. Curiously, she edged over to the computer and brought up the same windows Sans had. It was diagnostics on the CORE. She had expected as much. It was always the same, every single time. She wondered why.

\- - -

Morning was quiet; calming. It was nice, Frisk thought, to be on the edge of town like they were. She’d woken up all on her own, not a disturbance to be found to rouse her. She always liked that. Not having to be up as soon as light hit— as cars raced by, honking, or disturbed by the bustle of adults who wouldn’t look twice at her. She found it kind of funny that she was up before her big brother. That had to be a first. 

He was still curled up, looking quite snug. Frisk was glad to see it. He always pushed himself so hard. He didn’t need to. Everyone would still think he was great if he got a good sleep every night, she was sure of it. 

She was surprised that Asriel didn’t seem to be in the room at all, though. Usually he slept on the desk or the table that was covered in Papyrus’s action figure collection. She couldn’t find her phone to light the room, but she snuck around and shook Papyrus’s mouse to wake up his computer’s screen. That was just enough light to get a proper look. Nothing. She checked under the tables and in the closet, but she couldn’t find him.

She quietly left the room and did a quick check around the ground floor. She found Sans, sprawled awkwardly on the couch. He was half falling off of it. One of his slippers was on top of Asgore’s TV and the other was under the side table. Somehow. She gently pushed him back onto the cushions. A quick look around let her find a blanket that had fallen almost entirely back behind the couch. She grabbed it and tugged it out, and then dumped it over top of him.

She was happy she’d done that, at least, but still no Asriel. Not there, not in the kitchen; not even in the basement. She was confused. He must’ve gone out again on his own, right? She pouted.

There was a strange thump from upstairs and she thought she heard Papyrus squawk. Masking a yawn behind her hand, she scooted back up and to the room. She saw her brother in a tangle of blankets on the floor, struggling to right himself. She held in a laugh.

“Bro, you okay?” she asked.

He quickly stopped fussing and rolled over onto his front, peeking out from under the comforter like a hood, eyes wide. 

“O-Oh! Frisk! There you are!” he said. “Are you okay? You didn’t get taken, did you?!”

“What? Oh! No, no, I’m fine,” she said.

“Good.” The word came out like a sigh and he deflated into the pile of blankets. “I was kind of worried for a second, there.”

He tried to sit up again, only to flop over sideways, though he did manage to get one arm out. Frisk snickered and grabbed him to help him upright. He puffed out a sigh and laughed quietly himself. 

“I guess maybe I might have overreacted a teeny tiny bit,” he said.

“Maybe just a little!” she said, grinning.

She hugged onto him and he eagerly brought her into his arms. He was so warm. She was happy just to sit there for a little while. 

“Hey, little sister?” he said. “You’re, um, feeling good, right?”

“Yup!” she said.

“Good! Good good good,” he said. “Would you be up for a bit of puzzle building? I mean, theoretical puzzle building. And then maybe literal puzzle building if we feel like it afterwards. If we aren’t busy and have to immediately run out and do something dire and important.”

“I’d love to do some puzzles!” she said.

“Oh excellent!” he said with a grin. “Right now?!”

“Sure,” she said.

“Nyeh heh! Even more excellent!” he said.

He was up like a whirlwind, flicking the lights on and grasping some graph paper and pens in his arms. He laid them out across the floor with a big grin on his face. 

“I was reading the other day,” he said as he sat down, “and I saw some puzzles using moving platforms in my book! Now, I’m not sure we can build those here yet, but we could do hypothetical ones like that. Do you have any ideas for interesting hypothetical puzzles?”

“Um. Waterfall has a music puzzle, maybe a music puzzle?” she suggested. “Ooh! Or. What about ones with ice, but you gotta slide a rock or something across something to make a path or push a button?”

“Ooh! Hey, those aren’t bad ideas at all!” Papyrus said; he grinned, winked, and tapped his nasal ridge. “See, this is why you are my fantastic assistant!” He offered her a pen and shoved the paper towards her. 

She gladly took it and began.

\- - -

Breathe in. Breathe out. Funny, Asriel thought, how it still steadied him even though it didn’t actually do a thing otherwise. Habits like that were hard to break, even if he hadn’t taken a real breath in years.

He was a little annoyed at himself, though. He wished seeing Toriel didn’t still make him quiver like a frightened baby. He sucked it up and tapped on the door. The sound was flat and weak. He sighed and knocked with Frisk’s phone again before ditching it in the grass. Then, quickly, he realized he’d need it and cursed himself. He slithered after it quickly and dragged it back onto the threshold right as Toriel opened the door.

“Oh! Little one,” she said, a smile on her face. “Fancy seeing you again so soon!”

“I, um, came to return your radio,” he said. He fiddled with the phone quickly and whisked the thing out of the dimension box. 

Toriel caught it and smiled. “Thank you! Did you find it useful?” she asked.

“Yeah. Um. Thanks,” he said.

“Would you like to come in for some cocoa?” she asked. 

“Uh.” He set the phone aside. “Sure.”

“Excellent. Oh! Best bring that with you,” she said, pointing at it. “There is a cute little dog that wanders around here that has a penchant for snatching them up.”

“Oh, right,” he said. 

She bent down and scooped him and his phone up in one hand, and she carried them inside to the table near the sitting room. Asriel was surprised to find that she’d uprooted one of her little cactus plants to make room for him, and gently placed him into the soil.

“And there you go,” she said. She turned to put her old, cathedral radio on the mantle above the fireplace near her favourite reading chair.

When she returned to him, she took note of the phone in her hand and her brow furrowed slightly. Nonetheless, she put it with him on the table.

“Oh. Honey. Um,” she said. “Where did you get this phone?”

“Uh…” He tried not to grimace. “Oh. Um. It’s a girl from town’s. Uh. The, um, human? The one who fell in? She let me borrow it for the dimension box.”

“What? Really?” Toriel’s eyes went wide and she sat down at the table. “Is…? Is she alright?”

“Yeah, last I checked,” he said.

“Good,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief. “That’s very good to hear.”

“I, um, ended up saying sorry to her,” he said. “About what happened down here. She, uh, forgave me.”

Toriel smiled fondly and nodded. “I thought she would,” she said. “I’m glad. Tell me, is she still with the skeletons? She is, isn’t she?”

“Uh, every time I’ve seen her,” he said.

“And no one’s…?” She frowned slightly, puzzled. “No one’s reported her?”

“Don’t think so,” he said. “She hangs out with the monster who’s the Captain of the Royal Guard or whatever a lot, too, so, I mean, even if they did, I don’t think it’d be a problem.”

“And no one’s tried to k… t-to take her soul?” she pressed.

“Well, they did, according to her,” he said, shrugging, “but everyone who did is her friend now so that’s not really a problem either. You really care about that human, huh?”

Toriel chuckled. Her violet eyes seemed to sparkle. He’d missed that look. Struck him with surprise to see her get it about Frisk, though.

“Yes, I do,” she said. “She’s my… She’s my daughter.” She laughed again. She looked bashful and her smile seemed satisfied. 

Asriel tilted his head and she folded her hands.

“Sorry, it’s just that I only recently adopted her,” she said. “I barely have a soul to talk to around here, so I never actually said it aloud before.”

“So you really liked her that much, huh?” he said.

“You know, it was a very interesting experience, actually,” she admitted. “I was always prepared to act as a guardian or a parent to any young human who might fall down here. That was never a question for me. But, when I met her, I don’t know. Have you ever seen a person and, from that moment, you knew you’d be best friends?”

“I… Yeah. I guess I kind of have,” he said.

“It was very much like that,” she said. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I’m just a silly old lady, but I loved her instantly.”

“That’s real nice,” he said. “Hey, uh. Why don’t you go out there and join her?”

Toriel froze. She flinched, her ears drooping. Her gaze focused on the table uncomfortably.

“Sorry,” he said quickly.

“No no,” she said. “Don’t be. It’s a fair question. It’s just… It’s complicated.”

There was the whistle of steam from the kitchen and she stood up. She smiled and tapped her snout. 

“I do have a sixth sense about when to have that on, don’t I?” she joked. “Hang on.”

She headed for the kitchen. Asriel leaned around to look and tried to settle himself again. Even through the heartache, it was such a reassuring, comforting feeling to be talking to her again. 

“Cocoa, yes?” she called.

“Yeah. Please,” he said.

He could hear the water pouring; hear the gentle _tink_ of a spoon hitting the side of a cup as its contents were stirred. She came back after just a minute. To his surprise, she’d brought a tiny fork for him. As she put his mug down, she plunked in some marshmallows and whistled a fire over top, just enough to toast them golden brown. Then, she gently placed a straw in.

“Oh! Th-Thanks,” Asriel said. 

She smiled and sat down again, clutching her cup of tea. “I think you will like it,” she said.

He supposed the fork was for the marshmallows. He tentatively tried it and it almost brought tears to his eyes. “S’good,” he said quietly.

“I’m so glad,” she said. “Sweetheart, I don’t mean to pry, but did you end up making your way home?”

Asriel gulped. Nerves rattled him and he tried to draw on that little red glow for warmth.

“Yeah,” he said. “I mean. Kinda. I, um… I talked to someone.”

“That’s very good,” she said. “Little steps.” She smiled knowingly. 

He nervously sipped his cocoa. There wasn’t a lot of flavour to it, but it was sweet and the marshmallows helped. He almost called her “mom”, had the word on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it back and smiled. “I hope you get to see your kid soon,” he said. “That’s pretty good of you. To adopt a human and all.”

“Oh! Well. Thank you,” she said. “Do you know much about humans?”

“I know a bit,” he said.

“Hm… Maybe this is a bit of an odd questions,” she said, “but have you heard of them possessing any sort of clairvoyant abilities?”

“Clairvoyant?” Asriel repeated, frowning with puzzlement.

“Like a physic,” she explained.

“I-I know what it means, just… I’m not sure what you mean,” he asked.

“Ah, that’s alright, my child,” she said. “Forget I asked, it’s just—”

“No no, what were you gonna say?” he said.

“Well, it’s just… My little girl,” she said. “Before she left, she told me a few things that she couldn’t have known. And yet, they were absolutely true.”

“Oh.” Asriel wasn’t nearly as surprised as he pretended to be. “No. I never heard of that.”

“She also insisted she was breaking the barrier.” She chuckled. “Still insists on it, actually. I have no idea how she plans on doing that, but she’s very…”

“Determined?” Asriel suggested.

“Yes! Yes, exactly,” she said, and she laughed again. “And here I was, thinking I knew all about humans, and then she pops in and—”

“Changes everything,” Asriel muttered.

Toriel smiled. “Now, maybe you do know her a little bit, don’t you?”

“J-Just in passing,” he said quickly.

He hoped he wasn’t blushing. He quickly delved back into his marshmallows. Toriel smiled fondly. She sipped her tea and rested her chin on her fist. 

“Little one,” she said cautiously, “are you busy today?”

“Um. N… No?” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“I was just wondering. If you have the time,” she said. “Would you care to bake some cookies with me?”

“Bake cookies?” he repeated, eyes wide.

“Yes! Well. It’s okay if you’d rather not,” she said. “I know sometimes young boys aren’t much into cooking yet, so if you don’t want to…”

Asriel’s mind raced. He did want to. He wanted to very badly. Could he hold it together that long? As long as he didn’t call her “mom”, he reminded himself, he’d be fine.

He nodded quickly. “I…. I'dreally like that, actually,” he said.

Toriel’s eyes brightened. She smiled and he almost melted.

“Thank you, little one, I’m glad to hear it,” she said. “Shall we finish our drinks, first?”

That was just fine with him.

\- - -

With his arms behind his head, lazing in a blanket, Sans was very much awake despite not looking it. His mind was rattling on. Because, of course, it wasn’t really the first time in the last little while that he’d woken up on his way to the CORE. 

It had happened a few times, but most recently back on the surface, months ago in the undone timeline. Frisk remembered. She’d found him missing more than once; sat up to wait for him. To his relief, he had had a moment of weakness— or sense, depending on how he looked at it— and told her about it when he’d returned, mostly to assuage her worry. How, once, he’d woken up trying to type on a computer that wasn’t there in a lab dark and abandoned, and another time that he found himself deep in the heart of the deactivated CORE.

It had seemed to be stress-related at the time. Considering it now, he wondered if it had more to do with this shadowman creature. Not knowing— not being actually able to know— was the most frustrating part. Oh well, he thought. Couldn’t solve everything, especially with the majority of the evidence refusing to stick around in the real world.

He let himself drift away. Maybe he just didn’t feel like thinking about it anymore. 

The next thing he knew, he felt a warm, tingling sensation dropping through him down into his soul. It was nice, and he’d have recognized it anywhere.

“Sans! Saaaans! Sans. Sans.” That was Frisk’s voice. “Sans!”

He opened one eye. The lights were on, and his sister was grinning down into his face.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said, voice hoarse and low. “Sup?”

“Got you breakfast!” she said brightly. “Oh, um, maybe it’s closer to lunch? Lunchfast? Is that a thing?”

“I always just called it lazy breakfast,” Papyrus said, leaning over. “Hello, Sans. Frisk insisted we get you one of those horribly greasy burgers from you-know-where, so don’t forget to thank her!!”

“Oh. S’nice of you,” he said. “Is it really that late?”

“Yup!” Frisk sat back as he managed to heave himself upright. “You sleep okay?”

“Hm? Oh. Yeah. Fine,” he said. “You guys?”

“Yeah, actually, super well,” Frisk said. “Paps said I had a glowing thing on my hand but I stayed in bed all night and nothing weird happened, so it was fine.”

“That’s because I would not let you go, probably,” he said. “Honestly, who just goes around taking kids out of beds for strange magical time adventures that can’t be remembered?”

Sans shrugged. Frisk snickered and she gave him a hug. Didn’t know what he’d done to earn that, but he patted her head.

She was a little chilly, actually. Papyrus was just taking off his sweatshirt and boots near the door. Must’ve just got in.

“Puzzles?” he asked.

“Puzzles!” Frisk said brightly. “We reset a couple and moved some switches around. It was good.”

“Jeez. I missed a lot,” he said. 

“Nah,” Frisk said. “You looked super tired, though. So we thought we’d just let you snooze. I was thinking of calling mom, you wanna talk?”

“Sure,” he said.

Frisk grinned and jumped upright. Papyrus passed her his phone without saying a word and Frisk tossed him his food and skipped off to the kitchen. They could hear her banging around in the fridge. He fumbled with the bag for a minute and pulled out the burger.

“Huh. She seems good,” he said.

“Of course she does, why would she not?” Papyrus said.

Sans shrugged.

In the kitchen, Frisk shoved the phone onto her shoulder and held it against her ear as she tried to drag out a bottle of ketchup and some of the cans of sea tea she’d pulled from Alphys’s place. The phone was still ringing after trying for Toriel’s number. When the phone finally clicked and she heard faint static on the other end. 

“Hello?” she asked.

No reply. She thought she heard some footsteps. Her brow furrowed and she had to put down the cans she was holding before they slipped from her hands.

“Mom?” she said cautiously. “You there?”

Instead of a proper reply, she thought she heard some breathing. Panting, maybe? Then some aggressive sniffing. Someone licked the phone. 

“Oh! That’s a dog, there, isn’t it?” she said. “Hey, can you give my mom her phone back sometime? Please?”

She heard panting again and an excited yip. Then, the line went dead. Frisk laughed, exasperated, and hung up as well. 

“No luck?” Sans asked.

“Nooo.” Frisk nudged the fridge closed with her elbow and grappled with the drinks again. “I think that dog got her phone again?”

“What dog?” Papyrus asked. “Not that annoying dog that keeps showing up in here, too?! That’s the only dog I know of who consistently takes other people’s things!”

“It’s a cute dog though,” Frisk said with a smile and a shrug.

“Well of course it is, all dogs are cute, but that one is so, so annoying,” Papyrus said.

Frisk handed him a sea tea and then sat with Sans, giving him the bottle of ketchup. His eyes lit up and he popped the cap to take a swig. Papyrus shuddered and shook his head. His can hissed when it opened and he took a cautious sip before sitting on the arm of the couch beside them. Sans flicked on the TV. There, already, was a recording of the play. According to a scrawl at the bottom, it would be playing several times a day for a little while. It was at the part where Mettaton was chasing her around the cardboard Ruins. Frisk perked up with interest.

“Ooh, hey! I do kind of look like a monster, don’t I?” she said.

“For sure! Especially from all the way over where the camera is!” Papyrus said. “I did do a good job on you if I do say so myself! Which I do.”

“I’d look cute as a fish monster like Undyne, huh?” she said brightly.

“Sure, but you’re cute as is,” Sans said.

Frisk waved her hand dismissively, but she grinned brightly. Papyrus guffawed and reached around the back of the sofa to ruffle her hair. She was all but glowing.

He stood up where he sat and stepped over Sans, and then Frisk, too, to sit on her other side. He held out both hands and conjured a little glitter of gold. 

“How is your magic doing after all that work yesterday?” he asked.

“I think it’s okay,” she said.

“Can I see?” he said.

“Oh! Okay! Hang on, um…” She held out her hands and concentrated hard, her brow furrowing. “Just gimme a second.”

It took a little while longer and a deep exhale of breath, and her red bubble appeared in her hand. Papyrus grinned, and she offered it to him. He gently brushed his fingers through it. The bubble parted like jelly at the touch of his fingers, then gently globbed back together. 

“Wowie. That’s just great, little sister!” he said brightly. “So when do you think you can do bones?”

“Um.” Frisk’s magic fizzled out and she scratched her head. “I dunno. Still don’t really think I can.”

“Of course you can! Eventually! I’m sure of it,” he said. “Don’t you think so, Sans?”

“Uh…” He smiled sideways, given pause by the hopeful expression on his brother’s face. “Dunno, Paps. Who can really say?”

“See?” he said, nudging Frisk gently with his elbow. “Even Sans thinks you can!”

“Um, but…” Frisk said sheepishly. “I dunno…”

“You just have to believe in yourself as much as I believe in you,” he insisted.

“Hey,” Sans said, raising a finger. “You, uh, could always give her a demonstration if you wanna teach her more. Why don’t you show her your blaster?”

“My blaster?!” he yelped. “I-I don’t know, Sans, the blaster is only for very dire circumstances and is only supposed to be used for a last resort!”

“Okay,” Sans said.

“What? You don’t think so?!” Papyrus said.

Sans shrugged, and his brother pouted. His brow furrowed and he cupped his chin. “Well… I did promise to show my special attack at some point,” he said. “Maybe a bit later, okay, Frisk? Is that alright? You won’t be too disappointed, will you?”

“No, of course not,” Frisk said, trying to hold in a laugh.

Papyrus was instantly pleased and he grabbed her into a gentle hug. He turned his attention back on the show for a moment. His expression brightened upon seeing they were on the scene where their two characters met. He held her hand palm-up in his and conjured a bone to hover just barely above her fingers. It made the gold lines on her face start to glow.

“Could you make it hover yourself?” he asked.

“I don’t think so,” she said. 

“Try! It’s not very high up,” he said.

Frisk wasn’t even sure where to start. She’d never even tried. She wasn’t convinced she even could, and when her brother released his energy on the bone, it plunked down into her hand. 

“Ah. Oh well! That’s okay,” he assured her. “I didn’t really expect you to get it your first time. Don’t worry! Maybe later.”

The bone evaporated into sparkles in the air. He cast a look at Sans.

“I mean, it makes sense, doesn’t it?” he pushed. “She could do it if she practiced, right? I mean, her magic is so close to ours in a lot of ways, it really should be able to do it, right?”

“Dunno,” Sans said.

“I still think she can do it,” he said. “And if that works… Hey! She’s almost old enough for a blaster of her own, right? Do you think you could still make her one?”

“What?” Frisk asked with surprise.

“Uhhh…” Sans smiled and looked between them, rubbing the back of his skull. “I, uh, dunno.”

“But you can at least tryyyyy, can’t you?” Papyrus insisted.

Sans looked at Frisk. She shrugged. He sighed and laughed.

“Look,” he said, “it’s way too early to tell. But. If she can get it, I don’t see why a blaster wouldn’t bind to it.”

“I knew it! I kneeeew it!” Papyrus said, beaming. “So! On her birthday—!”

“Fourteenth birthday,” Sans corrected.

“What?! But I got mine when I was her age!” he said.

“Yeah, but your magic was supercharged, bro,” Sans said, “and hers might not even do what you’re thinking.”

“I’m sure it will,” he insisted. “When has the great Papyrus ever been wrong about a thing like that?!”

Frisk laughed. “Real life Disaster Blaster would be cool, but don’t worry about it, Paps.”

“We’ll work on it,” he assured her. He was completely undeterred. 

Frisk appreciated it despite her doubts. It didn’t really bother her all that much, though. 

“Magic is weird, huh?” Frisk said.

“Yes! Oh! Don’t get me wrong,” Papyrus said quickly, “I love your bubbles the way they are, I hope you don’t think I’m trying to change them, I just think it’d be really great for you if you could do bones, too!”

“I didn’t think that for even a second, bro,” Frisk assured him.

“Oh phew!” He slumped around her and snuggled her gently. “Gooood, good good good.”

Sans held in a laugh and shook his head. He watched Frisk out of the corner of his eye. She just seemed happy to be held. After a little while, she leaned over her brother’s arm and tapped Sans gently.

“Hey, um,” she said, “is…? Is there something I could be doing?”

“Like what?” he asked.

“I dunno. Helping Alphys?” she suggested. “Doing that CORE thing?”

“You up for the CORE thing?” he wondered.

“I, um… Maybe?” she said.

“Welp. How about we wait for the Doc to be takin’ a break on her repairs and whatever,” he said. “So she doesn’t have to redo any builds for Johnny 5 over there.”

“Who?” Papyrus asked.

“Mettaton,” Frisk said.

“I did not get that reference!” he said. “But that all sounds like it makes sense. Just in case there is horrible explosions or time messes, yes.”

“Did you go over there at all?” Frisk asked. “Did you see him?”

“Sure did,” he said.

“Guess that means he’s doing okay, then?” she asked.

Sans shrugged and nodded. “Basically.” He shot Papyrus a grin. “You kinda did a number on him, though, bro.”

“Did I?! Oh no! I didn’t mean to!” he said.

“S’okay, it was bound to happen,” Sans said. “He basically went in expectin’ it, apparently.”

“Oh for…! SIGH. Okay,” Papyrus said.

“Honestly, I’m just waitin’ to see you guys beat him up,” Sans said, pointing at the TV.

“Sans!!” Papyrus protested. “But… I guess it was actually pretty cool.”

“Course it was,” Sans said with a grin.

Even though she had a little doubt in her, wondering if she could be doing more, Frisk was grateful to have this bit of time to just relax and snuggle up on the couch with her brothers. She wished Asriel were there, too, but this was nice.

Papyrus got up during a song to go put some pasta in a pot, so Frisk nestled up beside Sans for a while. He always looked so tired during the musical sections. In fact, now that she looked at him, he seemed more tired than usual. There was a bit of extra grey around his eye sockets. She grabbed his arm and drew up some red magic in her fingers for him. His already relaxed posture slackened. He shot her an inquisitive look. She smiled up at him innocently. He smirked and put his hand up on her head. 

“Hey, little sister?” Papyrus called. “Want to help me make a sauce?”

“Yeah sure!” she said. She sat up, gave Sans a hug, gently bonked her head on his, and scampered out of the room and to the kitchen. 

Papyrus already had a chair for her to stand on. He handed her a long spoon and a tomato, and she laughed and chucked the fruit straight into one of the pots that was already on the stove.

By the time the scent of tomato sauce started to waft from the kitchen, another one of Mettaton’s musical numbers had begun. Sans was about to clock out when he heard a small, rhythmic sound to his right. Took him a second to realize it was outside, but when he did, he reluctantly rolled onto the floor. He heaved himself up and, rubbing at his eye sockets, opened the front door. As he expected, there was Asriel, wearing Frisk’s phone like a backpack.

“You look like trash,” Asriel said.

“Not gonna argue with that,” Sans said, offering him a hand. 

Asriel slithered up around his fingers and he carried him inside. As soon as he closed the door, Frisk was out of the kitchen, eyes alight.

“Asriel!” she said brightly. She scampered up and held out her hands, and gave him a smooch on the forehead as he moved into her palms. 

“Sheesh,” he said.

“Missed you!” she said.

“OH! ASRIEL! Are you back?! Hellooooo!” Papyrus called from the kitchen. “Welcome home!!”

“Uh, hi,” he said. “Sorry, I… Um. I just went to return T… Uh. My mom’s radio.”

“Oh! Did you see her?” Frisk asked. “I tried calling her but I think a dog had her phone.”

“Oh. Yeah. She mentioned,” he said. “Yeah, she’s fine. Don’t worry.”

“Oh good!” she said.

He pointed at the table. 

She put him down gently and he unslung her phone. A few presses and his mug and mechanical arm appeared out of the dimension box. Then, he whisked out an old red tin with a small dent in the side and patterns of white snowflakes on top. He awkwardly shoved his leaves under the edge and tried to push it up. He squeaked and drew back, pouting and frowning at his leaf, now torn in half. He flopped it up and down. It was hanging by just a few fibres.

“Oh no! Here, let me fix that,” Frisk said.

She gently pinched his leaf between her forefinger and thumb. She stared at him intently and her soul lit up. He was about to ask what she was doing, but his whole being, from petal to root, was frozen. It wasn’t numb, but it was almost as if the outside of him had dozed off. He couldn’t say a word. A faint aura of red distorted the air around her for just a second. She took a deep breath and had to scrunch her eyes shut. A bead of sweat appeared on her brow; a little snap shuddered the air. His entire form relaxed.

She opened her eyes and he could’ve sworn he saw a little flicker of red across the chestnut colour of her irises. When she let him go, she let out a deep breath and smiled. The leaf was just as if it had never been ripped at all. He stared at her, jaw dropping. 

“Oof! Th-That was a little harder than I thought,” she said. “Lemme open this.”

Asriel started to shake. She popped the tin.

“Oh! What are these?” she asked. She pulled out a triangle-shaped cookie that was pale gold and dusted with sugar.

“Um! Uh… Sh-Shortbread?” he stammered.

“Hmmmm?” Papyrus was suddenly leaning over them. “Short. Bread. That doesn’t really look like a bread.”

“It’s, um! It’s not. It’s a type of cookie,” Asriel said quickly. “Mom and I made them. She said to bring these home. But Frisk what the heck—”

“Cookies?! Then why are they called shortbread?” Papyrus asked, plucking one up and eyeing it suspiciously. “Are they any good?”

“Mom made ‘em, I bet they’re great!” Frisk said. “Asriel, we can have some, right?”

“Y-Yeah, obviously, but—” He squeaked instead of finishing his sentence when Papyrus scooped him up. “Hey!”

“Relax, relax! It’s just your good friend Papyrus!” he said with a laugh. “Let me help you get your arm back on.”

As Papyrus snatched up the mechanical device, Frisk picked out two cookies. She was about to bring one back to the couch for Sans, but she swooned on the way. He caught her soul and she put a hand to her head.

“Whoops,” she said.

“Whoa, little sister, are you okay?!” Papyrus asked shrilly.

“Yup. Yup yup,” she said.

Sans let her feet touch the ground again. She put a hand against the side of her head.

“S’okay, just got a little dizzy,” she said. She wobbled slightly, but she gave Sans a cookie before biting the tip off hers. Her eyes lit up. “Oh man that’s good,” she said. “I never had this kind before! Thanks Az!”

Asriel raised his brows. “Uh, no problem,” he said. “Now can you please tell me what the hell you just did to my leaf?”

“Oh! Sorry. Backwards magic,” she said with a smile.

“And now you’re lookin’ all sweaty, kid,” Sans said.

He scooped her up again— she squeaked with surprise— and gently tossed her onto the couch. She bounced on the cushion when she hit it.

“Try not to faint, okay?” he said.

“Right,” she said with a laugh.

“Oh no, is it that bad?” Papyrus asked.

“It was weird. Didn’t feel as smooth as I’ve done it before,” she said with a shrug.

“Probably because I don’t have a soul. And I’m not a monster. And I’m not really made of magic,” Asriel said. “Could be any stupid thing. But, uh, thanks. Regrowing them is a huge pain in the a… Roots.”

“I wouldda gone with anther,” Sans said.

“What the heck is a… Oh, never mind, I don’t care,” Asriel said.

Frisk snickered. Her eyes seemed to glaze rather suddenly and she slumped. She blinked heavily and rubbed her head again, pouting.

“Eat that,” Sans said.

“Right right,” she said, nodding.

He patted her head approvingly.

As she munched, Papyrus finished fixing Asriel’s arm back onto his stem. After just a second, the arm flexed and he stretched it up. Papyrus smiled brightly and then passed him a cookie.

“And there you go!” he said. He gently put him down again and bounced back to the kitchen to continue preparing his pasta.

Asriel took a bite of the shortbread. He shot Frisk a curious look. “So, can you just, like, do that all the time now?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve done it a couple times,” she said. “It’s not really getting much easier though.”

“You are breaking laws of the universe,” he said.

“Bendin’, more like,” Sans said. “It's her universe, she can do what she wants with it.”

“Naw,” Frisk said sheepishly.

“Yup.” Sans tried the cookie and his eyes seemed to shimmer. “Oh. That is good.”

“Wait until you try her pie!” Frisk said.

\- - -

Spaghetti was made and doled out just as the final section of the show began. Sans hadn’t seen any of it, so he was probably at least mildly interested, even if it didn’t show on his face. It wasn’t a great play, but it wasn’t bad enough to make him laugh at this point, either.

The battle really did put a grin on his face, though. He was glowing with pride as he watched Frisk, and he had stars in his eyes when Papyrus busted through the wall. 

“Pfffft, oh man. Oh man. Look at you guys,” he said. “Great.”

It was like they were dancing. Papyrus came to sit on the arm of the sofa to watch, bright-eyed. The magic was like a light show, and the battle resonance was a three-way like nothing they’d heard. Frisk had barely even noticed at the time. Mettaton managed to trap Papyrus, but on the couch, Frisk got a bit excited. She pointed at the screen.

“Watch this, watch this, he’s amazing,” she said.

It had felt much longer in real life, but when Papyrus burst out of the magic trap, glowing like he was on fire, Frisk cheered. Even Asriel looked a bit impressed. Sans was beaming, but even he couldn’t help a laugh when, not long after, Papyrus was tossed straight from the arena.

“Pfft, nice,” Asriel said.

“And that is the end of Cooper! Almost,” Papyrus said. “Oh! So I missed some of this! I was at the back!”

“Didn’t that hurt?” Frisk asked.

“Not really,” he said. “Someone caught me way back there and—! AAAH!!” He couldn’t help the sound when he saw Mettaton lunging at Frisk with the lightning. 

She hugged him. Sans burst out laughing.

“Damn, kiddo.” He wiped his eyes. “And that’s how you beat him, huh?”

“His legs fell off after, so I guess so,” Frisk said with a laugh.

Sans scoffed and snickered.

He seemed especially chuffed when the ending came along. He was absolutely alight, grinning wide, hands pressed together and held near his chin. 

“Sans, look at yourself!” Papyrus said.

The short skeleton was starry-eyed and he snickered. He wiped under his sockets with his fingertips. “Guess the ending wasn’t too bad,” he said.

“Not worth sitting through all those songs for though,” Asriel said.

“Dunno, kid, if you were me, you might be, uh, singin’ a different tune,” he said.

“Uuugghhh, Sans,” Papyrus groaned.

Frisk snickered. Sans was still beaming and he ruffled her hair gently.

“Who knew this bonehead was such a softie?” Asriel muttered.


	66. The Mysterious Arc

Turned out that the play was playing again, right after the end of the first run. Frisk had no interest whatsoever in watching it again, and Sans had fallen dead asleep the second the next showing began. She turned down the volume and helped her brother sideways to lie down a bit more comfortably. She noticed Asriel rolling his eyes at her, but she didn’t mind.

When she got up, though, her head spun. She gulped and blinked hard. She headed to the kitchen, where Papyrus was banging pots as he cleaned up. Bubbles were floating around the whole room. He gave her a big smile.

“Hello, little sister!” he said. “Is that the play I hear again on the TV?”

“Yeah, guess so,” she said.

“I think this narcissist’s gonna just run it on a loop,” Asriel called.

“Um. Do you think you could pass me some water?” she asked.

“Oh! Yes of course!” Standing on his toes, Papyrus quickly got her a glass filled up and handed it over. “And there you go!”

“Thanks,” she said. She took a long, deep swig. 

Papyrus’s face fell just a little. He tilted his head. “Frisk, you’re looking a little tired,” he said. “Are you okay?”

“Mhm! Fine. I’m fine,” she said quickly, and then downed the rest of the glass.

“If you want to, feel free to go take some time to yourself, maybe even take a page from Sans’s book and take a little nap,” Papyrus said. “I know you are fine, but you could probably be a little more fine, don’t you think?”

Frisk smiled. Couldn’t slip it by him, could she? It wasn’t a bad idea, though. She nodded and handed him the empty glass. He smiled and affectionately patted her head. 

In the living room, Frisk shot Asriel a questioning look and pointed upstairs. He waved a leaf at her, telling her to go. She headed to the bedroom on her own, trying to conceal a wobble in her steps.

They’d been busy, so, for the first time in a while, she pulled out her dream journal. She had a lot of new stuff to add: almost all of it unpleasant.

She cozied up with a pillow and her book on the floor. She found her red pen in her pocket and began to write. She tried to remember in order. Every nightmare about her brother she marked simply with “Sans.” and a sad face. She didn’t want Papyrus to get a hold of the book and read about their big brother turning to dust. Didn’t want him to know that was in her head. As she thought about it, she thought she recalled the strange black and white form in the dark of that mysterious monster. She wasn’t sure, but she wrote what she could.

The more she thought, she could piece a little of it together. He’d met her; startled her. She’d said something about the play. He wanted to hear about it. She seemed to remember he listened enthusiastically. That made her feel sort of good, now that she thought about it. Maybe it wasn’t all bad.

Curiously, she pulled out her phone. She scrolled through the old messages he’d sent her. Or, at least, she thought it was him. Usually just a few words at a time. She wondered why it had stopped.

“_hi there I was just wondering if youre still around?_” she sent.

The message bounced back, saying there was no such number. She pouted.

“_hey can you message me? can you tell me who you are?_” she tried.

The phone replied in the same way. Nothing to be done about it. She guessed if he could have texted her, he would have already. It would have been a lot easier to do that than these strange messages he left her elsewhere. She was disappointed. She wondered what had changed, but she went back to the journal without an answer.

As she was making new entries, the door creaked open. It was Asriel. He waved and rolled over to join her on her spot on the floor.

“More of that junk, huh?” he said.

“Yeah,” she said. “There’s, um, kind of a lot.” 

“I can see that,” Asriel said. He leaned over to look, following her fingers as she wrote. He skimmed farther up the page as well; frowned and tapped her hand.

“That dream with me...? That kinda seems familiar,” he said.

“Do you remember it?” she asked.

His brow furrowed deeper. “N… No. Not really,” he said. “I… think I remember Chara? I dunno. Whenever I dream about her, I try to just kinda shake it off.”

“Oh.” Frisk bit her lip and tried her best to keep her skepticism off her face. “R-Right. Sorry.”

He shook his head. “Also. It’s spelled with an S. Not a Z,” he said with a smirk.

“What?! I’ve been spelling it wrong this whole time?!” she yelped. “Aw, jeez. Sorry.”

“Don’t, I don’t care,” he said.

Frisk grumbled at herself and went back through her notes, scratching out his name and rewriting it in her round, uneven handwriting. There was still a tremor in her fingers. She looked a little ashen under her eyes. Asriel cleared his throat quietly.

“So,” he wondered, “do you think we always dreamt together? The whole time?”

“Probably? I’m not sure though,” she said. “Me and Sans did. So. I guess it would make sense.”

“This junk is weird,” he said. “Can I see the stuff you wrote at the start again?”

“Sure,” Frisk said. “Oh! Hang on.” She flipped to the first page of the notebook and made some corrections there, too. Then, she gladly let him have it.

“So, uh. What do we do? When we get this soul thing for me?” he said as he skimmed the pages. “I just realized. I have no clue how the hell this works at all.”

“Um. Well. I guess you just power up with the human souls, grab the monster souls, I tell them about need their help to make you a new soul, and then you let it all go, I think. That’ll break the barrier,” she said. “And then you’ll be good. Um. Hopefully.”

“Hopefully,” he repeated with a laugh. “You’re really just wingin’ it, huh?”

“Well! Only a little,” she said. “I saw most of that happen before like that, so it could happen again.”

“Hm.” He looked up at her with a furrowed brow. “Well. If you say so.”

“I think we can go soon! Does that help?” she said. 

“Guess so,” he said.

Frisk smiled brightly. She tented her fingers. “I’m, um… I’m glad you’re back.”

“What? Why?” he asked.

“I dunno, I kinda missed you yesterday,” she said.

“Oh.” He seemed confused. “Okay. I felt like I saw you all day.”

“Oh,” she said.

He couldn’t help but laugh at the slightly disappointed look on her face. He patted her knee reassuringly. “I’m glad to be back,” he said. “It was kinda good to see mom, though. She wouldn’t stop talking about you.”

“Wh-What? Really?” she asked.

She was obviously confused, and Asriel began to laugh again.

“Sure. You’re her daughter,” he said.

Frisk’s heart thunked. Her eyes went wide. “D-Did…? Did she call me that?”

“Sure did,” he said.

“Oh. Wow.” Frisk quickly had to wipe her eye, though she had started to smile. “Th-Thanks, Az.”

“What’s the big deal? Did you think she wouldn’t?” he asked.

“It’s not that, it’s just… I dunno, I haven’t been around that long,” she said sheepishly. “She’s my mom, but if… if she didn’t really see me as actually her kid, I’d understand.”

“Don’t have to worry about that,” he said.

“Phew,” she said.

Asriel shrugged. He went quiet, reading her dreams again. He ran his leaves under a few lines. His mouth went tight. Frisk stood up and stretched her arms high above her head. She crawled up onto the bed and lay back.

“Hey,” he said. “Can I ask you something?”

“Mhm,” she said.

“Promise you’ll tell me the truth?” he said.

“Yeah, of course, what’s up?” she said.

“You’d…. You’d tell me if Chara came back, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, of course.” She sat up and peeked over at him. “Why? Do you think she’s back?”

“I… I don’t know,” he said. “Uh. I guess probably not, I dunno. Sorry. Never mind.”

Frisk leaned off the edge of the bed. She looked at her small friend with a sympathetic frown on her face. 

“Az,” she said, “I’d tell you. Promise. But I haven’t heard her.”

“Okay. Okay. I believe you,” he said. “Hey, uh. What…? What was it like?”

“Ummm. What part?” she asked.

“You know. Having a ghost, I dunno. What would you call it? Haunting you?” he said.

“Oh. Jeez,” she said. “I’m not sure what you call it. It was kind of weird. Scary, sometimes.But helpful sometimes, too.”

“Helpful?” he repeated.

“Well, I, um… You know I can’t read very well,” she said. “She could.”

“Oh. So… So it wasn’t all bad,” he said.

“N-No, no, not really, it’s just… I guess it’s just what she wanted to do, you know?” she said. “And it was spooky, kinda. Like a voice in your head that’s for sure not you.”

“R-Right,” he said, nodding. “I, uh… I can relate. Sort of.”

She watched him quietly as he pulled through her memories. She leaned over and gently tapped his head with her finger. “It’s not your fault,” she said.

“Funny. I’d say the exact opposite,” he said, raising his brows. “But. Um. Thanks.”

Frisk pouted. She folded her arms under her chin and stared at him for a little while longer. “Hey,” she said. “Wanna play something?”

“Play?” he repeated.

“Yeah! You know, that board game or something!” she asked. “I wanna make up for getting totally dunked on by skeleton pirates.”

He raised his brows. “You don’t have anything better to do than waste time with me?”

“Not really. Can’t do another thing until we get an okay from Alphys,” she said. “And besides! I like hanging out with you.”

He looked thoughtful. “Just us?” he asked.

“Sure,” she said. “And we could have snacks and hot chocolate, maybe. If you want.”

“Why?” he asked suspiciously.

“Why not?” she said.

She looked hopeful. He eyed her up and down. Of course she was earnest. She didn’t have a reason not to be.

“Alright,” he said. He’d never admit how nice it was to see her smile like she did.

They did a quiet, half-playthrough of the game, though paused when their characters decided to rest in a suspicious town. Frisk was still feeling a little light-headed, but she jotted down where they were as they packed up. 

When they went downstairs, though, Frisk dropped like a rock on the final two. It was lucky that Sans was awake and happened to be looking in their direction, because with a flick of his finger, he had her floating before she hit the ground.

“Jeez!! What the hell, Frisk?!” Asriel yelped. “Hey, is she okay?!”

Sans’s brow furrowed. He drew Frisk over into his arms and put his hand to her forehead. “Hm…” he muttered.

“HEY! Bonehead!! What’s going on?!” Asriel demanded, shuffling back to the ground. “Where’s Papyrus?! Make him fix her!”

“He’s out. Uh…” Sans drew a hand back and his bones flickered with blue. “Hang on.”

He put his fingers to Frisk’s temple and gave her a sharp zap. She jerked upright and looked around, wide-eyed.

“What happened?!” she squeaked.

“Fainted,” he said. “You okay?”

“Oh…” Frisk’s cheek flushed. “S-Sorry.”

“Were you really feeling that sick? Why didn’t you tell me?” Asriel said.

“I was having a good time,” she said bashfully. “I thought maybe I just needed to eat something.”

“Uggghh, don’t do that,” Asriel groaned.

“Sorry,” she said again.

“Don’t have to apologize,” Sans said. “Hang on.”

He plopped her in the corner of the couch and slid up onto his feet. He vanished into the kitchen for only a second before emerging with a can of pop. He handed it to her.

“Not again,” she whined. “You said milkshakes next time.”

“Got no milkshakes,” he said with a shrug. “Drink it.”

“Okay…” She popped the tab. “Milkshakes next time?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Unless you faint on a can of pop.”

She laughed and took a swig from the can. She sighed. Her cheeks flushed again and she looked down at the floor, shamefaced. “Sorry. I shouldn’t complain,” she muttered. “Thanks, Sans. It does help.”

“Hey, don’t sweat it,” Sans said with a laugh. “It’s fine. Paps hates them, too.”

“I don’t hate them,” she said, “they’re just… Eck.” She stuck her tongue out. 

Sans snickered.

Asriel’s brow furrowed. “Wait. Was that because…” He stared at his leaf, frown deepening. “Oh. Shit. My fault.”

“No! No way,” Frisk said. “It’s fine. I’m fine. I guess I should just take a nap right away next time. I did that with Undyne and I didn’t feel sick at all.”

“You didn’t faint after usin’ it on me or Paps, though,” Sans said.

Frisk could only shrug.

“Just be more damn careful,” Asriel grunted. “Jeez. Almost smacked your head on the stairs.”

“Sorry,” she said again.

“Stop apologizin’,” Sans said.

“Where’s Papyrus? Shouldn’t he fix her?” Asriel said.

“Cap called. He’s out with her,” the skeleton said with a shrug.

“But you’re useless,” Asriel said with a deep frown. “I’m useless, too. Call him.”

“It’s really, really not that bad,” Frisk said. She took a long, deep drink from the can, winced, and then burped quietly behind her hand. She rubbed her face and looked at Sans apologetically. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to be a brat. I do feel better. Sorry.”

“Uh…” Sans smiled sideways and waved her towards him. “C’mere?”

She scooted over to him. He grabbed her to gently bonk his head on hers.

“Pfft, “brat”, as if,” he said quietly.

Frisk looked up at him with big eyes, then latched onto him. He ruffled her hair as he put his arm around her. He could feel guilt in her again. All he could really do was give her the hug she wanted.

Asriel sighed, rolled his eyes, and thunked down the final few steps and and rolled to the kitchen. “Hey, bonehead. Get over here.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because!!” he insisted. “Just do it. Uh. Please.”

Lethargically, Sans wandered into the kitchen, looking at the flower skeptically. “What?” he said.

“What are you waiting for, distract her or something,” Asriel said at a hiss. “Fix her. Why’d she get like that?”

“Like what?” Sans asked, raising his brows.

“All saying sorry a million times and calling herself names for not liking those weird pop drinks,” Asriel said. “Make her stop.”

“Ain’t gonna make her do a thing,” Sans said, folding his arms.

“You know what I mean,” Asriel said, frowning. “I don’t understand, why’d she get like that? All she did was help me.”

“You, uh, know anything about the kid’s background?” Sans asked. “She ever told you?”

“What? No,” Asriel said. “I… Huh. I don’t actually know anything about that.”

“Good. That’s how she wants it,” he said.

Asriel looked confused. He folded his leaves and mechanical arm, and then pouted. A troubled frown darkened his face.

“Well. Okay. Whatever,” he said. “Think of something.”

Sans shrugged.

He wandered back towards the couch, where Frisk was sitting in a corner with her palms pressed over her ears. He laughed and tapped her head.

“Wanna try to slog through _U-G-H_ again?” he asked. “Might distract you for a bit.”

“What? You don’t mean season two?” she asked.

“Sure. Give it a shot?” he asked.

Frisk’s face brightened and she nodded. Sans tussled her hair again and she snickered. He was satisfied with that for now. He’d have to keep an eye on her. He turned to catch Asriel just peeking out of the kitchen clutching another can of pop close to him.

“_Under Ground Hearts_, season two, you in?” he asked.

Asriel grimaced and his face crinkled. “Could you seriously not have thought of anything better?” he asked.

“Hey. She likes it,” he said, shrugging. “Right, kiddo?”

“It makes me laugh, I guess,” she said bashfully.

“That’s good enough for me,” he said.

Asriel sighed. “Fine, fine,” he grumbled. “Me too.”

\- - -

“Allllphys. Alphie. Alphys. Alph, baby.” Mettaton slapped his little ghostly limbs against the top of the buck-toothed lizard’s head as if she were a drum, leaning over her shoulder to stare intently at his own metallic torso. “Come ooooon, take a break, the special is ooooon.”

“C-Come on yourself,” she said with a laugh. “I thought y-you wanted this done as soon as p-possible.”

“I doooo but I want you to watch it with meeee,” he whined. “All those gooey friends of yours are down there. Come on, darling, pleeeeease?” He floated into her face, pouting, giving her the best puppy-dog eyes he could muster— they were, indeed, quite convincing. 

Alphys laughed. “Alright, a-alright,” she said.

Mettaton giggled and clapped and, with a twirl, vanished. Alphys sighed to herself and gathered the pieces she needed for the lower section of a leg. Fumbling a little, trying to keep her balance, she lugged the bits and her tools downstairs. Mettaton was there in front of the big screen, where the show was already playing, possibly for the fourth or fifth time today. He had a big grin on his face. Around him, the white amalgam monsters were gathered. Big Dog turned to face Alphys as she came closer, tail thumping hard against the ground. 

She patted them on the head affectionately and sat down to use them as a backrest, spreading out her mechanical bits in front of her. Metatton spun into view and clapped in a pattern. The lights dimmed, though the show had already begun. 

As Big Dog snuffled over her shoulder, Alphys focussed mostly on piecing together a new lower leg support and foot for her friend. She normally had a bit of music while she built, so the songs weren’t a distraction in the least. Bobbing her head along with them, she used her special screwdriver to attach bars to each other, building what was essentially a bone structure. She’d have to touch them up again later but, for now, this was more than enough. She was using portions of her old plans, especially for the exterior, but helping things along this time were photos of Papyrus. 

She’d creeped around the skeleton’s UnderNet profile for his photos. Mostly those of him in what he’d called his “battle body”, where the majority of his leg bones were exposed. His structure was perfect for someone so tall and thin. Alphys would have to use thicker materials, plus tubes and actuators— other things to add to supports— since Mettaton would be much more top-heavy than Papyrus was.

“Ooh, spooky metal toes!” Mettaton said, swooping down to look at her work. “Those look a little better than last time, even. But, um, you will find me more boots, won’t you?”

“It’s all part of the look, right?” she said with a smile. “D-Don’t worry. You’ll b-be basically the same, just… better.”

“Ooh! Didn’t realize you could improve on perfection!” he said. “Thank you, darling. Honestly. Honest and serious. And. If I may make a suggestion?”

“Mhm, go f-for it,” she said.

“A little backup battery,” he said. “So I may pull out the main one and charge it on my own if the need arises! That would be handy, n’es pas?”

“Oh! O-Okay, that’s a g-good idea. Um. Y-Yeah!” She smiled and tapped herself on the chest. “Around here for your core? S-Same as before?”

He nodded enthusiastically. 

Mettaton twirled and vanished, only to reappear floating up beside the screen. He pressed up against it as he stroked his own image. He sighed longingly. “Look at me. So beautiful. So graceful,” he said, and then pouted and looked at her, fluttering his cartoonishly pretty eyelashes. “I feel so naked right now!”

“I know, I know,” Alphys assured him. “D-Don’t worry. It’ll be done in just a day or two. O-Or three. S-Soon, though! Really s-soon.”

“Are you sure Alphie?” he asked. “But it took so loooooong last time! Like. Years. It took years.”

“B-Because I had to troubleshoot the e-entire thing! And invent the design completely from scratch,” she said. “Now I know h-how to build you. I e-even have the materials th-this time! Or, mostly, at least.”

“Mostly?!” he yelped.

“I d-do need a little more tubing and… W-Well, it’s fine, we’ll just go to the dump, it’s n-not a big deal,” she said. “Anyway! You’re the one who ran into a f-fight ready to get m-messed up, remember?”

“I know I know. I’m starting to question my judgement,” he said. “Buuuut… Then again, that final battle of the play was truly spectacular. Never mind, I made the right choice! Absolutely!”

“Well, I’m glad s-someone thinks so,” Alphys mumbled.

“What was that?” Mettaton asked.

“N-Nothing! Nothing. Don’t worry,” she said, and she held up the metal foot with a grin. “Look! It looks pretty good already, right? This is o-only a few hours of work in total! It took w-weeks last time!”

“That’s reassuring. Because, I’ll be honest,” he said, “I think I would simply go mad without it!”

“I know, I know,” Alphys assured him. “It’s j-just, I have so many things t-to do. It’s n-not like I can d-delegate any of this stuff t-to someone else.”

“Not even Saaaaaans?” Mettaton suggested.

Alphys considered it for a moment. She shook her head. “N-No, it’s easier if i-it’s just me,” she said, and she smiled. “Besides! I a-am feeling a lot more, um, on the ball a-after drinking all that t-tea. I can handle it.”

“But I thought he was a smarty-pants nerd monster, just like you,” he said.

“No. I mean, y-yes, but… No. He should stay h-home. H-He needs to protect Frisk,” she said.

“From what?!” he squeaked, genuine concern leaking through his initial incredulous tone.

“Oh, um. It’s…” She sighed. “I-It’s complicated. D-Don’t worry.”

“But you just set me up for worry!” he protested. “Oh no I didn’t do something else dastardly by accident, did I?”

“N-No! No,” Alphys said quickly. “It wasn’t you at all.”

“You, um, told them I’m alright, right?” he asked.

“Hm?” she said.

“You know. The kids. They know I’m okay, though, don’t they?” he insisted.

“You d-didn’t message them?” she asked.

“I thought you would!” he whined.

“I’ve been building you!” she squeaked. “I mean, I t-told them you weren’t in trouble or anything…”

“Oh my god. Okay. B-R-B, darling! Can you pause the show? No no, never mind.” He vanished and she heard a clunk from upstairs and, suddenly his voice came back with a bit of metallic distortion. “WELL! This is a nightmare and a half.”

“What is?” Alphys called.

“Oh, nothing, Alphie, I just plopped myself in this limbless husk and I think there was a disconnection to my eyyyyeeees,” he said.

“Don’t you have an arm?” she asked.

“It’s not woooorking, darling,” he said.

“Damn…” she said softly. “Um! I-It’s your hair.”

“What?” he asked.

“It’s j-just your hair,” she said. “It’s o-over your face a bit.”

“What? Really?” He must’ve tossed his head because he let out a pleased squeak. “Oh! Whoops. Okay, hang on just a tick.”

He went quiet, but Alphys’s phone didn’t. When it played its JRPG text-jingle, Big Dog jumped slightly and Reaper and Lemons leaned around to peer at her. She bashfully raised a hand and smiled to assure them she was okay before fishing the phone out of her sweatpants’ pocket.

It was just Mettaton, going on a posting spree online. Sending messages to Papyrus, Kid, and Frisk, and also to her, just to cover his butt. He’d also made some big general posts about how great the show was; how happy he was that so many people came to see it live. Those were set upon immediately by dozens of commenters. She upliked a few, if only to keep a presence up.

“Hey, Alphie, beautiful,” he said. “I had a thought.”

“What about?” she asked.

“Well. I was just thinking. For this final thingy. The big soul-grab-and-go,” he said. “Do you know how it goes down?”

“Uh… J-Just what Frisk said,” she said, jumping when he phased into view in front of her and waved his arms as if to get her to continue. “What?”

“Remind me,” he said.

“W-Well… Sh-She goes to Asgore. Asriel st-steals the human souls, th-then the monster souls, and then releases e-everything all at once,” she said. “That should break the b-barrier. And… And n-now that everyone will have that bit of m-memory magic on them, when the w-weird, um… When the weird stuff i-is happening during the soul grab bit, in theory, they sh-should be brought b-back to the memories of the play and it’d h-help inspire p-people to give a little p-piece of their soul t-to Asriel to keep. With the, um, solidarity and everything. Y-You know? I, um, h-have a plan to help the energy along, of course, but—”

“Alright. But how will they know to do that?” Mettaton said.

“What?” she asked. “Uhh… J-Jeez. Um. I’m n-not sure. Why? D-Did you have an idea?”

“Yes, in fact!” he said. “How about I put on a big broadcast right at the end, there? Inspirational. Giving everyone the news. The instructions? An extra little burst of solidarity?”

“Oh! Um! Th-That sounds pretty good to me,” she admitted. “So you’ll work on that?”

“Absolutely I will! Blooky can help me, I’m sure of it,” he said. “Ooh! Let me go text everyone again, haaaaang on!”

He vanished again with a little twirl. “So, wait for me, won’t you?”

“A-Alright,” Alphys said. She liked the sound of that, actually. If Mettaton couldn’t inspire the monsters at the end, who could?

\- - -

After the show, and Mettaton’s elaborate bow to the amalgam monsters, he floated off to his cousin’s place and Alphys spent some time off from the leg to get her gooey friends fed and tucked into bed. Not all of them slept, but the ones that did seemed to really appreciate the ritual. There was a tall, snake-like, ghostly one that seemed to only really appear for that part. They liked to do the tucking.

Alphys finished off the structure on the first leg, connected more than half of the internal supports, and removed and reattached the arm they had, making sure it worked this time before she decided to call it quits for the night. Finally, she could go check in on the readings from the broadcast blaster.

She didn’t bother getting properly dressed when she headed out, and made a beeline for the tower Mettaton used. After the ride in his rhinestoned elevator, she headed straight over to the instrumentation. The broadcast blaster itself still had a little glitter of blue about it. The mild, artificial replica of that memory signature seemed to have held together well. 

The first thing Alphys headed towards was a laptop she had left connected to the blaster. It was tapped into the return radio receiver as well. She plopped onto a chair in front of the computer and ran her finger quickly over the touchpad to shake off the whirling, colourful lines of the screensaver.

With just a few clicks, Alphys had brought up the app Sans had built and the analytics she’d been running through it. She was pleasantly surprised to see the sample size was large: hundreds of monsters were using the radio app right at this moment. As she scrolled through the real-time list of the returned signals, giddiness began to infect her. Blue across the board— the trace of memory hum had stuck. She laughed aloud, a speed in her own hum making her warm and tingly. She put a hand against her snout and grinned. 

“There we go,” she said triumphantly. “There. We. Go.”

It felt like a light had gone off in her head. She giggled and kicked her legs. This might work, she thought. It might actually work. 

Hurriedly, she saved the data. Saved it again. Triple saved, with different names, just in case. Then, she packed away the computer and hurried for the elevator. She was almost skipping.

Back home, she quickly delved back down to the basement, where she’d set up a desk and piles of notes and tomes on souls in a room she’d once used for tape viewings. She shut herself in, just to keep it quiet for the monsters sleeping down the hallway.

Excitedly, while consulting one of the tomes her friends had pulled from the old rooms, Alphys began to scribble notes on a piece of paper. Recording magic ratios, soul sizes; the staying strength of that attached hum. It was really starting to seem like they might not have a problem with their project. And this was only the monsters using the radio app in the last few hours. Tomorrow there’d be even more users; even more data. She was elated. 

She pawed around for a second sheet of paper once her chicken-scratch handwriting had filled the majority of the first one. She had a ton in a folder. For some reason, when Frisk had gathered stuff from the old lab, she’d brought up quite a lot of blank paper. Better than it going to waste, Alphys thought. 

One she got a hold, she pulled it in front of her, but she thought she saw something a little odd through the light of her computer screen. She flipped the page over. The whole thing was covered in text now. Printed, from a computer. Eyes wide, Alphys skimmed it quickly. It was a print-out of an email, like she and Sans used to do when their servers were terrible. However, as she read this one, it seemed to contain a third person. She never recalled any other monster being privy to their emails, let alone contributing to them.

Alphys felt a chill. She gulped nervously; felt her throat dry and her tongue become rough. She scrambled to grab a handful of papers she’d shoved in the folder. One or two of them were blank, but now, the rest were a litany of information. Old emails. Alphys felt a little sick. She was so sure she’d checked these. She hadn’t seen a thing.

Her first thought was to call Sans. She had to confer. With shaking fingers, she pulled out her phone and dialled for Frisk. Each ring made her sweat a little more. After what felt like an hour, she heard a faint click and static.

“H… Hello?” That was Frisk’s voice, soft and groggy.

“H-Hey, Frisk, it’s, um, Alphys,” she said quickly. “I, um—”

“Oooh, hey, Alphys,” the kid replied, drawing out each syllable like a yawn. “S’everything okay?”

“Uh, w-well…” The lizard suddenly caught sight of the time on her computer. 2:00 am. No wonder Frisk sounded so out of it. “Oh, god, sweetie, I’m s-sorry, I didn’t realize the time, I…” She froze, her face flushing as she realized what she’d said. “Uhhh…”

Frisk was quiet for a moment. The next thing she heard was a little, pleased giggle. Alphys blushed.

“It’s okay,” she said. “What’s up?”

“If it’s not t-too much trouble, could you, um, maybe, uh… G-Get me Sans?” she said. “I n-need to talk to him. I mean. It’s not… It’s n-not dangerous or anything, b-but it’s kind of urgent?”

“Oh. Okay. Gimme just a second,” Frisk said.

Alphys could hear a lot of shuffling. Cloth moving. She cursed herself internally. The kid was still in bed. She could hear her shush someone; then that sort of soft clacking sound that only bones made. A door’s creak, a gentle knock, and then another door slowly opening. 

“Sans? Saaaans. Heeeey, bro. Sorry,” Frisk said; then her words got too quiet to hear.

More static and some shuffling, and she heard a deep male voice grunt quietly.

“H-Hey, um, Sans?” Alphys said hesitantly.

“Hm?” he asked.

“I’m, uh… I’m r-really sorry to call so late, b-but, um… I… I f-found something?” she said. “I n-need you to come t-t-take a look.”

“What kind of something?” he asked.

“Maaaaybe possibly the mysterious sh-shadowman,” she said.

“Oh.” He sighed. “Kiddo, gotta go for a bit, okay? Go back to… Oh. Heh. She’s already asleep.”

“I’m s-sorry for waking you g-guys up,” Alphys said.

“Nah. Be right there,” he said.

“I’m in the v-video room!” she said quickly.

“Gotcha.”

He hung up. Alphys gulped. She was almost afraid to look at those pages again, but she did, just to be sure she hadn’t imagined it. She hadn’t. When she looked up, Sans was leaning against the far wall. He raised one hand.

“So what’s the damage?” he said.

“Look at this.” She shoved one of the emails towards him. “What does this look like t-to you?”

Sans took the paper and skimmed it. His brows raised. “Huh.”

“Right?!” she demanded.

“Where’d you get these?” he said, and he leaned around her to peer at the pile she had on the table. “Are those all the same?”

“F-Frisk pulled them out of the o-old rooms!” she said. “B-But I could h-have sworn they were blank wh-when I got them!! I mean, I p-put them in a scrap p-paper folder and everything!”

Sans frowned. He tapped his teeth thoughtfully. “I… remember her pickin’ up some emails when we were lookin’ for books for you. But I don’t think I actually looked at ‘em,” he said. 

“But then there’s these extra b-bits!” She grabbed a handful and fanned the sheets out like cards. “H-Here, we’re talking about some experiment. It says like this other p-person fell asleep in the lab. And here, he’s writing l-like… like he knows us. Look!” She passed those over, too.

Sans gave them a quick read and looked at her curiously. “And you said they were blank sheets before,” he said.

“Y-Y-Yes!! N-None of this was here before!!” Alphys insisted. “N-None of it. I don’t understand!! I... I r-remember writing these, but…”

“Not these extra bits,” Sans said. “Gee. It’s almost as if we all forgot this third guy. Don’t you think?”

“Oh… m-my god.” Alphys put a hand to her mouth, her eyes going wide. “It’s h-him. I-It’s really h-h-him. Isn’t it?”

“And we both knew him,” he said.

“God. A s-scientist,” Alphys said; her throat dried instantly. “Just like y-you said. H-He was th-the Royal Scientist. The one y-you were trying t-to find.”

“Must’ve been,” Sans said with a nod. “That’s… interestin’. I figured it was way before us. This kinda complicates things, huh?”

“N-No wonder he keeps t-trying to m-message us, b-but…” She frowned. “What d-does he h-have to do with F-Frisk? Sh-She’s the one who sees h-him, m-more than you, even.”

“Still not sure,” Sans said. “We were studyin’ time travel just a bit back then. So. He must’ve been, too. Maybe he knew more than we did.”

“A-And that drew h-him to her, somehow?” she wondered. “B-But… But what h-happened to him? H-How is any of this possible?”

“I really don’t know,” he said. “Which is… annoying.”

“B-But if we don’t remember. If… If th-this stuff disappeared entirely. If I r-remember these messages but without him at all,” Alphys said, “why are some of the m-messages physically coming back? H-How could this b-be happening?”

Sans looked over the message on the old print-out with analytical eyes. “Can I take some of these?” he said.

“Oh, u-um. Yeah. Y-Yeah, sure.” She passed him a pile of the emails. “U-Um. What…? I mean. But. Wh-What is this? H-How? I don’t… I don’t even know what the r-right questions to ask are.”

“S’gotta be Frisk,” he said.

“H-How?” she asked again.

“I dunno. She’s the only one who managed to remember anything at all of this guy,” he said.

“N-Not even you could?” she asked worriedly.

“No. I heard him a few times, I guess. When I couldn’t see him at all, but he was tryin’ to get something across to Frisk. I wrote it down, wrote down that it was him, but it left my head within seconds,” he said. “I still can’t remember a thing about the time he apparently made my skull crack.”

“That’s just the w-weirdest thing,” Alphys muttered. “I d-don’t understand it. A-Any of it. D-Do you think…? Do y-you think m-maybe, b-because Frisk remembers, she’s… I don’t know, s-somehow b-breaking his rules? Or something?”

“Rules?” he repeated.

“Well. No one r-remembers him. W-We remember stuff that happened normally but a-as if he wasn’t there. It’s not… p-patchy? You know? I mean, we m-must, if he was in these emails that you r-remember writing, and I remember writing, but we’re b-both positive there was n-never a third person,” she said. “But if Frisk r-remembered. Even a millisecond. M-Maybe that was enough. M-Maybe she’s strong enough to be, I dunno, p-pulling stuff back in? Without e-even realizing it, maybe.”

She looked hopeful. Sans couldn’t deny that it made a little sense, at least theoretically. He nodded.

“In New Home, he gave her a key to a mailbox,” he said. “It was in our old apartment building. Makes a bit of sense if he were an old scientist and we were pals. But, the letter was to her. Usually, his messages aren’t in English, but this time, it was.”

“H-He left it for her?!” Alphys yelped.

“He said the probability of her finding it was tiny,” he continued, “but that he’d try, somehow, to let her be able to read it. So maybe he knew she could… pull him out? I don’t know. We still don’t have enough info.”

“Ugh,” Alphys groaned, and she laughed. “H-How did this happen? If… Jeez. Y-You know, if th-this guy was our f-friend, I… I kind of wish there was a w-way for us to help him. You know?”

“I think it’s safe to say that’s impossible,” Sans said. “Well. For us, anyway. Frisk, though…”

“Y-You really think she c-could?” she asked shrilly.

“Welp. She is the anchor,” he said. “Maybe it goes deeper than I thought. If this missin’ guy is supposed to be here for this timeline to function properly, maybe her energy is inherently tryin’ to pull him back in. Or, I dunno, could be that she’s even trying on purpose and just can’t remember.”

“S-See this? This is why this w-was never my expertise,” Alphys said with a laugh. “God. It’s… Annoying. Y-You’re right, that is a good word for it.”

He chuckled and rubbed his brow. “Yeeeeeeah,” he said. “Oh well. Might get more answers soon, but probably not.”

“What makes you s-say that?” she asked.

“Kid got an, uh, invite to the CORE,” he said. 

“Y-You’re not going to let her go, are you?” she asked.

“We talked about it,” he said. “Every other time it was a net gain for her. So. We’re gonna give it a try.”

“J-Just be c-careful,” she insisted. “Tell me how it goes?”

“Will do,” he said. “Don’t sweat it too much, alright?”

He vanished before she said a word. She sighed. Somehow, she felt like where were eyes on her, now. She tried not to shiver as she sat down to get back to work. She had to put on some J-Pop to keep her company. She guessed she’d just write on the back of her notes instead.

\- - -

Groggy and reluctant, Sans slumped at his long counter in the basement at home, laying out the emails across it so he didn’t have to sort through them. He skimmed for a name. Anything identifying. 

The third person wasn’t in every email here, but quite a few of them. The email address wasn’t much but a string of numbers. The internal work ones on their servers had all been like that, and randomized, too. That wasn’t helpful. He didn’t see a name in any of the messages. Alphys called the mysterious monster “Dr.” a few times. Scientist. Not a medical doctor by the way he wrote about their timeline research. The guy even knew about the Dark Model. They hadn’t talked about that much outside, except maybe with Grillby and Asgore. The vindication wasn’t much help. Sans leaned his cheek on his fist.

He remembered most of these emails. Some he didn’t, but that was probably just attributed to the naturals of time passing. The third person had a very polite and matter-of-fact way of writing. There was a small joke or two. Not much that stood out except for the fact that Sans was positive that the guy didn’t exist. He rubbed his brow. On the upside, he thought, if this was the sort of person who was talking to his little sister, that wasn’t too bad. He seemed alright.

Sans really wanted to go to bed. Despite being fairly opposed to his own idea, he went through the emails line by line. This was important. He was sure it was. The fact that he knew that he had known this unrecallable monster felt like a hole inside him. He’d suspected as much, but evidence like this was compelling. He kept reading.

He wasn’t sure when it happened, but he must’ve fallen asleep. He was roused by Frisk gently shaking his shoulder. She looked just as tired as he felt, but she smiled when he met her eyes. 

“D’you wanna go sleep in a bed, maybe, bro?” she said. 

“Oh. Hey, kiddo,” he said hoarsely. “How’d you find me?”

“I usually check the whole house before worrying where you went. Whatcha doing?” she asked.

“Oh. Hm. Just some work,” he said as he sat up and rubbed the side of his head. “Alphys stuff. Also maybe shadowman.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Yeah. He’s a nerd, apparently,” he said.

“If he was the one who knew all that math stuff for Alphys, that makes sense,” she said. “Did he send another message?”

“Kinda. Don’t sweat it,” he assured her. “Thanks for movin’ me.”

“Yeah? I, um, just noticed I was on your mattress and you weren’t.” She looked embarrassed. “Sorry I took yours.”

“Hm? Oh. No. Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Sleep okay?”

She shook her head.

“Same thing?” he asked.

She nodded. He sighed.

“Missed a single night?” he asked.

She shook her head again.

“Jeez, kiddo,” he said, rubbing his eye sockets. “Anything I can do?”

“Just talking to you is good,” she said, “but it wasn’t that for the whole thing. I… I keep seeing Chara.”

“Oh great,” he grumbled.

“Not with me,” she said. “I keep seeing her with Az. It’s just… weird. That’s all.”

Sans rubbed his brow with his the heel of his hand. He got up stiffly and cracked his back. “What time is it?” he asked.

“Umm… I dunno, around five, maybe?” Frisk suggested.

“Oof. That’s too early. For both of us,” he said with a tired chuckle. “C’mon, I’ll take you back to Paps.”

“Um. Can I…? Can I stay with you?” she said. “I dunno if I wanna go back to sleep yet.”

“You sure?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Grillby’s?” he suggested.

“Y-You don’t wanna get some sleep?” she asked, eyes wide.

He shrugged. “I can sleep any time,” he said. “Besides. Owe you a milkshake. Don’t need shoes, right?”

“What?” she asked.

He put his hand on her shoulder and they were in the bar instantly. There wasn’t a single person there. Grillby wasn’t even behind the counter. Sans plunked the kid up onto a stool and then wandered to the door near the back of the room. He gently tapped his knuckles on it. 

After a few seconds, the door cracked open. Frisk couldn’t see who was there, but she could guess. Sans said something more quietly than she could hear, stuck his thumb up, and then wandered back to join her. A fart sound ruptured the air when he sat. He laughed and put his face in his hand. Frisk giggled quietly. 

“We aren’t causing trouble, are we?” she asked.

“Nah,” he said. “Grillby’s the kinda guy who only needs to sleep once a week.”

“I wish I could do that,” she grumbled.

Sans frowned sympathetically. He gently ruffled her hair. “Rough, huh?”

“It’s been like this forever though, right?” she said quietly. “It… doesn’t really get better, does it?”

“It did,” he said. “Few weeks ago, actually.”

She smiled faintly. “Glad I could help,” she said. “All three of us, I guess. And Paps, too. I’m… sorry he’s kinda in it, now.”

“Nah, don’t worry,” he said. “He’s tough. And he prefers it this way. Kinda reminds me of someone.” He cut his eyes at her. 

She smiled sheepishly. “I just wish normal ones wouldn’t get me, too,” she admitted.

“Yeah. Got a history of bad luck,” he said, pointing his thumb at his chest. “Sorry. Guess it runs in the family.”

Frisk sighed, but she managed a weak smile. She grabbed his arm. “I guess you’re right about me,” she said. “I kinda prefer it this way, too.”

Grillby brought out some fries and milkshakes after just a little while, and the two of them ate in tired, comfortable silence. Frisk was dunking her fries again. Sans still found that sort of funny. For a moment, he could relax. 

The kid was starting to chill out a little, too. That was good. She still looked exhausted, though. He took a swig of his milkshake drummed his fingertips against the counter.

“Hey, uh. Feelin’ any better?” he asked.

She smiled and nodded. “Y-Yeah. Thank you. For everything,” she said.

“It’s nothin’,” he said. 

“I really mean it, though,” she said. “Really really. I… I just don’t want to be a… Sorry.”

“Hey,” he said. “Don’t put yourself down so much, okay?”

“H-Huh?” she squeaked.

“You’re allowed to not like a stupid can of pop without feeling like garbage,” he said.

Frisk winced, but she nodded. Sans reached over and patted her head.

“Not really a fan of you feelin’ all guilty,” he said. “Especially over somethin’ so normal. Seriously.”

“Yeah?” Frisk asked, her eyes going wide. “Is it normal?”

“Mhm. Besides,” he said with a shrug, “I actually think you’re pretty great. So.”

Frisk stared at him for a moment. Her eyes filled with tears and she bent her head to wipe them, choking out a small, shrill laugh. “I think you’re pretty great, too,” she said.


	67. The Mysterious Arc

Even the next day, all the TV was playing was Mettaton’s show. It was a good thing the skeleton family had a stockpile of old recordings to pass the time with instead. Asriel shoved in some old crime show— not _Circuit Super Investigator, _but another one that was almost identical, called _Crime Solver Intense!— _and scoffed at how transparent the villains still were.

Frisk was finally relaxed. She had gotten some rest with the only dream to bother her after coming home to be immediately disrupted by Papyrus’s cozy presence whisking her away and humming her a restful lullaby. He was always good at that. 

Sitting with his his back to the front of the couch, he held Frisk in his lap and brushed her hair. She was drowsy, warm, and content. Sans was on lunch duty, much to his chagrin. Hot dog sandwiches with chips it was. Except for Papyrus, of course: there was a reheated bowl of the previous day’s spaghetti for him. 

When everyone had food, Sans sat down with them and immediately looked groggy. _Crime Solver Intense!_ didn’t put him to sleep instantly like that other show. He seemed to wish it did, though. On the screen, Mettaton’s character was using a magnifying glass to inspect his evidence for the final verdict as a couple monsters dressed in blue with baseball caps adorned with golden badges stood around waiting.

“Okay. Okay. The bad guy has to be that shark guy this time,” Asriel said insistently.

“Oh really? Why?” Papyrus asked.

“He literally only plays villains in every episode he’s in. Gotta be him,” he said.

When Mettaton pointed out a rabbit monster to be arrested, Asriel groaned and rubbed his forehead.

“Guess maybe you’re not as good of a judge of character as you thought,” Sans said.

“Shut it,” he said. “I had every reason to—! Never mind, I don’t care, shut up.”

“Asriel, what did we say about that sort of thing?” Papyrus chided gently.

Asriel folded his leaves and grumbled into his stem. Sans snickered. 

The sound of Frisk’s phone ringing drew their attention. For the first time in almost twenty minutes, Frisk opened her eyes. She blinked heavily and then pulled out the phone and stared at it blankly for a few seconds.

“Oh! Alphys.” She booped a button to put it on speaker mode and placed it on the floor in front of her. “Hi, Alphys!”

“Oh! F-Frisk! Hi! It s-sounds like I’m on speaker, c-can everyone hear me?” she said.

“Absolutely we can, Doctor!” Papyrus said brightly.

“Ah! G-Good! That’s great!” she said. “Now, let me just… Hang on.”

They heard a strange buzzing sound, and then some beeps. There was a rush of static, and then Undyne’s voice.

“Hello?” she asked with confusion.

“Ah! Th-There we go,” Alphys said. “That’s everyone! Okay!”

“Everyone?” Undyne asked.

“Hi, Undyne,” Frisk said.

“OH! Hi, squirt!” she said. “What’s going on, Alph?”

“I j-just wanted to, um… t-to catch you guys all up at once,” she said. “M-Mettaton wanted me to make sure e-everyone knows, he’s still just fine, he’s just out of commission. I’m rebuilding his body and h-he should be up and around again in a few days.”

“That’s excellent,” Papyrus said. “Sorry I, um, caused you all this work.”

“Oh! Don’t be,” she assured him. “H-He was in beta anyway, th-things were bound to fall apart eventually.”

“Were they, though?” Asriel asked sarcastically.

“Mhm! A-Anyway,” Alphys said quickly, “that’s n-not really even the most interesting p-part. I’ve been m-monitoring the results from the, um, broadcast blaster? The signals are a-all coming back positive!”

“What? Really?!” Frisk asked shrilly. “S-So are we good to go?!”

Alphys paused for a second to clear her throat. She sounded nervous. “N-No, not exactly,” she said apologetically. “But s-soon! I j-just need to… t-to gather a little more data. And set up a f-few things. And d-do some calculations based on the, um… Well. I just hope you aren’t disappointed, Frisk.”

“Nuh-uh, no way, most important thing is making sure we get it totally right,” she said. “Right?”

“Mhm. Suck to do all this work just to miss somethin’ near the end,” Sans said.

“Agreed,” Undyne said. “Take your time, babe. Then these kids can handle it. Right?”

“Mhm!” Frisk said brightly. “Hey, is there anything I can do?”

“Umm… You know, I’m n-not sure,” Alphys admitted. “Stay s-safe? Read some b-books? B-Be a kid! Really. It’s j-just, you know, the b-boring science stuff r-right now. J-Just, um…! Just leave it t-to me!”

“But you’ll tell me if I can do anything, right?” the kid insisted.

“Give it a rest,” Asriel said.

“W-Well! You can do one thing for m-me,” Alphys said. “What did you think of M-Mettaton’s idea? Did y-you all get his text?”

“Yeah,” Sans said. “Makes sense to me. He can coordinate with all his broadcast junk, right?”

“Th-That’s the idea,” Alphys said.

“Let’s for sure go with that,” Frisk said.

“Oh good! He’ll be so happy to hear that,” she said. “That’s a-all I need for now, really.”

“Are you super sure?” Frisk asked.

“Don’t worry, kiddo,” Undyne assured her. “How about tomorrow we do a bit of training with you and your big bro, hm? Kinda gotta help Alph today, but what d’you think?”

“Sounds really nice,” Frisk said.

“That’ll definitely do her some good, Undyne!” Papyrus added. “And! We have very skillfully made some new puzzles out in the field, if you might be interesting in seeing them.”

“Heh. Heck yeah I would!!” Undyne assured him. “Okay!! We done here?”

“Um, one more thing,” Frisk said. “Um. Alphys? I, um… I’m supposed to go to the CORE soon? To, um… find a weird time thing, or something, I’m not sure.”

“A w-weird… Oh! Y-Yeah. Sans mentioned,” she said. “Why, were y-you thinking of going now?” 

“I dunno, j-just, um… are you okay to, um… Uh. N-Never mind,” Frisk said, folding her arms.

“Just let me know,” Alphys said gently. “I have no problems, um, p-putting it on pause for just a little if th-that’s what you need.”

“We will, for sure,” Papyrus said.

“Great! Um! I think that’s it! J-Just, um, thought I’d g-give you guys all the g-good news at the same time,” she said. “Bye, everyone!!”

“Bye!” Frisk said brightly.

Frisk’s eyes were alight and she turned to Asriel, grinning. “See? Told you, it’s gonna work.”

“They just think it’s gonna work. It’s still not for sure,” he said, but even so, he seemed just a little brighter. “But, uh… That’s kinda reassuring. Just kinda want this over with, whatever happens.”

“Hey, don’t be, uh, _impatiens, _bud,” Sans said.

Asriel looked at him, puzzled. He squinted. “Why’d you say that so weird?” he asked suspiciously. “Oh no, that’s not a…? You’re the worst, you know that?”

Sans shrugged, but he was grinning. Asriel groaned and Papyrus rubbed his brow.

“Sans, honestly, that one’s so obscure, how did you even come up with that?” Papyrus asked. “I mean, I’m almost impressed. I mean, I would be if it wasn’t so painfully bad.”

“Eh, _leafed_ through a ton of books,” Sans said.

Cue more groaning, but Frisk giggled. Her brother’s grin only grew.

“Okay, okay, I’m done _pollen_ your legs,” Sans said, putting a hand up.

Asriel frantically slapped the skeleton’s knee with his leaves a few times. “Stop it stop it stop it!” he said.

Frisk began to laugh harder and Sans chuckled. Papyrus kneaded his eye sockets.

“Enough, you ridiculous goon!” he said. “I don’t even want to know how you… Ugh. Never mind.”

Sans shrugged. For him, the grin on his sister’s face was more than worth the complaints of the others.

“Wait. Wait a second,” Asriel said. “Wait a damn second.” He pointed accusingly at Sans. His face was a deep scowl. “Have you been punning at me this whole time?!”

“Oh? What d’you mean?” Sans asked.

There was a faint smugness to his grin that gave Asriel his answer. 

“YOU’RE THE WORST!!” he cawed.

Sans barked out a laugh and got up.

“Where are you going?” Papyrus asked.

“Eh. Got more readin’ to do,” he said with a wink. “How else am I gonna keep you guys on your toes?” He vanished. 

Asriel sighed. “There’s gotta be some way to get him back,” he said, frowning. “Frisk! C’mon, you gotta tell us, what gets him?”

“Nope!” Frisk said with a smile.

“Boo,” Asriel grumbled.

She shrugged, but she scooped him up and held him close. “You could always pun him back,” she suggested.

“No way, he likes that,” he said.

She snickered and shrugged again. He pouted, but turned his attention back on the TV with a dramatic sigh.

They went on to the next episode of their crime show, but Frisk was starting to feel antsy. Like she wanted to just get up and go. The CORE was forefront in her mind again. She bounced a little on the couch, tapping the toe on her foot impatiently. The rest had actually done her some good. She didn’t have an excuse not to go take a look. More than that, she wanted to. She wanted to know if there were more answers out there. Maybe she wouldn’t remember, but if the shadowman could still write on her, maybe there was a chance.

Frisk had an idea where Sans had gone. She gently left Asriel with Papyrus. She made a beeline for the basement and snuck inside. Sans was there, in his chair, spinning slowly and reading from sheets of paper.

“Alright?” he said, shooting her a smile.

“Yeah. Sorry, you wanna be alone?” she asked, pointing her thumb over her shoulder. “I can go.”

“No, no,” he said. “Just finishing up with this junk. Sup?”

“I was just wondering,” she said, “if we can go to the CORE today?”

“You don’t have to ask me,” he said with a laugh.

“But, um…” She tented her fingers. “I was wondering. W-Will you come with me?”

“Don’t have to ask me that, either,” he said. “Just lemme finish this junk and we’ll go try to find the thing.”

“Thank you!!” she said. She scampered over to give him a hug. 

He patted her head and smiled. “Almost there,” he said.

“Yeah!” she said.

He scooped her up by the soul and gently plunked her onto the other chair. She spun herself around a few times as her brother went back to reading. She stopped when she heard Papyrus calling her name.

“Basement!” she called in reply.

They heard Papyrus clunking around and, with a clattering of extra bones, he pushed through the door to join them.

“What the heck are you two doing in here?” he said. “In this strange cold basement place. I was thinking about taking Asriel to see our new puzzles, Frisk! Would you like to come?”

“We’re actually thinking about, um, heading to the CORE, bro,” Frisk said.

“Are you sure?” he said. 

She nodded.

“Shouldn’t I come with you?!” he asked.

“If you want to,” Frisk said.

“Or, just do what you were gonna do anyway,” Sans suggested. “We’ll probably be back around the same time. You know. Unless we blow up. Then we’ll be back an hour earlier.”

Frisk laughed, but Papyrus folded his arms and rolled his eyes.

“You shouldn’t joke about that, brother, what if that happens?” he said.

“That’d be hilarious,” he said.

“Ugggggh. You’re impossible,” he said. “That’s it. I’ve decided. I’m coming along. I’m sure Asriel will want to as well. Be right back, I will get him! SANS. DO. NOT. LEAVE.”

Papyrus stormed out of the room as abruptly as he had arrived. Frisk snickered. Sans rested his cheek on his fist for a moment. He waved her over and held out his hand.

“Phone,” he said.

She searched her pockets and then handed it over. He held up one finger as if to ask her to wait, and then vanished before her eyes. 

Frisk took his seat, kicking her feet back and forth. All those papers on his work counter caught her eye. She moved the chair forward with the tips of her toes, and then sat up on the cushy seat with her knees. Scattered all over were the email printouts she’d found. She wondered why he had them. Her eyes skimmed the one he had been reading, but it was either a lot of science jargon or a ton of big words, because it was almost like looking at a foreign language. She pouted. She wished Sans’s memories had been able to help her learn to read faster.

She folded her arms and spun the chair around slowly, until Sans stopped her. She smiled up at him. “Hiya,” she said.

“So. Called Alphys back,” he said. “Said she can take a break for an hour or two for us.”

“Oh good!” she said. “I’m really glad. I hope it's not bothering her.”

“Don’t worry,” he said. “She thought you’d go that direction after you mentioned it.”

Her cheeks flushed and and she smiled shyly. He offered her his hand. 

“Guess we’re takin’ the boat,” he said.

“Ooh, can we?” she said. “I haven’t done that in forever!”

“Welp. I’m not walkin’ that far,” he said with a grin. 

\- - -

They gathered Papyrus and Asriel and headed to the boat of the mysterious, hooded river person. Papyrus had a little bit of trepidation in his steps for just a moment before getting on, eyeing the front with suspicion. He clutched Asriel tight in one hand and put his other arm around Frisk snuggly, who had decided to forsake her hoodie and scarf for today due to impending heat. Sans lay across the bottom of the boat with his arms behind his head. 

They took it slow, watching the snow blow past, white changing to darkness and blue as they ventured deeper into the caverns that lead to Waterfall. It was nice to just watch the scenery for a little while, the breeze over the river and the minuscule dusting of water in the air were refreshing. Asriel leaned his head just a little over the edge, but then quickly shook like a dog, curled up, and stuck close to Papyrus. 

Frisk stared out over the water, a feeling of calm flowing over her. The crystals on the walls glittered and glowed. She loved that. She brushed her hair out of her face. She felt a tapping on her leg. She turned to look and saw Sans beckoning to her. Curiously, joined him, and he pointed upwards. She lay back and he put an arm around her, held her to his chest as if she were a puppy. Her eyes went wide as they were filled with the sparkling array of blue lights like clusters of stars blanketing the ceiling.

“Oh wow,” she said quietly.

“Nice, right?” he said.

She nodded enthusiastically. She reached her hand up and traced invisible lines between larger points of light.

“What are you doing, little sister?” Papyrus asked, tilting his head back. 

“It’s like constellations,” she said.

“What’s that?” Asriel asked, squinting up along with them.

“That’s those sky patterns, yeah?” Sans said.“They pretend like the big stars make a picture. It helps make a map of the sky.”

“Why do you need a map of the sky?” Asriel asked, raising his brows.

“I’m not sure!” Frisk said. “But there’s some that help you figure out what direction you’re going at night.”

“Tra la la,” the river monster sang. “What an interesting idea. Very comforting. How do you know?”

“She’s a huge nerd,” Sans said.

“Yup!” she said with a laugh.

They disembarked in Hotland, and made their way to Mettaton’s massive hotel, where the heat instantly began to fail and Hotland’s bright orange palette faded to a cooler hue. The brightness here didn’t come from the magma, but instead just the lights shining from the huge building. 

“Ah! Alphys took me here for lunch one time!” Papyrus said, dashing ahead to hold the door open. “Come on, let’s hurry through. Just in case.”

He kept Asriel close and power-walked straight through the lobby, until he was stopped by a shrill, cat-like monster. Frisk heard the name “Cooper”, and suddenly there was a crowd around her brother, eyes alight, holding out napkins and notepads for autographs. Sans snickered and Frisk grinned proudly. Papyrus’s started to blush profusely and cackle, hovering Asriel around his shoulder-height while graciously signing whatever a monster put in front of him.

“I’m so proud,” Sans said, putting a hand to his chest.

Frisk laughed and tugged on his sleeve. She pointed at a small gap in the crowd near the in-house burger stand. Sans stuck his thumb up and they snuck by just at the edge of the pack. Papyrus seemed to just notice out of the corner of his eye. His face lit up and he hurriedly sent Asriel over to Frisk. She caught him and the blue faded from his body.

“Sheesh,” he said with a relieved sigh. “These people are nuts.”

She held him close and they snuck out the back door. 

Not many monsters took this route. It was quiet out there, just a small balcony lit in gold, decorated with bushes. The path that lead away would take them directly into the CORE. It loomed, a giant, blue spire just across a little gangway. 

Frisk cautiously grabbed the railing around the balcony with one hand and peeked down, looking at the dark side of the CORE that delved deep into the mountain.

“You know what I wish?” she said.

“What?” Asriel said.

She pointed at the path up to the door, where the light faded and was replaced by a faint, blue glow from within the tower.

“I wish monsters didn’t hate railings so much,” she said with a laugh.

“Pffft, it’s fine,” Asriel said sarcastically, waving a leaf. “It’s not like anyone ever fell in there.” 

“What, you don’t think someone did, do you?” Frisk asked.

“I dunno. Probably, though, look at this dumb place,” he said.

“Scary,” Frisk muttered.

She shot a glance at Sans. He was leaning with his back against the railing on the other side, staring blankly into the bushes. Frisk was taken aback. She knew that hollow look. She gently put Asriel down and walked over to her brother. She stood on her toes, grabbed his face in her hands, and pulled him down to bump her forehead on his. She synced her soul’s glow with his; felt its numb, distant ache.

“Hey, Sans, c’mon,” she said gently. “Over here. Come back.”

After just a second, she felt him jolt with surprise and his soul sped in response. She pulled back and tilted her head.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, fine,” he said, rubbing a hand across his eye sockets. “Thanks, kid.”

She nodded. Asriel looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. Sans shrugged. The flower scoffed. 

“Hopeless,” he said.

“You know it,” Sans said with a wink.

“Oh stop,” Frisk chided gently. 

“Hey, can either of you short dorks see in the window?” Asriel asked. “Where’s Papyrus? Is he gonna take much longer?”

Sans leaned back a little and tilted his head up. He smiled. “Almost done,” he said.

Frisk bent down to scoop Asriel up again and, after just a few minutes, Papyrus slipped out the door to join them. His bones were warm with a blush; he seemed to almost be glowing. He still had a big smile on his face.

“Well, look at you, bro,” Sans said, unable to keep the pride from his voice. “Guess you’re a big star, now, huh?”

“Well, of course! The whole underground saw— and loved— my performance! Naturally!” he said brightly. “The great Papyrus! The great thespian! A famous actor! At least for a little! That was very thrilling, actually. Wowie. I knew they’d like it but… but…! SANS!” He grabbed his brother’s shoulders. His eyes began to glow. “They wanted my autograph, brother! Everyone did! And it is at least slightly partially in thanks to you! And Frisk, they wanted to meet you!”

“Probably better they didn’t,” she said sheepishly, “but I’m super happy for you! You look so happy right now, bro.”

“Do I? Nyeh heh, I guess it’s because I am,” he said bashfully, rubbing the back of his skull as he straightened up. “Recognition, after all this time! It feels really good! Even if it isn’t for being a guard!”

“Okay, okay, yes, the great Papyrus is very great and all that junk, can we go inside now?” Asriel said. “I wanna get this over with.”

“Yes, of course!” Papyrus said.

He scooped up Frisk— and by proxy, Asriel, too— and headed across the path. Sans trundled along behind, and they headed into the blue light of the tower.

It looked a little more normal inside as their eyes adjusted. The right side led downwards deep into the mountain, and the left went upwards. Frisk wasn’t sure where to start. She looked at her brothers. Papyrus walked back and forth between the two doors.

“So. Soooo. What are we looking for exactly?” he asked. “Another one of those weird lights?”

“Yeah. It’s not like the normal ones, though, it’ll be white or blue,” Frisk said as she headed for the elevator. “I hope it's still here…”

“Wait, so you don’t even know that it’s here?” Asriel asked.

“All the messages we kept getting a bunch of times basically said we had to go to the CORE,” she said, poking the button beside the doors a few times, only to have the digital panel above the elevator blink red. “Ah. Dang. It's locked.”

“This better not be a trap,” Asriel said, pouting and folding his leaves. “See, this is why I wanted to come. Like, what if this guy is a freak and you’re just doing what he tells you and he turns out to be awful and you were just, like, a pawn in some spooky time game.”

“Gosh. I hope not,” Papyrus said. “But what would be the purpose of that?”

“I dunno! Power? Souls? Her?” He pointed at Frisk. “How can you trust someone you can’t even remember?”

He looked between Sans and Frisk with a frown. The kid bit her lip. She didn’t know what to say. Sans shrugged.

“Think I knew the guy,” he said.

“What?!” Papyrus yelped.

Frisk’s eyes went wide, a cold sting of shock shooting through her. Sans shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Think he worked at the lab,” he said. “Somethin’ happened. Dunno what. Maybe he does have some weird time plan, if he knows what I know. But, at the same time, he helps out. More than he hurts.”

“He split your skull open,” Asriel said.

“Don’t think it was intentional,” he said.

“But how can you know?” the flower insisted. “What if he was shit? What if you did this to him because he was awful or something?”

Sans laughed. “Don’t even know how to do this to someone,” Sans said. “Doubt I would, even if I did.”

“Um, Asriel,” Frisk said quietly. “H-He’s the one that helped me learn to turn time backwards without resetting in little bits. I’m pretty sure, anyway. It’s been really really helpful, so… so I think he has to be at least mostly nice. The little bit I remember in my dreams, he was always nice to me.”

“Yeah, and I was nice to you and then I tried to kill you,” he said. “I’m just sayin’. Not everyone is like, I dunno, Papyrus or whoever. Not everyone who is nice to you is trustworthy. I just want you to be careful.”

“Thanks,” she said.

“Thanks? That’s it?” he said.

“I’m really thankful that you’re worried about me,” she said earnestly. “Thanks. I’m gonna be super careful.”

Asriel frowned up at her, eyes skimming her face skeptically. His expression softened and he nodded. “Good,” he said.

“Welp. Then, first thing, go save,” Sans said. “I’ll let the Doc know we’re starting. Good?”

“Yeah!” she said.

“Put me down,” Asriel said. “I know the place. I’ll start looking.”

She nodded and did as he asked. Papyrus put his hand on her shoulder.

“You know the way?” he asked; she nodded. “Okay! I’ll go with you! And then we’ll just all start looking around!”

“Okay, follow me,” Frisk said, grabbing his hand.

She took Papyrus through the large door on the left. He looked around with interest, skimming pillars topped with red crystals sticking up though dark, unlit sections of the room that were, most likely, connected to something far below. He kept a tight hold on her hand.

“This place is kind of creepy, isn’t it?” he said. “You’ve been here before, right?”

“Yup,” she said.

“Why?” he asked. “I mean, why did you go this way?”

“The elevator was broken,” she said. “And I thought I had to go see Asgore. There was supposed to be a way through here.”

“Oh! Alphys didn’t let you use her elevator?” he asked.

“I didn’t know she had it back then,” Frisk said.

“Gosh. How weird. I…” Papyrus paused. 

A gangway of clear panels above circuit boards and lights ran out before him, but so did a pattern of blue and orange lasers shifting back and forth.

“Uh. Oh! Hang on! I can get us through this,” Papyrus said.

“Don’t worry! This one’s easy,” Frisk said.

She took a step out onto the path and walked until blue passed over her. She stood still and didn’t feel a thing. She did the same on the second laser, but walked straight through the third until she touched the other side of the road. 

“See?” she said, smiling back at Papyrus. “I learned that because of you and Doggo!”

“Ah!! It's the same blue magic,” he said. “I see! No problem!” He crossed after her in just a few seconds and stood triumphantly on the other side. 

Frisk smiled sheepishly. “We might have to call Alphys for this next bit,” she said.

“Why?” he asked.

“Look,” she said. She pointed down the hall, and even from where they stood now, they could see a lot of colour in streaks through the dark.

“Oh. Well! I’m sure we can handle that! How many are there?” he said.

“A lot,” Frisk said. “I kinda forgot about this.”

“How did you get across the first time?” he asked.

“Alphys,” she said with a laugh.

“Point taken!” he said.

He whisked out his phone and put it to his head. He hummed and tapped his foot. Frisk waited hopefully, but her face fell when he pouted and pocketed his phone again.

“No luck?” she asked.

“No, she must be busy,” he said.

“Aw. Oh well, that’s okay, I’ll just go back. I could go to the hotel instead,” she said. “But… then I’m not sure how we’re gonna check any farther than this.”

“No no, wait, let’s give this a look, first,” Papyrus said. “I’m kind of interested. I’ve never seen this sort of puzzle before.”

Papyrus frowned thoughtfully. He bounced across the room to the edge of the walkway and peered across. He let out a loud, ponderous _hmmm_ and squinted.

“What’s that over there?” he asked.

“What over where?” she asked.

He pointed way beyond the path, into an area where the dark off the edge of drop-off began to change, brightening up by virtue of the cool, thick layer of something very similar to clouds that oozed up from down below. Frisk wasn’t sure how he’d seen it, but his finger drew a line straight to a button on the wall.

“You think that’ll shut it down?” she asked.

“Why else would you have a button there?” he said. “If I had built this puzzle, I would for sure put a button like that nearby, just in case!”

“But that’s still all the way over there,” she said.

“Yeessss, but you don’t have to be all the way over here,” he said, smiling. “I can just float you over to the path!”

“But I’m too small to reach that,” she said apologetically.

“Ah! Not to worry!” he said. “I have an idea.”

He rolled up the sleeve on his sweatshirt and grabbed his arm at the elbow. With one simple movement, he popped off his forearm. Frisk squeaked with alarm, but he laughed and affectionately patted her head.

“Sorry to startle you,” he said, offering her his arm. “Here. Hold this.”

“Wh-What?!” she squeaked.

“Just hang on, I can use blue magic on you, and you’ll be over there, no problem,” he said brightly. “And then if you can’t reach the button, I can!”

“Oh.” It wasn’t a bad idea— she nodded. “Okay.”

He grinned. She gently, but firmly, held his disembodied arm and the hand gave her a thumbs-up. She snickered. 

The way the pillars were aligned, there was only a small gap right before they and the lasers would make the path rather difficult to see. Papyrus grabbed Frisk’s soul tightly in blue and lifted her off her feet. With a flick of his finger, he carefully moved her out around the pillars. He had to lean out a bit to keep line of sight, and the pitch black below Frisk unnerved her, but from where she was now, the path was straight ahead.

After just a few seconds, she was on solid ground again. She heard Papyrus let out a sigh. He was trying to peek around lasers and between the pillars.

“You’re there, right?” he called.

“Yep!” she said.

She ran back to the end of the laser-blocked path and waved at him. His own arm waved, too, and he cackled and waved back.

“Okay! Let’s try this and hope I’m right,” he said.

Frisk stuck her thumb up and ran back down the path. She found the button against the outer wall of the next section of the CORE. She certainly couldn’t reach, but it wasn’t a problem at all when she stretched out her brother’s arm. He poked the red button and, just as he’d thought, the lasers flickered and then turned off. She heard him whoop victoriously and the blue magic faded from her body.

Within just a few seconds, Papyrus was at her side again, bending down to give her a hug. She grinned and offered him his arm back.

“See? Not so scary, right?” he said. 

“R-Right!” she said.

He beamed. He took his arm from her, realigned the elbow, and clicked it back into place. He flexed his fingers.

“I guess it’s just because human arms don’t come off, right?” he asked.

“They can, but it’s really bad,” she said. “Really, really bad.”

“Aw, that’s unfortunate. It’s a useful skill to have,” he said, tugging down his sleeve and turning to get his bearings. “Hey! Is that a save thingy up ahead?”

“Yup” Frisk said.

She peeked around him. The tear in time shone yellow just a little ways away, down the blue path ahead and into a walled hallway. Frisk took off and latched on as quickly as she could. It was instant. Papyrus joined her, walking a little slowly as he texted at the same time.

“And now Sans knows,” he said. “We’re good! Should we get a look around up here?”

“Yeah! Ooh! While we’re here, they have a puzzle room you might like,” she said.

“More puzzles?! Wowie! That’s exciting,” he said. “Lead the way!”

\- - -

As Frisk and Papyrus checked the hallways and bounced from room to room, Sans wandered slowly around one of the floors above them. It was quiet here. That smell of the place reminded him of the rain outside. Interesting. 

He hadn’t been here in a while, but he remembered the basic layout. There was no problem finding another tear in time. The CORE was full of them, more so than almost anywhere else. Even more than in the lab. Seemed connected. He’d seen a human film one time— or a part of one— where a man was trying to solve a crime. The character made a wall full of clues and images, connecting them with string to the final goal, trying to make sense of it all. He wondered if he should do the same. But where would he find all that string? Would he have to print off the pictures, and where would he get a printer? And then hanging everything up? No thanks. He dismissed the idea quickly.

There was no sign of anything out of place on this floor, though. Nothing on the next one, either. He took a break in one of the closed-off hallways. He was starting to think this upwards path wasn’t the right one. Of course it wouldn’t be. Easy way was never the right one. He’d bet gold they had to go back down the tower instead. The thought of it made him sick, but what could he do? No choice.

Could back down. Go home. That was a choice. Frisk wouldn’t go for it, though. His curiosity was strong, but this all made him feel very, very uneasy. It was probably just nerves, he told himself. Last two times he’d been here hadn’t exactly been a pleasant experience. 

He headed back down to the main level, around one of its tears in time, to catch the tail end of his siblings heading away to the west, having crossed a substantial gap to land on a walkway that he knew lead to another branch; another control room. He shifted himself behind them.

“Hey,” he said.

Both of them turned. Frisk immediately grinned and ran to give him a hug.

“Hi! Any luck?” she asked.

“Nope,” he said. “Any ideas?”

“Never been this way,” Frisk said, pointing as they began to walk again.

“We checked every hall and side room on this level,” Papyrus said. “Even the puzzle rooms! The ones where you have a small number of magic shots to get a path? I actually really enjoyed those. I might add some to my regiment!”

“Oh. Nice,” Sans said.

Frisk very deliberately put herself in the middle of the suspended path, and they walked towards a blue wall and open doorway ahead of them. Inside was a hallway, much like the others they’d walked through. At the end, though, was a stairwell that lead downwards. There was also one more doorway, though this one was actually blocked with a heavy, high-tech door. Sans wandered over to it and pecked at the keypad imbedded in the wall beside it. It flipped over and he pressed his palm against a flat, black panel. A line moved across his hand like a scanner. The door slid open.

“Heh. Never took me off the security roll,” he said with a grin. “Nice.”

“Well, why would they? It’s not like you’re some sneaky suspicious person with bad intentions,” Papyrus said.

“Kind of sneaky, though,” Sans said.

“Pfft,” his brother scoffed.

They went inside and lights thunked heavily to life on the ceiling as soon as they entered. Most of the floorspace of the small room was occupied by a series of switcher control boards and computers on a long, solid table. In front of all that, sticking out from the wall, was a series of screens, dim and grey.

“Oh. She moved it here,” Sans said quietly. “Nice.”

“What is this?” Frisk asked. “Is it like Alphys’s big screen thing in the lab?”

“Yup. Basically,” Sans said.

He walked over to the largest computer and booted it up. The screens began to flicker.

“Sans, what are you…? Wait. Can this see the whole CORE?” Papyrus said.

“Yup,” he said.

Frisk snuck up to his side and peeked over the table. “Oh!! That’s great, actually! That could save us a lot of time,” he said, then squinted with exaggerated suspicion at Sans. “Why didn’t you just come here right away?”

“It’s been ten years,” Sans said. “Alph shifted some stuff around.” He grabbed Frisk’s soul and brought her up so she could sit on the table as he rebooted the cameras. 

Papyrus folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently.

It soon became obvious why Alphys hadn’t put much stock in this room. A quarter of the monitors were offline, and the ones that weren’t recording only in black and white from old, low resolution cameras.

“Um. Brother?” Papyrus said, tilting his head. “This does not exactly seem useful.”

“Hm. Maybe not yet,” he said. “Kiddo, you wanna reach over there and hit the yellow button?”

“Oh! Okay, sure,” Frisk said. She scooted over on her knees and reached over to the switcher board. She remembered it through his memories. She poked the pale yellow button near a fader bar and the camera views switched. She looked at Sans as he stared at the screens.

“Anyone see anything?” he asked.

“Not really,” Papyrus said.

“Should I press it again?” Frisk asked.

Sans nodded, so she did. Still nothing of interest, though there was a tiny bit of movement near the elevator.

“Oh! That’s Asriel,” Papyrus said. “I’ll go get him. Meet us there when you’re done?”

“Will do,” Sans said. “Two more, kiddo, and I think that’s it.”

Frisk hit the button a third time as Papyrus headed out of the room. Still didn’t look like much. Just a bunch of frames so still they might as well have been photographs.

“Is this everything?” she asked as she switched them again.

“No. Looks like a bunch of the cameras need replacin’. See?” He pointed at the dark monitors closest to them. “Still gonna take a bit of lookin’.”

“Too bad the CORE is so big” she said. “I mean, telling us about it was helpful, but also super vague.” She raised her brows and reached out for her brother’s hand. She squeezed him and he looked at her questioningly.

“Y-You don’t think it’s down there, do you?” she asked.

The way she said it, he knew exactly what she meant. He shrugged. “Honestly?” he said. “Wouldn’t be surprised.”

She pouted, but she nodded anyway. She slipped off the table and hugged him under his arms. 

“Aw, jeez, kid,” he said. He patted her head. 

She puffed out a sigh and then backed away. “Be right back,” she said.

She ducked out. He put his cheek on his fist and slumped on the table. He absently followed the movement on the monitors. Papyrus had rendezvoused with the flower kid. There was no audio, but he could see that they were talking despite the terrible image quality. It was getting too quiet in here. He put a hand to his head and closed his eyes.

Next thing he knew, Frisk was tugging on his sleeve. He smiled groggily. “Hey, kiddo,” he said. “No luck?”

“Naw,” she said. “It was just a bunch of those computer tower thingies with, like, a million wires, all in these big rows? I even checked between all of them, and nothing.”

“Hm.” He could almost feel their luck draining. “Guess we’re done here.”

He stood and offered her his hand. She took it and they were back in front of the elevator. 

Papyrus raised a hand to greet them. He looked excited and held out Asriel. “Go on, tell them,” he said.

“Um. I, uh, think I found it,” he said.

“Downstairs?” Sans asked.

He nodded quickly and pointed back at the door on the right. “Last time I was here, I kinda made a way into the rock,” he said. “Don’t ask. But, anyway, I took my tunnel and checked farther down.”

“I-It’s not right in the CORE, is it?” Frisk asked worriedly.

“Uh. No.” Asriel looked mildly confused at the wave of relief that passed over the others. “There’s, like, a sort of square ring above the magma, just above the bottom chamber. I think it’s mostly for observation? But I think I saw it down there.”

“You think?” Sans asked.

“I mean, I saw a light from where I was. It looked blue,” he said. “I mean, come on, unless you guys found something better…”

“Nope,” Sans said.

“Downstairs it is, then!” he said. “Oh! But what about that elevator?”

“I’ll handle it,” Sans said. He vanished. 

Frisk shrugged. “Thanks for finding it, Az,” she said with a smile.

“Eh. Thank me when this crap is over with,” he said. “This place kind of creeps me out.”

\- - -

Sans was back after just a few minutes with the card key that would let them access the rooms and elevators on the right side of the building. The elevator was slow going down, every clunk and shudder of the metal bringing Sans’s mind back to a place he didn’t really want it to go. Thinking about coming hadn’t been much trouble, but actually being in here again made him want to snatch up his sister and take her as far as he could get from it. 

He caught Papyrus looking at him with worry all over his face. Eyes must’ve gone dark. His brother reached out and put a hand on the back of his head. He felt magic seep into his bones and, though it felt reassuring, he doubted just a bit of light could break through this cloud.

Frisk had her back to him, tapping her foot; clutching tight to Asriel’s mug. She seemed a little tense, but not so much that she was upset. He leaned back against the wall; felt the heavy movement. He gave his brother a thumbs-up. Papyrus smiled despite worry still hanging on his brow. His eyes darted away suddenly and he raised a hand to his mouth. Sans followed his gaze. There was the faint, blue glow of a ring on Frisk’s back. He wasn’t even really surprised. Could be that they were on the right track.

He reached forward and took her hand. She turned, eyes wide, and he lifted it. The lines between her fingers were alight, too.

“Whoa, weird,” Asriel said.

“Eck!! Not again!” she squeaked.

“It doesn’t hurt, does it?” Papyrus asked quickly.

“No, I didn’t even notice,” Frisk said, pouting.

When the elevator stopped, the doors opened to a blast of heat and a striking, orange, fireglow light. Frisk shielded her eyes with her hand and Asriel winced and spiralled down into his mug. Outside was a massive chamber outlined with walkways made of thick, red stone worn smooth, rimmed, for once, with a metal railing, but only in parts. At its centre stood a massive metal pillar, charged with magic and pulsing faintly with shifting, coloured auras. Above them was a mazework of blue metal turned brown in the light, but it couldn’t be even close to all the pathways that stretched out up there.

Frisk edged up to the side, gripping the railing tight, and peered over. Below, farther than her eyes could process, was a peninsula of rock that bulged into an unnaturally round form dead-centre of a massive, bubbling pool of magma. The metal spire plunged down into it, and she quickly realized that it must be the lowest room of the CORE. The place where they’d gotten Asriel. That felt like forever ago.

Blue magic gripped her soul tight like a worried hand and she remembered to back away from the edge. 

“Sans, you don’t just need to magic her all the time,” Papyrus said.

Sans shrugged. Frisk smiled.

“S’okay,” she said. “Az, where to?”

“Uhhh…” He looked around, peering up at the walls. “Let me just… Ah!” He pointed a leaf at a small opening, diagonal from where they were standing now. 

They couldn’t see much from here other than a rocky protrusion that hinted at a door, and some metal plating near it.

Luckily, there were no gaps in the path or puzzles down here. It didn’t take long at all to reach the room and, sure enough, there was a blue light. It was near the back of the room, almost coming through the wall.

“Careful,” Sans said.

“Uh-huh!” Frisk agreed.

She went inside. It looked like an old storage room. The other walls were lined with basic, metal shelving units. All that was there was an abandoned tool box and a dusty old medical kit. 

“Oof. That’s bright,” Papyrus said. “Now what?”

“I guess I touch it, probably,” Frisk said.

“You gonna let her go?” Asriel asked.

“Nope,” Sans said.

“Oh, brother, I could hold her, my magic is much stronger than yours,” Papyrus said.

“Uh…” Sans’s shoulders sunk slightly.

“He did it before and it was fine,” Frisk said. “Um. Should I try?”

Papyrus folded his arms. He looked between the two of them, and then patted Sans’s shoulder. He squatted and took Asriel from his sister, and then gently grabbed the back of her head and pulled her in to touch her brow to his.

“There’s no shame in resetting if it gets too bad,” he said. “But you’re very strong, little sister. I know you’ll be okay. Okay?”

“Y-Yeah! Yeah. Thanks,” she said. She kissed his cheek and he giggled fondly. 

Next, she went to Sans and, with determination on her face, she hugged him tightly. “Got you,” she said.

The grip on her soul tightened; his hum sped. He held her close for just a moment. “Yeah. You too. Good luck.”

“You’ll be fine,” Asriel said.

Frisk nodded. She took a deep breath, and then cracked her knuckles. Her brother’s hold was reassuring; steadying. She locked her eyes on shimmering tear at the back of the room and walked towards it. She rubbed her fingertips across her thumb and then reached out, gently touching the blue light. 

Her vision washed over white, and then, deep, dark black. Speckles of light faded into sight, twinkling gently. She let out a long, deep breath.

“Okay,” she muttered to herself. “Okay, okay. Um. Sans? Can you hear me?” She listened carefully, but she couldn’t hear a thing. 

He probably couldn’t hear her either. Wherever she was was deathly still. She wasn’t sure what she was looking at, or where to go. She turned in place; looked up and down. She couldn’t see the way out. She shivered and took a deep breath. That was okay. She’d figure something out.

After what felt like minutes, she thought she heard a hum. Some sound was better than nothing. She headed for it. She was floating. It would have been fun if she wasn’t so nervous. She thought she saw a flickering light out there. Maybe that was it. 

A deep thrum rumbled through her body suddenly, and she winced and covered her ears. Before she could try to discover where it came from, the was pulled from her spot and was flipped around, totally upside down. When her vision straightened out, she couldn’t tell up from down, and she was staring as a white, mostly featureless face that had a large, dark smile and equally black eyes. She froze; her mind whirled. The man from her dream; from her crayon drawing. There he was.

Before she could utter a word, another deep pulse of a hum rumbled through her head. She yelped and had to cover her ears. Freezing hands pulled on hers and a slithering, black body blotted out distant stars as the smiling creature began to lead her somewhere. 

It was the shadowman, wasn’t it? Had to be. She was baffled.

“Wait, wait, what’s going on?” she squeaked. “You asked m-me to come here, right? To the CORE?”

The monster spun on her, coming in close to her face. He said something she couldn’t understand at all. His voice made her dizzy.

“I-I’m sorry,” she stammered, “I can’t—”

He quickly shook his head. He ran his hand over her hair and then pointed somewhere into the dark. She didn’t understand. She wanted to ask him a million questions, but he didn’t seem to be able to answer, and she knew she wouldn’t remember. Even so, she gulped.

“A-Are we friends?” she asked.

He nodded.

“I’m sorry I can’t remember you,” she said.

He shook his head and gently patted her shoulder. He must’ve known how it was.

“It’s you I t-talked to in my dream though, right?” she asked. “We talked last night? I think it was about the play?”

He nodded.

“S-So! So… At least that’s something,” she said. “It fades a lot but it’s better than nothing, right?”

His smile widened. He nodded and held her hands. Hers were tiny in comparison, and his fingers were like ice. His palms were all broken. She could see the void right through them.

“A-Are you okay?” she asked.

He didn’t answer. He stared at her, unmoving, except what appeared to be his robes, or his body, flowed slightly despite the absolute stillness of the air. 

“You, um…? You asked me here, right? You did, didn’t you?” she said. “The other times… I don’t remember what happened. But stuff happened, right? Wh-What do you need me to do?”

The deep hum sounded again. She squeaked in pain and, suddenly, white light lit up like an explosion before them. The dark creature put himself before her and spread his arms. Across each hand spread a colourless pattern of glimmering hexes. A shield. The blast slammed into them; shattered the barriers and they scattered like they were powdered snow. He wilted and shuddered. 

Frisk hesitantly grabbed onto him. “Are you okay?” she asked.

He turned to look at her. Very slowly, he nodded. He reached out a hand before him and raked his fingers through the dark. It revealed light, the bright contrast stinging her eyes. Her stomach dropped.

“Wh-What?” she squeaked. “What’s that?!”

He patted her shoulder and grabbed her hand. He stared her in the eyes and he said something, totally unintelligible. She shook her head, brows tilted with worry. He flipped her hand and traced into her palm with his fingertip.

_T-R-U-S-T-?_

“Trust you?” she squeaked. “I… Yeah. O-Okay. I trust you.”

He held both her shoulders and gently bumped his brow against hers. He mumbled something that made her dizzy and sped her heartbeat. He drew back just a breath and held out his hand. She offered hers and he gently grabbed her. He touched her fingertips against the light.


	68. The Mysterious Arc

Frisk blinked and rubbed her knuckles across her eyes. Confusion set in. It looked like she was in the lab, but she had no idea how she’d ended up there. There were clean, white tile floors and bookshelves piled high, aligned like maze walls around the room. She was standing in a small, lowered section of the floor up against a wall. It seemed vaguely familiar.

There were some large computer screens on a wall across the room, and they were making a lot of noise. Processing sounds, maybe. Sans recalled something like that. Frisk wasn’t sure what to make of it. She thought she heard someone moving over there.

“Alphys?” she asked cautiously. 

There was a thunk, some papers rustling, and a hurried set of footsteps. Bigger than Alphys’s, though; wearing shoes, unlike her. Before she could call out again, she was stunned still to see a skeleton poke his head out from around the bookshelf. 

It was a man with a slightly damaged skull— a faint crack near his left eye— who stared at her through rectangular-framed glasses. He wore a lab coat, much like Alphys’s, over a black turtleneck. Frisk was shocked still. She might have mistaken him for Papyrus if she’d only looked quickly.

“Oh! My god! You!” he said. He had a deep voice; an accent she’d heard before somewhere but couldn’t place. He sounded familiar. 

It surprised her, even more so as he rushed to her and pulled her into a hug.

“You’re okay. Thank god.” He gripped her tight, his soul pinging close to hers, warm and relieved. “How is it? How long’s it been? You didn’t get lost, did you?”

“Uhh…” Frisk could barely speak, she was so surprised, and it took her a moment to regain herself. “S-Sorry. Um. M-Maybe you’re thinking of s-someone else?”

The skeleton pulled back. He stared at her, startled. “You don’t remember.” His face flushed with pale blue and he drew back quickly. “God, of course you don’t. I’m so sorry, that was… That was incredibly inappropriate of me, I—”

“No, uh… It’s okay,” Frisk said bashfully. “S-Sorry, I’m not… uh. I’m not… I don’t even know what to say, um…”

“It’s alright. Don’t worry at all, Frisk,” he said gently.

Her heart thunked when he said her name. Her mind spun. How the heck did he know who she was? Skip that— where had this skeleton come from? He was old. He didn’t look particularly elderly, but certainly older than her brothers. It didn’t make sense. 

He seemed to detect the heavy, baffled thoughts in her head. He smiled sympathetically. In that moment, he reminded her a lot of Papyrus. There was something strangely similar in the way his eye sockets shifted with his warm expression.

“This must feel very strange to you,” he said. “I understand.”

“Um.” Her eyes went wide and she gripped her own hand tight. “You know me?”

“I do. But. No matter,” he said. “It’s good to see you. But we don’t have time to catch up, I’m afraid.”

“We don’t?” she asked, baffled. “But, um, who are you?”

“Someone who wants to help you,” he said with a smile. He offered her his gloved hand. “Come with me?”

Cautiously, she accepted his gesture, and he gently took her to the computer that seemed to be quite upset with him. It was blinking and throwing warnings up in small windows punctuated with exclamation points as if trying to insure he paid attention. He didn’t. His interest was firmly fixed on her. He placed her on a cushy office chair. He tilted his head and looked at her curiously. She still hardly knew what to say. He patted her shoulders.

“Haven’t changed one bit,” he said. “Wait just one second.” 

He turned to a keyboard and typed like his fingers were on fire. Frisk watched with raised brows, unsure what to make of any of this. There wasn't supposed to be more skeletons. Who was this guy?

“We’re in the lab, right?” she asked quietly. “In Hotland?”

“We are,” he said, and he turned to her with a sympathetic smile. “I know, this must be awfully confusing, sweetheart. I’m sorry. But it’s good you’re here. I saved something for you.”

“Huh? For me? Did you know I was coming?” she asked.

“Mhm. Dreamt it,” he said. 

“Dreamt it?” she repeated worriedly. “Wait. Wait wait, you…? You have time dreams, too?”

“Certainly do,” he said.

“Oh my god. Wait. So h-how many times have I been here?” she asked shrilly.

“Just the one,” he said. “Don’t be too concerned. I knew that you wouldn’t recall, but I let my emotions get the better of me earlier. I apologize.”

“It’s okay.” She blushed. “Um. S-Sorry I don’t remember you…”

“Don’t be,” he said gently. “It was inevitable. Still. I’m glad to see you.”

He continued typing furiously, the large screens shifting and running through programs Frisk couldn’t even begin to understand. She had so many questions and she had no idea where to start. This man knew her. That was absolutely baffling to her. A little bit heartbreaking, too. She’d never expected to be on the forgetting end. The more she thought about it, the more awful she felt. It made her sick, and her eyes began to well up. She wiped them quickly and sniffled to herself.

The skeleton froze; looked at her with shock. “What’s wrong?!” he demanded, grabbing her shoulder. “Are you alright? Oh. God, I’m sorry, I didn’t frighten you, did I? Oh, god, of course I did, some strange skeleton just grabs you up, and I know I’ve been just talking a mile a minute at you, and—”

“N-No. No no.” She wiped her eyes again. “I’m… I’m not scared a-at all. I’m just… r-really sorry. I know what it’s l-like. To have someone you care about not remember you. It hurts so bad. I j-just don’t understand, I’m not… I don’t forget, I…”

“Oh, kiddo. _A stór._ Don’t cry,” he said sympathetically, holding his hand gently against her head. “Please. Don’t worry for a second. Okay? I knew you wouldn’t. It’s… What happens here, it's stronger than you can even imagine.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

He sighed and smiled, a tired weight settling upon him. “It’s a long story. Too long for right now,” he said. “For now, all you really need to know is that the guilt is not for you, alright? And that I’m on your side. Always.”

“O-Okay,” she said.

He went back to work for just a moment more as she wiped her eyes again, and then turned to a control panel embedded in a wall. He pressed some buttons on it, and a blank, square board, lit up with a green light.

“_SENDING_,” the computer chirped helpfully.

“Almost done,” he said.

“Um. Sorry. What are you doing?” she asked.

“You came here for something, didn’t you?” he said.

“I, um… I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I only knew I had to go to the CORE. I’m, um, still not really sure how I got here from there, though.”

The skeleton laughed. He gently patted her head. “Fair enough,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle this.”

The computer dinged a pleasant chime. He pressed the green button again and the panel switched around to reveal a clear tube with an open bottom. He took some wires and a few metal clasps out before closing the panel again. 

“Now,” he said, talking a little more to himself than to the bewildered kid, “if my calculations are correct, at the stage you are at… You are at stage three, aren’t you?”

“Stage three?” she repeated.

“You’ve physically passed through these, uh… rips, three times,” he said. “The ones that are usually blue in colour.”

“Oh. Y-Yeah. I, um, I think so,” she said.

“I thought so. The dreams do not lie,” he said as he began to unravel the wires. “Anyway. My save should be solid. I suppose it was always supposed to line up with now, since I certainly won’t be needing it anymore.”

“Wait, what? Line up with…? What are you talking about?” she asked worriedly. “Help with what?”

“Your time powers, of course,” he said. “Give me your hand.”

“H-How do you know about that?” she asked.

“You told me,” he said. “That, and, how else would you be here? Now…?”

Frisk cautiously held out her hand, and he was instantly wiring up her wrist and her fingers. It was a lot like a set-up she’d seen Alphys do to Sans when she was reading his soul.

“I don’t understand,” she said. “I… I’m real sorry, I think I’m not smart enough for this.”

“Nonsense,” he assured her. “It has nothin’ to do with intelligence. You’re just missing some crucial pieces of information. Which I would gladly fill in for you and explain in detail if I had the time. Which I, unfortunately, do not.”

“You keep saying that. Wh-What’s happening?” she asked.

“I die in two hours,” he said simply.

Frisk felt a sick chill through her. Her face paled and her stomach dropped. The skeleton smiled.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “This place, it’s… separate. From the world. The worlds. It’ll do a loop or some such, and it's not linear, but in this moment, yes, in two hours I am gone, and I have many more preparations to do before then. I know, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. I assure you, under different circumstances, we might be having a nice chat about all this somewhere else. I’d teach you how it all works. I still owe you a milkshake, by the way.” 

He laughed at himself and shook his head. He fastened a metal cuff, like a bracelet, around Frisk’s wrist. She could only stare, baffled. It took a few seconds for the man to notice, but when he did, he froze and looked at her worriedly.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Y-You’re gonna die?” she said.

He brushed it off. “Don’t look so concerned,” he said, getting back to work. “I’ve died countless times. It’s not a thing for you to worry about. Alright?”

“Oh. Guess we h-have that in common then, huh?” she said quietly. 

He paused again and looked taken aback. He matched his gaze with hers as if trying to pry some answers from her. It was her turn to smile and shrug. He grimaced. 

“You’re so young…” he muttered. He seemed so sad in that moment. Heartbroken, almost. He extended his hand only to pause, a slight tremor in his fingers. He pointed up in the air.

Another chair, glittering in blue magic, rolled over and he pulled off his coat and draped it over the back. He pushed up his sleeve and took off the glove on the same hand. It was wrapped in bandaging.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Hm?” he asked.

“Your hand,” she said.

“Oh. It's fine, it just cracked a little recently,” he said. “Not to worry.” He began to hook up his own hand the same way he had done to her.

“So, um. What’s this for?” she asked.

“A chronal energy transference procedure,” he said. “We can do it without the linking, but it’s much more stable this way, and I don’t have a lot of time to play around with it.”

“Um. Okay,” she said.

“Trust me,” he said. “It’ll help. I mean. I do believe you’d be fine on your own, but it may take years, and I have a sneaking suspicion you will need it sooner.”

She wasn’t sure why, but she did trust him, even though she didn’t really understand what he was talking about. He seemed so comfortable and natural around her. Like he’d known her forever. He might have. She’d never know.

Frisk nodded. The skeleton smiled fondly. He fastened a similar cuff around his own wrist and ran his finger along the edge. It lit up with a white streak around the centre. Frisk’s did the same. 

“Alright,” he said. “Now put your hand on mine.”

She did like he asked. His energy flared blue in his hand and wrapped around hers, seeping seamlessly through her skin.

“Um. What does this do, exactly?” she said.

“Think of it like a skeleton key,” he said, “pardon the pun.”

“I don’t… Um.” She frowned, watching as his magic’s colour began to drain away to glow with white. “Is that… one of those keys that opens a lot of stuff?”

“Mhm. Exactly,” he said. “It’ll be easier to show you.”

The magic brightened like a blazing fire and, finally, turned a red that matched hers. The skeleton winced and took in a sharp breath through his teeth. Frisk felt a little tingle, but whatever was happening seemed to be hurting the skeleton. He closed his eyes as he began to look a little sweaty, the areas around his eye sockets going grey. The white bar on the cuff began to slowly fill with red. 

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He gritted his teeth and nodded, but he had to put his head down. Frisk didn’t believe him. She wanted to stop him, but he froze her to her seat with a shock of blue as if anticipating it. 

The second the bar reached the top, his magic faded and, for a moment, the room went deadly quiet. Frisk winced, a pulse sinking into her soul, and the skeleton rattled and buckled forward, clutching his arm tightly.

“Jeez!” she squeaked. She hopped out of the chair and grabbed him. 

When he looked at her, he looked awful. Somehow, he seemed gaunt, with grey dusting any crevice in the bones of his skull. Tears tinted with gold and blue were dribbling down his cheekbones, but he smiled nonetheless.

“There,” he said, fighting through strained breaths, “not so bad, right?”

“As if,” she said. “Look at you! Lemme see.”

He was already almost falling over anyway, so it wasn’t difficult at all to gently grab him off his seat and guide him to sit down on the floor. He was still shaking; was too weak to protest when she pulled his good arm away from the one he was cradling. Her stomach turned when she saw the wrist at the band and part of the ulna were all but shattered.

“Oh my god,” she squeaked. “Why didn’t you say it would hurt you?!”

“Hah… I know you. You would not have let me do it otherwise,” he said with a smile. “This is good. I’ve… never given it to you in person before. Always squirrelled it away. Thank you for coming, sweetheart. This is… This is much better.”

“B-But I…!” She bit her lip and shook her head.

“Don’t worry,” he assured her, his voice weakening. “Only a few hours more.”

“Forget that,” she said. “Don’t move.”

She unclipped the wristband and he winced. She saw a piece of bone wobble in a way that made it clear it was not attached to him by anything more than gravity. In fact, all through that area was even worse than farther away. She grimaced, but determination surged in her. “Don’t move,” she said again.

She grabbed his arm gently at the tip of his fingers and at the elbow. He froze. She focussed as hard as she could, letting her energy trace his, trying to look back; find a moment before the bones splintered. It wasn’t far, and it wasn’t difficult. She could see a flickering and the images of shifting bones altered her vision, like a distorted slide show. She paused on one and released. The air snapped and his bones were back to normal, as if nothing had ever happened.

She took a deep breath and looked up at him. He stared back; his eye sockets were still watering from the pain, but he seemed thoroughly shocked. His eyes lit up, bi-coloured blue and gold and he lifted his arm to check it. He ran his fingers over it cautiously, testing the smooth surface of his bones.

“What did you do?” he asked.

“I, um, turned it backwards,” she said. “You okay now?”

“You… Huh. You did not have to waste your energy on me,” he said softly. “I’ll be gone soon.”

“If what you did is really supposed to help me, think of it like trade,” she said. “I couldn’t just leave you like that, your whole hand was gonna fall off!”

“That would indeed have gotten some odd looks. Maybe an_ off-hand_ comment or two, hm?” he joked, flexing his fingers. “Hm. And it was proper banjaxed, as well. Would you look at that. Good as new. Thank you, Frisk.”

She nodded. Her vision swam for a second and she pressed a hand to her brow. She puffed and sat down, too. 

She was quiet, trying to catch her breath. The man was breathing deeply, as well. He put his hand against his chest and began to chuckle, his voice rasping and tired.

“Aren’t we a pair?” he said. 

Frisk smiled up at him and rubbed her head. “Guess so.”

“Here. Give me your hand,” he said. “Let me get that off you.”

She held out her arm and he began, with careful, quick fingers, to unfasten the wires he’d attached to her. She watched him curiously, took a moment to take him all in. Maybe it was just that he was a skeleton, but he was a very reassuring presence. Despite the quickness of it; the strange things he knew, she didn’t feel an ounce of distrust. Maybe she was naïve, but she even sort of liked him. He seemed to like her. Maybe, she thought, this was a bit like how Papyrus felt when he’d been unable to keep his memories of her.

“Hey. Um. Can I ask?” she wondered. “How’d we meet?”

“Hah! That’s more complicated a question than you might realize,” he said. “But. The first time you met me, you showed up right here. And you told me all about your friends, your family; your quest to make your friend a soul.”

“Oh wow, really?” she said. “I mean. Obviously. Jeez. Okay. How long ago was that?”

“Years. Weeks. Hours.” He shrugged. “Again. Complicated. I’m sorry I don’t have better answers for you.”

Frisk tilted her head, confused. 

He finished removing the attachment to her arm and chucked it up onto the chair. He rubbed his hands over his face. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That didn’t hurt, did it?”

“No. I barely felt a thing,” she said.

“Ah. Perfect,” he said.

She watched as the skeleton extended his hand again, his eyes roaming it curiously. She was surprised he wasn’t asking her about what she’d done. Maybe she’d done it before. Maybe he already knew all about it. 

Frisk was jarred from her thoughts as the whole room shook, rumbling a deep, growling baritone all around them. She squeaked and instinctively covered her head. The man got to his feet and gently pulled her to hers.

“We should go,” he said.

“Go?” she said.

“Mhm. Get you out of here,” he said. “Come.”

He lead her out into the hallway, his steps too fast for her to keep up without trotting. He stopped quickly and picked her up. “Sorry, do you mind?” he asked, walking onwards anyhow. “Seems like things are progressing more quickly than I thought.”

“I don’t mind,” she said.

She got a bit of a better view of the hallway and the upcoming elevator from the height of the skeleton’s shoulder. She realized she knew the place. It was the hallway under the lab, and the elevator that had gouged her arm. 

He brought her inside and pushed a button. The doors closed tight and the elevator began to climb. The sound of rumbling set Frisk’s heart pounding and she clung nervously to the skeleton’s black shirt. The lights began to flicker. He _tsked_ quietly as he looked up at them, glaring as if that would make them stop. 

The elevator clunked to a halt and the doors opened smoothly, but the floor quaked. The man stepped out and walked briskly down the vacant hallway.

“Almost there,” he said. He stopped suddenly in is tracks and grasped her protectively, falling silent. 

The walls shuddered, but what stood out to her was the sound of distant, slow footsteps. 

The skeleton picked up the pace until he reached a doorway. He gently placed Frisk on the floor and pushed the door open. “In there,” he said. “You should find your way out.”

“Um. Okay. Th-Thank you,” she said.

He nodded and smiled fondly. “You’re welcome,” he said. “Good luck, kiddo. I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed.”

He gently guided her in with a hand on her back and then closed the door. Frisk was left alone in a large, wide room. There were some tables in the centre and a whiteboard, and a lot of machines on the side walls that beeped and booped and blinked with colourful lights. She didn’t see anything that even remotely resembled a tear in time, though. Maybe he’d made a mistake. 

Puzzled, she walked back to the door. There was a faint, mumbling voice talking, but she couldn’t make out the words. Then, a second voice. Deep, even-toned. She knew it. It sent a chill through her. Quietly, she opened the door, just a crack, to peek out into the hallway. She could see just the back of the skeleton from here, but no sign of the second speaker, until he moved. Her jaw just about hit the floor.

“S-Sans?!” she squeaked. She couldn’t help it. She covered her mouth quickly and ducked back, trembling, eyes wide.

That had been her brother. Wearing a lab coat over a grey t-shirt— dressed like a scientist. Her heart was pounding. It was like seeing a ghost.

“What the hell was…?” Sans came closer. “Oh. God. You didn’t—”

“I didn’t open anything, if that’s what you mean,” the other skeleton said.

The door opened and he was standing right there. Frisk hadn’t thought to hide. She stared back at him with shock, heart beating hard against her ribcage. Sans’s eye lit up. 

“Sis?” he asked.

Frisk’s heart thunked. She almost collapsed. “S-Sans…” she stammered.

Before she could even begin to reason with herself, the skeleton dropped to his knees and pulled her into his arms. Her heart almost burst. She collapsed against him, clinging tightly to his shoulders.

“Oh my god, I don’t know what’s going on,” she muttered.

“You and me both,” he said gently. “S’good to see you, little sis.” He squeezed her gently and cast a look back at the other skeleton, who now seemed a little trepidatious.

“You didn’t bring her here now, did you?” Sans asked, frowning slightly. “You can’t have. You know what happens.”

“I didn’t. She came through on her own,” he said. “She was at stage three.”

“Of all the times…” Sans laughed tiredly and pulled back to gently pat her head. “Guess we got kinda bad luck, huh, kiddo?”

“S-Sans, you gotta tell me what’s going on,” she said quickly. “Please. I… I don’t know where I am, I mean… I do, but I don’t understand, and I don’t know who that nice skeleton is, and I… I need to get back home, I—”

“Relax. Relax,” he said. “S’okay. We’re out of time here.”

“What?” she asked blankly. “Out of time, what do you mean?”

“Sorry. Literally. No timeline. This place, it kinda… It’s separate. From everything. Time doesn’t work like normal here,” he said. “You’re gonna be okay. You remember being here before?”

She shook her head. He smiled sympathetically.

“No wonder you’re so freaked,” he said. 

“I didn’t think you’d recall, either,” the other skeleton said sheepishly, looking at Sans.

“Of course I do, who do you think I am?” Sans said with a laugh. He turned back to Frisk as she began to look horrified. “What’s with that look?”

“You… You know me. S-So… How…? I mean. How long have I been… gone?” she squeaked. “A-Are….? Are you _my_ Sans? I don’t understand.”

Sans laughed. He waved her back towards him and she sat down with him. He put his arm around her shoulders. “I am. And I’m not,” he said. “I’m like him. But from a different version of the same place. But also in this weird time sphere? And also not super real.”

“This isn’t real?” she asked shrilly.

“Sort of. It’s all built out of this dude’s memories. Me included,” he said, jerking his thumb back at the other skeleton. “It’s complicated. But, because of who you are, your memories kinda influence it, too, you know? Makes a bit of sense?”

“Um… M-Maybe?” she said.

The floor rumbled and Frisk yelped and cowered. Sans held her gently.

“Look. You trust me, right?” he said quietly.

“Uh-huh. Always,” she said quickly.

He grinned. “Aw. She’s great, huh?” he said, looking back at the other skeleton before he gently helped Frisk to her feet. “Hey. Let’s get you outta here.”

“B-But. Wait. If this place is gonna… Gonna do whatever it's doing, sh-shouldn’t you guys not… stay here?” she asked.

“I was afraid of this,” the skeleton muttered. “You’re her brother. She loves you more than almost anything else in the universe, of course seeing you here would emotionally compromise her.”

“Uh…” Frisk said blankly. “What…?”

“Don’t mind him,” Sans said. “Listen. It’s okay. This place gets wrecked all the time. It's not linear. But it's not a bad place. Promise. It’s not like out there. It’s not dangerous. We kinda own this little spot.”

“So… So you guys’ll be okay?” she asked worriedly.

“Absolutely,” he said. “C’mon. You gotta get going, though.”

He took her hand and guided her to the other end of the room. “You know how to glow, right?” he said.

“Y-Yeah,” she said.

“Cool. Just, uh, kinda feel around with it,” he said. “You’ll see.”

Frisk gulped. She lit up her magic red in her hand and looked at Sans cautiously. He nodded. She reached out and he gently took her wrist and guided her around, sweeping the room like she had a flashlight. When the glow hit the corner, she felt a deep pulse into her soul. She squeaked with surprise and put a hand to her chest.

“There you go,” he said. “There’s your ticket home.”

“What? That corner?” she asked.

At his gesture, she hesitantly approached it. She thought she saw a little glimmer of something. A line of sparkles that drifted just barely into view. She traced them with her finger and behind, a small line of glowing gold appeared like she was drawing light in the air. She gulped heavily; understood what it was instantly. She looked back at the skeletons behind her. Sans grinned and stuck his thumb up, while the other had his arms folded to his chest and had a look of pride on his face. Frisk couldn’t help a little smile.

The floor quaked again; the machines bleeped as if in alarm. Some markers fell off the rim of the whiteboards. Frisk stumbled and winced. Sans patted her shoulder.

“You got it,” he said. “Okay. Get outta here, huh?”

“Alright. Y-Yeah.” She turned and gave him a tight hug. “Thanks a million.”

“Got you,” he assured her. 

Sans tussled her hair affectionately when she pulled back, and she shot a sheepish smile at the other skeleton.

“Thank you,” she said. “S-See you around, maybe?”

“Almost certainly not. But I appreciate the thought,” he said. “Good luck out there, kiddo.”

\- - -

Mettaton’s new body was really taking shape nicely. Dents buffed out, new arms built and attached; brand new magenta boots acquired. Alphys, for once, was really pleased with herself. It was nice to take a little break, though. She drank her sugary, lemon soda and eyed her handiwork. There was always more to do, but for now, this might not be so bad.

Alphys walked to her bed and gave it a kick so it popped into a solid, white cube. She brought a burner and a large pot out of her phone and set up on top of it. A quick trip to the kitchen equipped her with all she needed. She added some seaweed and fauxnito flakes to the pot, along with some tasty miso paste for flavour before adding the broth packets from her ramen. She liked mixing the snail, shrimp, and vegetable mixes together. Nobody else seemed to mind. She filled the pot with water from a large pitcher, and then turned on the heat to start the broth going. There’d be more than enough for everyone from this. She was just glad none of her charges were sick of it yet.

A slamming sound announced Undyne’s return, as did a gasp and a long, deep sigh. Then, the sound of crashing metal.

“GAAAAAH. SO. HOT!!” she roared.

Alphys perked up; hurried downstairs to join her. She already had a cool can of pop waiting. Undyne accepted it readily and downed the whole thing.

“Thanks, babe,” she said, crushing the can in her hand. “How’s work?”

“Um! P-Pretty good,” she said. “Arms are done! And the l-legs are, um… Well, they’re coming along.”

“Having trouble?” Undyne asked.

“Th-They were always the most d-difficult part,” Alphys said. “B-Besides the… The hands, th-the face, and the p-power systems…”

Undyne barked out a laugh and patted her affectionately on the shoulder. She gestured to the huge pile of metal and Alphys smiled up at her.

“Th-Thank you so much,” she said. “B-But… Y-You didn’t pull them out just now, did you?”

“Naw, got ‘em last night,” she said. “Don’t worry! If we lose time, I can just carry them back. I just figured, you know, I’d rather be over here.”

Alphys blushed, suddenly seeming very interested in her feet. Undyne scoffed. 

“Hey,” she said. “I mean. The kid’s been pretty good at not going back, right? So maybe we could just, like, take a look through this for useful crap? That way if she does go back, I’ll have less to carry a second time.”

“Oh… B-But… I don’t want to w-waste your time,” Alphys stammered.

“But I love to waste my time,” Undyne joked. “C’mon. Gimme a job.”

Alphys smiled, though her cheeks were flushed.“I r-really don’t understand you s-sometimes,” she said fondly. “M-Maybe, um… Would you, um…? Would you go through it with m-me? I need… I need b-bars and thin sh-sheets, mostly.”

“Gotcha.” She tossed her can and plunked down. “I just kinda grabbed everything but I think there’s some good junk here.”

“Th-Thank you so much,” Alphys said. 

As Undyne began, Alphys went back upstairs for her laptop.When she brought it back down, blushing, she put it on the floor and sat down. She quickly skimmed her music playlists. What would Undyne think was cool? She wasn’t sure. Her finger slipped; she misclicked a shrill, upbeat J-Pop song that began to play quite loudly. Alphys froze, eyes wide— instantly sweaty. Undyne snickered.

“I have this song, too,” she said.

“O-Oh!” Alphys stammered. “C-C-Cool!!”

Settling in, Undyne began to fish out some of the thinner sheets of metal, tapping them with her claws, looking for rust. “Think these’ll work for his, uh, skin or whatever?” she asked.

“Looks like it! We’ll s-see how they fit over the i-internal structures,” she said. “Think th-that’s enough for two legs?”

“Maybe. He can be a little patchwork though, yeah?” Undyne said. “As long as the panelling all fits together.”

“Mhm. Th-Think so,” she said. “He likes those boots so m-much anyway, I doubt anyone will see much of the lower leg.”

“Pffft. He’s so weird,” Undyne said with a snicker.

She tossed a few of the rustier scraps into a different pile. Beneath the clang of metal, she thought she heard something. Her ears twitched and then lifted high. Sounded a bit like a dog.

“You hear that?” she asked.

“Um…? What?” Alphys asked.

“Turn that down for a sec?” Undyne asked.

Alphys scooted over to the computer and paused the track. There was a very faint, low noise that she could hear, now, too.

“Is that dogs?” Undyne said.

Before Alphys could answer, a sound like buzzer went off from her main computer. She was on her feet in an instant, stumbling over herself as it sounded over and over. “Oh no no no,” she said quietly.

“What’s that?” Undyne asked.

“Something’s wrong d-downstairs,” Alphys said. 

She brought up the black-and-white, interlaced footage of a camera in the basement. It showed Mrs. Snowdrake pushing the special emergency button that had been set up on the wall. Alphys clicked a little microphone in the corner.

“I-I’m coming! I’m c-coming right now, hang on,” she said. She raced for the elevator, almost tripping and gripping to the wall. 

Undyne rushed to join her.

The second they arrived downstairs, Alphys was grabbed by the snowdrake and hauled forward down the hallway.

“W-Wait, wait, what’s going on?” Alphys demanded. “What happened? Who’s h-hurt?”

“Small…” Mrs. Snowdrake said. “So… small…”

Alphys looked nervously back at Undyne. There was a heavy frown on the fish monster’s brow, but she shrugged. They were lead into the large, main room where most of the floorspace was occupied by beds draped in pink. Several of the pale monsters were crowded around one bed in particular. The rarely-seen serpent-like monster was looming over it, petting something. As soon as they noticed them, though, they slithered and vanished into thin air. 

Alphys gently pushed through the others, expecting maybe one of the smaller monsters, but instead she saw something brown. Her throat dried; she ran forward to get a better look. She could have fainted. Tucked in tight, absolutely still, breathing shallowly, was Frisk.

“Wait, what the hell?!” Undyne yelped.

“Frisk?!” Alphys squeaked, grabbing her shoulders. “Frisk, s-sweetie? C-Can you hear me?!”

The kid didn’t budge. Alphys leaned her ear against her chest. Her soul’s hum was gentle and there was a faint thumping in there, too. Undyne put her hands on her head.

“How did this happen? How did this happen?!” she asked. “How’d she get in here?! Why. Is she. UNCONSCIOUS?!”

“I… I h-have no idea, I…” Maybe the amalgamates had seen, but Alphys had no time to question them now. “C-Call Papyrus.”

“Right,” Undyne said quickly.

She pulled out her phone and walked away quickly, dialling as fast as she could. Alphys gently cradled the kid, letting healing magic drip into her through her hands. She didn’t feel that sinking, empty feeling like when Frisk had been knocked out after what happened in the CORE. That was, at least, some comfort. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. 

“Uh. Not ringing,” Undyne said.

“T-Try her phone,” Alphys suggested quickly. “Sans m-might have it.”

Undyne nodded and tried again. She grimaced. “Nothing,” she said.

“Uh… Oh. G-God, where…? Oh! Th-They must still be in the CORE,” she said. “They m-might be t-t-too far down, not g-g-getting a signal.”

“Okay. Going,” Undyne said.

Alphys gulped and nodded. “T-Take the keys and the pass c-card, in my desk,” she said. “Just in case. Check the right s-side first. I-I-In the CORE, I mean.”

“Okay,” she said. She squatted, kissed the little lizard, and then bumped her brow against Frisk’s. “Hang in there, kiddo,” she muttered. She was off like a bolt.

\- - - 

There was something off. Sans could feel it. There was a deep, unsettling sinking feeling in his soul, especially when his grip on Frisk’s slipped. They waited. Papyrus pacing; Asriel grumbling. And Sans, desperately wishing he’d let Papyrus hold onto their sister.

“Sans. Does it usually take this long?” Papyrus said worriedly.

“Dunno,” he muttered. “S’always different.”

“I don’t like this,” Asriel said. “I don’t like this at all. She’s been in there without you holding her before though, right?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“So. She should be okay, anyway, right?” he pressed.

Sans shrugged and nodded. Theoretically, yes. In reality, he didn’t like this one bit.

“So how long do we wait?” Asriel asked.

“As long as it takes,” Sans said.

“Yeah, but like… how long, though?” he said.

“I’m sure she’ll be back soon,” Papyrus said. “Frisk is very responsible, she always comes back. She doesn’t like being on her own, you know.” The skeleton looked surprised at his own words. He put his hand to his mouth and looked at the other two worriedly. “Y-You don’t think she’s lost out there. Alone and…. And scared? Do you?”

“She’ll be okay,” Sans said.

All three of them perked to the sound of a female voice bouncing around the walls of the cavern. Unintelligible, but not Frisk. Papyrus looked puzzled; tilted his head.

“Is… Is that Undyne?” he asked, puzzled.

Sans had a bad feeling instantly. “I’ll check,” he said. He shifted himself to the other end of the chamber, near the elevator, and caught Undyne from behind.

“Hey,” he said.

She whirled on him and the look on her face chilled him. “The others here?” she asked.

“Yeah?” he said cautiously, and then pointed. “There.”

“Okay,” she said. “Okay. Okay. Get to the lab. It’s Frisk.”

Sans felt like the floor had been blown from under him. He stared back blankly. Then, incredulous. Not with her, but with everything. “What the f—? How? How did…?” He put a hand to his head. “Holy shit. What?”

“Yeah, I have no idea, but we just kinda found her passed out, the lab monster guys were watchin’ over her,” Undyne said.

“She’s…” Now he felt sick. “No.”

“I’m really sorry,” Undyne said. “Go?”

He left before he could even properly process wanting to. He made Alphys jump. She was sitting in some of those pink blankets, cradling his kid, hands glowing pale yellow.

“S-Sans,” she said quickly, “I’m s-so sorry, I d-don’t know what happened, sh-she just…”

He stopped listening. Physically couldn't.He felt dizzy and weak. Not again. Couldn’t do this again. No thanks. No way.

He walked over and plunked himself on the bed and held out his arms. Alphys gently passed her over. He lit his soul up bright and touched his hand to her chest, pulling the light from her, too. It was an overwhelming relief that she didn’t feel like a chasm. 

“Kid, don’t you do this,” he muttered.

“I’ve, um… I’ve been h-healing her,” Alphys said, her voice weak. “The, um… Uh. Reaper said she just, um, sh-showed up, I think. She, um… Sh-She was… a little hurt? B-But I think she’s okay now. A-At least physically… um…”

He nodded. That was good. He could take a risk.

He cupped her face and, his fingers shining, he zapped her. Alphys squeaked with surprise. Frisk didn’t wake, but she did flinch. Sans immediately perked up. He almost laughed.

“Okay. Okay. We have something here. Hey. Frisk.” He propped her up and brought her in close. “Kiddo. Get up.”

She didn’t budge. Sans flexed his fingers.

“Alright,” he said. “Goin’ again.”

His magic struck her a second time, right in the head. This time, to his utter relief, she whined a little and raised her hand.

“Oh!! S-She’s…! Oh thank god,” Alphys said.

“There we go, kid. There we go,” Sans said. “One more.”

Another zap and, this time, Frisk’s eyelids fluttered and she stirred and, groggily, seemed to wake up. A ring of red glimmered in the warm brown of her eyes, then faded down. Sans was taken aback. She blinked.

“Sans?” she asked. “What…? What happened?”

Sans let out a sigh and grinned. “Jeez, kid, you scared me,” he said.

She looked confused. Her eyes darted around the room. A sudden sense of alarm took her. “H-How’d I get here?!” she squeaked, immediately more alert and struggling to sit up. “Oh no, did I faint again?! Oh, god, I’m so sorry, h-how long was I out?!”

“It’s okay. I-It’s okay,” Alphys assured her quickly, putting her hand against her shoulder. “It… I-It was only a little while, um… Maybe a… half hour? Give or t-take?”

“Ughhhh, I’m sorry,” she said, putting her hands to her temples. “So stupid, oh my god.”

“Knock it off,” Sans said with a laugh. “Jeez. What happened?”

“I dunno,” she said. “I… I went in. And it was fine. And I think I went upside down. Annnnnd… I think there was a light. Then I think I saw Big Dog, and I felt really woozy, and then I saw you.”

He nodded. She squinted slightly and her eyes traced his face. She grabbed him into a tight hug and then reached out for Alphys. She held her hand and Frisk hugged her, too. 

“Really sorry, guys,” she said quietly. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“D-Don’t even worry about it,” Alphys said. “H-Hey! I know. W-We can make sure you d-don’t get sick. Let me get you a sn-snack. I’ll b-be back soon!”

She smooched Frisk’s forehead and got up and hurried away, immediately trailed by a plethora of amalgam monsters that the kid hadn’t even realized had been there. She rubbed her face and then looked back at her brother. Despite what he’d said, he looked shellshocked. He was staring at nothing on the far wall. She frowned. She lit her soul up, and she could feel his aching even from where she sat. 

“Sans,” she said. “Hey.”

“Hm?” he said, lifting his head to look at her. “Sup, kiddo?”

“I’m fine,” she said.

“You know,” he said, “I really hate the CORE. No idea why I keep draggin’ you back there. Pretty stupid, honestly.”

“Stooooop. Stop,” she whined, grabbing his arm tightly. “Knock. It. Off. I wanted to go.”

“And I knew it was dangerous and I said: hey, why not, lets get you more super powers you don’t actually need, who cares if you get thrown through time and space, whatever,” he said. “You’re only my only little sister, like, who cares? Answers to stupid questions are obviously more important than your health.” 

He sounded so bitter. It surprised her. She must’ve scared him half to death. Frisk’s brow furrowed. She pouted, but her eyes were full of determination.

“Hey,” Frisk said. “You know. Sarcasm isn’t very funny.”

His expression softened. He stared at her silently. His grin began to widen and he started to laugh. First quietly, then louder and louder. Like it was the funniest thing in the world. Frisk couldn’t help a smile. It was contagious— she laughed, too.

“Oh man. Kid. You know. You’re right.” he said, catching his breath and wiping his eyes. “It’s not funny at all.”

“You’re such a dork sometimes,” she said.

“Heh. Thanks,” he said.

She glowed red for him and he slumped. Their souls linked; turned purple. He hugged her snugly against his ribcage and snickered.

“Papyrus is gonna kill me,” he joked.

“Nah,” she said. “Hey. Big bro? Love you. Okay?”

“Pfft. Yeah, yeah. Love you, too.” He took a long, deep breath and put a hand on her head, gently rubbing his fingers across her hair. “Ah. Shit. Sorry. Kinda lost it.”

“S’okay!” she assured him. She sat up and grabbed his face, then gently bonked her forehead on his. 

He snickered and, to her relief, his eye lit up.

“You okay now?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “You?”

“Yeah,” she said.

He ruffled her hair again, and then plopped himself back against the headboard. He let out a relieved breath. Frisk stretched her arms above her head and flopped onto her back. 

“Actually,” she said, staring up at the ceiling, “I don’t feel too bad.”

“Oh yeah?” he said. “No headache or whatever?”

“Ummm… No, not really,” she said. “I feel about the same as this morning.”

“That’s not too bad,” he said.

“Mhm!” After a minute, she rolled upright again. “I guess I probably ran into the shadowman in there, huh?”

“Got any writing on you?” Sans asked curiously.

“Ummm…” She checked her hands, and the backs of her arms, and even her legs. “Nope. But I don’t remember anything really interesting happening in there at all. I really only feel like I was in there for like two minutes.”

“Hm. Hard to tell,” he said. “Do you…? Do you remember my magic slippin’?”

“Umm. No, not at all,” she said.

“Hm. Okay,” he said. “Then maybe you did lose a bit of time.”

“It’s a mystery,” she said. “I wonder what the point was. Hope we didn’t scare the heck out of you for nothing.”

Sans scoffed and laughed. He waved her over and she bounced on the mattress to sit down on the pillow beside him. He put a hand on her chest and drew out the shine of her soul; wrapped it in blue. He tilted his head towards her, brow furrowed. She watched him curiously; realized he was trying to catch her hum.

“Do you hear something?” she asked.

“It sounds just a little faster,” he said. “Hm.”

“Is that good?” she asked.

“Kinda,” he said. “Remember what I said? That hums kinda evolve?”

“So did mine evolve?” she asked excitedly.

“Just a little,” he said. He released her and patted her head. “That’s good. You’re probably where a kid your age is supposed to be now.”

Frisk grinned. “That’s so cool!” she said. “Did that just happen?”

“Mhm. Didn’t hear that when I grabbed you before you went in,” Sans said.

Frisk beamed and giggled, pressing her hands together, eyes brightening. “Hey! That’s not so bad!” she said brightly. “What’s it sound like? The same?”

“Same but better,” he said. “That’s how it kinda goes.”

“Oh wow! That’s super cool!” she said

She gleefully grabbed him and hugged close. Their souls linked without even trying, and that purple colour that returned was certainly reassuring and comfortable. She was totally fine. The heaviness inside him was fading fast. Maybe he hadn’t screwed up as badly as he’d thought.

“I’m n-not, um, interrupting, am I?” Alphys asked. She’d returned and was carrying a tray laden in bowls of ramen and chopsticks. 

Frisk’s face lit up and she grinned. “No!” she said. “Alphys, thank you so much.”

“Oh, it’s… it’s n-nothing, really,” she said sheepishly as she handed some food over to them. “I d-didn’t really d-do anything, um… I’m… really glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks,” Frisk said. “You were here, so I guess you healed me, right?”

“Oh, uh… J-Just a little, I’m not sure it actually h-helped at all, but—”

“You’re the best!” Frisk said brightly.

Alphys blushed. Sans took some of his noodles and stuck his thumb up.

“You heard the kid, Doc,” he said.

Alphys blew out a sigh of relief. There was more than enough room to sit down on the bed, and Frisk scooted over so she wasn’t really leaning on her brother anymore as she started to eat. As with many monster foods, she had no idea what the flavour was, but it was savoury and warm and she liked it a lot. 

There was barking in the hallway. Then, footsteps at a sprint, forewarning of Papyrus as he skidded into the room. Frisk beamed and hurried to swallow a mouthful of soup as she stuck her hand in the air and waved. He sprinted to her, and if Sans hadn’t anticipated and slipped the bowl from her hands, it would have surely been sent flying as the tall skeleton wrapped her in his arms and snuggled her as close as he could get.

“PHEW,” he said loudly. “I was so worried!! How did you get over here?!”

“Dunno!” she said. “Sorry for the scare.”

“Yes, well.” Papyrus pulled back and coughed into his fist, trying to seem casual even with little teardrops glimmering at the edges of his eye sockets. “I knew you’d be just fine. Of course.”

“Got somethin’ in your eye, bro?” Sans asked.

“Nnnnoooo, no, nothing,” Papyrus said, quickly wiping his face.

Sans snickered. Alphys smiled. She offered him a bowl of soup and noodles and he took it with a grateful smile.

“Oh, man, is she up already?” Undyne rushed over from the other side of the room, carrying Asriel. “Kiddo? You okay?”

“F-False alarm! It w-was a false alarm,” Alphys said.

“I’m fine,” Frisk said. “Kinda confused. But fine. You guys?”

“Well, that was stupid,” Asriel said. “So was it at least worth it?”

“Um. I dunno,” Frisk said, smiling as Undyne plopped down beside her and ruffled her hair. “I think maybe! Sans said my hum is about right for my age now! However that works.”

“Great,” Asriel sighed. “Hey. So you know. The light kinda imploded? So no second chances. Unless…”

“Oh, no, Frisk, you don’t have to go back, do you?” Papyrus said. 

“Um… Well. I’m not sure,” she said. “…Should we check?”

“You actually want to?” Asriel asked.

“I don’t really wanna wonder about it,” she said.

Frisk shot an inquisitive look at Sans. He stuck his thumb up and drank the rest of his bowl.

“Well, if you think that’s best, then I’m certainly on board,” Papyrus said, looking at Alphys and Undyne hopefully. “And then maybe in the lab you can wait and see if she somehow appears?”

“Only if it's not too much trouble,” Frisk said quickly.

“O-Okay, but l-let’s eat, first,” Alphys said, holding out the tray. “Here. G-Guys, take some soup.”

No one was going to argue with that.


	69. The Mysterious Arc

Ten minutes later, Frisk found herself standing back in the CORE, Papyrus at her side. He jumped and looked around quickly, then put a hand to his chest.

“I knew it was coming but I think I’m still not quite used to that while I’m standing up,” he admitted.

“It gets easier,” she said. “Back to the front, I guess?”

“Right, right. Gosh.” Papyrus rubbed his head as they began to walk. “Okay, so we were here and Sans was somewhere and Asriel was also somewhere else, but then Alphys and Undyne… Ah. Okay. Time travel sure is interesting, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” she said.

“Hey, little sister,” he said, “could you always time travel?”

“Um. I’m not sure,” she said. “I don’t think so. It started when I fell in here. Um. I think?”

“What was it like when you did it the first time?” he asked.

“Weird! Confusing,” Frisk said. “I kinda thought I was going nuts for a second.”

“I can imagine. It must’ve been very jarring,” he said. “Hey. Little sister? I know I’ve said it before, but I’m so glad I remember, now.”

She snickered and reached over to hold his hand. “Me too!” she said.

Sans and Asriel were both near the locked elevator when they got there. Frisk waved. Sans held out the keys for the lower CORE. 

“Oh, nice,” she said.

“Surprisingly efficient, brother,” Papyrus said with a nod.

“Okay, whatever, let’s go,” Asriel said.

They traveled down the stairs on the right side of the building and then took the elevator down, exactly as before. The magic burns on Frisk’s back and hand shone, unchanged, but when they peeked into the room the light had been in, there was nothing. Just to be sure, Papyrus ran around the platform, checking in every door on the way.

Sans set his back against the shelves, arms folded, eyes locked on the space where the light had been. “Remember when you first saw it, bud?” he asked.

“Me? Uh… I dunno. Pretty quickly, actually, this was one of the first places I checked,” he said. 

“Oh yeah? Why?” Frisk asked curiously. “I wouldda thought top down, right?”

“I dunno, it’s a dumb, weird thing. I always expect some stupid crap like this to be in the most garbage place, so when it wasn’t right down in the CORE place at the very bottom, I thought maybe to check the second most garbage place,” Asriel said. “You know. Kinda like in a book, right? They always gotta get to the highest place or the deepest place on a quest. Except I could just kinda skip it. At least, that was my thinking.”

“Got some good luck, there,” Sans said.

“Why’d you wanna know?” he asked.

“The first one was… Heh. In the bottom of the lab,” Sans said.

“Hey! Just like you said,” Frisk said, grinning at the flower.

“It just came outta nowhere.” Sans shrugged. “So. Give it a sec, I guess?”

“I’ll tell you one thing,” Asriel said, folding his leaves and frowning. “You know all this, uh, time junk? I don’t miss it. I do not miss it one bit.”

“I dunno, I’m glad I have it,” Frisk said, tenting her fingers and smiling shyly. “Because I would be super dead a ton of times if I didn’t.”

“Can’t have that,” Sans said.

Papyrus returned after just a few minutes more with a puzzled frown on his face. “Nothing,” he said.

“Didn’t think so,” Sans said. “Think it lines up yet?”

“Maybe like ten more minutes?” Asriel said. “If you wanna be sure.”

Sans closed his eyes— took the time to steal a couple winks. When ten minutes had passed and nothing of note happened, Papyrus scooped him up and they headed back out of the CORE. He didn’t wake up until they were in the elevator. Frisk texted Alphys to let her know nothing eventful had happened, though it didn’t send out until they’d gotten to the floor that exited towards Mettaton’s hotel.

“So what the hell do we do now?” Asriel asked.

Frisk and Sans both shrugged.

“Lunch?” Sans suggested.

“We just ate!” Papyrus barked.

“No we didn’t,” Sans said with a grin. “Reset, remember?”

“BAH!” Papyrus shook his head disapprovingly. “You’re impossible.”

“So did we get anything out of this? At all? Or just another waste of time,” Asriel said.

“I dunno, I’m glad we did this,” Frisk admitted.

“Good enough for me,” Sans said.

“Of course it is,” Asriel grumbled, rolling his eyes. “We’re still getting me a soul, right? That is a thing we’re doing?”

“Yeah, of course it is,” Frisk said. “Are you okay?”

“…Yeah. Fine. Never mind. Ignore me,” he said. “I know. We’re going as fast as we can. Take our time, no mistakes, blah blah blah. I get it. It makes sense. I’m just… Forget it.”

“Aw, Asriel, please don’t worry so much,” Papyrus said, holding him up to look him in the eye. “You know you can count on us, right? You will trust the word of the great Papyrus, won’t you? You know I am the most honest and truthful monster you’ll ever meet! And when I say we’re going to get you a soul, we are DEFINITELY going to get you a soul! I promise. We all promise!”

“Right, right…” he muttered. “Um. Hey. M-Maybe I could go for something to eat.”

“Thatta kid,” Sans said.

\- - -

Undyne had been prepared for the reset, but it didn’t make it any less jarring when she found herself halfway through standing up from her kitchen table. She had to regain her bearings. There wasn’t even a blink or a flash of dark. Instantly she was back where she’d been.

She took her time heading back to Hotland, lost in thought amongst the crystals lighting the dark pathways. She rushed through the heat as fast as she could, and when she reached the lab, Alphys greeted her with a smile and a cold can of pop. Different flavour this time. She drank it eagerly despite not liking the sweetness. The coolness outweighed everything else.

“W-We can relax,” Alphys said, holding up her phone. “Th-They just told me it was d-done.”

“What? Already?” Undyne yelped. “Where’s Frisk? She okay?! What’s going on?”

“Y-Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine,” Alphys assured her with a smile. “They, um, s-said the light wasn’t even there anymore so… so they’re done.”

Undyne stared back at her. “That’s it?” she asked.

“S-Seems so,” she said, nodding. “Thanks for bringing all th-this stuff again.”

“Sure. No problem,” Undyne said.

She plunked herself down in a chair and folded her arms tight to her chest. Alphys started humming and began resorting the metal bits. 

“Uh. Can I help?” Undyne asked.

“N-No, that’s okay, I remember,” she said. “H-Help yourself to anything in the fridge.”

Undyne hesitantly got up. She watched for a little, then wandered the length of the room. She cracked her knuckles. She hovered over Alphys, and then walked around the lab again. She ground her claws into her hair.

“GAAH!” She yelled into the air. “I can’t take it!!”

“What?! What what?!” Alphys yelped. “Wh-What’s wrong?!”

“I don’t understand. I don’t get what just happened,” she said. “This time stuff, I. Don’t. Get it. And how did the kid end up downstairs?”

“Uhhh…” Alphys answered impotently.

“I’m gonna go down, I’m gonna go look,” she said.

“B-But it didn’t happen anymore!” the lizard squeaked.

“Yeah, but maybe there’s something. I don’t know,” she said.

She hopped into the elevator and ordered it downwards. She tapped her foot as she went. There was a heavy pressure on her head. Her ears drooped. 

She was greeted on the next floor by Big Dog, who gladly followed her into the larger sleeping area as she stomped through. 

“Okay!” she said loudly. “Hey. You. Dog guys. You remember the time travel stuff?”

Big Dog tilted their head, let out a deafening bark, and then bounced in an excited circle. She didn’t know what to make of that, but she took a look around the room. Her eye settled on a golden light in the back corner. 

She’d seen them before. Frisk’s “saves”. They were all over the underground. These bright, four-pointed stars. She’d never paid them much mind before meeting the kid. It was really the only odd thing in the room.

She got close and eyed it suspiciously. She rolled her fingers and then cautiously reached out to touch it. Her claws brushed through the air like there was nothing there. No shimmer, no warmth; no indication that there was anything there except that she could see it. She edged up against the wall and circled the thing. It somehow looked the same from all angles. She frowned and grimaced, and kicked through it.

“U-Undyne?” Alphys asked quietly.

Undyne saw her at the other end of the room, fingers tented, a concerned look on her face.

“Yeah?” she asked.

“A-Are you, um…? Are you okay?” she asked. 

“I guess.” She folded her arms. “I just… I want to help! You know? And I’m not… I’m not smart like you or Sans. I don’t understand what’s going on. I don’t know what to do.”

“Oh! Oh, no, U-Undyne, that has nothing t-to do with being smart,” Alphys assured her quickly. “I mean, h-hell, I studied stuff l-like this for years and I’m j-just barely keeping up! Besides. I… I mean. I think you m-might get more than you think. What m-made you come here?”

“Uh. Well. This light,” she said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. “Frisk uses them for her time travel stuff. I thought maybe it could have something to do with this.”

“See, th-that’s amazing.” Alphys’s face seemed to glow. “I can’t e-even see it!”

“What?” She looked back at it to make sure it was still there. “Really?”

“Y-Yeah! Is it right there?” she asked.

Undyne turned around again and looked at the light. She gestured to it and Alphys came closer, squinting and adjusting her glasses. 

“How big is it?” she asked.

Undyne shrugged. She knelt and held one hand to the top of the light and one at the bottom. Alphys grinned.

“What’s it look l-like?” she said.

“I dunno, like… a drawing of a star, I guess? Or maybe, like… a star shaped cut or something? It’s not totally even,” she said. “Four pointy bits. And it glows.”

“What colour?” Alphys asked.

“I dunno, kinda yellow gold, I guess,” she said. 

Alphys snickered. Undyne raised a brow. The little lizard held her hand and smiled.

“Th-That’s great,” she said. “I can’t see them a-at all. So! Y-You can be my eye.”

Undyne scoffed and laughed. Alphys offered her her hand.

“Maybe… C-Could you just guide m-me to it?” she asked.

Undyne took her hand and held it into the light.“Right there. I didn’t feel anything, though.”

“Hah…. M-Me neither,” she said.

“There’s a few down here, you know,” she said. “They’re all over. There’s one on the road near my house.”

“And they’re l-like… waypoints, I guess?” Alphys said. “W-Weird time trackers, k-kind of?”

“Guess so,” Undyne said. “I wonder what it’s like.”

“What?” Alphys asked.

“Being able to just do that,” she said, sitting down, looking at that light curiously. “To be able to worry about something not going right and just… marking a point that you can go back to. I’m kinda torn; kinda thinkin’ it's real good, but it’s also not… natural. You know?”

“Mhm. M-Maybe that’s why she only r-really uses them b-before something dangerous,” Alphys said. “I dunno. I w-wouldn’t mind having that p-power.”

“Yeah, who wouldn’t?” Undyne said with a laugh. “I guess I’m just glad that, whatever happened to that kid before she came here, it made her… I dunno, what’s the word? Careful? Cautious? I dunno. She’s real responsible for a kid her age. I feel like if I had it back then, I wouldda used it to… I dunno. Cheat on tests or something.”

Alphys laughed. “I w-would’ve used it t-to have more time to watch anime!” she said. “Imagine being a k-kid, you could make a spot, watch shows all day, and then go back and just keep going from where y-you left off, and still have time f-for whatever else. C-Come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind that now, f-forget being a kid.”

Undyne snickered. She sat back, supporting herself with her hands, and took a deep breath. Alphys shot her a curious look. 

“I, uh… I… I th-think you’re really c-cool, y-you know,” she said.

“Heh. Thanks. I think you’re cool, too,” Undyne said. She stood up and stretched, and helped Alphys to her feet, too.“Lemme show you where the other one is,” she said.

“S-Sure! I’d love t-to track them. See if there’s a pattern,” she said. “But… M-Maybe after this is all done.”

\- - -

When they went back upstairs, they were surprised to be greeted by Papyrus, holding out cups of ice cream with star-shaped sprinkles for them.

“Oh! H-Hi, Papyrus!” Alphys squeaked.

“Hello, Doctor! Hello, Captain!” he said brightly. “We stopped for starfaits on the way back! Frisk said you’d like them.”

“Oh, uh, thanks,” Undyne said.

They couldn’t see Sans anywhere, but Asriel was sitting on Alphys’s desk and Frisk was with him. She grinned and waved, and hurried over to them. She gave Alphys a hug, and then Undyne, grinning up at her as she grabbed her around her legs. Undyne scoffed and ditched the dessert to scoop up the kid and hold her close.

“Hey, you look better!” she said. “Done?”

“Super done!” she said. “Hey! Sans said my hum eev… e-evolved and it stayed after the reset, even! Listen, listen!” 

She lit her soul up and waved her closer, so Undyne gently put her ear against the kid’s chest. She grinned and pulled back, eye alight.

“Ah! I hear it!” she said, bumping her brow affectionately against Frisk’s. “Look at you! That’s great.”

“Thanks to you!” she said brightly. “Oh! I don’t think I showed you yet, but look! Look, I can… um…” Frisk cupped her hands and frowned at them. Her soul brightened; her fingertips, too. After a few seconds of concentration, a little bubble of red floated in her hand. She looked up with pride on her face. 

Undyne laughed and beamed. “Hey, that’s awesome!! You got that quick! I’m impressed, squirt,” she said. “Hey, Alphys, you seein’ this?”

Alphys had moved a little ways away with Asriel, but she turned and she smiled wide when she saw the little magic bubble Frisk cradled.

“W-Wow, Frisk, that’s amazing!” she said. “And it e-even glows! Y-You could u-use it like a little nightlight! Good job!”

“Thanks!” she said.

“We’re going to try to work on bone magic next!” Papyrus said proudly. “She’s getting so strong, I’m sure she can do it!”

Alphys smiled nervously and shot a glance at Undyne. The fish monster shrugged and went to join them. Asriel scoffed loudly.

“Papyrus, she’s a human,” he said.

“So? That doesn’t matter,” he said. “Anyway! I—!” He squeaked and recoiled as there was a loud knock at the east door. 

“Hello?” called a deep, friendly voice. “Doctor Alphys, are you in?”

“A-Asgore,” she squeaked.

Frisk didn’t need to be told twice. She grabbed Asriel and ran upstairs. Alphys nervously cleared her throat and opened the door for the King, putting on a smile. 

“A-Asgore! H-Hi, what, um…? What are y-you doing here?” she asked.

“Howdy, Alphys,” he said brightly, “how are…? OH! Undyne!!”

Undyne smiled and raised her hand. “Hey, Asgore, how ya been?” she asked. 

The huge monster walked briskly to her and wrapped her in a tight hug. “Hello, my girl!” he said brightly. “Good to see you!”

Undyne laughed and thumped his shoulders. “Good to see you, too.”

“Hah! I’m sorry to burst in like this while you have guests, Doctor,” Asgore said, turning to see her as she closed the door. “I can come back later.”

“No, no no, d-don’t worry,” Alphys said. “Um… What’s up?”

“I don’t wish to trouble you,” he said. 

“D-Don’t worry,” she assured him. “B-Besides, I, um… I trust everyone here completely, s-so you don’t need to b-be secretive at all if it’s, um, w-work stuff.”

“Aw, that’s lovely, Alphys,” Asgore said. “I’m glad! So, you’ve got our Guard Captain and I think I saw Sans upstairs?”

“Sure did,” Sans said somewhere, though he was still out of view.

“Oh! And who is this?” Asgore turned to Papyrus with a big smile on his face. “That couldn’t be little Papyrus, could it?”

“Um! Yes, I am, in fact, the great Papyrus, your Majesty,” Papyrus said, bowing politely.

Asgore barked out a loud laugh and grabbed the skeleton by the shoulders, a huge grin on his face.

“I haven’t seen you since you were just a little boy! Look at you!” he said. “You’re so tall now!”

“Ah. Y-Yes. Tallest in my family!” Papyrus said.

Asgore chuckled. He looked at him fondly. “Your brother’s told me so much about you over the years,” he said. “And Undyne, too! The way I hear it, you’re quite the battler! Not that I’m surprised. You used to win magic contests left and right as a child.”

“You remember that?!” Papyrus said. “B-But I was basically just a baby Papyrus back then!”

“Of course I remember! It was a very exciting time for you,” he said, patting him on the shoulders. “Please, don’t be a stranger. There’s an open invitation for you to pop in for tea, if you’re ever interested.”

“Oh!! Thank you,” Papyrus said.

Undyne laughed. She thumped the King on his shoulder and shot him a grin. “You two’d really get along,” she said. “So, what’s up, big guy?”

Asgore suddenly looked sheepish. His big shoulders dropped and he turned to Alphys, rubbing his beard absently. “I… Well. I have a request,” he said. “If…! If you’re not too busy, of course. I know you’ve been working so hard. I almost didn’t even come down here, it’s just—”

“Oh, A-Asgore, it’s okay,” Alphys assured him, taking his big paw and patting it. “What d-do you n-need?”

“Well. At the advice of one of my most trusted allies,” he said with a reluctant smile, “I was wondering if I might request a… A project. When you have the time. If you have the time. A soul vessel. If it’s… If it’s even possible.”

“Oh!!” Alphys’s eyes went wide. “A s-soul vessel? Y-You’re really w-willing to try that again?!”

“I know the chances are slim,” he said. “But if… If what Sans told me was true, then… Then it may just be worth it. For our people.”

The little lizard grinned and nodded, much to Asgore’s surprise.

“I’m s-so happy t-to hear you say that!” she said. “Of c-course! I’ll g-get to work as soon as I can!”

“What? Just like that?” Asgore asked. 

“Y-Yeah, of course!” Alphys assured him. “D-Don’t you worry about a thing.”

“Thank you,” he said, the words coming out like a sigh. “I’m… I’m under no illusion that this is a sure bet, and if it’s going to take a very long time, please disregard this, but—”

“Hey, Asgore, look, you don’t need to justify it,” Undyne said, thumping him on the back. “If you think it's important, it’s probably important, right? Hey, uh. Gimme a sec? You guys chat.”

She ran upstairs as Alphys invited the King into a chair, and found Sans lying on the floor near the work table. Asriel and Frisk were underneath, messing around on her phone. 

“Hey,” she said, ducking down and lowering her voice, “you guys okay to—?”

Frisk stuck her thumb up and Asriel nodded. She returned the thumbs-up and then patted Sans heavily on the shoulder and jerked her thumb towards the escalator.

When she went back down, Alphys had the kettle on her hotplate and had grabbed chairs to place them around, trying to be a good host. 

“Alright, uh… Sans will probably be down, soon,” she said.

“Ah! Good,” he said, and he turned to Papyrus. “So. Where is your sister? I’d love to meet her.”

“M-My sister?!” he yelped. “Um! She’s, um…”

“She’s at a friend’s, back in Snowdin,” Sans said as he turned up as if from nowhere. “You know those, uh, yellow lizards, kinda lackin’ in arms?”

“Oh! Yes, of course. Lovely family,” Asgore said.

“Yeah, the kid’s been practicin’ magic with their, uh, Kid,” Sans said.

“And with Undyne and I!” Papyrus said. “She’s quite good!”

“Oh really?” Asgore smiled at Undyne, and she moved to help Alphys gather some mugs. “Quite young for battle practice.”

“She doesn’t fight,” Undyne said. “She jumps a lot. She just likes to hang out, you know.”

“What kind of monster is she, might I ask?” he wondered.

“Um… Uh. A… nice one?” Papyrus said awkwardly.

“We don’t actually know,” Sans said.

“Oh? What about you, Alphys?” Asgore asked. “Did you recognize what she might be?” 

“Uhh…” Alphys started to sweat as she pulled out the teabags and sugar. “Umm… N-No. No, I, um… I h-have no idea, r-really. She, umm… Sh-She might be a… a hybrid?”

Asgore looked thoughtful; nodded gratefully when the tea was passed to him.

“Sorry,” he said. “I’m just trying to think. Many types of our kind are rare or mostly unseen since we’ve been down here. As you well know, Sans. I’m not sure. What does she look like? Do you have a photo?”

“No! No, um… She. Is. Camera-shy! A little,” Papyrus said quickly. “She, um… Well, she’s… cute? She’s got, um… Ears!”

“As opposed to not havin’ ears?” Undyne said with a grin.

“Well, we don’t have ears!” Papyrus said, pointing at the side of his head.

“Yeah, but you still have ears, just not outside ears,” she said. “Just like, little hole ears.”

“I hear that,” Sans agreed.

“Gaaah, Sans, in front of the King and everything!” Papyrus protested.

“He’s heard it all, bro,” Sans said.

“BAH!” he squawked.

Asgore chuckled. “So, ears,” he joked. “That’s not entirely helpful, I’m afraid.”

“Well, um, also she’s soft! And kind of squishy?” Papyrus suggested. “And she’s a brown colour. Like a warm brown that is not extremely dark, except on her head, that’s a lot darker. And she’s very small.”

“She’s not a dog, is she?” Asgore wondered.

“Nah, we’d know a dog,” Sans said. “Got a whole pack of ‘em in Snowdin. Anyway, it doesn't really matter. Won’t make a difference in the long run.”

“True,” Undyne said.

“That is a lovely attitude,” the King said. “Gosh. It’s so nice to see you all in one place. What have you all been up to recently?”

Alphys froze. Sans shrugged. Undyne gulped and put on a big grin.

“Let me tell you about some crazy junk,” she said. “Oh man. We’ve been, uh… We’ve been busy! And…! And I got stories!”

\- - -

It was an hour or so before Asgore headed out, pleased and filled with tea and tales of questionable reality. Papyrus deflated and Sans laughed quietly and patted him on the shoulder.

“You did good,” Sans said.

“I hate lying,” he said.

“We can tell the truth soon,” Undyne assured him. “It’s just to keep Frisk safe, yeah?”

“Yes, I know, there’s almost no way I’d do it otherwise,” Papyrus said.

“So. How’d you like our big ol’ King?” Sans said. “Not bad, huh?”

“I feel like I knew him better than not really,” Papyrus said. “But I did like him! Yes.”

“Yeah, he’s great,” Undyne said. She turned her head up towards the second floor. “Hey, kiddo! He’s gone!”

There was no reply. Sans turned to the kettle and popped it back on.

“Probably dozed off,” he said. “S’been a while.”

“T-Too bad she c-couldn’t be down here,” Alphys said. “But he’d know r-right away, right? Oh well.”

“That’s okay! It’s over soon!” Papyrus said brightly. 

He hopped out of his seat and bounced off upstairs. Sans reached for the teabags and then paused. Only needed one. He put it in the mug and then headed to the fridge for a can of pop for the second kid. His hand stalled when he heard Papyrus running upstairs. 

“Um! Guys?” he called down, peeking over the railing worriedly. “Did you see where Frisk went?”

Sans stared back at him blankly. 

“She was under the table,” Undyne said.

“Yes, I know, Asriel said, but she’s not there anymore,” he said.

Sans shifted upstairs to see Asriel peeking out from under the work bench with a blanket and a cellphone. Their eyes met and the flower quickly shook his head. Sans took a deep breath.

“Okay,” he said. “She didn’t leave.” 

“She fell asleep before I did,” Asriel said.

“Great.” He cast a look to his side as Undyne rushed to join them and Alphys peeked her head up the escalator. “Doc, can you queue up the cameras?”

“O-Oh! R-Right, um…! Right! G-Going. Now. H-Hang on!” she said, vanishing back in the direction of the stairs. 

“She wouldn’t leave without her phone, right?” Undyne muttered, folding her arms. “Or a note?”

“OH NO. She got grabbed again, didn’t she?!” Papyrus said. “AWFUL! And we didn’t notice at all!!”

“So she’s safe unless that thing takes her to Snowdin,” Asriel said, frowning. “I’m… sorry, I didn’t—”

“Forget it,” Sans said, scooping up her phone. “I’ll check around. You guys check the tapes?”

Papyrus folded his arms tight against his chest. He looked absolutely miserable. Sans patted his hand.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” he said. “Don’t worry.”

“Okay,” he said reluctantly.

Sans almost felt bad. He wasn’t like his brother. Lying was no problem at all.

\- - -

Frisk blinked fuzzy eyes; rubbed them with her knuckles. Her vision was a bit dark, and she blinked hard. 

As soon as she got focus back, she couldn’t help but let out a yelp. She was at Grillby’s, but more so than that, she was sitting across from a shadowy monster with a pale, smiling face.

“Ah! Wh-What are you…? What are we…?” She was careful to keep an eye on him when she looked around to analyze the noisy, bustling bar. “Is this a dream?”

He shook his head. Frisk’s heart sunk. She put a hand to her head.

“Dude, c… come on, you c-can’t… My family worries, I…” She patted her pockets for her phone and sighed when she couldn’t find it. “Can you grab my phone next time, at least?”

He nodded quickly. 

Frisk tried to get her thoughts in order. She pulled on the dreams and what she’d written. “So these guys around us, they can’t remember you, either, right?” she said. “They won’t really notice we’re here.”

He tented his fingers and nodded.

“That’s weird,” she said. “Sorry that happens to you. Is there any way I can help?”

The the shadowy monster tilted his head. Gently, he pushed something along the table towards her. Her dream journal, looked like, but the corners where he’d touched it were grey.

“W-Wait, how did you…?” Frisk paused when he pointed at her. “Me? I… Did I bring it? I…?”

He shook his head. The kid couldn’t help her confusion. He pointed at her, and then to himself, and then crossed two of his fingers together. He tilted his head, as if asking if she understood.

“Me. You.” She mimicked him. “O-Oh! Are…? Are you saying we’re… linked, somehow?”

He nodded. He mimed a house, and then pointed to her, and then made walking fingers towards the invisible structure.

“I… I went home. Oh! I… Dang. I already forgot a part of this, didn’t I?” she said. “And… And what, did we already start this conversation? But I fell asleep or something and…?”

He nodded again.

“Oh no. Man. Dude, I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m gonna try really really hard to not reset this one.”

He nodded again and smiled. He pointed to her book and she handed it back to him.

He flipped it open to a blank page and mimed writing. Frisk’s heart leapt. She hurriedly patted her pockets down; found a red pen and passed it to him. He patted her hand and then gently put the pen on the paper. The ink wouldn’t come out. He tilted his head again.

“Here, gimme?” Frisk said.

He handed it back and she shook the pen and tried a line on the page. It came out smooth and clear. She passed it to him again but, when he attempted a second time, the result was the same. He wilted and let out a soft, distorted sigh.

“Oh, come on,” Frisk said. “Umm… Okay. Oh! How about on my hand? You wrote on my… Wait, no, you didn’t write on me. I wrote on me. Right? But you… How did you… Oh!! I know.”

She grabbed his hand and put it on hers as she held the pen. His eyes went wide. He moved her hand and made a line. She smiled sympathetically. 

“You look like you weren’t expecting that to work,” she said. “I’m glad it does, though! Hey. Can I ask you something? Just wanna check if we’re on the same, um… page?” She grinned shyly. 

He stared back at her and huffed, chuckling. Frisk grinned.

“Hey! Good to see you have a sense of humour,” she said. “But, can you just, um… Maybe answer yes or no? But I saw you in a dream just the other night, right? And we… We talked about… um… I think maybe the play? Is that right?”

He looked taken aback; a chilly frost passing over him. Stiffly, he nodded. Frisk grinned.

“Hey! So! That means we made a tiny bit of progress, didn’t we?” she said. “Because… I mean. I know you visited for real, right? In real life? Like right now. But I can’t remember those. But the dreams, I remember a bit! Weird, right? Do you know why?”

He grasped her hand with careful, frozen fingers. He began to write, but it was all cryptic symbols. She didn’t understand, but she knew her brother could help her. He was meticulous and cautious, like he was handling something fragile. She waited, a little mesmerized by the symbols. When he was done, he shot her a long, blank stare. She wasn’t sure what he meant. He tapped the paper.

“Oh! Sorry, I can’t actually read that,” she said.

The still face of the monster seemed to darken. He nodded. He gently flipped her hand and holding her palm flat. Slowly, he traced letters against her skin.

_C-O-R-E-?_

He tilted his head. Frisk nodded.

“Went!” she said with a smile. “I went in a blue tear thing. I’m, um… I’m not sure if it worked, though, did we do what you wanted?”

He looked pleased. He nodded. He gestured to her, as if he was beckoning. 

“You…? You want to hear more?” she asked. “Don’t you remember meeting me in there? I think you did, right?”

He merely stared back at her, unmoving. She laughed and rubbed her head. 

“Okay, so… It’s a weird time place. Maybe it’s not running on the same time as us,” she said. “Unless you just can’t remember. Umm… But I guess, uh…”

His deep black eyes seemed to brighten and he sat up a little straighter. Frisk smiled sheepishly.

“Well, we, um… We went to the CORE to look for the light thingy and we weren’t really sure where to go at first,” she said. “So me and my brothers and… Me and my brothers, we split up a little to go check around. So me and, um, Papyrus, he’s… he’s the younger one of my two oldest brothers, we went through some of the rooms and we found all these crazy lasers blocking the way.”

The monster looked almost concerned. Frisk snickered.

“Papyrus is super good at magic, though! He just lifted me around them and I turned them off, and it was totally fine!” She grinned as the shadowy creature looked relieved. “And then we met up with my oldest brother and we checked around a bit in this big room filled with like, a hundred TVs, it was kinda cool. We didn’t find it that, way, though. But then As… um… My uh…”

Frisk floundered for a moment. Her friend? Her brother? He would be her brother, wouldn’t he? When they were done. Like Papyrus said. She wouldn’t mind that.

“So, um, then my other brother— he’s about my age,” she said, “he actually found it! It was downstairs in this small room off the edge of this big room where you could see the lava, and everything. Or, sorry, magma. But you probably remember all that, huh? You saw it too?”

He nodded, but he still seemed eager. She smiled bashfully.

“Well, I guess it's not all that interesting after that. The coolest part was just looking through all these parts of the CORE I never saw for myself! But so, then, I went into the light, and somehow came out in the lab in Hotland,” she said. “I kinda passed out for a little but then I was fine, I just needed to rest a bit. We turned back time for a little just to check everything out, but nothing really happened after, so I guess it was fine.”

The shadowman’s smile widened slightly. Lightly, he tapped his hands together. Clapping. Frisk laughed.

“It’s not that impressive,” she said. 

He seemed pleased nonetheless.

“Um. So… Can you tell me? What did you want anyway?” she asked.

His eyes cast downwards. Frisk held his icy hand with one of hers and picked up the pen again.

“Come on. Hey. It’s okay, just write it out. My big brother can read it,” she said.

He stared at her blankly for a few moments. She offered her hand again and he grasped it quickly. He began to write again, his fingers trembling against hers.

“Hey, so, can I ask?” she said. “Why does your writing all come out like that? You write in normal letters in my hand.”

He held out one finger. When he finished the sentence he was writing, he switched lines— left to make the new thought clear. Frisk grinned.

“You know, I’m sorry I won’t remember seeing you here, but I’m excited to know what you’re saying,” she said. “We’ve met each other a bunch of times, huh?”

He nodded.

“So who are you?” she asked. “Do you know if you’re a weird scientist guy? And if you know why this weird brain stuff happens, that would be great.”

He huffed quietly— laughing. He wrote for a while, starting new lines for what she assumed was each of her questions.

“Thanks,” she said. Her head started to thump rather suddenly and she tried not to wince. “I really appreciate it.”

He patted her hand. His fingertips stung against her knuckles and this time, she couldn’t help but flinch. 

Alarmed, the shadowy man pulled back, grasping his own hands, eyes wide. Frisk rubbed her skin and laughed.

“Sheesh. Hope those don’t start glowing, too,” she said. “Don’t worry. I know you didn’t do that on purpose.”

He nodded, though he was still recoiling, his black form contracting and twisting nervously. He pointed to the side, and though she didn’t follow his finger, she thought she got his meaning.

“You have to leave?” she asked.

He nodded quickly.

“Um! Okay! Before you go, though,” she said. “You… I don’t think you ever told me why you brought me here.”

The shadowman jumped. He might have forgotten for a moment, too. His smile widened a little and he pushed something towards her that his dark form had concealed: one of Grillby’s tall milkshake cups. He said something softly and smiled, then dog eared her journal and slid it on the table towards her. Then, he was gone.

Frisk sipped her milkshake; realized she had no idea how she got it or how long she’d been sitting in Grillby’s all at the same time. Fear thunked in her heart for only a moment. She noticed her journal. She didn’t remember bringing that with her. She sighed, rubbed her head, and patted her pockets. No phone. Of course.

She slid out of the booth and looked around. It was surreal. Everything was business as usual. The place was abuzz and full of chatter and barking, and some jazzy music flowing from the jukebox in the corner. Lesser Dog waved at her and she walked over to give him a quick pat on the head. He licked her cheek. Frisk snickered and wiped her face as she made her way to the bar. She hopped up onto her usual stool and waited for Grillby to come back around, as a fish and a bird gave her the once over.

Grillby came out from the back to plunk burgers in front of the two monsters, and then headed over to Frisk with a curious tilt in his brows.

“Hey,” she said. “Sorry, but did you happen to see who I came in with?”

Grillby looked at her silently for a few seconds before shaking his head.

“But we paid for the milkshake, right?” she asked.

He nodded. Her brow furrowed.

“Okay. Thanks,” she said. “Hey, um… Do you have a phone I could borrow? And, um… Can I order like, five more milkshakes? I kinda need to apologize to some people.”

Grillby chuckled and nodded. She plunked coins on the counter, and he handed over a cellphone. The background was a picture of a young girl made of green flame. She smiled.

“Does she like to cook, too?” she asked. 

“…She’s very good,” he said quietly.

“I bet! She’s got a great dad,” she said. “Thanks a million, Grillby. Be right back.”

She hopped off the stool and nestled herself back in the booth. She dialled her own phone number and waited. When there was a click, she heard a strange hum on the other end.

“Uh, hi?” Sans answered.

“Hiya! So. Um… I’m at Grillby’s,” Frisk said. “Sorry.”

“Pffft. Okay,” Sans said. “You okay?”

“Yeeeeah? Pretty sure I got grabbed,” she said. “But, um, he bought me a milkshake so that’s not too bad.”

Her brother burst out laughing. She started to laugh, too.

“Okay, I’ll meet you,” he said as he caught his breath. “Gimme a few.”

Frisk traded Grillby his phone back for a bag full of stacked milkshake cups. It was a bit big for her, but she lugged it over to her table and plunked it down near the wall. She sighed; kicked her feet off the bench seat. She drummed her fingers on her journal. It made her skin tingle. Her heart thunked. She flipped it open. The pages were naturally inclined to fall to a sheet with a folded corner. Most of it was covered in symbols, written in red. 

“Oh great,” Frisk said.

A cold burst of air announced a new monster entering the joint. Frisk looked up; smiled sheepishly when she saw Sans strolling towards her. 

“So how was the mysterious adventure?” he asked as he plopped down.

“I think it was okay? Um. I don’t feel terrible or anything,” she said. She pushed the book towards him. “Here.”

“What’s… Uh. Huh.” He held out a hand and she passed him her pen. “Welp. Okay. What’d you do, interrogate the guy?”

“I dunno, what are those?” she asked.

“Answers? Kinda vague, I… Heh. Lemme just…” He slumped and began to write. “Talkative, huh?”

“I hope it’s not spooky,” Frisk said.

Sans smiled sideways and kept translating. “First one says,” he said, “_time is wrong. Outside is not real for me. Dreams see more, touching right into minds. Confusing. Sorry. Wish I knew more._”

“That…” Frisk frowned. “That’s about why I can remember something about him in dreams, isn’t it?”

“Sounds like it,” he said. “So even he doesn’t know what’s up.”

“Guess not,” Frisk said. “Um. I got you a milkshake.”

“Oh. Heh. Thanks,” he said as she passed it to him. “Put it on my tab?”

“No,” she said.

He laughed. “Next time, tab, seriously, I don’t care.”

“But it was an apology milkshake!” she said.

“Got nothin’ to apologize for,” he said. “Save your gold.”

Back to the journal, he continued as Frisk blushed a little and sunk down in her seat.

“Second one. _Wanted to give you a chance to fix what I broke. Time is yours. The lights save more than just memories_,” he said. “Well. That’s weird.”

“Keep going,” Frisk said.

“_In hands, letters are just shapes. I remember shapes. Easier for conversation. Can’t read this, can you? Sorry. I see it clearly but I don’t know how to fix it for your eyes_,” he read. “Next one. _I am sorry. I can’t remember my name or what I did. But I know you. I will always help you. _Hm. Guess that’s about as clear as it could be.”

“Aw, that’s actually really sweet,” she said quietly. “Jeez. Poor guy doesn't even know who he is, huh? But… then why does he like me so much?”

“You’re pretty likeable,” Sans joked. “Dunno. If this guy… What did he say? Broke something? Broke something time related. Maybe he feels responsible. Or he’s just linked into time weird, kinda like we are but… I dunno, sideways or somethin’. And since you’re our resident time god, maybe you’re the only one strong enough to see him regularly anyway.”

“Oh… Wow. That sounds so lonely, though,” she said. “I wonder if I can help him.”

“Who knows?” Sans said.

He leaned back and scanned the page. He snickered. “Okay,” he said to himself.

“What?” Frisk asked.

“Last one,” he said. “_In case you wonder. Owed you a milkshake. Seemed like you weren’t busy. Hope the timing wasn’t bad._”

“What?!” she yelped. “He brought me here just to get milkshakes?! How did he even pay for it?”

“Yeah, no clue.” Sans had a large grin on his face nonetheless. “That’s really funny, actually.”

“Oh my god.” Frisk put her face in her hands and laughed. “Okay. I’m not scared of him at all anymore.”

“Yeah?” Sans asked.

“He’s just a goof!” she said, slamming her fists onto the table. “He’s a weird friendly goof! He just accidentally looks spooky and breaks time by existing or something. Whatever. If he wants to be friends, I’ll be his friend.”

“Bought with a milkshake, huh?” Sans teased.

“Dude, you got me with a _handshake_,” she said with a grin.

“Pfffft! Okay, okay, fair enough,” he said. He looked over the notes again and smiled. “For the record. I think that’s the right choice.”

“Thanks,” she said.

Sans gave the book a once over and then popped it into Frisk’s phone before handing it back over. He grabbed the bag under one arm and stole a glance around. He raised a brow and offered her a hand. She took it and they were instantly moved to the lab.

Before Frisk could even get a grasp of the lighting shift, she was whisked off her feet and into Papyrus’s arms. He pressed his brow to hers.

“Don’t disappear again, please,” he said.

“Sorry,” she said.

“No no, not sorry,” he assured her. “Sans said you are okay, but are you super okay?”

“Yeah, I’m super okay,” she said.

“Okay, okay, lemme see that kid,” Undyne said. 

Papyrus held her up against his shoulder and Undyne pushed in to cup the kid’s face. 

“You look okay,” she said. “You okay?”

“Yes! Yup, yes, totally okay,” Frisk assured them quickly; she could see Alphys clinging to Asriel with worried looks on their faces. “Sorry, guys, the, um, mysterious guy thought I wasn’t busy at all so he kinda brought me for a milkshake?”

“Wait. What?” Asriel said incredulously. “He… brought you for a milkshake.”

“Um! I brought more for everyone!” she said quickly.

“But wait, that’s not… Oh my god.” Asriel rubbed his leaves over his face. “What the hell is that?!”

“Guy seems kinda out of it,” Sans said.

“Seems? S-Sans, what do you m-mean?” Alphys asked worriedly.

“He left some notes. No worries,” he said. “Not many answers, except that the guy seems almost as confused as we are.”

“But what does he want?!” Asriel insisted, frowning deeply. “What was today for?! Why are we listening to a weird guy who might not know what’s going on either?!”

“Um. He mentioned that he broke a thing and he thinks I can fix it,” Frisk said. “I think maybe that’s what that is? Something…? Something maybe in time or whatever, he thinks he broke it, so… Um. Yeah, I’m not totally sure either.”

“This is so stupid,” he grumbled.

Frisk tented her fingers and retreated against her brother.

“But wait, seriously, he just dragged you out of here to get you a milkshake?” Undyne said. 

Frisk nodded. She pulled her journal out of her phone and then flipped to the right page. She passed the book over. Undyne’s eye scanned it quickly; she started to snicker.

“Wow,” she said. “Actually, that’s pretty funny.”

“I thought so,” Sans said.

“C-Can I see?” Alphys asked.

Undyne shrugged and passed it down, trading for Asriel, and Alphys quickly flipped through the book.

“Aah!! F-Frisk, is this your d-diary?!” she yelped. “I’m sorry, I—!”

“I don’t care,” Frisk assured her quickly. “Don’t worry. It’s just the dream stuff.”

“Oh…” Alphys skimmed the book and her finger ran along some lines on a page. “Wow. Th-This is… fascinating. Can I b-borrow this for maybe a d-day?”

“Yup!” Frisk said.

The lizard’s face lit up and she clutched the book close. She looked thoughtful for a moment, but then broke out into a smile. “H-Hey! I have an idea,” she said. “I-It’s been a weird day, huh? And the TV isn’t showing anything but the play, r-right? Um… I have some other stuff th-that might be nice, if y-you guys w-want to just relax for a while? Wh-What do you think?”

“Uh oh, I think I sense something a bit, uh, _cat-astrophic_ in our future,” Sans said.

“Papyrus said he hadn’t seen it!” she protested.

“Whatever it is, I’m okay with it as long as Frisk is,” Papyrus said.

He looked at her hopefully— deferential. Frisk was a bit surprised. She nodded and he perked up instantly. 

\- - -

Though Alphys had to have seen _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie _more than a dozen times, she was just as enthusiastic as ever to run through it again. The pale amalgamate monsters were excited to join in, lazing about the lab, which was right about Sans’s speed— especially since the little phone-talkers couldn’t care less about being used as pillows. Papyrus kept Frisk cuddled close; was so reluctant to let her go that she didn’t even bother to try to leave his side, though it wasn’t as if she wanted to. 

However, as they ran through episode after episode, Sans often cutting in with some cat-related joke, Asriel was silent. His normal cynicism wasn’t tempered, but he watched without a word and a clenched jaw. Frisk couldn’t even get him to meet her eyes. 

They decided to give the marathon a rain check when they reached the midpoint. It was getting late. 

Frisk dozed off on the way home, but when she woke up, she was tucked into bed, the warm glow of the makeshift nightlight illuminating the room. 

“You dream?”

Frisk blinked hard and sat up slowly and looked around. Asriel was on the table surrounded by action figures, looking at her with dark, sunken eyes.

“Um… N-No. Why?” she asked.

“How can you sleep?” he asked.

“I guess I was kinda tired,” she said quietly.

“Ugh, never mind,” he grumbled.

Worriedly, Frisk slipped out of bed and went to lean up on the table with him. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing. Go back to bed,” he grunted.

“A-Are you okay?” she asked. “What time is it? Did you get any sleep? You don’t look so good.”

“No shit,” he growled.

“…Are you mad at me?” she asked.

“Honestly? Yeah, kind of,” he said.

Frisk’s heart sunk. “O-Oh. I’m s-sorry,” she said quickly. “What’d I do? I didn’t mean to.”

“Shut up, I know,” he grumbled.

“Can I make it up to you?” she asked worriedly.

“You need to be more careful,” he said.

“O-Okay,” she said quickly. “But, um—”

“Do you have any idea how we felt when we heard you ended up in the lab?” he snapped. “Or when Paps woke me up and we realized you were gone?! We had no idea where you went.”

“Y… Yeah.” Her face fell. “I know, I… I dunno. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“I know. I know I know I know.” He rubbed his head and groaned, curling up on himself, muttering, “I already lost one sister, I’m not… Ugh! You’re so frustrating sometimes.”

Frisk was taken aback. She stared at the little flower as he twisted himself around and crossed his leaves, bundling himself into a little ball. Frisk gulped. She stepped back, but her heart wouldn’t let her. She hesitantly reached over the table and grasped Asriel’s mug.

“Asriel. I’m really sorry I scared you,” she said quietly.

He sighed; turned to look at her with a grimace on his face. His eyes dropped, his petals drooping along with his posture. His vines reached out and wrapped around her wrist and fingers. She gently held him and he squeezed her, just tight enough to sting for a moment.

“I don’t understand,” he said. “How do you just trust people? People who hurt you, even! People who might have killed you. You just trust everyone. I don’t understand.”

“I don’t trust everyone,” she said.

“Sure you do! Like, you trusted Toriel, you trusted Sans, even Undyne, who killed you, and Alphys, who lied to your face!” he said. “I mean… I don’t get it.”

“They’re good people,” she said. “And… I knew why they were doing what they were doing. I know why Undyne had to kill me, and I know why Alphys lied to me. They’re not bad. They’re all really good. It’s just me, I was… I was the outsider. It made sense.”

“Yeah right, seems like the only person you were smart enough to be wary of was me.” He frowned. “This could get you killed. I know you don’t care, but it affects more than just you.”

Frisk wilted. Her throat dried and she preemptively wiped her eyes and clenched her jaw.

“Oh, come on, don’t cry. You’re being so… so…” His expression softened and he slipped his vines away from her. He shook his head. “I’m—”

“Do you know where I came from?” she asked softly. “You have any idea?”

“No,” he said. “You won’t tell me anything.”

“Because I feel sick almost every time I think about it! You think I really trust everyone?” she asked. “You’re wrong. All I trusted before was that I could tell how a person would act. I could trust myself. And then I proved myself wrong. So, actually, for real? I didn’t trust anyone in the whole world until I met mom.”

“What?” he asked.

“I-I’m not stupid!” she said shrilly, frowning, her vision blurring. “I’m not. I know how bad people can be. But I know how good they can be, too. I can trust the people that I do trust, even if all that means is I know how they’ll react, even if I know they sometimes lie or… or whatever! That’s all I need.” 

“Then explain this mystery guy. He hurt you! He hurt your precious big brother,” Asriel said. “But even then…”

“I don’t know what to say,” she said, her eyes welling up. “I can’t even remember. How can I explain it?”

She sniffled and turned away, rubbing her arm over her eyes. Asriel gulped. He rolled a little closer. Her little shoulders trembled.

“He didn’t mean to,” she said quietly. “I know he didn’t.”

“Frisk,” he said. He hoped faintly to draw her back. 

Instead, she headed for the door. “Sorry,” she said quietly. “I… I gotta go take a walk.”

“What?” he yelped.

“It’s fine. It’s… It’s all fine.” She shot him a tired smile, even though her eyes were glossy and her cheeks were wet. “I… I just… I can’t sleep now.”

She wiped her face again and slipped out, closing the door quietly behind her. Asriel gulped. His words caught in his mouth and he flinched and recoiled. He rubbed his face.

“Ah, shit,” he grumbled.


	70. The No ZZZ Arc

Humming to himself, Papyrus stirred a pot of boiling pasta quickly to make sure the long noodles didn’t stick to the bottom. Maybe it was late, but he was still wide away. Besides, if he were down here and a mysterious shadowman monster burst into the house, he’d at least notice it, right? He’d definitely hear the door open. That is, if he even had to open doors.

Time for sauce came quickly, and Papyrus pulled out a board and the veggies. Frisk had showed him some little things here and there. He took out his human multitool and flipped a knife out of its casing and quickly chopped up some tomatoes and onions before tossing them into the second pot and smashing them into a pulp with a magic bone. He added some salt, pepper, some ancient fragrant powder from inside some tiny red, plastic containers, and, though it made him wince, a small squirt of ketchup. He wasn’t a fan, but he had to admit, that tartness and sugar did add a little something.

With a little woosh of blue, he lifted the pot and strained the pasta into the sink before pulling the dented colander and pot back to him. He rolled some pasta on a fork and tried it. Perfect, as usual, but even more perfect than the previous time. 

He served himself in a small bowl and left the kitchen, only to find his little sister curled up in the corner of the couch. She seemed not to even notice, though her eyes were open. Taken aback, he put his pasta aside and crouched down before the girl and grabbed her shoulder. She regained focus instantly and smiled at him.

“What are you doing here? Do you not want to sleep?” he asked worriedly.

She shook her head.

“But you look so tired,” he said. “And you had such a long day! Are you sure?”

She nodded. He tilted his head.

“Ah! You’d like to spend some time with your coolest big brother, right?” he said. “ThoughI know that I often stay up all night, you should probably not do that. At least not yet. Except this one time. If that’s what you want.”

“Um. Yeah. Yeah, I’d like to stay with you,” she said. 

He was more than happy to hear that, but she really didn’t look good. He held her face and brushed magic-tinted fingertips under her darkened eyes. She giggled.

“S’okay,” she said.

“Oh right! Sorry. Not bruises,” he said. “I keep forgetting.”

She shook her head. He held his thumb on her temple and glowed again. She slumped and let out a tired sigh.

“Would you like something to eat? I made some fresh spaghetti and sauce,” he said.

“Maybe a bit later. I’m not hungry. Thanks, though,” she said.

“Okay. What would you like? Anything?” he asked. “You just seem a little… I don’t know. Sad? Can I help?”

Frisk’s eyes widened. She shook her head. “I… I dunno, I just… I feel weird,” she said. “I feel like… I feel really bad for spooking everyone, but I don’t actually feel spooked for myself. Does that make sense?”

“I think so,” he said, taking a seat beside her. “But I hope you don’t feel too bad, little sister, it's not as if it was your fault.”

“I dunno, I was the one who wanted to go to the CORE so bad, doesn’t that make it half my fault?” she asked.

“Well, I certainly don’t see it that way. I guess your head must be all busy, hm?”

She nodded. He looked thoughtful and cupped his chin. 

“Welllll… Hm. Hey! We could go out for a walk, if you want?” he suggested. “We could go anywhere you want!”

Frisk looked thoughtful. She folded her arms, then nodded. He grinned and scooped her up.

“We’re going to have a great time!” he announced.

Frisk was lethargic getting her hoodie and scarf, but even so, she didn’t forget to leave Sans a note under his door. Didn’t want to cause another stir.

The town was quiet in the night, light strewn across the snow by strings of coloured bulbs and through the windows of the tavern and the inn. Magic streams of mist flowed high above them, fogging the dark of the top of the massive cavern, sprinkling big, soft flakes of snow down to dust the ground. Frisk walked with her head tilted back, wondering who was in charge of such a thing. Maybe it was a machine? Sans didn’t know either; never cared to look into it. When they moved to town, it had been a Snowdrake’s job. Not anymore, though.

Papyrus carried her across his painted stone bridge and then stood tall, glancing around with a hand shielding his eyes as if that would help him see farther even in the dark.

“So! Where would you like to go?” he asked. “Would you like to…? Oh. No, you look too tired for much puzzle work, umm…”

“Have you seen the cave that goes back into the cliffs? It has some glowing stuff in it,” Frisk said.

“Ummm… You know, I’m not sure,” Papyrus said. “But let’s go look! Show me!”

Frisk was excited to lead her brother through the snow, holding tight to his hand. The chill was starting to wake her up a little and she skipped over some of the growing mounds of snow and took him down a slope just off the path to the south. 

Skidding down the gentle incline down the cliff face, Papyrus scooped her up into his arms and ground his boots into the snow and surfed down until the plateau levelled out before them. He turned and looked back up.

“Phew! That’ll be a hike,” he said. “You know, I don’t think I’ve been down here.”

“Lemme show you,” Frisk said.

He gently placed the kid back into the snow, even though it was quite deep on her here in a place where there weren’t many monster feet to press things down. Along the towering rock face to their right, the blackness of caves ran along inside the cliffs. Papyrus scanned them with interest, but Frisk urged him onwards into an opening just a few feet away from a chasmous drop-off. 

“In here,” she said proudly. “It’s pretty neat!”

He followed her in and the dark was oppressive instantly. The chill of the outside was muted and it was dry and quiet, save for the echoes of their footsteps. Frisk brushed the snow from her hair and reached up to take his hand. 

“It’s kinda a long tunnel, but there’s some neat stuff at the other end,” she said.

“What made you come in here?” he asked.

“The cold,” she said with a smile. “And I was curious.”

“Why didn’t you just come to the house?” he wondered.

“I didn’t even know there was a house!” she said with a laugh.

“Oh.”

Papyrus went quiet and, as their eyes adjusted, the stones seemed to turn turquoise under their feet. A pinprick of light guided them on. 

The tunnel opened up into a small cave that was significantly warmer than the outside. Here, in the dark, grass grew that lit up as Frisk scampered through it, just like in Waterfall.

“Oh! I had no idea that was here,” Papyrus said.

“Neat, right? And look!” She reached out into the dark and a batch of mushrooms brightened up with white and blue light at her touch, setting a small patch of the cave aglow. “Check it out!”

She ran across the cavern, gently poking into a few more dark patches and grinning triumphantly when bunches of mushrooms lit up. Papyrus grinned.

“Wowie, little sister, that is pretty nice,” he said. His eyes fixed on a slab of stone at the back of the cave, picking it out in the new illumination. “Hey. What’s that? A door? Where does that lead?”

“Oh! You know, I have no idea,” she said. “I knocked before, but no one answered. I thought maybe the mushrooms were a puzzle, but they weren’t.”

“Oh no?” He rested his fingers on the stone, tracing what he quickly realized was the Delta Rune. “What did you try?”

“I tried every combination of four,” she said. “In every order! But, nothing.”

“Hm. Well. It…” He squinted and stood on his toes. “It actually looks like there’s a gap up here.”

“Is there?!” Frisk asked. “Can you see in? Is there anything in there?”

Papyrus squinted through the gap, grasping tight to the top of the stone. “It… It looks like there’s a room in there,” he said. “It’s… greenish. And there’s some junk on the floor? And a…”

Frisk looked at him curiously. He squinted, frowned, and looked utterly disappointed.

“You can’t be serious,” he said flatly.

“What?” Frisk asked.

Before he could answer, the door began to rumble. He quickly pulled back and barking made him place himself between what was coming and his sister. Some sort of magic tinged the air with a song of dog sounds and a small, white, fluffy creature bounded out of the room and dashed around, back and forth, doing zoomies through the bioluminescent grass.

“Oh!! It’s a dog!” Frisk said, eyes wide.

She squatted down and the cute little beast ran right into her hands to be pet on his little face, his big, dark eyes glistening. He hopped around, panting and then latched himself right onto Papyrus’s leg. The skeleton sighed, frowning, and folded his arms, tapping his foot impatiently as the pooch gnawed on him harmlessly.

“Ugh. An annoying dog,” he said. 

Frisk clapped her hands and the dog’s attention jumped back to her, as did he as he raced for her and let her scritch gently around his ears.

“I dunno, Papyrus, I think he’s kind of cute,” she said.

“Of course he’s cute! But he is a menace!” he said.

“Sounds like you two have a history,” she said.

The dog tilted his head curiously.

“Of course we do! He keeps sneaking into our house and chewing on my extra attack bones,” he said. “And my regular attack bones. And my leg bones! Sans has really got to quit feeding him, honestly.”

Frisk snickered and the little dog made a sort of gurgling noise and hopped up to lick her cheek, and then made a dash around the cave. Frisk wondered if this was the same dog that kept taking her mom’s phone. She took out hers and looked at the little scuff marks that remained on the remnants of the old casing that was built into the updated phone. They looked like they could fit little tiny dog teeth.

When she looked up, the dog was somehow on her brother’s shoulder, poking his cold nose against his ear hole and jawbone. Papyrus sighed and his brow was furrowed, but he took no action other than to fold his arms a little more tightly. Frisk wondered… She dialled her mother’s number. To her surprise, the dog jumped as a muffled ringtone could be heard. It got louder when the dog sprinted towards her and faded as he zoomied across the cave away from her again.

“What on earth?!” Papyrus asked.

Frisk sighed and laughed and beckoned the dog towards her. She grabbed his fuzzy cheeks and squished him gently. “You’re such a goof,” she said. “Hey. Do you think you can go give my mom her phone back soon?”

The dog arfed and tilted his head.

“You know, the lady in the Ruins?” she said. “She needs it so I can call her!”

Though she got no reply, the little dog licked her cheek and then sprinted around the outside edge of the cave before collapsing into a snowball heap and snoring, high and nasally. Frisk laughed and rubbed her face.

“Uh. So was that a yes?” Papyrus wondered.

“Who knows? Maybe,” Frisk said. “I’m glad to know what’s in here! Should we go? Let him sleep?”

“Sigh. I guess you’re right,” Papyrus said. He took a final look around the cave and shot her a smile. “It really would have been perfect if it were a mushroom puzzle, wouldn’t it?”

“I know, right?” she said with a laugh. “But I guess it's his house!”

Outside, Papyrus stretched and double-checked under his pant leg to make sure there was no dog slobber on his fibula. Frisk took a moment to glance out over the cliff. Her brother caught her eye and he smiled and sat down, dangling his legs off the edge. Frisk’s stomach dropped, but she took a deep breath and sat down beside him, sitting close against his side as she kicked her feet over the cliff.

Without the distraction of white snow, though, she suddenly became extra aware of the view. Forest stretched far below them, and little golden sparkles guided her eyes to a small house in a clearing, chimney fogging the air just above the rooftop.

“Who do you think lives down there?” she asked.

“You know, I’m not sure!” he said. “It sure is a long way down, isn’t it?”

She nodded and snuggled a little closer, and he gently put his arm around her shoulders. It pushed away the cold quickly. 

“It’s a really cool view,” she said.

“Isn’t it?! Nyeh heh. In fact, I’ve never looked at it from here.”

Frisk glanced up at the cliff where the regular pathways lead from the Ruins to town. The snow was so pillowy that all sound was snugly muffled. Even in the chill it was cozy.

“Are you feeling a little better?” Papyrus asked.

“Um. Yeah. A little,” she said.

“Ah! Good,” he said. “Cold?”

“No. Not really,” she said.

“Also good,” he said. “Ready to sleep?”

She shook her head. 

“I can protect you,” he assured her. “I’m very good at that.”

“I know. It’s… It’s not really about that. Thank you, though,” she said.

Papyrus pouted. He looked down at her with his brows furrowed and then turned his gaze outwards again.

“Sorry if I scared you today,” she said quietly.

“Don’t even think about it for another second,” he said. “Is that why you can’t sleep?”

She shrugged. He patted her head gently and then tented his fingers, drumming the tips gently against each other. 

“Frisk? Do you…? No pressure at all, but do you remember anything that happened while you were anywhere today? Anywhere mysterious, I mean,” he said.

“No,” she said. “When this stuff happens, I only remember it at all if it's a dream. It’s pretty weird.”

“Right. Right right right.” He nodded. “I have to admit, I don’t really know what to make of any of that.”

“Yeah, me neither sometimes,” Frisk said.

Papyrus leaned back and hopped to his feet, and he offered Frisk his hand. She let him pull her up and away from the edge. 

“Why don’t you show me the Ruins?” he asked.

“Oh. Um. We can’t go in,” she said bashfully.

“That’s okay!” he assured her. “Come on!” He scooped her up and let her sit up on his shoulders. 

This was good. She liked it a lot more than trudging through the snow.

Frisk leaned on top of his head as he trotted back up the hill and along the frosty paths. Her mind began to wander, back to what Asriel had said. It made her heart beat faster and she sighed and clutched tight to her brother. He must’ve known something was off, but he didn’t ask. 

He slipped through the wide bars of his makeshift gate on the bridge before the dark rows of trees penned in the pathway.

“Just straight, right?” he asked.

“Yep! You don’t go down here?” she asked. “Or, you didn’t?”

“No, Sans always said not to patrol past the last guard station,” he said. “For safety, apparently.”

“He probably just didn’t want you to get caught if a human came through,” she said. “It happened before.”

“Mm. I guess so,” he said. “He wouldn’t have to worry. I could stop and capture and-slash-or befriend any human! I’m sure of it.”

Frisk smiled and rested her cheek sleepily against the top of his head. “Yeah. I’m sure you could.”

They could already see the vast purple stone blocking the end of the path, and the two columns that framed the heavy doors to the Ruins. Papyrus gently put his sister down as they approached and looked up at the carvings curiously.

“Wowie,” he said, patting the stone over with his palms. “I didn’t realize… You came through here?”

“Yep,” she said.

“How heavy are these doors?” He tried to stick his fingers in between them but couldn’t make them budge an inch. “Oof! They’re stuck pretty tight, aren’t they?”

“I think it's sealed with magic,” she said. “Mom has to open it from in there.”

“What’s it like in there?” he asked.

“Quiet. There’s some little streams, and some big trees, but they’re mostly kinda dead,” she said. “And there’s a lot of puzzles.”

“Puzzles?” Papyrus’s eyes lit up. “What kind of puzzles?”

“Most of the puzzles in there are based on pathways,” she said. “Umm… I’m not sure how to explain it.”

“I’m sure you can!” he said. “Come on, let’s head back to the guard station, you can sit there if you want.”

“Oh!” Frisk let him lead her away. “Well. Okay, so, like, there’s a room where there’s cracks on the floor, right? And then the room before, most of the floor is covered with leaves.”

“Leaves?” He stared back at her with puzzlement. “Leaves… on the ground? Um.”

“Oh! You’ve never seen…! Okay! So, um, there’s some trees that have big leaves, right? All over their branches, like the pine trees but more shaped like what Asriel has,” she said. “And there’s a season on the surface called fall where the leaves all, um, fall. Off the tree. And they turn red and yellow and stuff like that instead of green.”

“What?! Oh!! Weird!” he said. He plucked her up as they crossed the wooden bridge. “So there is leaves all over the floor and…?”

“Right! So you gotta remember the pattern of the path in the room with the leaves or else the floor breaks and you fall into a room below it,” she said. “It’s pretty simple but it’s kinda neat, I thought.”

“Hm! Yes, that doesn’t sound too bad,” Papyrus said. “I hope mom lets us go in there once you break the barrier, I would love to see those.”

“I’m sure she will,” she said brightly.

In the first clearing where the guard post sat, they walked around the misshapen lamp and ducked under the roof to dry off. Papyrus placed Frisk on the counter and he ducked down to look in the little shelves behind the counter.

“Whatchu lookin’ for?” she asked.

“I always have my eye out for Sans’s old phone,” he said. “Wowie. There’s a lot of junk back here. What a mess.”

“H-Hey, um… Paps?” Frisk asked sheepishly. “This is, uh… I this a weird question, but what, um… What do you do when…? When you get mad at Sans?”

“I’m not mad at Sans,” he said, looking at her with raised brows. “Why? Are you mad at him?!”

“No, no, I mean… I know. Just. In general,” she said. “When you get mad at anyone, I guess.”

“Oh! Hm. I’m not sure. I don’t usually get mad at people,” he said. “Frustrated, yes. Slightly annoyed, also yes. But, that passes. I did get a little mad at Mettaton at the play. But it was mostly because I was worried and scared something bad might happen to you.”

“Oh. Okay,” Frisk said. “So… So how do you deal with it?”

“Why? Frisk, what’s wrong?” he asked gently, pausing his search.

“N-Nothing. Um. I dunno,” she said sheepishly. “Never mind. It’s okay.”

“Well, you know Sans’s mind really well,” he said. “What does he do when he’s mad at me?”

“He’s never been mad at you,” she said.

“Oh.” His cheekbones flushed. “W-Well! Listen. If I do ever get a bit grumpy, it's usually because I’m worried. I mean, I don’t always get grumpy when I’m worried, but usually that’s why.”

“But, I mean, sometimes people get mad at people they don’t like, don’t they?” she said quietly.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Papyrus said. “Frisk, come on, what’s this about? Have you suddenly gotten angry? Is that not a thing you’re used to?”

“No, not me, I… I dunno. I’ve been mad a little before, but not… Not r-really in a long time.”

“It’s a scary feeling sometimes, isn’t it?” Papyrus said. “But! Be sure, it’s very normal! Nothing to be ashamed of unless you express it in counter-productive ways!”

“Right. Right right,” she said. “Sorry, that was… I dunno. Never mind.”

“Don’t worry for a second!” he assured her. He went back to his search, reaching back into the shelves. “Hmm… Ah. No. Just junk. As usual. Why am I not surprised? Oh! Maybe—!” He reached his hand farther back and a loud farting sound broke the quiet night air. 

Frisk snorted and burst out laughing as Papyrus drew back with a scowl on his face.

“Where does he keep getting those?!” he yelped.

Frisk grinned and shrugged. 

Papyrus rubbed his brow, but he smiled at her and patted her head. “You know. Maybe this sounds weird,” he said, “but I like that you don’t answer what he wouldn’t.”

“Oh?” she said.

“I mean! You do sometimes a little but only what he wouldn’t mind, right?” he said. “I like that you keep his silly secret things a secret. He’d appreciate that. He doesn’t tell any of your secrets, either. Just so you know.”

“You been askin’ him my secrets?” she joked.

“What? Oh! No no no, I didn’t, I…” He shyly tented his fingers. “I just asked him about how you learned to do spaghetti sauce.”

Frisk burst out laughing and she reached out to grab his hands. “You can ask me anything!” she assured him.

“Oh! Okay.” He looked embarrassed. “So. I would like to ask. How did you learn to cook?”

“I watched you, and mom, and I watched Mettaton’s show,” she said, and she pointed one finger in the air. “I learned how to do bread up there, though.”

“Really? Bread? From… From a human?” His eyes went wide. “Did you actually know a human?”

“N-No. Not really,” she said quickly. “I only knew them a day, maybe. Not even that.”

“Were they friendly?” he asked.

“Um. A few of them were a little friendly. One of them, I thought he was friendly, but then he, um… He wasn’t, really,” Frisk said. “Humans are… weird. I couldn’t… I mean. It’s hard to explain.”

“What happened?” he asked worriedly. “They were mean to you? They…? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

Frisk shrugged and nodded, and she took a deep breath. She smiled. “Here’s better,” she said. “Even when monsters were scared of me, it really was easy to make friends. Up there, I was just some tiny weird kid— no one would be scared of me— but no one wanted to be around me and I definitely didn’t have any friends. And… And I mean… At least a monster never p… Ah. No, n-never mind.”

Papyrus looked troubled. He ran his hand over his brow and he laughed tiredly. “Why do we want to go up there again?” he joked. “Heh. No. It’ll be better now. Won’t it?”

“Yeah, for sure!” she said with a grin. “We already did it, right? Hey. Can I ask you something now?”

“Yes, of course!” he said.

She pointed to her face. “Why haven’t you taken any memories back? You’re the only one who didn’t after the first time,” she said. “It’s okay if you don’t wanna. I was just curious.”

“Oh! Well, I… I just. Um.” He rubbed the back of his skull and leaned against the counter. “I… I guess I’m just worried I might miss the old me. Or miss mom, or Sans, or… something. Does that make sense?”

“You mean missing, like, what you guys did together?” she said.

“Memories are very important,” he said, nodding, “and I guess you and our brother know that better than anyone. And I guess I just don’t want to remember something someone else doesn’t. I don’t want someone else to be missing that. But… I guess they would be anyway, just I don’t actually know. What do you think? Does that make sense?”

“Yeah. I get it, I know that feeling,” she said.

Papyrus paused. He stared at her silently for a few sections and then took a deep breath. “Just one,” he said.

“Yeah?” she said.

He pulled off his gloves and carefully cupped her face. She could feel the tingle of magic and he put his brow to hers. She felt him glow and she did, too. After a few seconds, he drew in a sharp breath and then pulled back, a faint sheen of magic around his irises. 

“It worked?” she asked.

He nodded. He looked at the backs of his hands and squinted.

“I had a scar,” he said. He ran a finger along the solid bone of the back of his right hand. “Here.”

“You got it saving someone,” she said. “We have cars up there, huh? Someone skidded on the road in the winter and the car flipped. You got scratched pulling them out and didn’t notice until a couple days later.”

“Oh! Well. That’s not so bad,” he said.

“What did you remember?” she asked.

“Snow. We were with Undyne. We were building snow monsters in front of a house that kind of looks like hers now. And it was very white, and very grey above, and very cold, but it was nice. You… Oh! Like you said. You had a scarf made from your shirt with the blue and pink stripes. And I—”

“Just put your gloves on the stick arms?” she asked.

He perked up and nodded. “Yes!” He smiled. “That wasn’t bad at all. Thank you.”

“I’m glad it was a nice one,” she said.

\- - -

Papyrus brought Frisk home so she could warm up, but she still wasn’t ready to sleep. The skeleton was eager to calm her down, so he brought her out to Waterfall, to a wishing room.

They stared up at the ceiling, snug in a corner, talking about nothing until early morning. Frisk was so tired, but she was happy to be staying up. Things felt almost absurd to her. Snickering and conferring with her brother, they made a sort of checklist of all the things that kept happening to her. She was tempted to keep a running talley from now until whenever they brought the barrier down. She’d probably get sick of it, though.

They watched monsters start to come through, some just on their way to work in a town beyond the caves, while others paused to whisper a wish to the twinkles of light. The ones they heard were all variations of the same thing._ I want to see real stars. I want to see the sky. I want to breathe fresh air. I want to see the ocean._

When they took to wandering again, they bumped— much to Frisk’s glee— into Undyne. She was clunking around in full armour, out on patrol. They followed her around, keeping their distance from other monsters just in case, but overall, things went well. They stopped into Gerson’s shop to say hello and pick up some sea tea before heading back to Snowdin.

\- - - 

Morning battle practice started a little late, but the flashes of blue and amber magic lighting the snow were just as enthusiastic as ever. Papyrus tried the blindfold test again and performed splendidly. His suggestion that Frisk give it a try, though, merely left his sister laughing facedown in the snow. 

Frisk was off her game. It was as obvious as the dark circles under her eyes. She wasn’t giving up, though, not a chance. It would have been painful to watch if it wasn’t clear that she was having fun. 

Sans could see them well from the front of the house, using the wall like a backrest as he kicked back on the steps. Couldn’t help keeping an extra eye on his little sister. Not that a certain someone could swipe her in the middle of a faux-battle with the Guard Captain. Not that it was actually seriously dangerous, even if he could. 

Frisk took another hit and he saw a little red in the snow. He sighed. He pulled a checklist out of his pocket, the joke the tired kid had scribbled out earlier. A list, almost like a bingo sheet. _Frisk gets hurt doing something normal, gets hurt doing something stupid, has to go back in time, has a nightmare, everyone has a nightmare, dreams of shadowman_, _Frisk cries like a baby, we have nothing to do, _etcetera etcetera. It was kind of funny, but it ached with exasperation. He added a tick to _Frisk gets hurt doing something normal_. He raised his eyes off the list to see Papyrus was already holding the kid and his hands and eyes were glowing. Undyne was grinning bashfully, an apologetic tilt in her brow. Sans snickered.

He turned his head to the sound of quiet grunting and saw Asriel coming out from under the door. He snickered.

“Jeez, bud, just ask next time,” he said.

“Uuughh.” The flower flopped out onto the steps beside him and lay there limply. “Hate to agree with you, but…”

Sans laughed. He offered him his hand and Asriel sat up and and slithered his way over his bones. 

“I know that look,” he said.

“How long you guys been out here?” Asriel asked.

Sans made as if to check a watch on his forearm where there was none. He shrugged. 

They looked out over as the magic battle picked up again. Frisk was on the ground almost instantly. They winced, even as she got up and threw herself back in it.

“So what are we doing exactly?” Asriel asked.

Again, Sans shrugged. The flower sighed and slapped his fingers gently.

“About the soul thing?” he asked.

“Waitin’ on Mettaton,” he said. “He’s, uh, plannin’ some radio thing for the end. To let monsters know when to do the whole soul givin’ thing.”

“And how much longer will that crap take?” Asriel wondered.

“Uh. Up to Alph’s buildin’ schedule, I guess,” he said. “Give ‘em that plus two days, maybe? Not countin’ if something else goes sideways, though.”

“So what, add a month?” the flower joked.

“Pfft. Nah. Sooner than that,” he said. “God. That’s weird to think about.”

“Yeah, kinda surprised you care at all about getting out, to be honest,” he said. “Thought you didn’t.”

“It’s not that I don’t. The sky is really somethin’,” he said. “But I’ll miss this place. It’s a nice little town.”

Undyne seemed to have come up with a new game. It took a second to understand from afar, but it was almost like a magic version of armwrestling. Her magic shoved itself in a bolt towards Frisk. The red flicker across it was all that held it back until the kid couldn’t hold it and took the strike to the chest and flopped onto her back, laughing. Sans checked his sheet again. 

“What’s that?” Asriel asked.

“Hm. She shouldda put a falling over counter,” Sans said.

“Weird,” he said.

Sans found himself watching those little red sparks intently. It was like she had fire in her fingers. It was fascinating to think that she was bending time with a gesture. It came naturally to her, even if she couldn’t sustain it.

Frisk toppled over again and Undyne guffawed triumphantly. The kid scrabbled upright and tackled Undyne around the waist. The monster laughed and rocked back, lifting Frisk high up over her head and then let her drop. The kid laughed loudly and hugged Undyne around her neck. 

“Alright!!” Undyne said, putting her down and patting her head. “I’m out! See you guys later, alright?”

“See you later, Captain!” Papyrus said brightly. 

Sans lazily saluted as she passed and she grinned and stuck her hand up as she took off towards Waterfall.

Papyrus patted Frisk on the head and jerked his thumb over his shoulder, before waving and heading down main street. Frisk rubbed her head to brush snow away. As she came up to Sans, she smiled bright and looked like she was about to say something until Asriel caught her eye. Sheepishly, she clammed up and shot them a small smile before hurrying inside. Sans raised his brows.

“That was weird,” he said. 

Asriel grimaced and recoiled. Sans shot him a suspicious look and the flower slithered down onto the step and puddled in place. Sans sighed and stood up, brushing off his slacks.

“Where’re you going?” Asriel asked sharply.

“Uh. Inside,” he said. 

He offered his hand, but Asriel quickly shook his head. Sans shrugged. He went in the house, but he left the door just barely ajar. Asriel sighed and rubbed his eyes. 

Frisk was up on the counter in the kitchen, standing on her toes the the kettle precariously hanging on a spoon as she attempted to get the faucet going with a ladle. Sans grinned and grabbed her soul. She squeaked with surprise and ditched the spoon when he lifted her up.

“Thanks!” she said. 

“Know what? I think there’s gotta be a ladder around here somewhere,” he said. “Stick it in the corner? I mean, you’d still have to hop the counter.”

“I can do that!” she said.

He brought her down as she clutched the kettle close, and he gently took it from her to put it on a burner on the stove. She smiled up at him and he patted her head. He showed her the sheet she’d made and she laughed. 

“We’ll still be here for a while, huh?” he said. “Even after.”

“Yeah. Think so. Town planning isn’t that fast,” she said.

“I remember.” He leaned up against the counter and folded his arms. “Sometimes I just try to picture it.”

“Do you like it?” she asked, handing the paper back to him.

“Yeah. Think it helped that we basically copy-pasted half the house,” he said. “Better kitchen, though.”

“Yeah.” She stared up at him for a moment, silent, and then smiled sheepishly and grabbed his hand. “It won’t be that different. But, you know, I’ll always really love this place! It was the first place our whole family was together. I think that’s pretty great. But that’s kinda why I like the new place looking a lot like this. What do you think?”

“Sounds perfect,” he said. 

She hugged him. He wasn’t sure what he did, but he was always glad to grab her. She bounced away to the kettle and stood on her toes to peek at it. She ducked into one of the low cupboards and began to search around inside. He grabbed the mugs for her and then peeked around her to see inside the cupboard. He must’ve missed it, but it seemed like much of the things she’d be grabbing on a regular basis had been shifted down there amongst more dry spaghetti. She dug the hot chocolate out and then ran to the next room to get a chair.

“So. Anything you’d change?” he wondered.

“Oh! Um… I’m not sure,” she said. “Maybe I’d move my room.”

“Oh yeah? Where to?” he said.

“Uhh… Well.” She dragged the chair back, an abashed look on her face as she clambered up onto it. “I… I’m not sure. But… Okay, maybe this is weird, and maybe I’d want it different when I got older or something, but if Papyrus was okay with it, I really like sharing a room with him.”

“No need for your own space, huh?” he asked.

“You remember my old room? It had like nothing in it,” she said with a laugh. “I just… I like being with someone. Is that weird?”

“Maybe. But who cares, really?” he said. “You couldda said that earlier, y’know.”

“I just didn’t ask or anything because I knew he’d never say no even if he didn’t want me there,” Frisk admitted. “But I guess we’ll need a room for Asriel, too! And… Oh man. You know what we should make?”

“What?” he asked.

“A big room full of books!” she said brightly. “Like from that book we read! But not that big. I bet mom would love that.”

“Welp. Don’t see a problem with that,” he said with a smile.

“I really like books,” she said, and she laughed. “It’d be good if I could read them!”

She emptied the chocolate packets into four mugs and sat down on her chair. She looked around her brother towards the door. She deflated; hurriedly got up again to pour the water. She grabbed her cup and darted away, her feet light on the stairs until she vanished behind a door. 

Puzzled, Sans looked back towards the front. Asriel was awkwardly heaving himself back into his mug just inside the threshold. He raised his brows.

“What’d you do?” he asked.

“Wh-What? Me?!” he squeaked.

Sans pointed up the stairs. The flower grimaced and drooped.

“Ah… Crap,” he muttered. 

Sans stared him down and he wilted into his dirt under the weight. He clenched his jaw.

“Welp. Okay. But she’s not exactly subtle about avoidin’ you,” Sans said. “Which is pretty unlike her.”

“Yeeeeah. She, um… She probably thinks I’m mad at her,” he said.

“Oh. What gave her that idea?” he said.

“B… Because I said I was mad at her,” he muttered.

“That’ll do it,” Sans said. 

“I-It’s not…! It’s… Ugh. You wouldn’t understand,” he said.

“You’re right,” he said. “Not sure what getting mad at a kid who got kidnapped plus memory-wiped twice in one day accomplishes but, hey, you do you.”

Asriel pouted. He groaned and spun in place, grumbling to himself. 

Sans rolled his eyes. He grabbed the little flower in blue. Asriel yelped in alarm, only to be placed on the table in the living room. He winced. Sans plunked a mug and straw in front of him and he looked up with confusion. 

“I-It’s fine. I don’t need one, you and Papyrus can—”

“She made four. Last time I checked, four people live here,” he said.

Asriel looked between him and the mug with surprise. He winced. His sip of hot cocoa made his whole form twist with guilt.

He had to work himself up, but after he choked down half a mug and watched the short skeleton clock out in front of the double TVs, he edged upstairs and slipped into the bedroom. Frisk was on the bed with a book and a cup, and she looked up with a start when she heard him. She began to get up but he hurriedly raised his leaves to ask her to pause.

“Okay, okay, I know you’re probably mad at me,” he said quickly. “But I—”

“Mad at you?” Her eyes went wide. “No, of course I’m not, why would I be mad at you?”

Asriel almost choked. He stared at her with wide eyes. “What?!” he yelped. “Then why were you running away from me?!”

Frisk shrugged shyly. “Um. Y-You said you were mad? I… I thought I should give you some space,” she said.

“So you… Wait wait wait, you weren’t mad when I said I was mad?” he asked incredulously.

“N-No. No, I was kinda sad,” she said. “Why would I be mad at you for—?”

“So you’re not gonna yell or throw stuff or…?” He looked perplexed. “How long were you going to avoid me?”

“Um… I dunno, until you wanted to talk?” she said sheepishly. “I’m… I’m sorry, I don’t think I’ve ever really h-had someone get mad at me like that, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do other than say sorry if I’m sorry. Did I do the wrong thing? I’m sorry.”

The flower couldn’t do much more than stare. He was flabbergasted. “No. No. Look. Stop it, I…” He sighed. “Jeez, Frisk…”

“So, um…” She looked a little excited. “Is it okay if we’re still friends?”

“Oh for…! FRISK!” He shouted, making her jump. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Of course we’re friends, oh my god. That’s the whole reason I was mad at you!!”

“O-Oh.” She looked confused. “I… I don’t understand.”

“Do I really have to spell it out?!” he demanded. 

The blank look on her face told him he did. He laughed tiredly and kneaded his eyes. Frisk hesitantly slid off the bed and went to join him, crouching down curiously. Asriel straightened up and stretched high, grasping her shoulder with his metal arm tightly. 

“You’re such a doofus sometimes, I swear,” he said. “I was scared outta my goddamn mind for you! And you were just acting like you getting abducted basically was no big deal!”

“Oh.” Her eyes went wide. “I-I just didn’t want anyone to worry.”

“But I was already worried, that’s the thing,” he said. “You got taken and I couldn’t do a thing! I didn’t… I didn’t help you.”

“But that’s okay!” she said quickly. “It turned out okay!”

“But we didn’t know that,” he insisted. “I just… Damn it, Frisk. Okay. Okay. I’m just gonna say it. Okay? And if you make fun of me I’m gonna stick you with a million thorns, I swear. But I like you. A lot. Don’t ask me why. And I’m okay with us all being a big dumb family, I just…! I just don’t even know what I would do if you got stuck in that weird light place and it makes my heart hurt to think that there wasn’t a damn thing I could do, and I don’t even have a heart! Or a soul! Or anything! I mean… Shit.”

Frisk stared at him silently for a few seconds as he took a deep breath to steady himself. She whisked him up into her hands and held him close, glowing gently from her fingertips. He felt that little light of determination inside him warm and tingle, and he pressed up close to her.

“I’m sorry,” she said gently.

“Alright,” he said, slumping against her. “I know. Me too. I… I shouldn’t have yelled at you last night. Did you get any sleep?”

“Uh…” Frisk grinned awkwardly. “No. Not really. Um. I, uh, kinda didn’t wanna get dragged into a dream or pull anyone else into one. I didn’t think I could handle it after… A-After everything.”

“Jeez. No wonder you got your butt kicked so hard out there,” he said.

“I dunno, that’s kinda half-normal,” she joked. “I’m not a good fighter, I’m just pretty fast and I have a good memory.”

“And you can do backflips,” Asriel said.

Frisk snickered. “Yeah, guess so!” she said. 

“Hey. Could you always do that sorta stuff?” he asked curiously. “Or did it start down here?”

“Umm… Well, I was always good at running. And climbing. Even when I was really tired,” she said. “On the surface, though, human souls don’t light up, ever. Like, I know I can make mine glow in different ways now, but my soul didn’t glow at all until my first battle down here. With you.”

“Oh. Oh! Really?” He tilted his head. “Did that make a difference?”

“It did! I felt… It’s weird. I feel like I can jump way higher and stuff when I’m in a battle. And I learned how to kinda flip around to dodge stuff early in,” she said. “I… Hah. I actually really like battling! Just the dodging bit. It’s fun. You know, when you know you’re not gonna get blown up.”

“So… Do you humans actually get more power from just being around monsters?” he wondered. 

“Oh. Um. I don’t know.” Her eyes went wide. “You think so?”

“I mean, if your soul couldn’t glow before you came here,” Asriel said. “Maybe.”

“Humans are so weird,” Frisk grumbled. She sat back and set her soul alight, cupping her hand over it. “Now that I think about it, it's almost like a big piece of me was missing before I came here.”

Asriel nodded. “Yeah. You know, Chara said the same thing,” he said. “She had a red soul, too. After a few years here, she could glow hers like you can. No magic, though, but she said she felt like her soul was supposed to glow but it just couldn’t before. Who knows, maybe it’s just the red ones.”

“Weird. Weird weird,” she said. 

Asriel couldn’t help but stare at her soul. He cautiously extended a leaf towards it, then faltered. Frisk looked at him, confused, and then looked at herself. She laughed and lifted him a bit higher. He winced and nervously tented his leaves. He reached out and touched her soul spot. It sent warmth all through him; brightened his dark eyes. He pressed his head against it, listening. 

She gently cupped her hand around him. She could see the fascination on his face. She wondered, if Chara’s soul had glowed like hers, had she had a hum, too? She wondered what it would sound like. She caught herself before asking. Asriel hummed a note to match hers and then went quiet. He looked up at her and smiled sideways. 

“Wanna, um…? Wanna pick up our game again?” he asked. “Far as I remember, we were in a town and we were probably in for an ambush. Can’t keep goin’ without you.”

“R-Right!” she said, hopping to her feet. “Yeah! Okay. I got your back!” 

“Of course you do,” he said.

\- - -

The kids had started laughing upstairs. That didn’t take long, Sans thought. Laying on his front, he sunk into the couch and flicked on the TV. Still nothing but the play. All day, every day, until further notice, apparently. He wasn’t sure where he dropped the remote but his reluctance to get up left him watching one of the villain songs on low volume again. 

He felt his mind start to drift. His head felt heavy. Dark started to creep in. No good. He rolled onto the floor and lay there for a moment. He heaved himself just barely upright on his elbow and shifted straight onto the bed in his siblings’ room.

Frisk and Asriel were playing that adventure board game again. Hadn’t even noticed him. They seemed to be thinking very hard about something. He watched with groggy eyes as Frisk drummed her fingers on their board.

“Okay. I gonna do it,” she said.

“You sure?” Asriel asked. 

“Yup! Yep. I’m gonna.” She rolled a dice across the board and leaned over to look at them. “I got a four. What does that mean?”

“Uhh…” Asriel patted through the cards near him and lifted out one, and then waved at her until she handed over her character sheet. “Okay. You, uh, knock the guy over but his knife goes through your hand.”

“Dang it!” Frisk said with a laugh. “Okay, but I saved you though, right?”

“Yeah, but your HP is like, two,” he warned, “and I’m still outta potions. My turn?”

“Yup,” Frisk said.

“Okay, uh… Maybe I’ll…” He looked up slightly and let out a yelp. “When did you get here?!”

Sans grinned and shrugged. Frisk turned and her face lit up.

“Hi, bro!” she said brightly. “Want in?”

“Nah. I’m basically unconscious,” he said, rolling onto his back. “Don’t mind me.”

“So what’re you gonna try?” Frisk said, turning back to Asriel.

“I… uh…” He frowned at the cards. “Oh come on…”

“What?” she said.

“Ugh, can we just scrap this one? All of these end up with one of us being super dead,” he said.

“It’s hard with just two, huh?” she said. “We could wait for Papyrus. Oh! Hey! You okay with Kid? I could invite him over, too, he lives pretty close. Four is better than three for this, right? We could start a new one.”

“Okay, if you want,” he said.

Excited, Frisk went downstairs, sending Kid a text on the way. She’d take a quick walk to his house anyway; walk back with him if he could make it.

She hurried down main street and down the little block Kid lived on close to the river. She knew his house by sight now, and quickly found the door and knocked on it.

There was no answer for a while. She checked her phone. No answer there, either. Maybe he was out. She stood on her toes and knocked a bit harder this time, just in case. She heard the wood creak quietly and the door swung inwards.

It was Kid’s dad who greeted her, though. She hadn’t anticipated that. He stared at her with a very intense eye and she suddenly felt very small and very uncertain. She realized, with a sinking feeling in her stomach, that she hadn’t saved since early in the morning. She gulped.

“H-Hi! Um. Is Kid in?” she asked. “I was, um, hoping he might be able to come over to my place and play a board game.”

Kid’s dad gave her a skeptical look. He was silent for a few painful seconds longer. “Frisk, right? That was your name?” he said. “The kid from the show?”

She nodded quickly. He looked her up and down and clenched his jaw. Frisk was sure he’d caught onto her. There was no way he’d even let her in, was there? 

She awkwardly readjusted herself in the snow and folded her arms from the cold. The monster’s eye narrowed but, finally, he stepped aside and gestured for her to come in. She scooted by him quickly.

“Kid! Your friend’s here!” he called as his magic lit with dark blue and closed the door behind them. “You almost done?”

“Oh!! Yeah!” Kid called, voice muffled by distance and doors. “Five minutes?”

“Five minutes,” his father repeated to her. “Homework.”

“R-Right,” she said.

“Have a seat,” he said.

Frisk awkwardly looked around and then took off her boots. She sat on their couch, pressed up against the arm, and Kid’s dad looked her over again. 

“You, uh… Thought you had stripes,” he said.

“O-Oh! Um. Yeah. They, um… They o-only show up in the heat,” she said, and when his brow furrowed, she quickly added, “I, um… I feel k-kind of plain without them, honestly!”

“Huh. And your… ears?”

“Ah…” She looked bashful. “Th-Those were, um, headphones. S-So I could hear the stage directions for the play.”

Frisk hoped she didn’t start to sweat. He knew. He had to know. The way he was looking at her, there was no way she was fooling him. She tried not to look nervous and she squeezed her hands together as he prowled the room, positioning himself between her and the stairs.

“So, uh, what kind are you?” he asked.

“Um. Maybe a hybrid?” She remembered Alphys using that word with Asgore. “I’m not really sure. They said, um, I’m maybe a kind of squishy skeleton? I’ve never seen another one like me, so I can’t really say.”

That put a dip in the man’s brow. Sympathy shone through for just a moment, but his suspicious grimace was still strong. Frisk’s tongue was getting dry.

“You’re the one who’s been practin’ magic with my boy, huh?” the man said. 

Frisk nodded.

“Show me,” he said. “You can do magic, can’t ya?”

“Oh! Um. Just a little,” Frisk said quickly. “Hang on, I’m still kinda learning.” She held out her hands and concentrated into pushing her energy out. 

Red sparks started to flow and, with a bit of focus, they congealed into a small, glowing bubble in her hands. Even though it felt like a test, she was excited to get it working. She showed it with pride to the monster. He seemed taken aback, but his posture instantly relaxed. Finally, he cracked a smile.

“Hey, not bad,” he said.

“Thank you!” she said.

He turned at the sound of feet on the stairs and down came Kid’s mom. She looked surprised.

“Oh! Little Frisk! It’s good to see you. Can I offer you anything?” she said.

“Um! No thank you, but that’s super nice. Is it okay if Kid comes over?” she asked, dropping her magic. “My big brother’s home.”

“Yes, of course,” she said with a smile. “Are you sure I can’t offer you anything? Some hot razuperi cider?” 

“Razuperi?” Frisk tilted her head. “I don’t think I’ve had that before.”

“It’s very good for coming in from this weather! It’ll just be a moment,” she said. She turned her eyes on husband. “Darling, could you come with me?”

The man looked almost nervous and followed her into the kitchen. They began talking in hushed whispers; didn’t realize Frisk could still hear them.

“What were you doing?” Kid’s mom asked. “You gave the poor child the third degree!”

“You heard…? Ah… It’s nothing, I just thought…”

“Are you satisfied, now?” the lady asked. “She’s no human. It’s impossible.”

Frisk’s heart thumped.

“I know. I know,” he said. “I just… I had to be sure.”

“Oh, honey. Think about it. A human wouldn’t move into town and just settle in, don’t you think?” she said gently. “Hey. Hey, listen. Nobody’s vanished. There’s no one missing from the town. And besides. You said it yourself. Her scales aren’t even the same colour. And you remember? She was with the Guard Captain. She’d recognize a human, wouldn’t she?”

“Mhm. Well. It doesn’t matter anyway,” Kid’s dad said. “She has normal magic. Red, though.”

“Red?” Now Kid’s mom sounded a little startled. “Do you think the King’s tutoring her?”

There was silence for a few moments. Kid’s mother poked her long neck out of the kitchen to peek over at Frisk, who hurriedly pretended she was checking her phone.

“Just another minute, little one,” she said.

“Thank you!” Frisk said. 

Kid’s dad limped out of the kitchen, shot Frisk a half-smile, and then vanished into a door beside the stairs she hadn’t been able to see from where she sat. His false leg slowly clunked down more stairs. Frisk couldn’t help but release a quiet sigh.

She heard the clink of cups and then Kid’s mother brought her a steaming mug of something.

“I hope my husband didn’t come across as intimidating,” she said as Frisk accepted the drink. “Don’t let the scars fool you, he is very nice.”

“Oh! D-Don’t worry. Um. That doesn’t bother me at all,” she said quickly.

Kid’s mother nodded and smiled. Frisk took a sip of the drink. It was a little like the spider cider— some sort of hot, spiced fruit drink— but it was sweeter, with just a hint of tartness, and tasted like some sort of berries. 

“Do you like it?” the woman asked.

“Y-Yeah! Thank you. I’ve never had it before,” Frisk said. “Where do you get it?”

“An old friend of mine grows the fruit for this,” she said. “The berries only grow in deep cold, but are best served hot.”

“Oh, neat. Do you grow anything?” Frisk asked curiously.

“Ah! No. I don’t. But I have to admit, I’ve always wanted to have a garden,” she said.

“I hope you can have one!” Frisk said.

Feet slapped the floor above, and Kid raced down the stairs with a big grin on his face. 

“Hi!” He ran over and flopped into her hug as she got up to greet him. “Sorry, you weren’t waiting long, were you?”

“Naw,” she said. “Wanna come play a game with me and Flowey? And probably Papyrus.”

“Heck yeah I do,” he said.

“Have some cider first, before you go out,” his mom said, smiling. “It’ll keep you warm.”

\- - -

The kids finished their drinks and thanked Kid’s mom before heading out into the snow. Frisk sighed and rubbed a hand through her hair.

“You okay?” Kid asked.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” she said. “Your dad almost realized what I am, though.”

“What?! Oh. Man. Sorry,” he said.

“He’s seen one before, huh?” she asked, lowering her voice. “Before you were born?”

“Uhhh… Yeeeeah.” Kid nodded. “Sorry, I should’ve told you.”

“No, no, that’s okay,” she said quickly. “So he doesn’t really go out, huh?”

“No, the snow and the cold’s really hard on his leg,” he said. “But he doesn’t wanna move, he likes it here.”

“Oh. Did he make it himself?” she asked.

“Sure. Had to,” Kid said, nodding.

Frisk made a mental note to ask Alphys about it. She might be able to do something to make him a little more comfortable.

“He’d be nervous on the surface, huh?” she asked.

“I dunno, my dad’s really tough!” Kid said. “But… Maybe?”

Frisk nodded. Kid had never complained about his dad trying to stop them from hanging out, though. Not in the future, not even once, at least not that she’d heard of. But, she’d also never seen him before in her whole time knowing Kid.

“Hey!! HELLOOOOO!” That was Papyrus’s voice. He waved at them from down the street and jogged up to meet them. “Greetings, Kid! On your way to our place, I hope?”

“Gonna play the board game with, uh, Flowey,” Frisk said. “And you, if you want to!”

“F…? Oh! Hey, that’s great! And I have enough cinnamon bunnies for everyone!” he said.

“What kind of game is it?” Kid asked.

“Oh! Let me explain!” Papyrus said. “I’m basically an expert, after all! Come on!”

He put his arm around the little monster and hurried him along, starting to chatter about the rules of the game. Frisk paused to yawn and stretch, her eyes feeling heavy. There was a chill down her back. No wind, though. She turned slightly and thought she saw something dark vanishing behind a building. She blinked. She felt a little dizzy.

“Frisk!” Papyrus called back to her. “You alright?”

The kid blinked hard to clear her head and looked back at him in puzzlement. She followed along with him and gratefully accepted his hand. She wasn’t sure where her headache had come from.


	71. The No ZZZ Arc

For a second night in a row, Frisk didn’t sleep. Not even when Papyrus finally did. She watched their show on reruns twice. Undyne’s old music just made her head throb. She tried reading until her eyes wouldn’t focus. She wandered the main street in the dark, filming herself on her phone’s camera just in case something happened. 

Exhausted, Frisk found herself on the boat of the riverperson, handing over gold and asking for passage to Hotland. The faint splashing of the cool water and the dark of Waterfall’s caves began to faintly soothe the headache that had bothered her all day.

She rested her cheek on her hand at she looked over the edge of the boat, the lights off the water blurring into streaks of blue. The monster at the helm began to hum a soft song, doubled and harmonizing with the echo of the cave. Frisk smiled to herself.

“That sounds super pretty,” she said quietly. 

The river monster chuckled softly. “Tra la la. Did you ever hear the old song coming from the sea?”

“Oh. No. I don’t think I have,” she said.

“Hmm…” they said softly. “You would like it.”

Frisk turned around to look at them with a tired smile. “Thanks for always being around. Somehow,” she said.

The monster giggled and began to hum again. Frisk leaned against the side of the boat and tilted her head back. She let the wind brush through her hair as she watched the crystals pass by.

In Hotland, Frisk pulled herself out of the boat and thanked the riverperson. She unzipped her hoodie and headed up the stairs out of the river’s cavern towards the lab.

The door was locked. She pouted. She knocked cautiously. After a few seconds, she heard the lock click. The door opened slowly at first, but then quickly was thrown back.

“F-Frisk?” Alphys, in a dark tee and pyjama pants, greeted her with a quick hug and then held her shoulders. “What a-are you doing h-here? Is everything o-okay? D-Does Sans know you’re here? C-Come in, come in!”

She beckoned Frisk into the lab, where the lights were turned low except up on the second level. 

“Um. I mean. I left a note,” Frisk said. “I, uh… I couldn’t sleep. I thought… I dunno. Is there anything I can do to help out?”

Alphys gave her a sympathetic smile. She gently patted her head. “H-How would you like t-to see Mettaton’s new body s-so far?” she said. “It’s almost done!”

“Yeah, I’d love to,” she said.

Alphys brought Frisk upstairs to her work table. Amongst the stacked bowls of soup and scattered cans of pop overflowing from a garbage can beside the table, Mettaton’s body sat back against the wall like a doll in disrepair. Most of his pink plating was fixed on his chest, and an arm and a leg were fully attached. The opposite arm was incomplete from the elbow down and the missing leg lay beside him in two halves, one of which was missing the the final casing entirely.

“Wow, that’s looking great,” Frisk said, eyes wide. “Does he like it?”

“Mhm! O-Oh! And look.” Alphys grabbed the heavy, limp body and moved it forward, bending its neck and exposing the back near the little plug ports. “See these g-grooves? I remembered what you s-said. About the, um, s-solar panels? I starting making adjustments, so… s-so the, uh, t-temperature receptors are g-going to go here. S-So his body w-will just automatically g-go to backup power i-if it's likely there’s n-no sun.”

“Ooh. Sounds complicated,” Frisk said.

“Ah! N-Not really,” Alphys said with a sheepish smile. “And l-look!” She showed off more, larger grooves in a stylish pattern on the shoulder pads, and some smaller ones on the top of the hand. “I’m, um, b-basically putting them in p-places he won’t a-always have c-covered. Like if he d-decides to wear clothes, for some reason. Which he does. Sometimes. A-Actually it's good you came! I-Is there anywhere else you remember?”

“Some on the back,” Frisk said. “He liked it as an excuse to go sunbathing outside when the weather was nice.”

Alphys looked mildly puzzled. “Sunbathing?” she repeated curiously.

“Oh! Right. It’s a thing people do sometimes. They just lie out in the sun and get warm,” Frisk said. “You’d like it a lot! Humans sometimes use it to make their skin change colour.”

“Skin changes colour?” Alphys asked curiously. “Like…? I’m not s-sure I understand. What colours does it turn?”

“It’s kinda like toasting yourself,” Frisk said. “But some people are a lot more pale than me, and sometimes they turn a little closer to my colour, but sometimes they turn bright red or pink. I think that one’s not fun though, I heard people say that they’re burnt.”

Alphys tilted her head. She squinted. “Hm! I’m t-trying to picture it,” she said. “I’ve seen… I’ve s-seen humans a little. In m-movies. Y-You do come in a lot o-of colours, don’t you? N-No real bright ones, r-right?”

“Not sure! I don’t think so,” Frisk said. “I’ve mostly just seen people a lot lighter than me and a lot darker. Oh! But some humans have bright hair! They dye it, though. For extra colours, I think. I don’t think people are born with it.”

“Hah! Interesting,” Alphys said. “I w-wonder if Mettaton might l-like coloured hair. L-Like in an anime or s-something.”

“No thanks, darling.” Mettaton’s voice hovered around from somewhere, making them jump. “I like the black! It’s sleek! And besides, I could use a wig if I change my mind!”

“Mettaton?” Frisk asked shrilly.

“Mmmmhmmm!” With a twirl, the little pink ghost appeared before her. He smiled sympathetically and tilted his head, gently squishing her cheeks. “Oh, beautiful. You. Look. So. Tired.”

Frisk stared back at him with wide eyes. Hurriedly, she grabbed him into a hug and he squished like a pillow. He laughed and patted her shoulders.

“Alright?” he asked gently.

“I’m really glad to see you!” she said, slowly letting him go. “Um! H-How are you?”

“Excellent! Have you seen this work? This craftsmanship?” He gestured to his vacant, metal shell. “It looks even better than before, don’t you think?”

Frisk nodded. “Yeah, it's great,” she said. “Um. So, do you guys need any help?”

“At this hour?” Mettaton chuckled. “Honey, why are you here so late, anyway?”

Frisk looked nervous. She tented her fingers. “I… I dunno. Everyone’s been working so hard. And I want to help. If I can. And I… I c-couldn’t sleep.”

“Aw, Frisk, why n-not?” Alphys asked gently. “Do you w-want me to make you some tea? I’m, uh, n-not exactly great at g-getting to bed at regular hours, b-but maybe I could help?”

“Um! No. No, no, it’s fine,” Frisk said quickly.

“Aw, Frisky, if I didn’t know better,” Mettaton said, “I’d almost say you didn’t want to go to sleep.” A knowing smirk passed over his face despite the sympathetic tilt to his brow. “But that couldn’t be, right?”

“Oh, F-Frisk, is something wrong?” Alphys asked, lifting the kid’s hands in hers. “Hey. Y-You can tell me. I-If you want. Let m-me help.”

Frisk drooped. She rubbed her head and sighed. “It’s just… Everyone got so scared when I got taken last time, and when I ended up here without knowing how,” she said. “I thought… I thought maybe if I didn’t sleep, the shadowman guy wouldn’t be able to take me again. And people wouldn’t worry. I mean, he’s really nice and stuff, and I’m not scared of him, but I just… I dunno.”

“B-But Frisk, you need to sleep!” Alphys said, eyes wide.

“But, like… Asriel got all mad at me,” she said quietly. “H-He’s not anymore, but he was worried so he got mad. And Papyrus, I saw that he almost started crying when he came to get me, and Sans was so angry he got, like, hardcore sarcastic.”

“As opposed to regular sarcastic?” Mettaton joked.

“Oh…” Alphys pulled Frisk into her arms and touched her snout to her head. “H-He… I mean. I’ve s-seen that before: h-he wasn’t mad at y-you, I’m sure of it.”

“No, I know, he was so angry at himself,” Frisk said quietly. “I just… I just don’t want that for anyone anymore.”

“Aw, look at this poor little sweetie,” Mettaton said quietly. “Alphie? What do?”

Alphys sighed and snuggled Frisk gently. She carefully guided her over to one of the rolling chairs and had her sit down. She cupped her face gently. “S-So you haven’t gotten any sleep since then?” she asked.

Sheepishly, Frisk shook her head. Alphys _tsked_ and softly rubbed the kid’s head. 

“F-Frisk. Hey. L-Listen. I don’t… I don’t always know what to do, okay? No one does. B-But… But I know, if your b-brothers knew what you j-just told me, they’d r-really want for you to get some rest. They would n-never want you to just stay up like this,” she said. “You w-went through some weird stuff, right? But… But listen! Hey. W-We, um… We n-need you at your best, okay?”

Frisk looked confused. Mettaton slid up and nodded.

“Yes, darling! You need to be in tip-top shape if you’re going to save the world, right?” he said. “So! You need to eat plenty of snacks, and get some sleep, and stay niiiice and relaxed. Just like before any good performance, you know?”

“S-So…” Frisk said quietly. “So I should…?”

“Get some sleep!” Alphys said, laughing. “Y-You said you wanted to help, right? The best thing you can d-do, for everyone, is to be g-good to yourself. You’re the key to this, you know?”

“Well… Not really. It’s Asriel who does it,” she said. “I just kinda set it off.”

“E-Exactly! A key,” Alphys said brightly. “You unlock th-the whole thing! Get it?”

“Plus, you’re just too darn cute. Like a little puppy,” Mettaton added. “Nobody wants to see something so cute getting harmed, right?”

“I... I guess so?” Frisk said quietly. “Okay. I... I think I get it. But, um, is there really nothing I could help with here?”

“Umm… Well…” Alphys looked thoughtful. She tapped her chin. “Oh! I know! You can k-keep me company!”

“Keep you company?” she repeated.

“Y-Yeah! Mettaton w-was just about to head t-to his cousin’s place,” she said. “Y-You could stay until I g-get this other arm done a-and then I’ll t-take you home, okay? But only if you p-promise to get some rest.”

“Y-Yeah! Yeah, I can do that,” Frisk said.

Mettaton laughed and then planted a ghostly smooch on her head. He waved at Alphys and twirled, vanishing entirely.

Alphys brought her laptop over and, with a shy smile, put on some music. Frisk snuck closer to watch her use her magic screwdriver to start piecing together Mettaton’s second hand. It looked complicated, with little bits of metal stacking together and having to form joints and fingertips. She held things still when Alphys asked her, but mostly just watched the slow, steady process. Soon enough, she had a hand assembled from the wrist down. 

“Can I?” she asked, pointing at Frisk’s hand.

Frisk let her hold her hand and she looked between the metal one and the kid’s little hand. 

“Let’s s-see…” Alphys said. “That looks l-like a human hand, doesn’t it?”

“Looks like it to me,” Frisk said.

Alphys grinned.“Just, um… Can you m-move your fingers? L-Like, um, wiggle them?”

Frisk did as she asked, and Alphy’s dark brown irises lit with a little spark of yellow. Magic glittered along the joints of the false hand and the fingers flexed, mimicking the kid’s. 

“Oh, wow!” Frisk said. “That looks really great! How’d you learn to build something like that, anyway?”

“Ah. A lot of t-trial and error,” Alphys said. “Y-You know, Mettaton and I met a l-long time ago. Years. W-We were in an, um… a club together. A-About… Okay, this sounds w-weird now that I know you, b-but it was a h-human fan club, basically. And, um… I s-started planning all the w-way back then. That was… Oof. Over t-ten years ago now.”

“Wow,” Frisk said.

The lizard chuckled. “It… It t-took a long time to g-get everything working,” she said. “So m-many versions. And, I mean, I h-had to do the basic machine, first. Y-You know it was based on an o-old puzzle b-box? I was s-so glad Mettaton was able to feel comfortable in there for so long. But… B-But this will be the best.”

Alphys shot the kid an affectionate smile. She grabbed part of the detached arm and began to connect the hand to it. “Y-You know. Aside from all this, um, w-weird time stuff, a-and the fact that I just like, well… you. I’m gl-glad that you were the first h-human I ever met,” she said.

“Me too! But I’m not sure I’m really a good example,” Frisk said.

“Aw! Wh-Why do you say that?” Alphys asked, putting her work aside.

“I mean, me? I’m kinda weird,” she said. “I don’t know much about how anything works. And even just my body: I’m really small, actually. I bet almost any kid my age you’d find on the surface would be bigger than me.”

“Does it bother you?” the lizard asked gently.

Frisk shook her head. “No. I mean. Except when I can’t reach a thing. It’s no big deal. Got my brothers. They help. But I do wish I could tell you more about humans.”

Alphys laughed quietly and patted Frisk’s head. “Aw. Y-You’re such a sweet kid,” she said. “D-Don’t worry. E-Even just getting t-to see you for real h-has been great. And to hear a h-hum come from your soul…! Wow. Th-That was just… I n-never expected that, especially when I r-read that all humans had was the war drums. M-My only regret about that i-is that I’ll n-never get to know how eating m-magic really affected you.”

“Oh yeah? Why?” Frisk asked.

“Well. I-It’s just… One thing w-we always knew what that human food was different th-than ours,” Alphys said. “But you… Y-You’ve been eating our food for… how long? At least a y-year?”

“Yeah. Since I fell the first time,” she said. “I never switched back.”

“S-See, I was always r-really curious about that!” Alphys said. “M-Maybe I can ask some humans on the surface t-to do a study w-with me or something when we g-get up there. S-See if it changes their s-souls at all. I w-wonder, do you think it’d m-make more humans have hums? You wouldn’t know if a-any others had them, would you?”

“I really don’t know,” Frisk said apologetically.

Alphys snickered. She shook her head. “Don’t worry,” she said. She picked up the arm again and flailed it; the hand stuck firm. “Ah! There w-we go, that looks g-good! Almost done.”

Frisk clapped. Alphys snickered and blushed.

\- - -

Just like she promised, Alphys took Frisk home after a little while, holding her gently on the boat ride back to Snowdin. Assuring the lizard that she’d be fine, she trundled back home, rubbing eyes that were blurred enough by sleep that the snow blowing by barely made a difference. 

She stumbled into the house and tripped out of her winter gear. She turned to the sound of paper rustling and saw Sans on the couch, groggily going at a crossword on a newspaper from a couple days ago. He looked just as tired as she felt. He put it aside and raised one hand.

“Alright?” he asked.

“Y-You got my—?” She let out a relieved sigh when he nodded. “I’m okay. You?”

He shrugged.

Frisk bit her lip. She knew that hollow look in his eyes. She grimaced and clambered up onto his legs, hugging him tight. He laughed, his voice a little hoarse, and he patted her shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I should’ve been here.”

“Pffft. Kiddo. Jeez.” He snickered. “Hey, who’s the adult here?”

“Um. You?” she said.

“Right.” His left eye brightened and she could feel his magic through her skin before she could see it. “C’mon, you dweeb, you look worse than I do. When’s the last time you slept?”

“Uhh…” She couldn’t help the nervous look on her face. “I d-dunno…”

Sans frowned slightly. She shrugged. He sighed and gently bonked his head on hers.

“Relax, will ya?” he said. “You’re not goin’ anywhere.”

“B-But…! But I could… I…” She was too tired to even reason with herself. “Okay… B-But what if… What if I…?”

“Chill out,” he said. “Want me to tuck you in?”

“N-No. No.” She squished against him; gripped his sweatshirt protectively. “I wanna stay with you.”

“Hm.” His voice was strained, exhausted. Even so, his soul sped up a beat. “Alright, kiddo, whatever you say. It, uh… It might be rough in there.”

“Don’t care. I’m tough,” she said, grinning. “I’ll protect you.”

He laughed and touched his brow to hers. “Perfect. Thanks, sis,” he said.

\- - -

Papyrus found his siblings in a catlike heap on the couch when he bounced downstairs to start making breakfast. That was good, he thought. Sans needed that after some rough time dream nonsense. Frisk looked like she needed it, too. Through her t-shirt, he could see they were shifting back and forth from purple. It must’ve been helpful.

He scooped them up and plunked them onto Sans’s mattress. He bundled them up snugly, placed Frisk’s round, mutant dog plush with her, and gave them both a quick shot of reassuring amber magic before skipping back downstairs.

As he began breakfast, fresh toast and custard— the supposed perfect breakfast food, though he still couldn’t see how it was intended to top spaghetti and tomato sauce— he heard the creak of a door and a soft scuffing noise.

“Good morning, Asriel!” he called.

“Oh. Uh. Yeah. Morning.” Asriel clunked down the stairs carefully and rolled into the kitchen, looking up at Papyrus curiously. “Where’s Frisk?”

“Oh! Sans’s room,” he said. “She’s just fine, don’t worry! Should I water you?”

“Uh. Yeah. Thanks,” he said.

Papyrus grinned and scooped up the little flower. He put him on the table and then gently dumped a glass of water over his soil. 

“Do you need to go for sun today?” Papyrus asked. “Would you like me to bring you anywhere?”

“N-No. That’s okay. Thanks. Tomorrow, I think,” he said. 

“Hm! Alright!” Papyrus said. “But you know you can count on the great Papyrus to help you out, right? I am absolutely, positively dedicated to extreme helpfulness.”

“Yeah yeah,” he said. “I’m fine.”

“Good! Nyeh heh!” He ran back into the kitchen and flipped the sugary toast in his frying pan. “Almost done with breakfast! Did you sleep well?”

“Not really,” he said.

“Ah. Seems like it got most of us, then,” Papyrus said. “Sorry to hear that!”

“It…? Oh. You there, too?” he asked.

“Only for a little,” he said quickly. “Don’t worry about me at all! Gosh, it really is a super weird sensation, though, isn’t it?”

“Eh. You get used to it,” Asriel said.

“I guess you’d have to! I’m glad Frisk missed it this time,” he said. 

Asriel sighed to himself and nodded. He folded his leaves against his stem and slumped. He poked the dirt around him. He noticed a little pebble and flicked it out onto the floor.

“Oh, hey!” Papyrus said loudly. “How are you doing on that new _Trident of Vengeance _book?”

“Oh. I… I’ve been kind of distracted. I hardly started,” Asriel said. “You can go ahead with it, if you want.”

“What?! Really? Thank you so much!” Papyrus said brightly. “I’m excited. I’ve heard only good things!”

“From Kid?” Asriel asked.

“Well, yes, of course, he’s the only one who read it so far.” He grinned over his shoulder. “Hey! Maybe I should be a writer!”

“You? A writer? Why?” Asriel asked.

“Why not? I’ve been consistently great at everything I try, why wouldn’t I be great at that?” he said. “Everyone needs new things to read, right? And skeleton is a surprisingly unique perspective!”

“What would you even write about?” Asriel asked.

“I could do a cool story about a cool hero making their way in the world, saving the day, being an all-around great person!” he said. “Everyone likes those.”

“Not if the main guy is perfect,” Asriel said.

“Especially if he’s perfect! He has to be, or how is he a hero?” Papyrus dished out some of his fresh toast and custard on two plates. He ran it back to Asriel with some cutlery and a grin and sat down with him. “There! It’s supposed to be good in the mornings!”

Asriel eyed the dish with mild suspicion, but he accepted a small fork and poked at the custard.

“Uh. Thanks. But, look, a hero doesn’t have to be perfect,” he said. “People have to have flaws or they’re not interesting.”

“Oh…” Papyrus thoughtfully tapped his chin. “I don’t think I have any flaws but I think I’m pretty interesting!” 

Asriel raised his brows. He eyed the goofy skeleton up and down.

“No flaws? Really?” he said. “But, you’re not like, all-powerful or anything. You don’t even know orange magic yet.”

“And I am learning more every day,” he said brightly.

“And you’re not a guard,” Asriel said.

“But I train like one, and as long as I can still help other monsters, I’m very happy!” Papyrus said. “And Frisk told me my future is to be sort of a healing guard! Or it was. I think that’s fantastic!”

“And, dude, not to be a jerk, but your pasta at the start, it wasn’t that great,” he said.

“Really? Oh! I thought it was,” Papyrus said, “but that’s alright! Everyone has their own tastes. And besides! Perfect pasta can be made more perfect through hard work and determination!”

Asriel stared back at him blankly for a few long, silent seconds. He tapped his chin. “Ah… I… I think I’m starting to understand,” he said quietly. 

“Understand what?” he asked.

“Make it a thriller,” Asriel said.

“What?” Papyrus asked.

“A thriller. If you write something. Do a thriller,” he said. “It’ll be better.”

“A thriller?! Why?! Aren’t those scary?!” Papyrus said.

“No. Not always,” Asriel said. “See, in a thriller, right? How it works usually is the hero is, uh… good, you know? Always good. But they get put through a lot of garbage. If they come out like… Well, like me? Then it’s a tragedy, right? It’s a bad ending. I mean, the ending’s not a bad one, it’s just not a happy one. But if the hero comes out more like…” He paused on a certain little human’s name. “Uh. If all the bad stuff didn’t turn them bad, then it's a good ending. And the more good they are after all that bad, the better the ending. Get it?”

“I… I think so,” Papyrus said. “Oh! Like in detective movies? Right? If the detective sees all the bad stuff but is still good at the end. Like if he doesn’t kill the bad guy but makes him go to the dungeon, then the good guys wins. But if the bad guy makes the detective bad, the bad guy wins. Right?”

“That’s it,” Asriel said.

“Wowie. I literally never thought about that before,” Papyrus said, resting his chin on his fist. “You’re pretty clever, aren’t you?”

“I read. A lot. Like, everything,” Asriel said. “I’ve been here a long time with nothing to do but plan shady stuff and read. So.” He shrugged.

Papyrus drummed his fingers on the table, his brow furrowing slightly. Asriel shoved some food in his mouth.

“Do you think you’re bad?” Papyrus asked.

“Yeah, of course,” Asriel said with a laugh. “I am bad.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” he said.

“Pfffft. I thought your brother was the one who told jokes.”

“I’m not joking,” the skeleton insisted. “I don’t think you’re bad.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Asriel said.

“Of course I do,” Papyrus said. “I like you. Frisk likes you. She wouldn’t like you if you were bad.”

“Yes she would, she’s almost as naïve as you are.” Asriel popped another bite of toast into his mouth. “She likes everyone.”

“No she doesn’t,” he insisted. “We were talking about humans. Humans she met. She said she didn’t know many and that one pretended to be nice, but wasn’t. She didn’t like that at all. But you… I think you’re like the opposite of that.”

“What?” Asriel asked.

“You’re good but you don’t want people to think so,” he said. “Why?”

“I’m not good. I’m really, definitely not good,” the flower said. “A good person could never do what I did.”

“But people can change, can’t they?” Papyrus said.

Asriel’s brow furrowed. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no words came. Papyrus didn’t seem to mind. He ate his breakfast. 

As he brought his dish back to the kitchen, there was a loud knocking on the door. Papyrus opened it quickly, standing at attention as Undyne greeted him with a big grin.

“Welcome back, Captain!” he said.

“Hey, Paps, you and Frisk ready to go?” she asked.

“Ah. Well. I am ready, as always, but Frisk…” He couldn’t help but look a little worried.

“Something happen?” Undyne asked.

“I think she was trying not to sleep,” Papyrus said, standing aside and inviting her in with a gesture. “And now she is very very tired again. She’s still in bed and I thought I’d just leave her there.”

Asriel almost choked on his toast.

“Oh. That’s fine,” Undyne said. “Hey, short-stuff, you okay?”

“Fine. I’m fine,” he said through a cough. 

Papyrus offered Undyne a plate, which she accepted readily.“So, like… why was she tryin’ not to sleep?” Undyne asked through a mouthful.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Papyrus admitted. “I think maybe she didn’t want the shadowman thingy to take her somewhere again. Which is a little weird, admittedly, because I think we just realized he’s almost definitely a nice person so a lot of the worry around that is gone, but…”

“Guess it's still jarring,” she concluded. “Welp. Wanna train, just me and you?”

“Can Asriel come?” he asked.

“Don’t see why not, as long as he’s not in the way,” Undyne said.

“Who says I even want to come?” Asriel asked.

“Oh, come on, you know you enjoy watching battles!” Papyrus said. “And besides! I don’t want to leave you alone in the house while everyone else is asleep!”

“I’m not a baby,” he snapped.

“But you’re tiny! Even smaller than Frisk, somehow!!” Papyrus said. “What if a bookshelf falls on you or something?!”

“Why would that ever happen?” Asriel demanded.

“I don’t know but I don’t want to find out.” The skeleton was adamant.

Asriel sighed. He rolled his eyes, but gave in with a nod. Papyrus’s face lit up.

“You won’t regret it, I promise!” he said.

\- - -

It was noon by the time Frisk woke up. She only knew this because someone had texted her phone, making a portion of it glow and show a digital clock. Took her a second to figure out where she was. Sans’s room. Where was he?

She sat up, blinking groggily. He must’ve given her the pillows. He was about a foot away, spread out on his back, still completely unconscious. She gently lifted his head and pushed a pillow under him, then pulled one of the blankets over him. She rolled onto the floor, rubbed her head, and then checked her phone. She had a text from Alphys.

“_Heeeey Frisk!! <3 thx 4 stopping by last night! hope u got some rest lol! ^.^ Leg will be done 2day! Just thought I should tell u! <3”_

Frisk smiled. Nearly there. 

“_Thank you!!!”_ She texted back. “_Super happy to know!” _She was glad text didn’t carry any real tone of voice. She was too groggy and heavy in her head to verbalize any excitement.

The other bedroom was empty. So was the downstairs. Frisk found breakfast left out, so she brought that back up to Sans’s room. 

Back inside, in the dark, there was faint sparkle of magic glittering from his eye socket. She sighed. She turned on the light, dropped down beside him, and grabbed his face in her hands, glowing gently.

“Come on, bro, snap outta it,” she said, propping him up just enough to touch her brow against his. “Hey. Wake up. Out here, okay? Come back. Got breakfast waiting, okay? S’gonna be fine.”

It took him a moment, but his dark eyes opened a crack. The iris in the left was still blue for a moment and he seemed to stare right through her for a good couple seconds before they shifted, his white pupils blinking back in.

“Oh. Hey, kiddo.” He sat up, rubbing his face as she drew back. “Oof. Thanks.”

“Of course,” she said. She passed him some food. “Here.”

They ate in silence. Frisk yawned. She put her empty plate on the floor, grabbed the blanket, and pulled it around herself.

“One day,” she muttered, “I’m gonna try to stop those.”

“Nice thought, kiddo, but I’m pretty sure at least I am totally busted,” he said.

“It’s not fair,” she grumbled.

“What is?” He laughed. “Hey. Don’t worry about it.”

“Maybe there’s something I can do. Maybe I can make them less bad. Maybe I can force them to have less murder in them,” she said.

“Pfft. That’d be nice,” he said. “Who knows? Like I said, you already made a difference.”

“I know, I know.” She sighed and laughed quietly, rubbing her head. “Trash.”

After a little while, they convinced themselves to get out of the bedroom, only to end up crashing on the couch instead. At the very least, they had their space book with them now, so Frisk sat up against her brother so she could see the words as he read them. For some reason, seeing how they were shaped felt useful to her.

Mid-sentence, they were interrupted by Frisk’s phone, which for some reason began to play the MTT jingle. Confused, she looked at the screen only to find it playing a little animated gif of a pixel-art Mettaton, in all his boxy glory, dancing and then poofing into a cloud of pink and yellow sparkles, accented by a big red question mark.

“When did he have time to make that?” she wondered.

She tapped on it and sparkles fizzled out of her screen. The music began again.

“_Hello, beautiful!_” announced a scrolling text message— she couldn’t help but read it in his voice. “_Mettaton here! It’s time to brace yourselves for an all new MTT experience! In two days, I will be announcing something very exciting, LIVE, at noon in two days. Come one, come all, to the Archives! Remember! TWO DAYS! HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!”_

The music stopped when Frisk closed the message. She stared blankly at her phone. Sans began to laugh. 

“Oh. God. This’ll be interesting,” he said.

“E… Electrifying,” Frisk joked.

“Pfft. Heh. Hopefully not,” he said. “Think you’ve had enough shocks for a little while, huh?”

She snickered. “So that means he must be ready, then,” she said. “I guess… I guess once he does his thing, as long as mom has her phone back, we should go. Right?”

“Up to you,” he said. “And I guess the other kid, too. You guys are the ones who have to do all the work. The rest of us just have to show up.”

“It’s so weird,” she said. “We… We might be able to go stargazing. This week, even.”

“That’d be somethin’, huh?” Sans said. “Outside… Hm.”

“What?” Frisk asked.

“Now that I’m thinkin’ about it,” he said, “wasn’t super common that I even saw today, you know?”

“Time loops are trash,” Frisk said, flopping back across his legs dramatically.

He snickered. She put her arms behind her head and stared up at the ceiling. 

“I think it’ll be good,” she said. “I bet it’ll be even better than last time. And… And this time, we’ll all be safe. And this time, I’m stronger, too. S-So if anything happens, I’ll, like… turn it back in time a second, I dunno.” She cut her eyes at her brother.

He laughed.

They were just about to get back to the book when Papyrus opened the door loudly, carrying Asriel in one hand and a brown paper bag in the other.

“Oh! Siblings! Nice to see you’ve finally peeled yourself off the mattress, Sans,” he said as he began to take off his boots and gloves. “Frisk! Did you sleep well?”

“Kinda okay,” she said.

“Better have after all that time,” Asriel joked. “Did you guys happen to get that obnoxious text?”

“The one from Mettaton? Yeah,” Frisk said.

“Undyne got it too, at the same time,” Papyrus said as he unpacked some roughly made, tiny pie-like food items from the bag. “And so did a random monster walking near us while we were out! I think it went to everyone. I guess that means his new body is done.”

“Yup yup,” Frisk said.

“Finally,” Asriel said.

“So that means we’re going, right? To New Home?” Papyrus said.

“What?” Asriel yelped.

“Well, for Mettaton’s show! We should be there, shouldn’t we?” he said. “It’s the first unveiling of his new body!”

“Which we’ve already seen,” Sans said.

“Yes, but it must be important to him!” Papyrus said. “Come on, Sans, there’s no other things we can be doing for the plan anyway until he’s ready, right?”

“Guess so.” Sans shrugged. “Whatever you want, bro. Just don’t expect me to stay awake.”

“Excellent!” Papyrus said brightly.

“But. Wait. That means we can go soon, right?” Asriel asked. “I mean. To the barrier. Right?”

“Yup! Me and Sans were just talking about that,” Frisk said. “Gotta do that, gotta make sure mom has her phone, and Az, if you’re ready, then…”

“I… Uh.” Asriel winced and then took a deep breath. “I might… need just an extra day or something. You know. To psyche myself up? I… I kind of remember having all the human souls inside me and I’m… I’m not sure how eager I am for that again.”

“That’s a surprise,” Sans said.

“Why?” Asriel glared. “Power-drunk and then ripped apart from the inside sound like fun to you?”

“Eh. Got me there,” the skeleton said with a shrug.

“Asriel, don’t worry!” Papyrus assured him with a big smile. “You’ll have all of us with you, right? You’ll borrow all our souls, too, except Frisk’s, that’s how it goes? So we’ll be very close when you need moral support!”

“Yeah, sure. If it even works,” he grumbled.

“It will work! I’m sure of it!” Papyrus said brightly, putting a hand to his chest. “You trust your great and cool pal Papyrus, don’t you? Because, trust me! It’s all going to go well!”

“Yeah, you keep sayin’ that.” Asriel sighed and forced a smile. “I’ll try to stay at least a little positive.”

“Good! You’re going to be fine.” Papyrus gently scooped him up and smiled fondly. “And just imagine how nice it's going to feel once you have a soul all your own! That in-between bit will be more than worth it, I’m sure of it!”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” he muttered.

\- - -

Undyne had tried to make tiny pies and had handed them off to her friends, so that was lunch. Sans left afterwards as the kids were hanging out, watching TV together. 

He popped himself into the lab and stood quietly against a wall as he watched Mettaton strutting about on his new legs down the middle of the floor as if it were a runway. Alphys was staring at him intently.

“S-So it’s not stiff?” she asked.

“No, not at all!” Mettaton said brightly. “I feel fabulous. Fantastique! Oh!” He looked surprised and raised a hand to wave quickly. “When did you get here?! How do I look?”

Alphys turned, startled, to see Sans just as he stuck his thumbs up. She let out a deep breath.

“H-Hey, Sans,” she said. “What, um… Wh-What are you d-doing here, is e-everything okay?”

“Sure. Not bad,” he said. “Just wonderin’ if you’re done with the kid’s journal.”

“Oh! Y-Yeah. I’ll g-get it in a second.” She frowned. “I k-kind of can’t believe she w-was just okay with m-me reading that.”

Sans shrugged.

“I know I was certainly disturbed by it,” Mettaton said.

“What?! You r-read it?!” Alphys said shrilly. “Th-That was Frisk’s d-diary!!”

“Well, it was just laying around.” He shrugged and smiled slyly. “Besides, she read mine. It’s only fair.”

“Mettaton!!” Alphys scolded.

She looked at Sans with apologetic eyes, but he started to laugh.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “Kid’d have the same logic.” 

“I thought so!” Mettaton said with a grin, though his expression fell quickly, especially as Alphys nudged him in the side with her elbow. “But… I have to say, a lot of the stuff in there was quite awful. And what was with the Sans sadfaces?”

“Oh. Yeah. That’s when she normal nightmares about me gettin’ bodied,” he said with a shrug. “Didn’t want Paps to know.”

“And that is extra awful,” Mettaton said. “God, I can’t even imagine seeing all those things every single night. It’s a wonder she functions at all!” 

“Yeah, well. She’s tough, I guess,” Sans said.

“A-Anything more with th-the, um, sh-shadowman happen?” Alphys asked. “I… I guess th-that’s what she was worried about, huh?”

“Pretty sure everything on that end was quiet but, hey, you never know,” Sans said.

Alphys shuddered. She shook her head. “M-Maybe this guy d-didn’t like us,” she suggested as she headed for her desk. “Maybe th-that’s why he keeps scaring our p-pants off.”

“Dunno, seems to like the kid well enough,” he said.

“B-But what if it w-was a… a b-bitter scientific rivalry or something?” Alphys asked. “Or! Or maybe a-an experiment gone wrong! Sabotaged? B-By… Oh, no, wh-what if I did it?!”

“Sounds like an interesting story, Doc,” Sans said with a wink. “New AU or what?”

“I’m not sure I follow,” Mettaton said. “Oh! Wait! Fanfiction! Not sure something that conniving is really your style, Alphie. Where’s the romance plot?”

Alphys blushed and she shook her head quickly. She shoved the journal at Sans and smiled sheepishly. “D-Do you need anything else?” she asked. “W-We’re, um, just running through M-Mettaton’s basic checks to s-see if we need anything else d-done, so i-it’s no problem if you want to, um, stick around.”

Sans tilted his head; looked thoughtful. “Think I could take a look at the security tapes from the last few days?”

“Oh! Um. S-Sure,” she said. “Help yourself. W-Want anything to eat?”

“Nah.” He vanished and plunked himself straight into the chair. “Don’t mind me.”

“How do you do that?” Mettaton asked, throwing his arms over the back of the chair and resting his chin on Sans’s head. “Seriously.”

“Dunno,” the skeleton said as he leaned onto the desk and began to navigate the camera interface.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” he asked.

“Born with it. Just kinda can,” he said.

“Well. Alright, fair enough.” Mettaton pulled away and stretched, and rolled his fingers. He did the same with his toes, and then leaned around the skeleton and showed his hand. “What do you think?”

Sans held out his hand and matched the metal one, though his was much smaller. “Looks good,” he said. 

“Perfection!” Mettaton announced. “Daaaaaarling, are you coming to my show? You are, aren’t you?”

“Paps wants to,” he said. “So. Yeah?”

“GOOD! Excellent, good, amazing! Oh, I knew I could count on your adorable brother,” Mettaton said.

He pranced away on dainty metal toes and grasped bright pink boots from a bag near the escalator. The second he pulled one on, it seemed to somehow gain a metallic finish. He twirled and stood on the tips of his toes and struck a graceful pose.

“Alright! Now. I will away. Back to Waterfall. For now.” He leaned over towards Alphys and extended his arms to pull her in close to him. “Thank you my darling! I finally feel like myself again!”

“O-Oh! Well. I’m glad you’re h-happy,” she said.

With a wave, Mettaton grabbed his blue sequinned gown and he threw it on like a cloak and dashed dramatically out the door. Alphys let out a deep sigh, but she couldn’t keep a smile from her face. Sans rested his cheek on his fist.

“Did good, Doc,” he said.

“Y-Yeah?” She blushed and giggled. “Ah… I’m j-just so glad it worked out. I th-think this version is almost l-like a… A beta 2.0, you know?”

“S’good,” he assured her.

Alphys grinned. She pulled up another chair and sat in close beside him. She kicked her feet and looked up at the screen where cameras were showing little sections of the underground.

“I a-almost can’t believe it,” she said. “Once… Once he m-makes his announcement. We’re b-basically ready, aren’t we?”

“Basically,” he said. “Waitin’ on the flower kid to be ready, too, but I think that won’t take too long.”

“Hm. R-Right. He’s been, um, p-pretty desperate to get i-it done, right?” She tented her fingers. “Ah. P-Poor little guy. I’m j-just… I’m glad that th-this plan s-seems good.”

“Yeah. Just countin’ on as many monsters helpin’ out as possible, right?” He shrugged. “Seems plausible.”

“What, um… What do w-we, um…? What do we do if it’s…?” Alphys breathed in deeply to stead herself. “No. It’s f-fine. It’s fine. It’s going to work. Isn’t it?”

“Hey. You’re the one who came up with it,” Sans said. “So. I’m bettin’ on yes. You’re pretty smart, Doc.”

“Wh-Why doesn’t th-that make me feel a-any better?” she said with a laugh.

“You realize you brought him back from the dead, right? And none of this would have even happened without you breakin’ the laws of nature.” Sans grinned. “I think we’re in good claws.”

“Pfffft. W-Well. Thanks,” she said. “G-God. That’s… That’s s-so surreal. I… I really w-want to, um… T-To see him. How h-he’s supposed to be. Oh god. I’m… I’m g-gonna cry so hard.”

“You’ll be okay,” Sans said.

“N-No way, I’m g-gonna just s-see him and I’m g-going to ugly-cry all over e-everything for hours,” she said.

Sans laughed. He turned back to the cameras and started to trawl through old recordings and he grappled for some crumples paper and a pen.

“S-So, what exactly are y-you looking for?” she asked.

“Wanna see if that distortion turns up on our Frisknappin’ pal,” he said. “Maybe see if we can see anything when we thought he came to me, too.”

“Oh! R-Right. Okay. S-Sounds interesting,” she said.

“Naw. Bored already,” Sans said.

\- - -

_Circuit Secret Investigator_ truly was a terrible show. The more Asriel watched it, the more clear it became. He wasn’t sure how’d he’d missed this trash through all his timelines, but he almost wished that he could go back to then and never have seen it. Even so, he couldn’t stop watching it.

Frisk had gone back to bed. He didn’t blame her, but he still felt bad about it. Maybe he didn’t deserve a friend like her. He still had trouble understanding why she hadn’t been angry with him.

He was lost in thought when Papyrus slid up beside him; didn’t notice at all until he heard a faint nyehing from beside him. He jumped, only to see the tall skeleton reorganizing some of the winter clothes near the door.

“Jeez,” he muttered.

“Hm? Something wrong?” Papyrus asked.

“What? No,” Asriel said quickly.

“Hey, Asriel,” he said.

“What?” he asked dryly.

“What’s it like?” Papyrus sat on the arm of the couch. “Having a human soul in you?”

“Ask your brother,” he said, waving a leaf dismissively. 

Papyrus didn’t budge. He started to grin. It was slightly unnerving. Asriel sighed and rolled his eyes.

“First, it was hot,” Asriel said. “I felt like I was boiling inside. Then I felt strong. So strong, like nothing could stop me. I didn’t even care that I was basically this big grotesque abomination, I was, like… drunk on it. And when a soul managed to complain, I used the power from the other ones to beat it down. I did lose my grip, though.”

“Did you get all their memories?” Papyrus asked worriedly.

“No,” he said. “I wasn’t sure why, because I never bothered to try to block them out. My theory is when two souls actually touch each other, that’s when the memory trade happens. I didn’t have a soul that was mine.”

“Was that the time you fought Frisk, or the time the barrier broke?” he asked.

“I don’t really remember the barrier one,” he said. “I’m talking about the other one. But, to be fair, I didn’t just fight Frisk like that.”

“You did it to yourself more than once?” Papyrus asked.

“Sure. It worked sometimes. Kind of,” he said. “Guess I was sorta doin’ Sans’s job without meaning to.”

“His job? Which one?” The skeleton looked confused. “I don’t follow.”

“Look. Sans’s seen some really bad shit, okay?” Asriel said. “There were some timelines where he was the guy that made the bad anomalies give up on our world and get the hell outta here. Wasn’t my intention, but I did that a bit, too.”

“So… So, wait. You’ve met more of them,” he said. “More like Frisk, but not Frisk.”

“Yeah,” he said.

“What was that like?” Papyrus’s eyes went wide. “Were you waiting for her, too?”

“No, I was waiting for the one who would do what I wanted,” he said. “When Frisk got here, I thought she was really pretty average. Until her second time around, when your brother took one look at her out of the Ruins and collapsed.”

“He…? He did?” Papyrus asked.

“Sure. Anyway. Yeah, I messed around with a ton of those anomaly kids, but I can’t remember what the thing we’re gonna do with the souls is gonna feel like,” he said with a shrug. “I think I only did it with Frisk. To be honest, I don’t even know what I did, except what she told me.”

“Oh.” Papyrus looked thoughtful. “What about...? No, actually, never mind.”

“No, what were you gonna say?” Asriel said.

Papyrus looked thoughtful. He tapped his chin, quickly shook his head, and then smiled at the little flower as he got back to his feet. “Nothing! It’s fine! It is just fine. Just let me know if there’s anything I can do to make things easier for you, okay?” he said, and he stuck his finger in the air. “I! The great Papyrus! Will offer you whatever support you need!”

“Uh. Thanks,” he said.

Papyrus nodded. He knelt to give him a little sparkle of affectionate magic before turning to head back upstairs. 

Asriel was a little confused. He shrugged to himself, put it aside, and went back to the show. A moustache-twirler was back. It was just a matter of time. 

\- - -

Sans found almost nothing on the tapes. It wasn’t like last time, with the clear distortion where he was certain Frisk had run into her mysterious friend. The most he could say was he saw a few distorted pixels for a second or two, but the fact that it happened at the spots he looked for could have simply been coincidence. He saw it happen elsewhere, as well. A little annoying, but not unexpected. 

Home was quiet when he got back. The kids were out with Kid in the snow, and Papyrus was with them doing puzzle work, according to a note from Frisk stuck in the fridge door.

Sans took it upon himself to add to the dream journal. As he was writing, he heard a phone ringing. Sounded kind of like Frisk’s. He was almost too lazy to go get it before he recalled that it was probably Papyrus.

He spotted it across the room on the side table from his spot on the couch. That was logical. He reached out with blue magic and grabbed the thing. “Sup?” he asked.

“Oh! Sans!” That was Toriel’s voice, much to his surprise. “Hello, hun, good to hear you! How are things?”

“Pretty okay,” he said. “You?”

“Ah. Good! I’m glad to hear that. I’m fine, myself. I, um… I just recovered my phone, in fact. There’s this small white dog who keeps snatching it and then bringing it back, believe it or not,” she said. “It’s like playing an extended game of fetch, perhaps. Well, in any case, I’m glad to have it back. How is little Frisk? Is she alright?”

“She’s okay,” he said. “Out, though. Could get her to call you back?”

“Ah! That’s alright. I’ll give her another call tomorrow. It’s getting a little late, isn’t it?”

“Guess so,” Sans said.

“Sans, could I ask you a question?” she said. She sounded a little uncertain. 

“Yeah, shoot,” he said.

“Has Frisk told you about her, um, plan?” she asked. “She mentioned taking the barrier down. She told your brother about it, too, judging from what he said to me.”

“Oh. Heh. Yeah,” she said. “She’s, uh, pretty determined, too.”

“Did she ever mention where she got such a strange, specific idea?” she mentioned. “Oh! God, it couldn’t have been…?”

“What?” Sans asked.

“She was reading a monster history book here,” she said. “Goodness, you don’t think—?”

“Nah,” Sans said.

“But... If not from the book… Sans? Could you answer me honestly? Have you noticed anything peculiar about her?”

“Oof, where to start?” he joked. “I mean, guess so. Kinda chalked that up to her bein’ a human, though.”

“Really? You haven’t noticed anything, I don’t know, particularly odd?” she said. “Like… Alright. This’ll sound crazy. But anything like some sort of, I’m not sure, premonition powers?”

“Premonition.” Sans smiled to himself and tapped his pen against the pages of the journal. He remembered what Frisk had said to her, now that he thought about it. “You know, it's funny. When I first saw the kid, she acted a lot like she knew me and my brother. She kinda fit right in.”

“Yes! Yes, exactly,” Toriel said. “She… She mentioned you. Before she met you. Does that sound crazy?”

“Hm.” Sans couldn’t help a fond, tired smile. Poor kid, he thought, she’d missed them all so much back then. “No. Doesn’t sound crazy at all.”

“So you’ve noticed it, too,” she said quietly. “Do you know what it could be?”

“She’s got a lot of strange stuff goin’ on,” he said. “Hey. How about you ask her yourself? After the whole barrier thing? I’m sure she’d be happy to explain it to you in person.”

Toriel chuckled gently. “So she has… Goodness. What a strange child,” she said fondly. “So you think she can do it?”

“Weirdly enough, yeah,” he said. “And. Well. Don’t worry about Asgore, alright? Got a lot of monsters out here watchin’ over this kid. Not gonna let somethin’ stupid happen to her.”

“That’s… Hah. That’s still shocking to me,” she said. “I was so sure she’d be fleeing for her life. To be honest, one of the only reasons I decided not to keep trying to stop her from leaving the Ruins was that she mentioned you. Strange, isn’t it?”

“Nah. Not really,” he said. “To be honest, she wasn’t safe for a little while. But then, y’know, kiddo worked her magic on the Guard Captain, and basically every single guard in town, actually. She just kinda integrated. She’s a cute little nerd with a good attitude. Everyone just kinda liked her.”

“Hah… Things have changed a great deal since I left,” she said quietly. “I’m very glad. Thank you, Sans. You’ve really put my mind at ease.”

“No problem,” he assured her. 

“Pfft. I have to apologize. All our conversation topics have been basically the same,” she said.

“Hey, you miss your kid,” he said. “I miss her when she’s outta the house for like an hour, so I kinda get it.”

“Aw! Sans, that’s so sweet,” she said. “So! How about, instead, you tell me about your week, then?”

Sans froze up for a second. He snickered quietly and rubbed his brow. He looked down at the words on the page that he’d scribbled as he talked. Getting ripped apart in a dream again. “Alright,” he said. “It’s not that interesting.”

“Whatever it is, it's interesting to me,” she assured him.

He highly doubted it, but he was happy to humour her.

\- - -

The whole group was home for dinner— spaghetti, as usual. Asriel decided to spend the night out in the Ruins so he wouldn’t have to wake up early to catch some sunlight. Frisk lent him her phone, which easily included a pillow and a small dishcloth to use as a blanket. 

Sans was glad to return Frisk’s journal to her. He hoped she wouldn’t need it. She felt much the same. She added a couple more nightmares to her goofy list, too.

When the kid started getting tired, Sans read aloud to her and Papyrus until she dozed off in his lap. 

“Heh. Guess we’re gonna have to do the end of that one again, huh?” he said, gently rubbing her head. 

“I’m surprised we make any progress at all,” Papyrus joked quietly. He held his arms open. “Can I take her?”

Sans gently grasped the kid in blue and passed her over with a flick of his finger. Papyrus happily snuggled her, letting his hands glow with amber. A bit of preventative magic was probably a good idea.

“I’m so happy we have her,” Papyrus said quietly. “I’m happy we have Asriel, too. And I’m excited for whatever happens next. Are you?”

“Welp. I’m not feelin’ awful about it,” he said.

“Good!” Papyrus said. “Frisk can do it. She can do anything.”

Sans smiled. He kicked back and put his arms behind his head. 

“To be honest, though,” Papyrus said. “I’m a little worried about Asriel.”

“Hm? Why?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s just. He seemed a bit worried,” he said. “About the whole human soul thing. He told me it wasn’t really all that fun even though it was what he wanted at the time.”

“Oh. He tell you about Chara?” he asked.

“N-No. No. He seemed unhappy. I didn’t ask about her,” he said. He looked a little sad. “It must’ve been awful.”

“Probably,” Sans said. “That kid ended up not really bein’ great for anyone.”

“R-Right. Right.” Papyrus sighed. “It must be complicated, right?”

“Sure is,” Sans said.

“Hey.” Papyrus leaned over to look at him. “Um. Brother? Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, Paps. Shoot,” he said.

Papyrus looked down at Frisk. His brow furrowed.

“What was it like?” he asked quietly. “When you figured out she was… You know. Her. The one you were waiting for.”

“Why?” Sans asked, raising his brows.

“I don’t know, I just… Nyeh! I guess I just feel like sometimes I missed so much,” he said. “I guess I must’ve! It feels weird. I guess. I don’t know. It’s such a strange thing that happened to you.”

“You can say that again,” Sans said. “Uh. I dunno. Realized it when she reset the second time. It was the same as my dream.”

“But what happened?” he asked. “You… You met her, even before I did, right?”

“Ah. Yeah. Sorry,” he said, but he grinned. “But hey, in this timeline you got a call from her early, huh?”

“That’s true!” he said. “But… I guess it doesn’t matter. She’s just as important to you as to me, so I guess either of us is just fine. So did you see her right out of the Ruins?”

“At the bridge,” he said.

“What?! All the way there?” he demanded a bit shrilly. He lowered his voice quickly. “Wait. So. Wait. Was she there? When I came to scold you for not resetting your puzzles?!”

“Sure was,” he said.

“What?! Why didn’t you say so?” he asked.

“Which time?” he asked.

“That happened more than once?!” Papyrus sighed. “Whhhyyyy?”

“Kinda testin’ her,” he said, shrugging slightly. “Plus it was pretty funny. Did it to a bunch of the other time kids, too. Stashed ‘em behind the lamp.”

“The…? The lamp?! Are you serious right now?” Papyrus asked.

“Sure, why d’you think I told you to look behind it?” He grinned up at him.

“Oh. My. God. Sans.” Papyrus groaned and rubbed his face. He gently laid Frisk down and tucked her in, shooting Sans a cross look. “What am I going to do with you?” 

“Dunno,” he said with a grin.

Papyrus sighed. He rubbed his hand over the back of his skull and laughed tiredly.

“You didn’t answer me,” he said. “Does she not want me to know? Do you not want me to know?”

“Oh. Uh. No. It’s not that,” he said. He laughed. “No, dude, I just… It was like… It was real emotional and junk.”

“Yes, I guess it must’ve been.” He gently ran his hand over the kid’s head. “So. You had been in the same bit of time in a loop for who knows how long, and then you realized Frisk meant it was over and… Gosh. I’m kind of feeling emotional even thinking about it!”

“Heh. Yeah. It felt kinda like I’d been stuck in a box for as long as I could remember and she just came along and let me out. And I could, I dunno, breathe,” he said. “The second I realized, and the way she reacted, I… I knew she was ours. Family. You know. It was kinda overwhelming. I basically just collapsed. Think I probably cried like a punk, too. She was real good about it, though.”

“Was she happy to be back?” he asked.

“Sure was,” he said.

Papyrus seemed relieved, but he still looked troubled, too. “Brother, how…? How long were we stuck here?” he asked. “I mean. In the time loop.”

“Technically we’re still in it,” he said. “Until the flower kid is no longer a flower kid. If that works.”

“Oh. Right. Okay.” He nodded. “But…?”

“Dunno,” Sans said.

“Weeks?” Papyrus’s brow furrowed when his brother shrugged. “Months? …Not years. Couldn’t be. Right?”

Again, Sans shrugged. Papyrus sighed.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be,” he said.

Papyrus nodded. Sans settled back and closed his eyes. The tall skeleton stared at his brother for a few long seconds.

“Sans?” he said. “I love you.”

“Thanks, bro, love you, too,” Sans said sleepily. “G’night.”

Papyrus sat in silence for a few moments. He looked at his siblings on either side of him. He was glad Frisk really did sleep like a log. He grabbed one of Sans’s slippers and hurled it at the light switch. Got it in one hit. He dragged his brother up closer, nestled into his blankets and put an arm around each of them. He was the biggest one, after all. It was his job to protect them.


	72. Did You Remember?

The next day was low-key and relaxed. Frisk and Papyrus did some practice with Undyne in the morning, as usual, but aside from that and Asriel’s return, nothing much happened at all. Frisk was almost glad to put another checkmark on her silly list. _Nothing to do_. At least not until tomorrow.

It felt weird having everything so quiet. Nice, but weird. Mid-afternoon, Sans was dozed off on the couch, as was Asriel, and Frisk was back at her dream journal. She had to add another sad-face to it, but at least it hadn’t been a very long dream this time. 

She looked at Sans and felt immediately reassured. Her soul glimmered faintly. She could feel it did have a bit of strength in it after all. 

Papyrus put his hand on her shoulder, distracting her, and he looked down at her with a smile.

“Hey, little sister,” he said. “I was wondering. Would you like to show me how to cook some bread?”

“Bread? What, really?” Frisk asked.

“Yes! You said that was the one thing you knew,” he said. “And we had such a good exchange on the spaghetti, and were such a great team, I though maybe we could do the same with this bread of yours. Since I’m basically a master chef, I’m sure I could pick it up!”

“Oh! Okay!” Frisk slipped off the couch, placing her journal back where she’d been sitting. “I can show you what I learned. It was kinda hard because my arms are really small, but you have really big arms, so I think we should be okay!”

“Really? What do arms have to do with bread?” he asked.

“Well, you gotta knead it,” she said.

“Hmm… I’m not sure if I neeeeed it, but—”

“No no, knead.” Frisk mimed like she was pushing a ball of dough. She headed to the kitchen and waved at him to follow when he just stared at her with a look of confusion on his face. “Let me show you!”

“Exciting!” he said brightly.

With his help, Frisk got a large baking sheet. She’d seen how to make two kinds of bread, but they only had the things to make a soda bread with honey. The ingredients were simple and Papyrus had no problem at all kneading the dough once she showed him how to. They popped it in the oven and had a fresh loaf of bread a little under an hour later. The smell woke the others just in time to eat.

The warm bread was a welcome addition to a dinner of spaghetti and tomato sauce. In fact, it made Papyrus’s eyes sparkle. 

“Hey, would you look at that,” Asriel said around a mouthful. “You guys can actually kinda cook if you try.”

“Of course!” Papyrus held a chunk of the bread close like it was a precious, tiny pillow. “This is almost as perfect for spaghetti sauce as spaghetti noodles are.”

“Are you guys not used to bread dunking?” Frisk asked.

“Bread dunking?” Asriel repeated. “I dunno, isn’t bread just for sandwiches? I never really heard of it being made separate except for toast.”

“Oh! No way! It’s great, you can put it in soup, or sauce, or any kinda goopy food. It really helps, especially if you don’t have a lot of stuff to eat. Even if it's stale! But, like, newly baked is the best,” she said. “Oh! I guess it wouldn’t actually get stale like this. Sans, you like it?”

When she looked at him, he seemed very focussed on scraping every bit of sauce from the bottom of his bowl with a chunk of the bread. She took that as a yes and grinned brightly.

\- - -

Frisk and Asriel spent some time on another round of their board game that resulted in both of them getting killed by a dragon, so they laughed and ditched it to continue on with the unfortunate _Under Ground Hearts_. They fell asleep in front of the TV a few hours later. Rumour was the next day was going to be big. Papyrus gladly brought the kids up to the bedroom to get some rest. He was committed to sleeping, for once, as well. Had to be in top condition in case Mettaton needed help with anything. At least, that was his reasoning.

Sans soon found himself in the uncommon position of being the only one in the house still awake. Maybe he just didn’t trust the silence.

He slipped into his siblings’ room without a sound. They were all already asleep. He had half a mind to borrow Frisk, but he let her be. 

In his room, he gave some trash in the corner a bit of a spin, sending it into a small whirlwind to cool the place with a gentle breeze. He dropped backwards onto his mattress and stared up at the dark ceiling. There was no reason to be worried, right? Yeah right, he thought. Something still wasn’t sitting right. Couldn’t place it, though. He put a hand to his brow. Why was there a pressure in his skull? 

He saw blue when his eye lit on its own. He sighed. It took him a minute, but he forced himself to his feet. Tea, then bed.

\- - -

A song was playing, faint and soft, carried around a space vast and vacant. Frisk opened her eyes, floating in a void. The only difference between this and the back of her lids were tiny, distant glimmers of light dotting the blackness.

The kid blinked and looked around. She felt on her shoulders and looked at herself. She was wearing her blue and purple striped shirt. That wasn’t what she’d fallen asleep in. Must’ve been a dream.

“Anyone here?” she called. “Sans? Asriel?”

Nothing. She could feel the tingle of a hum deep in her ears but she couldn’t hear a voice anywhere. She guessed she was alone here. At least it was better than being forced into some memory. 

She floated forward and then, curiously, she leaned back and tried to go backwards, too. She could, effortlessly. It was kind of fun. She didn’t know why she’d never tried it before.

A little sting of guilt hit her. She stalled where she floated. She lit her soul and put her hand over it, feeling for Sans. There was nothing there; no dreams running parallel to her that she was missing.

Feeling a little lighter, she let herself drift. There was something calming about it. She wondered how close she could get to one of those stars out there. The second she even considered it, she sparked with red and the next thing she knew, she was looking straight into a spot of golden light. 

It was like peering through glass made of honey. She could see some shifting shapes through there; forms of monsters walking by across the snow. 

“Oh, weird,” she said to herself. She gently touched it. It was chilly against her fingertips.

Frisk floated off backwards and wondered about another one she could see, one that was blue. It looked like frosted glass when she peered through it. There was magma bubbling beneath it. 

She floated away, curious about if there was anything more to be found here. There were countless stars. She gave one more a peek, popping through space to check out a gold one. The music was quieter here. She peeked through and saw trees and grass that rustled lightly with a breeze. 

She turned to get her bearings. For some reason, the all-encompassing music wasn’t quite so all-encompassing in a certain direction. It was quiet there, instead. Weird, she thought. She followed the silence. 

Soon, she picked out a small shape in the darkness. White and round, shifting back and forth in a rhythm in the black. She floated towards it curiously. She could soon make out that it was a face, with two big black eyes and a wide smile for a mouth.

It was the shadowman. Had to be. Frisk’s heart thunked. Better him than something else. In fact, she was sort of glad. She took a moment to consider, but it was weird to know all that she did and still see him. She knew she’d forget after a while, but right now, it was a bit like seeing an old friend. Maybe they were friends. Maybe any feelings she had about him vanished until she saw him again. She had no way of knowing. She moved a little closer.

He was pacing, drifting back and forth, muttering to himself quietly— looked agitated. She was hit with nostalgia and relief. And something a bit stronger, too. It was a strange feeling. He didn’t seem to have noticed her yet. That felt unusual. Didn’t seem like him to be taken off-guard, but she wasn’t sure why. He was usually the one to find her, wasn’t he?

Frisk tilted her head. She got a little closer. “H-Hey! Um, excuse me?” she called.

The man whirled on her quickly. He looked stunned.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “Is something wrong?”

He wooshed over to her and knelt down. He said something she couldn’t understand. She smiled apologetically. She didn’t know why, but it made her ache that she couldn’t catch his words. She wanted to.

“I, um… I’m sorry. I don’t speak that, but… I feel like we’ve had this conversation before. Oh!” Her eyes went wide. “I’m sorry! When you helped me find my friend’s house.”

He stared back at her silently. She frowned, confusion starting to set in quickly. She hadn’t remembered that until just now. Why? She’d seen him with her waking eyes.

“Wait. Wait wait wait. That’s weird. I dunno what’s going on, but I just remembered that outta nowhere. And then I remember not remembering right after? It’s weird.” The bafflement and a sense of worry made her throat tighten, but she turned her focus back on him. “A-Anyway, I just noticed, you looked kind of upset, are you okay?”

He looked absolutely aghast. He cautiously pointed behind her. Frisk frowned with confusion and she turned around. She didn’t see anything behind her at all.

“Um, sorry, not sure what you mean,” she said apologetically. She turned back to him and rubbed her head. “Sorry I’m not quite cluing in but… we know each other, don’t we?”

He trembled. Frisk felt a strike of sympathy. She was sure she knew him. A sort of heartache was coming on strong and fast. It was like something reached deep back into her mind. Like it held an old memory up to the light and dusted it off.

“I feel like… I dunno, it’s weird, I look at you and I feel like we’re old friends or something,” she said.

Frisk bit her lip— no, it was more than that. He’d met her more than that in real life, hadn’t he? He’d been there a long time. Little moments, short visits, comforting words spelled out in her palms; hugs that felt like ice but reassured her anyway. A pen that changed from grey to red. A blanket torn from his robes. Felt like there was more, straining to reach her. Her heart thunked. Her eyes started to water and she quickly wiped them on the back of her hand.

“…I feel like… I kinda love you somehow, y’know?” she said quietly. “Maybe that’s weird. Sorry.”

The monster stared back at her. His black eyes began to drip, like they were leaking down his face, and though it struck her with a sense of fear for just a moment, she realized rather quickly that he was crying. He reached out to her hesitantly, then pulled back, the expression on his face distorting— he looked, for some reason, ashamed. Frisk’s heart sunk. 

“H-Hey. Hey, no, it’s okay.” She held one of his hands in both of hers. “You know me, huh? More than I know?”

He grimaced, but then, slowly, nodded. He reached out again, and when she didn’t recoil, he embraced her. She could feel his boney hands digging in as he gripped her back and shoulders. She instantly felt horrible for him. She hugged him as best she could in return. He shook. She didn’t understand. Why hadn’t she recalled? This was no stranger at all.

“Oh… Oh my god,” she whispered quietly. “I do know you.”

“Hmm?” he mumbled.

“You’re… Hah. Oh god.” She put her forehead on his shoulder. “I g-guess I know how they felt now. I’m so sorry.”

“Hm?!” He drew back to look down at her, holding her shoulders tightly.

His face was a mess, like something from a nightmare; eyes oozing black all the way down to what might have been his jawline, the split that was his mouth seemed to gape and the white distorted in several places as if it had chipped, mimicking pointed teeth. She wasn’t scared at all now, though. Couldn’t be. Couldn’t even fathom it.

“I know you,” she insisted. “Really! I… I mean, you were there since I was just tiny, weren’t you?!”

He heaved out some sort of pained, distorted whimper. Determination surging in her, she grabbed him again, hugging him tight. He wilted around her.

She tried to let her energy connect into his. It was like reaching through bleak, slippery oil. A heavy, oppressive darkness that made her head hurt right away. She felt him shaking a little harder. She reached for him, her energy straining until she saw a faint glimmer, a sparkle of light shining pale grey. It was only there for a second, in her mind’s eye. Her soul caught the shredded, hollow remnants of his, brightening it with pinpricks of blue and gold. There was sense of desperation radiating through his cool energy. The kind of lonely, heartsick ache she knew a bit too well. She heard him gasp softly.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” she said gently. “You’re… You’re pretty lonely, huh?”

He nodded.

“I know the feeling,” she said quietly. “Do…? Do people always forget you? Is that why?”

He nodded again. She grimaced.

“I dunno if this’d help, but we can just hang out for a little if you want?” she said.

He sat back, his eyes devoid of light. He wiped his face, the tears like tar at first, stains that then faded to nothing on his stark-white hands.

“Look, I… I think I know how you feel a little bit. I’ve been on your side of this. I… I had to time travel and almost all of my best friends would totally forget who I was. But I know you. Right? I remember. I remember when you tried to help me. I know it’s not perfect, but maybe that helps? I’m so sorry,” she said. “That’s weird, I’m usually so good with memories. I don’t know why I wouldn’t… Sheesh.”

“F… Frisky… Oh, you s-sweet kid,” he muttered quietly. “It’s not… your fault.”

Frisk looked back at him in surprise. That strange distortion on his words was almost entirely gone. She could hear his deep, gravelly voice clear as a bell. She smiled sheepishly.

“Well, that’s a step forward, right?” she said. “Not sure what happened, but I totally gotcha now.”

He tilted his head. Light came back to his eyes and he blinked back at her in shock. “Wait… Wait one moment. Are you…? Serious?” he asked. “Y-You can… understand me?”

“Yeah!” she said. 

“O-Oh god.” He grabbed her again, hugging her tightly; his fixed expression felt like it was beaming. “I n-n-never thought… Oh my god. _A stór, a chroí, _you have n-no idea… how happy I am.”

“I’m really glad, then!” she squeaked.

“Oh… I am s-squishing you too much, a-aren’t I?” He loosened his grip. “I am sorry.”

“No no, don’t be,” she said quickly. “So you know my name, huh? And your voice, it sounds really familiar to me.”

She knew it, now. Had to be. He was the one she’d heard, the one who’d saved in those blue lights. Had they done this to him?

His fractured maw smiled, much more clearly now. He wiped his eyes again. “O-Of course I know your name,” he said quietly. “F… Frisky, please, d… don’t apologize for… for not being able to… All of this is… my own doing.”

She frowned, confused, and tilted her head. Before she could ask, he reached out and gently brushed some stray hair from her face.

“All of this, it’s… all been my fault,” he said. “But, you…? Hah… You’ve always been a light in this mess.”

“Me?” Frisk repeated. “…Who are you? How long have you been like this?”

His face changed— his expression a bit more vacant. The light was gone again and his hands dropped away from her.

“Forever… and… no time at all,” he said. “I… can’t recall… I’m not there. I’m not… anywhere. I’m not… I’m not…” He began to shake again.

“Hey, hey, relax, relax,” Frisk said quickly; she grabbed his hand. “Are you okay?”

“I… I’m falling,” he said. “Wait. Not yet. I’m… alright. Thank you.”

“What are you?” she asked. “A monster? I mean, you are a monster, right? You lived underground?”

“I am… I was…” He rubbed a hand over his face, fingers lingering on those black cracks near his eyes, and frowned to himself. “I am… a father? Don’t forget. I am father. Important. ”

“So you’re really real, then,” she said quickly. “You’re real and something happened to you?”

He froze. He stared back at her and then looked at his hands. “Real… I was real,” he said. “I have… Had. Three children. _Ta me ar strae._ I am… not real anymore.”

“You have to be real, we’re talking, right?” Frisk insisted.“You…? You were a scientist, maybe? You worked in the lab? Do you remember that? Does Dandelion Plaza ring a bell? Did you live there? What about the Ruins? I found your save there, I saw your memories.”

“I… It’s all… Only sideways,” he muttered. “Sideways. Sideways…” He began to slump; tilt like his body was wilting. 

Frisk felt a hit of worry. She stood up and cupped his face. “Hey. Hey, don’t lose it on me,” she said insistently. “Stay here. Stay here, okay? Tell me about your kids. Focus.”

“My… kids…?” He blinked; smiled a little. “_Cuimhnigh i gconai_. They’re… perfect. My oldest is a genius, and my middle one, so confident and kind. And my youngest is… is…” He slumped again.

Frisk grabbed him tight. He was starting to feel weird. Almost gooey.

“Oh… Oh god. Okay. Okay, no no no, don’t melt,” she said quickly. “Don’t melt, don’t you dare.”

“This is good,” he said quietly. “This is good. It’s new. It’s good. New is good. It’s good.”

“But can’t I help?!” Frisk demanded. “Please let me help! You just gotta hold it together!!”

He smiled. He laughed quietly. He gently put his brow to hers and his hand, the one that wasn’t quite melting, cupped her face.

“Frisky,” he said, “you are helping. Thank you. For coming to see me. I’m sorry my mind isn’t solid.”

“D-Don’t apologize for that,” she insisted, trying to ignore the fact that his right side was beginning to puddle.

“I think… I think I can come see you soon,” he said. “Maybe that’s what that means. You… You said I’m real, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, you’re totally real. You’re super real. I know it. You have to be.”

“Then… Then I’m real. Keep me in your mind. And I’ll be real. That’s good.” He smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry… that you had to see me like this, sweetheart. But thank you. _Tá sé in am éirí_.”

He let her go. Everything about him collapsed like he was water, crashing down like an ocean wave, and he scattered into a million glimmering specks of obsidian dust. 

\- - -

Something was off. It was like an energy in the air snapped. It awoke Sans with a start, like someone had slammed a door nearby. He blinked hard and looked around. He had a strange feeling — something was missing, but he couldn’t place it.

He got up and peeked into Papyrus’s room. Lumps in the blankets. Asriel was asleep on the table. Nothing weird. He frowned to himself and went downstairs. After a moment, he thought he heard breathing. Ragged and high. He brightened his eye in the dark and looked around for a moment; saw a shape under the table and a strange image, like three glowing claw marks floating in the dark. 

When he bent down, he saw Frisk, curled up, trembling, and staring at her hands.

“Uh, kiddo?” he asked. “Sup? You okay?”

It took her a moment to snap out of it, but when she did, she still looked shaken. She made to get out, but instead he grabbed her soul and moved her closer. 

“C’mere, you dork, what’re you doin’?” he asked; she clung to him as soon as he was within arm’s reach. “Oh. Okay. Bad night, huh?”

“Weird. Weird weird weird,” she muttered; she hid her face against him for a moment and took a deep breath to steady herself. “I need to talk to you. C… Can we go to your room?”

When she looked up, they were already there. He put her on the mattress and she curled up on herself and took a deep breath.

“You know the… the shadowman guy?” she asked. “The one that I—”

“I know. What’s up?” he asked. “He didn’t take you again, did he?”

“N-No, no, not that. He… I d-dunno. I saw him. But. N-Not just that,” she said quietly. “I… I know him.”

“Hm?” Sans’s brow furrowed. “Wait. You remembered this time? How?”

“I… I dunno, I just…!” She looked shellshocked “It all came back as soon as I woke up and I’m not sure what the heck is going on, b-but it’s really weird and confusing and—!”

“It’s okay. Breathe. Slow down,” Sans said, holding her shoulder reassuringly. “What happened?”

Frisk took a few long, deep breaths. She was still shaking but she nodded. She held out her hands like she was trying to sort the information in her head onto the mattress.

“This… This is gonna sound totally nuts,” she said. “You know how, before I got here, some of my memories are… patchy? Like… it feels like I forgot what I was doing sometimes, you know?”

“Guess so, now that you mention it,” Sans said.

“It’s… not because I was…” She sighed and pressed a palm to her temple. “It’s not because I was a dope, or a little kid or whatever, it was because the shadowman was there.”

“You’re sayin’ this thing is just wanderin’ around,” he said. “For sure. On the surface.”

“I’ve… I’ve seen him my whole life,” she said, giving a stiff, tired nod. “While I’m awake. Not just dreams. He… tried to help me on the surface, but he was like a ghost; couldn’t touch much other than me. And unless I could see him, I’d forget him every time. Like every time was seeing him the first time. And every time, he’d… he’d make me not scared, he’d… try to help.” Her voice started to waver and she took a long, deep breath. Her head hurt.

Sans took a seat on the floor beside her. That steadied her a little.

“I… used to write myself these notes, if I was staying in one place. Telling myself about him. But even those memories didn’t stick. He didn’t talk a lot, but when he did it was a weird language I could never understand. E-Every once in a while, he’d, like… write letters in my hand with his finger. It was hard b-because, you know me, I could barely read normally, you know? Even worse back then, but… But he’s the one who got me to come here, to the mountain. That’s why I wrote it on my hand, so I wouldn’t forget. But I forgot him. I forgot until just now.” She frowned to herself and hugged her knees. 

Sans looked at her, brow furrowed, and he offered her his hand. She held it tight and took a deep breath.

“So what changed?” he asked. 

Frisk had to brace herself. She felt sick even thinking about it. She told him everything: what she’d told the shadowman, every word that she could recall from him, even the ones that she was sure weren’t in English. She didn’t realize she had started crying until her brother put his arms around her and brought her in close to his chest.

She sniffled and managed to let herself relax a little as his magic cooled her right down. He brushed his fingers through her hair reassuringly.

“Chill out,” he said. “It’s gonna be fine.”

“I don’t understand… I think… I think he’s… I mean. Wh-What if he’s dead?” she said quietly. “He… H-He was actually really nice! But he was so lonely. And… And it was like… all he wanted was to have someone remember him.”

“You do,” Sans said. “That means somethin’, right?”

Frisk cupped one hand over the other, where the glowing marks had once been. She closed her eyes and nodded. 

“It’s the same guy,” she said. “From those memories. In the blue saves. It was him. I know it was. H-He’s… He’s a person! You know? He had a family. And now it’s… He’s stuck and I… I don’t… I don’t know how to…”

“Hey. Relax,” Sans said gently. 

“S-Sorry,” she said quietly. “It’s like… my brain is all messed up, a-and—”

“It’s okay,” he assured her. 

She sat up, sniffing hard. He held her face gently and touched his brow to hers, letting his eye light up bright. It was instantly soothing. She smiled and rested against him comfortably, holding onto his hands with weak fingers. 

“Thanks,” she said. “You’re a good big brother, you know that?”

“Hm.” He grinned and pulled back. “Hey. You know what? Whatever happened. I think you helped him.”

“R-Really?” she squeaked.

“Sure. And hey. Know what? I bet he’ll turn up again,” he said. “Weird things like that, this world doesn't seem to ever wanna drop ‘em. So, uh, just keep an eye out, alright?”

She nodded and took a deep breath. “I just… I guess I can't believe I forgot,” she said. “I… I mean, I know I forgot him every t-time, but I-I really cared about him.”

“I get it. Stuff’s messed up. But we’ll figure it out together, okay?” He got up and offered her his hand. “Know what a kid like you could use about now?”

“What?” she asked. She grabbed his fingers tight.

“Milkshake,” he said. “Good for your bones, right? Might help, since you’re so, uh, rattled.”

Frisk snickered. She was happy to let him pull her to her feet.

\- - -

MTT was playing generic cooking show reruns again. There was a consistently running bar at the bottom of the screen advertising some the “tour de force” event coming up tomorrow, as Mettaton called it. Sans found himself feeling pretty glad he still had Asgore’s TV.

Frisk had fallen asleep on him again, though she was troubled. Kept shaking. Unfortunately, Sans thought, there was nothing more he could do for her yet. 

He was about to drift off himself when he heard Papyrus storming down the stairs. He paused very abruptly, and Sans heard him let out a loud sigh. When he got his eyes to refocus, his brother was standing right in front of him. He bent down to look him in the face.

“Sans, what on earth are you two doing?” he asked. “It’s not like you to be awake this late.”

“Frisk had a bad night,” he said.

“What?!” he yelped.

Sans quickly waved a hand at him and he lowered his volume. Papyrus stooped his shoulders and leaned closer, as if that was supposed to help him get quieter.

“What do you mean, was she having nightmares again?!” he asked at a loud whisper.

“She got some missin’ memories back from before she came here,” he said. “And she didn’t know she had missin’ memories. It kinda threw her off.”

“Really? What? Why?” Papyrus demanded quickly. “What memories?!”

“Shadowman stuff,” he said.

“What?! Oh no, did he come for her again?!” he asked. “Oh. Wait. Oh no. Did she remember the last time he came for her?!”

“Probably. But, uh…” He looked down at Frisk and gently rubbed her head. “She knew him. Before.”

“Before? What do you mean, before?” he asked.

“She saw him on the surface. But she forgot every time, until she remembered like two hours ago,” he said.

Papyrus stared back at him, wide-eyed. It was clear there were a million questions racing through his head. He raised one finger, opened his mouth, but then thought better of it. He frowned, folded his arms, and paced the length of the couch three times before stopping in front of Sans again.

“What the heck does that mean?” he said. “I mean. What…What are the implications of that?!”

“Not sure I can answer that, bro,” he said. “Except that maybe Frisk’s gettin’ stronger? If this guy not bein’ remembered has to do with some time stuff, she might be able to get around it. Maybe that’s it. I dunno.”

“Fine. Okay. That’s just fine,” Papyrus said with a sigh. “Is she okay, though?” 

“Hope so,” Sans said. “I think… I’m startin’ to get the picture.”

“What picture? I’m confused,” Papyrus said.

“No worries, bro,” he assured him. “But, hey. Humour me for a sec?”

“Hmmm?” Papyrus asked. “What is it, brother?”

Sans looked at his kid silently for a moment. Papyrus tilted his head.

“Brother?” he asked again.  
“We’ve all heard her hum, right?” Sans said.

“Yes. It’s very nice, too,” Papyrus said with a nod.

“So if you focus, you can see the shape, right?” he said. “Of the sound, I mean. Her voice. You know.”

“Well, yes, but so can you. What’s this all about?” Papyrus asked.

“So what would you have named her?” he asked.

Papyrus paused. He squinted. He rubbed his chin. He started to smile. “Nyeh heh heh! What a funny coincidence!” he said brightly. “Frisky.”

“That’s what I thought,” Sans said. “Thanks, bro.”

Papyrus stuck both thumbs up. “Alright, well, I trust you two are fine here. You will bring her back up if you decide you need to vanish and do any late night snacking shenanigans?” he said.

Sans stuck his thumb up. “Will do.”

Papyrus ran back upstairs and Sans turned his gaze on Frisk. He couldn’t help the glow that came to his eye; wouldn’t have stopped it if he could’ve. Carefully, he lifted the kid into his arms and rested with her lazily. Her little hands gripped him tight, tucking herself in under his chin. Papyrus used to do the same, when he was small. He kind of loved that. Maybe it all did make a little sense, after all.

He focussed on her soul’s hum. Slow. Sleepy. Comforting. Hard to tell what it was really like until you sped it up. Just like a monster’s. What other monsters had always described as the human sound of war drums— that was her heartbeat. Her hum was much softer. It had a sort of familiarity to him that reached back in his mind, from somewhere long before he’d ever even met her. It must’ve been attached to her the whole time, right? Just waiting for a chance, for its frequency to be found. He was glad it’d made itself heard.

He lost himself listening to it. It was relaxing. He dozed off for a while, but then the pattern changed. Sped up. There was a bit of a twinge in her energy that he felt poke his own soul from the proximity. He looked at the kid curiously, but saw she started to look a bit sweaty. Somehow, her skin was off colour— maybe a shade too light, too. His brow furrowed. He put a hand on her shoulder and shook her a little.

“Kid?” he said.

Her eyes opened slowly, but she started trembling almost right away. “Whoa… S’cold in here…” she mumbled.

“Really? You’re sweatin’ like crazy. You okay?” he asked.

“I, um… I don’t feel so good,” she muttered.

“Dude, yeah, you look kinda... I dunno, green?”he said.

Sans put a hand on her forehead. His bones were cool; she leaned in before she meant to. He frowned a little.

“Your skin is really hot,” he said. “That’s not, uh, normal, huh?”

“S-Sorry. Sorry.” She slumped and put her head in her hands. “I'll... I'll be o-okay, maybe I j-just have a chill.”

“Oh. Okay,” he said. “Hang on.”

He vanished. Frisk shivered. Hoped she wouldn’t throw up. After a few moments, Papyrus ran down the stairs and scooped her into his arms.

“Frisk!! You are cold?” he demanded. “You’re not feeling well again?!”

“I’m s-so sorry,” she said quietly.

“No, no no no, Frisk, don’t be sorry, just let the great Papyrus, your tallest and warmest brother, keep you nice and toasty warm, okay?!” He sat down on the couch with her and pressed her gently to his chest and set his soul aglow, bright and warm. “See? Not so bad, right? You do the same, that is quite warm, I think!”

Frisk tried. She felt weak upon even attempting it. She took a deep breath and tried again. The red glow didn’t want to shine. She gulped and looked up at him with big, worried eyes. “I… I c-can’t,” she whimpered.

“You can’t?” he repeated. “My gosh, Frisk, you must really be out of it, aren’t you? Well! Never fear. You just relax, I can glow for the both of us.”

“I-Is that normal, c-can people sometimes just not?” she asked shrilly.

“Oh, yes, don’t you worry about a thing,” Papyrus said. “Sometimes people get very tired, you know. It happens. In fact, our brother used to have months at a time where he couldn’t do it. I had to glow double for him as well, it's really no trouble. I don't mind it at all except for that, you know, you probably don’t enjoy not being able to do it.”

“Okay. Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Th-Thanks.”

He smiled at her reassuringly. Frisk hugged onto him gently and he curled up with her. She closed her eyes but, for some reason, she still didn’t feel warm. Her stomach was in knots. Papyrus started to hum quietly to himself. 

“Hey. How is she?” Sans asked— sounded like he was upstairs.

“Oh! Brother!” Papyrus said. “Still shaky, I'm afraid.”

“Alright.”

After a few seconds, she felt Sans tucking a blanket in around her shoulders. She thought she heard Asriel shouting something. Possibly _bonehead_. She huffed and had to put her arms around herself. She was still freezing. Started to feel it down into her bones. Felt absolutely sick. 

“P… Papyrus,” she squeaked. “I… I’m g-gonna puke.”

“Puke? What? PUKE? Wh-What do I do?!” He lifted her and jumped to his feet. “Um. Uh. Alright! Where?!”

“O-Out,” she said.

He ran her outside and she immediately dropped to her knees in the snow and began to retch. His eyes went wide and he put his hands to his mouth. She hacked and her shoulders shook. Felt like absolute trash. Papyrus hurriedly threw the door open.

“SANS! SANS!!” he shouted. “FRISK IS SHAKING AND MAKING TERROR SOUNDS!!!”

“Dude, bring her back inside,” Sans said.

“N-No, wait, I don… I d-don’t wanna puke in the house,” she stammered.

“Too bad.” Sans picked her up onto her feet and looked her in the face. “Sheesh, kid.”

She shrugged. Her vision was starting to go a little funny though. Grey at the edges, like looking at an old TV screen. She grabbed his sweatshirt.

“I might faint,” she said.

She heard Papyrus yelp. Sans hefted her up off the ground and, before she knew it, she was in his room. He put her on the mattress. 

“Oh, no no no, I’m gonna puke on your socks,” she said.

“Dude, the amount I care is possibly in the negatives,” he said. “What do you need?”

She started to cough before she could answer. He frowned.

“Hang in there,” he said.

In Papyrus’s room, Asriel was squirming to get down to the floor. He glared at Sans as soon as he appeared before him.

“The hell is going on out there?” he demanded. “Where’s Frisk? What’s going on?”

“Think she’s having stomach problems,” Sans said. “You know anything about that?”

“You accusing me of—?!” Asriel snapped.

“No. No.” Sans laughed. “Paranoid much? No. You had a human sister, too, huh? So. Maybe you know something. More than us anyway, seeing as, uh, no organs.”

“Oh…” Asriel’s snarl fell and he looked thoughtful. “Okay. Bring me to her. And bring her water.”

“Gotcha.”

He picked up Asriel’s mug and carried him to his room. Frisk seemed to have stumbled partway across the floor and fallen, because she was there on her knees, shaking like a leaf, breathing too hard, while Papyrus rubbed her back consolingly.

Sans put Asriel down and vanished for just a few seconds before returning with a mug of water. Asriel nodded and waved his leaves at the skeletons. 

“Okay, out out out,” he said.

“WHAT?!” Papyrus yelped, “But —!”

“Look, you don’t wanna see a human hurl, trust me, just let me handle this,” he said. “And she probably doesn’t want you to see it either.”

Sans shrugged. He knelt down and put a hand on Frisk’s shoulder. “Kiddo, you okay here? We’ll be just outside, huh?” he said. “You gotta chuck, just do it, okay? Don’t worry.”

“Th-Thanks,” she said. 

Papyrus cupped her face and gently touched his brow to hers, and then whispered something. She smiled and nodded, and he reluctantly pulled away and stepped out. Sans followed and shut the door. There was a little bit of a thump— he had probably put his back against it.

Asriel sighed and pushed the water towards Frisk and patted her arm. “Drink,” he said. “What’d he say?”

“H-Huh?” she asked.

“Papyrus. What’d he say?”

“Oh.” Frisk laughed weakly. “J-Just that he loves me and to sh-shout if I needed him.” She took the mug in shaking fingers and drank a little, very slowly.

“Fine. You didn’t put any of those flowers near your mouth, right?” he asked.

“Flowers?” she repeated.

“The buttercups? For the play,” he said. “They’re poison.”

She shook her head. He sighed with relief. 

“Okay. Fine. That’s fine.” He stretched taller and looked her in the face. “Shit. You look awful.”

“Uh-huh,” she said.

“Anything weird happen?” he asked.

“I had this dream that… that was sort of r-real? And I got some memories back that I d-didn’t know were gone,” she said. “It was s-spooky.”

Asriel tilted his head. He shoved the mug again and she drank a little more. “So you’re probably stressed as hell, then,” he said.

She shrugged. He rubbed his brow.

“Chara got like this once or twice. She just needed to rest,” he said. “Why don’t you just go to bed?”

“Because I feel like I’m gonna hurl,” she said.

“Okay. So, let’s sit here until you hurl, and then you go the hell to bed,” he said.

“I… I don’t w-wanna…” she mumbled. “I don’t wanna…”

“Stop whining,” Asriel said. He used his vines to scoot beside her and he held onto one of her arms. He didn’t have a lot in terms of reassuring magic, but he used what he could muster. 

She went a little limp for a second before she started heaving and shivering again. 

“Shit.” He pulled back and frowned. “Frisk. C’mon. Breathe slow, okay? Just focus on that.”

She nodded. She took a few slow, deep breaths, but  then lurched  forward with her head in her hands. Asriel yelped and dragged himself closer. 

“Frisk?!” he barked. “Hey, are you okay?!”

Her fingers locked tight into her hair. She gritted her teeth, then let out a long sigh.

She sat up slowly, her posture loosening. Her skin looked a little ashy and her soul began to flicker red. Her eyes went black, like they filled with soot.

“Uhh…” Asriel pulled back and raised a brow. “F-Frisk, are you okay?”

She looked at him quickly. Blinked hard. Stood up awkwardly and looked at her hands. “What…?” she said softly. “Oh. Oh no. No no no no no.” 

“Frisk?” Asriel insisted.

“No no no no this is wrong, this is wrong.” She dropped to her knees. “How…? No. No. I c-can’t…!”

“Frisk, snap out of it and look at me,” Asriel ordered.

She jerked and stared down at him, wide-eyed. 

“You…?” she said quietly. “Oh. God.”

“Your eyes are all messed up. Are you okay? What’s going on?” he demanded. “Should I get Sans back in here?”

“Sans?” she repeated. Her eyes started to bubble with tears. “S-Sans?!” 

Asriel felt a strike of shock. Why did she look like that? 

“Sup, kiddo, you okay?” Sans asked through the door.

She stared. Her whole body trembled. She walked to the door and put her palm against it.

“Sans? You’re… right there. Aren’t you?” she asked softly.

“Uh. Yeah. You okay?” he asked. “You sound out of it. Look, I don’t care if you puke. If you need help, just let me know.”

She gulped. She rested her brow against the door and tried to catch her breath. “I… I love you,” she said, choking a little as blackened tears dripped heavily down her cheeks. “I love you so much.”

“Jeez, kiddo.” He laughed. “Love you, too. Relax, okay? You’re gonna be fine.”

“And… And Papyrus?” she asked cautiously.

“Yeah, dude, he’s right out here,” he assured her. “C’mon, focus. Everyone’s fine. You’re gonna be okay.”

“T-Tell him I love him?” she asked softly.

“He knows,” Sans assured her. “Hey. You’re gonna be fine.”

“Crap, you’re out of it, huh?” Asriel asked. “C’mere. Sit down. You’re gonna fall.”

She whipped around and looked at him with a puzzled frown, dark, smokey streaks trailing down her cheeks.

“Holy shit,” he said. “Uh… Hey. C’mere. Okay? You look, uh… You don’t look good. Hope that clears up…”

She stared back at him with blank confusion. He beckoned her back. She jolted in surprise, as if it hadn’t occurred to her. Her walking was stiff but, quickly, she dropped to her knees and grabbed him, pulling him close.

“You,” she said sternly. “Attack me.”

“Wh-What?!” he yelped. “What the hell, dude, I’m not gonna—”

“Just do it. Around twenty,” she insisted. “Twenty should do it.”

“What are you talking about?!” he demanded.

“Please,” she said.

He gulped. Those black eyes bored into him. He felt like there was no way to say no. She backed up just a little, enough for him to feel a little relief from the pressure. 

“Y-You sure?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” she said.

He gulped and winced, and raised exactly twenty bullet-like seeds in his magic, circling around him in an orbit.

“SANS,” he shouted through the door. “WE'RE GUNNING FOR A RESET, WATCH IT.”

“Uh, wait, what?” Sans asked.

“Are you sure?” Asriel demanded, turning back to her. “Can’t you just go back on your own?!”

“I’m not… right,” she muttered. “It’s incorrect. I need the magic. Please. I promise. It’ll be fine.”

Asriel stared for a few seconds, but then he nodded. “SHE’S INSISTING,” he called.

“Shit. Frisk?” Sans asked.

Frisk didn’t answer. Asriel poked her.

“Frisk. You have to tell him,” he said.

“Oh. Yes. Yes,” she said. “This will be better. Thanks.”

“Uh… Right, kiddo, whatever you say,” Sans said.

“I will count down from ten,” Frisk said softly. “Thank you for this. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six.”

Asriel was sweating.

“Five. Four. Three. Two. One.”

He shot. Struck her. Something in the air shifted and…

Frisk put a hand to her chest and sighed with relief. She was outside the inn, the save from just a few hours before, after leaving Grillby’s. Her soul lit up comfortably red and then dimmed. Sans had his back to the wall, and he leaned up off it and gave her a worried look.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah! Yeah, I… I feel great, actually,” she said. “Phew!”

“Oh. Good.” He patted her head. “What was up with that, anyway?”

“I’m not sure,” she said as they started to head home. “Felt kinda like food poisoning.”

“Now that is one thing I wouldn’t mind not havin’ from your head, dude,” he said.

“Ugh, I know right? It's awful,” she said. “Dumpster food, am I right?”

He snickered. “Gross.” He put his hands in his pockets. “So why did you need a reset? You know, uh, stab-the-kid style.”

Frisk looked puzzled. She tapped her chin and tilted her head. “Um… Hm. You know, I’m not actually sure,” she said. “Maybe I thought I was fainting again or something, I can’t really remember.”

“Fair enough, you sounded kinda delirious,” he said.

“Who stabbed me?” she wondered.

“You asked the flower kid,” he said.

“Oh! Weird,” she said. “Yeah, I don’t even remember that. That’s okay. Sorry about that, though.”

“Nah. Most of it was an overnight, nobody missed much.” He smiled. “You look a lot better.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I… I feel better. You know, I think you’re right.”

“Hm?” he said, raising a brow.

“What you said. About the shadowman. I mean. I’m not sure,” she said, grabbing his hand. “But I… I dunno. I just feel a bit better about it now. I think maybe he will end up being okay.”

“Glad you’re not so bummed,” he said.

When they got home, the house was still quiet. Like nothing had ever disturbed it.

“Guess Paps didn’t wake up,” Frisk said.

“That’s always nice,” Sans said. “Sleep resets are the best ones, definitely.”

“No wonder you sleep so much,” she joked.

“I know, right?” He winked. “You, uh, goin’ to bed? Your face is still doing that eye circles thing.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess I am still pretty tired, but, um… Maybe we could read a bit?” she asked hopefully.

He ruffled her hair. “Sure. Go tell those nerds everything’s alright first, though. I, uh, kinda need a drink. You want anything?”

“I’m good,” she assured him.

Frisk scampered upstairs into the bedroom and found Asriel had managed to finagle himself down onto the chair near the computer under the light of the desk lamp.

“Oh! Shit, there you are,” he said. “You don’t look like a mess.”

“Thanks a bunch,” she said. “Sans said you blew me up maybe?”

“Well. Yeah. You told me to,” he said.

“Guess so! Thanks,” she said. “I feel a lot better.”

“Hope it doesn’t just repeat itself. It was freaky,” Asriel grumbled. 

“Oh! I’m sorry.” She lifted him up off the chair and he let her smooch his forehead. “Thanks for helping.”

He patted her shoulder with a leaf.

“Wanna read with us?” she asked.

“Pfft, what?” He grinned slyly. “Aww, does Fwisky still need a bedtime stowy?” 

“Yup!” Her cheeks flushed a little, but she snickered nonetheless. “We’re still reading the first _Trident of Vengeance_.”

“Ooh! Is that the one where Sylph learns how to do the—?”

“Aah!! Asriel, don’t gimme spoilers!!” she said. “We’re not even halfway through.”

“Oh, come on, don't tell me you aren’t even at the ifrit sanctum yet.”

“There’s an ifrit—?!” Frisk pouted. “Az, you’re a butt.”

He grinned and shrugged. She blew a raspberry at him and he did the same. She heard a bit of sound from behind her and her face lit up.

She gently put Asriel back on the desk and then scampered over to the bed where Papyrus was just starting to stir. She clambered up beside him and latched onto him the moment he began to sit up. He snickered sleepily and held her close.

“You look well,” he said. “Are you feeling better now? Or was that a dream?”

“Not a dream, sorry about that,” she said.

“If everything’s okay, then it’s no problem at all,” he assured her. “Was that a human sickness?”

“I dunno!” she said. “Sure felt like one, though!” 

“What’s it feel like?” he wondered.

“Gross.” She snickered. “Like, um… Oh! Okay. You ever get, like, something slimy in your head? Slimy and cold.”

“Only once.” His bones rattled. “Like that?! Really?”

“Yeah, that’s the closest,” she said, nodding. “But all over.”

“Eww.” He squished her gently. “That sounds like absolutely no fun at all, I’m glad you’re feeling much better. Did you want to go to sleep now?”

“Sans said we could read together,” she said.

“Ooh! Exciting!” Papyrus said brightly. “Asriel, are you prepared for fantastic fantasy adventures?!”

“Eh, I’ve read it a hundred times,” he said. “My favourite’s the part where—”

“No spoilers!” Frisk yelped.

Asriel laughed. “Okay, okay.”

“Hey, dorks.” Sans showed up in the low light, making Asriel yelp and jump, and the skeleton grin. “Okay, book and then bed, got it? No more weird adventures tonight, kiddo.” He shoved a mug of cocoa towards Asriel and then passed a cup of very herbal tea to Papyrus as Frisk moved away to give him some space. 

Asriel started coughing. “Ech!! Oh, gross, what’s in this?!” he demanded. 

Sans grinned. “Whoops, sorry pal, that must be mine,” he said. He traded the mugs. 

Asriel frowned. “You did that on purpose,” he grumbled.

“Why the hell would I waste good ketchup like that?” Sans asked with a grin.

“You put ketchup in there?!” Asriel immediately stuck his face in the new mug. “I hate you.”

Sans snickered and grabbed their book and took a seat beside Papyrus. As usual, Frisk snuck up under his arm so she could see the pages. 

“Where were we, chapter seventeen?” he asked.

“Ooh,” Asriel said, “is that the one where—?”

“ASRIEL!” Frisk whined.


	73. The Superstar Skeleton Arc

One of Frisk’s first memories was back before she could even walk, of a creature with a dark body and a white face staring at her, letting her play with his fingers and a gap in his palm. She remembered how cold it was; how cold he was, too, as he held her, but she’d felt safe at the time despite the elements gnawing at her and the ache in her belly. She’d woken up later without being able to recall a thing. She supposed it had been like that for a while.

Despite her brother’s best efforts, Frisk hadn’t been able to sleep. She lay awake all night, simply settling into a mind that was fundamentally changed. It felt a little like when she’d absorbed all of Sans’s memories, and though not as dramatic, it was somehow harder to fathom. Maybe it was just that she’d assumed she knew all about herself. Why wouldn’t she?

Frisk sighed. She was grateful, at least, that the strange illness hadn’t looped. She turned her head to look at Sans. He sat beside where she lay on his mattress, groggily looking through yesterday’s newspaper.

“Bro, I’m kinda messed up right now,” she said.

“What else is new?” He looked over his paper with a sympathetic expression on his face. “Need a soundin’ board?”

“I just don’t even understand how this happens,” she said. “I don’t get it, I don’t like it, and I really, really hope he’s okay.” She sat up with an insistent frown on her face. “He’s gotta be, right?”

“Hope so,” he said, chucking his reading away. “So. Guess that means you remember all the times he took you now, right?”

“Oh! Y-Yeah! Of course I do,” she said. “It’s so weird. It’s like I never didn’t know.”

“So, the last time, it was basically what we thought?” he asked.

“Yeah. He wanted to hear about my day and he gave me a milkshake,” she said. “It’s kinda sad. Most of these times were him just really hoping I’d remember a thing he wanted to show me. I’m still not sure why I would write in those weird letters I don’t even know, though. It usually looked normal at the time. I mean, except that time. I mean… I dunno, oh my god.”

“So. What happened at the Ruins door? When you went to look for Toriel,” he said. “You remember yet? Or… you wanna wait for those other guys to get into it?”

“N-No. No. I want to talk about it,” she said quickly. “M-Maybe I’ll get into it with everyone later, y’know? Papyrus was really excited about today. And it’s a really big thing for Mettaton. I don’t wanna go into this stuff and make everything about me, you know? Every time someone has a cool thing, some stupid crap happens to me and everyone gets distracted worrying about whatever my dumb thing is, and I just… I hate that. I don’t wanna ruin stuff for people.”

“Ah… Not really the way I see it, pal,” he assured her, smiling sideways. “Doesn’t it help to talk it out?”

“Maybe just you and me for now?” she asked hopefully.

“Whatever you want,” he said. “I did mention to Paps. No details, though.”

“That’s okay,” she said.

Frisk’s brow furrowed for a moment. She sat up. Her eyes went wide. She rubbed her head. “I do remember the Ruins. It was weird, I was there and I turned around, and I… I saw the shadowman there,” she said. “I started to remember him a little. I remembered he gave me your calculator. And I remembered seeing him on the surface a bit. I remembered we were friends. I was really happy to see him, so I ran to meet him. He seemed super surprised, and he hugged me really tight. I don’t think he expected it. He was shivering, I think. I wanted to talk to him, and ask him what was going on, but I felt myself getting really dizzy. I remember him looking super worried, and then I remember waking up at the Ruins door and not actually remembering any of that, which is kinda messed up, actually. I think that’s when I got that magic burn.”

Sans looked thoughtful for a second. “He… gave you my calculator, you said?”

“Yeah! Um, when I was looking for Kid’s house one time. I didn’t remember him at all then, but he took me where I needed to go and gave me your calculator for some reason,” she said. “So…? D… Do you know him?”

“Probably,” he said.“Think so. Can’t be sure.”

“Right, right,” she said quietly. “What is he? Why is he like that? And how the heck was he on the surface all that time?”

Sans shrugged. She sighed.

“Maybe… Maybe that burn thing was why I mostly didn’t remember any of the real ones after,” she said. “Maybe he used too much magic or something to try to stick and it… burned me?”

“And he didn’t want to hurt you again,” Sans concluded. “From what we know about him, somethin’ like that makes sense. So, what about the second time?”

Frisk frowned and tried to gather her thoughts. “I think I thought it was a dream. He was in the bedroom. Kinda freaked me out for a minute, but I started to remember him a little again. He asked if he could take me somewhere, to show me something. I mean, not normal asked, he wrote in my hand with his finger. He carried me to the Ruins. It seemed like there was something in the woods there, near the door? He started talking more. I couldn’t understand, but he seemed a bit more happy there, I guess. He tried to explain something to me about the Delta Rune, but when I turned to look, I took my eyes off him for a second and totally forgot he was there.” She grimaced; wrapped her arms around herself. “I… I guess that must’ve been really hard for him.”

“That must be surreal as hell,” Sans said. “For both of you.”

“It is! And it all feels so simple. It’s like… say, I forgot what we did yesterday. And I’m not even thinking about it. I don’t even realize. And then you say something about it, and suddenly everything’s there again.”

“Ah. Right, okay, gotcha,” he said. “Yeah, I know that feel.”

She nodded, but she didn’t look very reassured. Her eyes cast downward, she seemed confused and a little afraid. “I didn’t remember at all when he brought me to Grillby’s. Just the dreams and my drawing,” she said. She was shaking. “God, it’s just so super weird.”

Sans sighed and pulled her into his arms. She curled up, resting her ear to his chest, and let out a little huff.

“Get it together, sis,” he said.

“It’s hard,” she said, but she took a deep breath and smiled up at him. “I’ll be okay.”

“Thatta kid,” he said.

“S’okay if I stay here for a little?” she asked quietly.

“Obviously,” he said.

She sighed with relief and hugged onto him. “Sans, for real, you’re so good,” she said. “Such a good brother. Oh man. I’m so glad I have you. Dunno what I’d do if I didn’t.”

He didn’t know what to say to that. It made his soul speed, just a fraction of a beat, but that was enough to make his bones tingle for a second.“You’re stronger than you think,” he said gently.

“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “Love you. Love you a million times, okay?”

He couldn’t help a smile. He snickered and touched his brow to hers. “You’re hilarious, kiddo,” he said. “Love you, too. You’re right, though. You’ll be okay.”

“Th-Thanks,” she said. “Ugh. But we still have to do today, though, huh?”

Sans laughed. “We don’t have to do a damn thing,” he said. “We could spend an entire day doin’ literally nothin’. We could do nothin’ for days, even. You wanna exploit the time god stuff, I ain’t judgin’.”

“Pffft. Noooo. No. Shouldn’t,” she said. “We can go to New Home, right? I mean, we won’t have to actually do anything. Just watch Mettaton.”

“You’re allowed to take a selfish day,” he said. “If you could do anything. Anything at all, today. What would it be?”

“I…” The thought struck Frisk like a train. She blushed shamefully and curled up on herself. “I…” She mumbled it into her chest.

Sans tilted his head. She sighed and looked up at him.

“I… I want you to see what I saw,” she admitted. 

Sans was taken aback. “You don’t mean—”

“I know, I know, it’s stupid, never mind,” she said quickly. “Forget it.”

“Kiddo.” He rubbed her head. “It’s not stupid.”

“Maybe… Maybe not now, maybe once we’re out,” she said quietly. “W-Would you…? Would you maybe…?”

“S’long as you got a save,” he said. “And you’re ready for whatever garbage is in my head, too.”

“Yeah?” She instantly perked up.

“And also ready to be a weird bone dragon again,” he said. “Still not sure why that’s a thing.”

“I know, right?!” Her whole face lit up and her soul flickered, brightening with her smile. “It was so cool, though! Ooh, and we can show Papyrus and Alphys and everybody! And we could fly all around the mountain again! It’ll be awesome!”

Sans grinned. He mussed up her hair.“There’s my kid,” he said. “Hey. Don’t worry so much, okay? No point.”

“Take your own advice!” she joked.

“Pfft. Bit too late for me, I think,” he said.

She laughed and pulled back, and then rolled off the mattress and stumbled to her feet. She checked her phone and pouted.

“It’s like four in the morning, huh?” Sans asked.

“Yeeeeeah,” she said. “Ah… I dunno. I can’t sleep. Tea?”

“Tea,” he agreed.

He blinked out of the room. Frisk sighed. She checked her phone again. She bit her lip nervously. She checked those old messages again, the ones she suspected were from her shadowy friend. Suddenly, his worrying over her in the cold made a lot more sense. She sighed.

“_hey its frisk. I remembered you. just wanna know if youre ok. plz message back if you can?” _she sent.

The message bounced back, like last time. Said the account didn’t exist. Frisk sighed.

“_i know you probably wont get these”_ she typed again “_but thank you for everything. kinda love u <3 stop by again if you can ok?”_

It was probably useless. The error message told her as much. She didn’t want to believe it.

\- - -

Asriel could hear humming. A song he used to know. He blinked and saw green and gold all around. There was Chara, sitting in a field of flowers, plucking the petals from the stems. She shot him a grin.

“Hey,” she said. “How’s the soul thing going? No, never mind, don’t answer that.”

“Uh…” He stared at her; tried to ignore how nice having fingers felt. “What are you doing?”

“I never really liked flowers.” She plunked a petal and tossed it disdainfully aside with a smile on her face. “You?”

Asriel didn’t know what to say. Chara looked into his eyes and put on a very serious face. She gritted her teeth, her lips pulled back, and she couldn’t contain a loud, barking laugh. She slapped her knee and almost fell backwards in her mirth.

“What?” he demanded.

“That face!” She wheezed, wiping her eyes. “Oh my god. So serious. You’re hilarious.”

“What do you want?” he asked.

“Same thing I always want, you idiot,” she said with a grin. “Get us a soul.”

“Us?” His eyes went wide. “What do you mean?!”

“What do you think I mean?” she said. “What’s taking you so long?

“Y-You’re really pushy sometimes!” he protested shrilly. “W-We’re getting there! Soon!”

Chara shrugged. She hummed and plucked the petals from another flower, tossing them over the golden patch without care.

“Don’t trust them,” she said. 

Asriel grimaced. She smiled at him smugly. 

“You know I’m right,” she said. “They have no reason to help you get what you want. They’ll use you to get what they want, and then…” She pulled the final petal from one of the flowers and let it drift away. She raised her brows.

“I… I don’t know,” he said cautiously. “I think… Maybe… Frisk might…”

“Her?!” Chara scoffed and giggled loudly. “Well. Heh. If you say so.”

“Sis, I don’t…” Asriel frowned. He sucked his tongue. “I don’t understand.”

“What else is new?” she joked.

“Why can’t you ever just give me a straight answer?” he asked, plopping down beside her. 

“Figure it out yourself,” she said smugly. “Just remember what I told you.”

“Which part?” he asked.

“Figure that out, too,” she said. She shoved him gently.

He awoke with a start. He felt sweaty and awful, and like he was going to be sick. He squinted in the glow of a computer screen and looked up to see Papyrus beside him. Admittedly, he’d cranked the brightness on the screen down and had turned Asriel away from it, but the glow was still too bright for his eyes in the dark. He blinked a couple times to clear his vision.

The skeleton was tapping on his keyboard, his finger bones clicking gently against the plastic. 

“What are you doing?” Asriel asked.

“Oh! Sorry, Asriel, did I wake you?” Papyrus said quickly.

“No,” he said.

“Oh good! I was just taking a look at the UnderNet forums. It seems like Mettaton saying just about anything has everyone all excited about it.” He clicked over to another window and tapped at a forum list that Asriel couldn’t quite see. “Almost every new thread is about it! They think it's really exciting! There’s a lot of speculation again. It’s kind of funny, isn’t it? Everyone’s looking for clues.”

“Keeps ‘em busy, I guess…” Asriel rubbed his eyes again and yawned. “Ugh, I… I gotta go.”

“Okay! Let me know if you need anything!” the skeleton assured him. He seemed so genuine.

Slinking downstairs, Asriel wasn’t sure what he wanted but he was quivering like a child. He didn’t even notice when he bumped right into Frisk’s leg. He met her eyes with a start and stared at her. She seemed pleasantly surprised, but he trembled. He wanted to hug her; wanted it badly. He also wanted to get the hell away from her as fast as he could. 

No matter what he was thinking, the little determination in his stem sent a tingle through his whole form. He almost melted when she smiled at him.

“Hey, good morning!” she said, scooping him up gently. “Early, huh?”

“Y-You, too,” he said.

“Yeah. Couldn’t sleep,” she said. “You?”

“Eh. Um. Bad, uh… Bad dream,” he said.

“Aw, jeez, I’m sorry,” she said. “You locked in?”

“I don’t know,” he said.

“You wanna write it down?” she asked.

“No.”

Frisk gave him a gentle hug. He couldn’t help but lean in.

“I don’t know what to do.” The words slipped out before he could stop them. 

The kid looked down at him with wide eyes. She lifted him up and gently touched her brow to his. He almost laughed. Must’ve picked that up from those boneheads. In any case, for some reason, it was reassuring. 

“If you need any help, tell me, okay?” she said.

“I’ll be fine,” he said.

\- - -

Papyrus was quite excited as noon encroached. He’d gotten a personal text from Mettaton, asking him specifically to show up to the event at the Archives, pretty please. He was happy to oblige. He’d been asked to come in a blue hoodie, like he’d worn in the play, and though he was also glad to do so, he didn’t want to match Sans and feel like a total dork. The short skeleton had no problem, though. He just tossed on his black one and was as cozy as he would have been either way.

They made their way to the big city through the lab. Alphys was glad to help them, but she was sitting this one out. She was still in her pyjamas when they saw her, and the scales under her eyes were dark. She looked happy, though. She’d been up since the early morning, fuelled by soda, doing all the little finishing touches. No one in their right mind could ever say she wasn’t dedicated.

\- - -

The Archives were housed inside a huge, light grey building with doors on all sides of a square base that then climbed skywards into the shape of a massive bell, held up on grand sets of stairs. The crowds had already started to gather around the front, which was only differentiated by one set of doors twice the size of any of the others and a flag flying the Delta Rune on a backdrop of purple.

Frisk looked up the stairs, starry-eyed. She’d never been to the Archives before, and even Sans had only been a handful of times, mostly before Papyrus was even born. Things could have changed a lot since then. Standing in front of it, she felt tiny. It was pretty cool, though.

Clutching Asriel in one hand, she scampered up the steps, only to backtrack and grab onto Sans’s hand to help pull him up. The short skeleton seemed a little winded at the top. Papyrus didn’t have an ounce of trouble.

“Is there something you’re hoping to find in there?” he wondered.

“No, not really, I just really wanna see it,” she said brightly.

Sans patted her head, readjusting the hood on her sweatshirt. She caught his meaning and smiled up at him.

“Okay, we haaaaave… Um.” Papyrus looked at his phone. “Twenty minutes! But! We can come back later if we want.” He pushed back the door for them and Frisk eagerly raced inside.

The Archives— this side, at least— was very much like a library combined with a museum. Beyond a check-out desk and a row of scanners and computers, there were aisles of shelves with contents that were apparently colour-coordinated. There were enough monsters inside to make the place gently reverberate with the cadence of speech without a word to be gained, but they couldn’t see another one except a five-eyed deer-like man the counter.

Frisk quickly ducked down the closest aisle. The shelves here were all lined with books and movies, some human and some not, with dark blue on their covers. 

“Look at all this junk,” Asriel said.

“So people found all this stuff in the dump?” Frisk asked.

“Guess so. Not sure where else stuff gets in,” Asriel said. “Man, look at all this crap. Some of it's gotta be like a hundred years old.”

As her brothers caught up, Frisk carefully lifted an old movie case where the original image was mostly intact, but the colours were a bit muddled together from water damage.

“So… Wait. You guys must’ve seen humans in movies, right?” she asked. “How come nobody notices that… You know.” She looked back at Sans and Papyrus curiously.

Papyrus opened his mouth as if to answer, but then his brow furrowed and he cupped his chin. He gently took the case from her and stared at it. Sans simply shrugged.

“Never seen one like you before,” he said. “Could be it.”

“What? Really?” she asked.

“Well, I mean, look at this human.” Papyrus pointed to an old man on the other side of the case. “He’s quite big! And quite pale, like a pink colour! And his hair is totally different. He doesn’t look like you at all.”

“Maybe it's just the sort of monster mentality, you know?” Asriel suggested, though Frisk just looked increasingly confused. “Most monsters look totally different, you know? But we’re all monsters. And because of that, the ones that don’t know really well what a human is supposed to look like, they’ve always just assumed you’re one of us. Right?”

“I guess so,” Frisk said. “Just rolling in some dirt and stuff convinced all the dogs that I was a dog. I wouldn’t mind being a dog, I guess! I like dogs.”

Sans snickered. “Kinda hairless dog,” he joked.

“There are hairless dogs,” Frisk said. “I saw on TV.”

“You know, now that I’m thinkin’ about it, I think we kinda always heard that humans all looked more similar to each other,” Asriel said. “And, I mean, I haven’t actually seen a lot of human movies, but I don’t remember seeing any really small humans who are kind of a brown colour with hair and eyes like yours.”

“Kinda true, most of the movies we’ve seen— unless they’re animation— a lot of the humans are around the same age,” Sans said. “Adults. You’re a kid.”

“Don’t forget, most people haven’t even seen a real human that wasn’t trying to kill them since Chara,” Asriel said. “Which sounds weird, when I say it out loud. But before that, it was like hundreds of years ago.”

“Well! That’s good for me, I guess,” Frisk said.

“It is strange, now that I think about it,” Papyrus admitted as he put the movie back in its place. “I guess it’s true! Maybe it's best to keep hoping that other monsters just assume you are a monster, too!”

“Think Undyne was right, though.” Sans shrugged when Frisk shot him a puzzled look. “Be extra careful here. Just the amount of monsters kinda guarantees that someone’ll recognize what you are if you stand out. And if just one guy says it and it spreads, well…”

Frisk stuck her thumbs up. She took another look around, and curiously edged a little farther down the shelf. Some of the movies were missing their covers, so some monster had drawn new ones, approximating whatever was going on. Frisk carefully popped a case with a drawing of agrey round creature with ears like arrows on it on a dark blue background. She was surprised to not actually find any tape or disk inside, but instead, a sheet of paper with a code on it. She tilted her head.

“So how does this work exactly?” she asked.

“Well! Actually! I’m not sure,” Papyrus said. “Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever been here, either.”

“It’s a rental,” Sans said. “Sometimes you borrow the tape or whatever and bring it back.”

“What’s this code?” she asked.

“Ah. Someone must’ve thought that one was real good,” he said. “Means it’s in the big computer in the middle of this place, so anyone can just have a copy to keep.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Frisk said brightly. “C-Could…? Could we give it a try?”

Sans shrugged and held out his hand. Frisk bounced excitedly as she passed it over to him and she hurried along with a grin on her face.

Part of the Archives seemed to serve as an art gallery as well as a library.There were paintings on walls and the ends of shelves, and tables that showed off some models or sculptures. Most of them were monster made, but a handful seemed to have the waterworn look of being pulled from a dump somewhere in Waterfall.

Farther back, things started to look a little more rustic, warm, and wooden. The shelves were high and surrounded a little clearing of long tables, given a little extra light by chunks of crystal that flickered like it was burning inside. Frisk was hit with nostalgia. It was a lot like her dream.

“You, uh… almost done?” Asriel asked.

“Um! Y-Yeah. I guess so,” Frisk said. “This place is really cool, though. I’m glad we came in here.”

“Oh good,” he said.

“Did you ever come here?” she asked.

“Sure. Wasn’t so full back then,” he said. 

“See anything good?” she asked. “Anything you wanna see?”

“No. Besides. It’s all in a stupid order now,” he said. “What about you? Recognize anything?”

“No, not really, why would I?” she asked sheepishly. “I mean, except what Sans saw a million years ago.”

“Oh. I just thought, since they’re mostly human stuff…” Asriel shrugged. “Never mind.”

“Maybe we’ll find something else cool!” she said brightly.

She tilted her head back to look at the colour labels again. “How aboouuut… green?”

Asriel shrugged. She headed down there excitedly. There were a lot of books here, more so than the other section, and movies that seemed to be just about plants. Asriel wasn’t the least bit interested, so they moved on. 

The shelves parted into another section of mostly art. Little sculptures and human wreckage on small pedestals with labels proclaiming what they were. There were also some paintings. The wall here had a line of five. In its centre was a painting of Asgore and Toriel, features lost in shadow as the sun crested behind them, facing down a mob of humans lead by a few standing out in the foreground, while they were all surrounded on all sides by monsters and humans alike. 

“Wow,” Frisk breathed.

“What? Oh.” Asriel squinted. “Must be the war exhibit.”

“Do you think there were really that many?” Frisk asked quietly, walking closer and looking up.

“Who knows? Maybe,” he said. “I doubt a scene like this ever happened, though.”

“Oh really? Why?” Frisk asked.

“Far as I know, most of the attacks at the start were ambushes,” he said. “I can’t imagine the humans just standing there like that to declare war. Maybe a battle near the end looked more like that.”

Frisk flinched. “I don’t understand,” she muttered.

“You humans are always quick to attack stuff that’s different from you,” Asriel said.

“But… But I’m not like that,” she said quietly.

“I know. But it’s just always been like that,” Asriel said.

Frisk grimaced. She doubled back to look at the other paintings. The two on the right were more paintings of war scenes. One was of the monsters being pushed back to the mountain by armed humans, titled _We Lost_. The one beside it depicted some sort of avian-like dragon monster on the battlements of a ruined castle, brandishing a trident and facing down a hoard of even more humans. Frisk was struck by just how many there were. This one was called _Yrra’s Last Stand._

“Who’s this?” she asked.

“Yrra? Dad told me she was a boss monster from back then,” he said. “She was really tough. They say she killed hundreds of humans in the fight, holding them off so people could escape and get back to where mom and dad were. She didn’t make it.”

“That’s so sad,” Frisk said quietly.

“It’s war,” Asriel said.

“It’s awful,” she said.

The next painting on the left side of the centrepiece painting was the only one so far without a title, and without a human army in it. Instead, it showed a camp of healers, treating monsters and little human children alike. An old human man with five odd marks on his face helped a rabbit woman with some plants. Frisk tilted her head and pointed him out. Asriel followed her finger.

“Oh. Yeah. Back then, apparently, we did have some humans living with us,” he said. “Sometimes kids might get lost in the woods. You know how it is.”

“Wh-What happened to them?” she asked.

“Dunno. None ended up underground, though,” Asriel said.

Frisk grimaced.

The final painting had a little name under it again. _The Field of Bones_. Frisk took one look at it and felt a chill come over her. It was of a skeleton, viewed from behind, overlooking a battlefield strewn with magical bones, sticking out of the dirt like a forest devastated by fire. The skeleton held one as well, like a weapon in one hand, though their attire was that of a civilian, not a warrior. They stood framed by a gate and portcullis behind them that was, just barely, being closed.

Frisk trembled. Her head began to throb and the pain was so great for a moment that she felt like she might be sick. Her eyes rolled back and her grip went limp.

Before Asriel could even cry out, he found himself suspended in blue magic and Sans caught the kid just as she lurched forward. Before he could even say a word, Frisk was putting a hand against her forehead and letting out an annoyed hiss.

“Ah, man, my head,” she muttered.

“Alright?” Sans asked.

“Yeah, sorry, just got really dizzy for a second.” She laughed tiredly. “Must be last night. Oh! Asriel! Sorry!”She turned to him and he let out a loud yelp. She couldn’t help but cry out as well. “What?!”

“Dude, your eyes,” he said shrilly. 

Frisk frowned with confusion. Sans plunked Asriel onto the table and turned Frisk to look at him. He had to admit, he wasn’t expecting her irises to be red and glowing faintly. 

“Huh,” he said.

“What?” she asked. “Oh no, did they go all black again?”

“Your, uh… The brown went red and you’re kinda doin’ this.” Sans lit up his left eye. “Never seen that before.”

“Wh-What?” Frisk stared back at him blankly for a second and then rubbed at her eyes quickly. She looked back up at him. “Still?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“Oh weird!” she said shrilly. “They don’t feel any different.”

“What are you guys doing over—? NYEEEH!!” Papyrus froze and stared with shock at his siblings as he came closer with a few movie cases in his arms.

A harsh _shush_ erupted from between the shelves. The tall skeleton wilted a little and quietly placed his movies on the table.

“Sorry!” he said, and then quickly lowered his voice, grabbing Frisk by the shoulders. “What the heck?!”

“Sorry, is it weird?” she asked.

“Yes! Very!” he said. “But! It’s a really beautiful colour! What happened?”

Frisk shrugged. When Papyrus looked at the others, both of them shrugged as well. He couldn’t help the confusion on his face, but he pulled Frisk into a hug and bumped his brow on hers.

“Well! As long as it doesn’t hurt,” he said.

“Yeah, I don’t feel it at all,” she said. She rubbed her eyes again with the heel of her hand. 

“Welp. That’s weird,” Sans said. “What were you doin’?”

“Dunno, nothing, just looking at the paintings. Right, Az?” she said. “I didn’t do anything weird, right?”

“Not really,” he said.

Frisk bit her lip. She folded her arms and paced for a moment. She was distracted, however, at the sight of a gold glimmer down a row. 

“Is that a…” She edged a little closer and saw a familiar shape. “Oh! I can save here.”

“Ooh! Good timing, too.” Papyrus checked his phone, and then scooped up the movie cases and Asriel as well. “It’s starting in five minutes! You save, I’ll check out for us!”

“Wait, are you sure I should?” she said, and she pointed at her eyes. “What if they’re just like this now?”

“S’probably just some magic overload or something,” Sans said with a shrug. “It’s a pretty common thing for monster kids.”

“Yeah, but I’m not—”

“But you’re full of your own type of magic, huh?” Sans patted her head. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll die down. Eventually.”

“Okay, but if I just have red eyes now, you guys better not be all surprised and stuff. But I’ll try not to spook you in the dark,” she said, heading for the light.

“You’ll be fine,” Sans said with a laugh.

“You, um… You think she will be fine for real, though, right?” Papyrus whispered to him, leaning over.

“Yup,” he said.

“Oh. Okay.” The tall skeleton sighed and straightened up. “Okay! Meet you at the front!”

He walked away with long, quiet strides. Sans shoved his hands in his pockets and slowly wandered towards where Frisk had gone. He caught her as she doubled back. She pointed at her eyes and gave him a questioning look. 

“Still red,” he said.

“Super weird,” she said. 

He shrugged. She laughed. She pulled out her phone and took a quick selfie. When she looked at it, she stared at it intently for a few seconds.

“Wow, that’s creepy,” she said.

“Nah,” Sans said.

“Really?” she asked hopefully.

“Course not. S’just your soul colour,” he said. “Not creepy when mine does it, right?”

“No way!” she said.

“There you go,” he said.

They met up with Papyrus and Asriel at the front and then slipped out one of the side doors. From the top of the stairs, they could see an excited crowd already amassing near the front of the building, staring up at the other set of stairs where the stage was being set up with anticipation. Papyrus’s eyes began to glimmer. He stood on his toes to get a better look. There were some tall towers of speakers set up the columns framing the platform and a little section of turntables a little closer to the building. Asriel gently slapped his fingers and gestured for him to join the others, who were already heading down the stairs.

Even from the very back of the crowd, the stairs at the front of the Archives were high enough that seeing wasn’t a problem at all. Frisk checked her phone. Right on time.

The crowd erupted with pleased gasps and claps when three balls of light shot up into the air. They blinked out one by one and a big magical cloud burst where they had been to a loud round of applause. As the smoke and glitter drifted away, all that was left was a hooded figure in blue sequins. 

“Thank you! Thank you, one and all, for coming!” Mettaton’s voice echoed from all around the stage. “You have seen Mettaton for years now, making you laugh, making you cry; lighting the way! But now… You are about to see Mettaton in an all-new light! Our wonderful play was just a taste! Because, NOW! YOU WILL SEE! THE TRUE BEAUTY! THAT IS!! METTATON 2.0!!”

With a wave of his hand, his blue-sequinned cloak flew away and he was left, bare, in all his metallic glory, standing before the crowd and striking a dramatic pose. Dead silence for a beat, and then the audience began to shriek and cheer with delight. Someone screamed the name _Johnny_, for some reason.

His hum kicked off in the form of an electronic remix and he started to beam. He kicked a leg up and did a twirl to much adulations.

“Oh!!! Thank you! Thank you!!” he said, wiping his eyes. “You like me! You really like me! Now, it’s time for ME! To show! My! Gratitude!”

The song bellowed louder and magic in the form of fireworks shot off. He spun on the tip of his toes like a top.

Frisk couldn’t help a grin. Beside her, Sans nudged her and pointed at her pocket. She quickly handed her phone over and he lifted it up to film as Mettaton came out of his twirl with a burst of sparkles and then began to sing.

“The Doc is gonna get a kick outta this,” he said quietly.

“Yes, she certainly will!” a pleasant, deep voice chimed in.

Frisk whirled and wished she hadn’t right away and ducked under her hood.

“Y-Your Highness!” Papyrus said shrilly.

“Howdy, little ones!” Asgore said brightly. He turned his eyes back on the stage and smiled.

Papyrus, at the flower in his hand’s insistence, put him down on the ground very quickly. 

“I can hardly believe the progress!” Asgore said. “He’s amazing, isn’t he?”

“Alph did good,” Sans said.

“She did! I’m happy to see you all again,” he said brightly. “And I take it this little one is your sister?”

Frisk froze; felt sweaty immediately. She grabbed Sans’s hand. He grinned bashfully.

“She’s, uh, a little shy,” Sans said.

“Oh, that’s perfectly fine,” Asgore said quickly. He knelt and patted her head gently. “Nice to meet you, young one! Your brothers have told me a lot about you.”

“N-Nice to meet you, too,” she said quietly. She risked a little look up. 

Asgore smiled bright back at her.“Well, would you look at those eyes! Magic influx, my child?” His tone was gentle and sympathetic.

She nodded quickly and looked down. He chuckled softly.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he assured her. “It happens to all monsters! It will settle down soon.”

“R-Right,” she said. “Um, th-thank you.”

The King straightened up and turned his attention back on the show for a moment. More magic shot into the air and formed big, pink stars. He grinned and clapped.

“Um! H-Hey! Little sister, I think I see your friend over there. In the crowd. Waaaay over there,” Papyrus said quickly. “Should we go say hi?”

Frisk nodded sheepishly and grabbed for his hand. She waved back at the King as her brother guided her just around the edge of the crowd and he happily waved back.

“What a sweet little thing,” he said to Sans, shooting him a smile. “How does she like the city?”

“She always wanted to see the Archives,” Sans said, “so she’s pretty happy.”

“Lovely,” he said. “I’m so glad I finally got to meet her. When she’s feeling more comfortable, feel free to bring her around for some tea and cookies, alright?”

“Will do,” he said.

“Is her magic red, then?” Asgore asked.

“Sure is,” Sans said.

“Hah! You better watch out for that one as she grows up, she’s going to be very powerful!” he said. “I don’t know that I’ve seen a monster with that colour of soul since just after the war! Amazing.”

“Mhm.” Sans’s attention was forced back on Mettaton as the audience applauded the end of his song, which ended quite explosively. “Heh. This frickin’ guy.”

“Doctor Alphys must be very proud,” he said.

A chant for an encore left Mettaton in a gleeful tizzy and, of course, he obliged. Asgore’s eyes lit up and he smiled wide. 

“He’s very good, isn’t he?” he said.

Sans shrugged. Frisk’s phone buzzed in his hand. He took a look.

_“hey i gotta gtfo im just gonna hide somewhere ok??” _From Papyrus’s number, but that wasn’t the way he typed. 

Sans got the picture. _“k c u” _he replied. He double-checked his video of Mettaton and then sent it in a text to Alphys. He tilted his head slightly, checking from the corner of his eye the direction Papyrus had gone. He couldn’t see him or Frisk. Wasn’t really surprised, though— lots of tall people around. 

Papyrus had actually managed to get a little extra distance from where Asgore had been. Around the left side of the massive audience— still jumping and clapping and dancing— he found a few little benches meant for reading outside. He sat with Frisk beside him, tapping his foot to the beat as he kept an eye out for anyone else getting too close. 

“He looks like he’s having a ton of fun, huh?” Frisk said.

Papyrus followed her finger back up to the stage. “Oh! Yes. For sure. I’m really enjoying this, too!” 

He shot her a curious look. Her eyes were still glowing. He knew it wasn’t on purpose, but he really liked that bright colour. It made him happy when he saw it; warmed his bones like when Sans glowed his eye as well. Maybe this was a sign she could learn to do it for real. She’d probably like that, wouldn’t she?

He reached out and gently patted her head. “Are you feeling okay?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Even after last night?” he asked.

“Y-Yeah. Not bad,” she said.

“I’m very glad to hear that!” he said. 

She seemed uncertain for a fraction of a second. He tilted his head. 

“What?” he asked. “Is it about your shadowman friend?”

“Umm…” 

The look on her face told him he was right right away. He smiled reassuringly. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t push,” he assured her. “It must be confusing.”

“Oof. Tell me about it,” she agreed. “If you want, I’ll tell you all about it a bit later. Is that okay?”

“Of course!” he assured her. “In fact, I—!” 

The song finished with another loud, burst of magic. Frisk winced with surprise and snickered. Mettaton took an elaborate bow and then stood, arms raised. 

“Thank you! Thank you all, so much!” he said brightly. “You’re all beautiful! Are you ready for the second portion of our show?!”

The audience cheered and clapped loudly. Mettaton beamed.

“Perfect! Perfection!” he said. “Now, we have two main prizes to hand out! And several littles ones. Oh, and you all win a free meal at my glamorous resort, just for being so darn lovely and showing up!” 

The crowd thanked him with hooting and whistles along with the cheers of his name. Someone shot off a small firework burst in bright pink and gold. 

He bowed again, then gracefully flowed back upright and put a finger in the air. “Alright, my darlings!” he announced. “Whoever’s phone rings is the winner of our first prize!”

After a few seconds of the sound dying down, a tan paw shot into the air. There was a lot of clapping and a lion monster in a blue jacket over an MTT t-shirt was hurried up the steps. He blushingly accepted Mettaton’s hand.

“Are you enjoying the show so far?” Mettaton asked.

“I-It’s g-great,” the lion stammered. 

“And what do you think of my new look?” he asked.

“Y-You look really b-beautiful, Mr. Mettaton,” he answered sheepishly.

Mettaton beamed and grabbed the lion’s shoulders.“Isn’t he just the sweetest!” he said loudly to the audience. “Well! Your prize is, for tonight— or at your earliest convenience — a dinner date with yours truly!” 

The crowd cheered and the lion monster seemed absolutely elated, almost falling over in his excitement. Mettaton grinned and patted him gently on the shoulders as he ushered him off to the side. He clapped and did a twirl; took a bow. 

“Second prize! And I think you’ll really like this one!” he announced. “Is a dinner date! Tomorrow! With!”

Somehow, lights dropped, and all that was left was a spotlight focussed squarely on Papyrus. The skeleton froze, cheekbones flushing, and put a hand to his chest.

“One of the stars of our most recent show! Recently famous for his portrayal of the scientist, Cooper: the great Papyrus!”

_ “_M-Me?” he squeaked.

“Yes, you, darling! Come up here!” Mettaton called.

Papyrus shot a look at Frisk. She was trying not to laugh and stuck her thumbs up. Papyrus quickly hopped to his feet and put on a look of determination. To a round of applause, he headed back up the steps to join Mettaton on his stage.

Frisk kicked her feet and watched her brother up there, standing tall, his scarf billowing. Papyrus, on a dinner date? She wondered if he’d even agreed to that. Probably not. 

After the same song and dance, another monster was selected for the prize. A slightly abashed alligator with blond hair was ushered up, seeming reluctant but pleased nonetheless. Frisk recognized her. Hadn’t met her this time around, though. She was blushing considerably, especially as a purple friend of hers in the audience bounced up and down and shrieked in support of her and waved her paws wildly in the air.

“That guy ain’t careful and I’m gonna take him apart again.”

Frisk looked up. Sans was leaning over the back of the bench, an amused grin on his face. He patted her on the head and she laughed. In a blink, he was sitting beside her.

“Paps is super friendly, though, I’m sure he’ll be okay,” Frisk said. She folded her arms. “Would have been nice if he asked first, though.”

“You’re tellin’ me,” he said. “Hey, look at me?”

She did and he couldn’t seem to help his eye lighting blue. He laughed and rubbed at his socket with his knuckles. 

“Sorry. I know it’s not the same thing,” he said.

“Wish it was,” she said with a grin. “Besides. That’s okay. It’s good for you to glow, huh?”

“Heh. Guess that’s true,” he said.

“Thanks for covering for me,” she said.

“Obviously,” he said.

“Was Asgore having a good time?” she asked.

“Yeah. Said he wanted to go talk to the, uh, star of the show,” he said.

“That’s good,” she said. “Asriel ditched.”

“Yeah, got a text,” Sans said.

“Good.” Frisk looked relieved. “Heh. Weird day. This is kinda nice, though.”

“Fan of the big city?” he asked.

“Umm… I like Snowdin best. That’s my favourite. That’s why I’m really glad that Starhome has a lot of the same, um, feeling, you know? Where we live?” she said. “But I like how there’s so many people here that you can just kinda slip by. Does that make sense?”

“Mhm.” Sans rubbed his eyes again and, as the blue faded, he blinked groggily. “Got any idea how much longer this is goin’ on?”

“Nnnnope,” she said. “Bet Mettaton’s gonna do at least one more song, though.”

“Oh. Great.” Sans slouched. “Kinda done.”

“Me too,” she said.

Frisk must’ve dozed off. The next thing she saw was Papyrus saying something above her head. “Mm? Sorry, Paps, what?” she said.

“Oh! Hey, your eyes are back to normal!” he said. “I said: you two should get up! You must be hungry, right, Frisk?”

“Uh…”

“Oh! And also! I have a hot date for tomorrow night, apparently!” he said.

“Hot date, huh?” Sans said.

“Yes! That’s what Mettaton said,” he said. “I’m not entirely sure what that’s supposed to mean, though, am I supposed to take her to Hotland or something?”

“I’m sure you could,” Sans said with an amused grin. “You, uh, okay with this?”

“Sure! Why not? Take a fan to dinner; apparently it’s supposed to help build more solidarity,” Papyrus said. “And I’m pretty cool and fun, right? I’m sure it’ll be fine! My platonic date with Alphys went really well.” He tapped his chin. “Though I couldn’t really find any monster to hang out with me until Frisk got here because… uhhh…”

“You’ll do great!” Frisk said. “That was Bratty who won, right? She’s pretty nice. I bet she loved the show.” 

“Yes! She said she did,” Papyrus said. “Gosh, I didn’t even realize that getting to meet the great Papyrus would be a prize, but, it makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“Sure, Paps,” Sans said. “Hey, is this, uh, thing over?”

“Yes, of course, it’s been over for thirteen and a quarter minutes,” Papyrus said, rolling his eyes.

Sans looked pleased. He stretched and slowly got to his feet. Frisk took a moment to get a grasp of their surroundings. The crowd was almost entirely dispersed, with just little pockets of people talking to each other all around. Both Mettaton and Asgore were nowhere to be seen. 

“Lunch?” Sans suggested.

“Yes please!” Frisk agreed. “Maybe Az’ll meet us?”

“Mightta got spooked,” Sans said. “But I’ll check.”

\- - -

Asriel didn’t really want to meet up yet. Said he wanted a bit of quiet; claimed he got a headache from the show. Frisk didn’t really believe his excuse, but she wasn’t going to press him. She just let him know she was there for him and let him take his time. They also got a little extra food for him at a soup-cup shop they stopped at for lunch.

Papyrus had a bounce in his step as they wandered around the streets of New Home. He took Frisk by the hand and they did a little window shopping as they wandered, waiting for Asriel to call them back again. Papyrus suggested the park near Dandelion Plaza, seeing as everyone knew where it was. 

The little green cove between buildings was relatively empty today, with just a few dogs bouncing around the slopes and a small family off by the playground. Frisk and Sans laid on one of the hills, looking up at the distant crags of the cavern. Papyrus sat at their side, tumbling his Rubik’s cube in his fingers.

“Can many monsters fly?” Frisk asked.

“Not really,” Sans said.

“I liked flying,” she said.

“Wasn’t bad,” Sans said with a laugh.

“Were your wings very big?” Papyrus asked, looking down at them. 

“Huge!” Frisk spread her arms wide and she grin. “I can’t reach that far.”

Papyrus snickered and he stretched out his arms. “This big?” he asked.

“Bigger!” she said.

“Wowie! That’s pretty impressive,” he said.

Frisk smiled. She blinked groggily and wiped her eyes on the back of her arm. She was about to ask if anyone would mind if she napped again when a sound of a commotion caught her attention.Papyrus turned in place, brows raising, and he shielded his eyes to look off into the distance. Frisk sat up and turned around. There was a bunching of monsters just off the park’s grass and on the stone walkways around it. She tugged on Papyrus’s sleeve.

“Can you see what’s going on?” she asked.

“Ummm…” He stood up, frowning. “I’m not sure! But everyone sure looks worried.”

Cautiously, Frisk got to her feet. Sans shot her a questioning look, but she was heading towards the monsters before either skeleton could say a thing. They shared a look; Papyrus hurried after her and Sans finally heaved himself upright.

They caught up with her as she was peeking through the crowd that had encircled something at its centre. The murmurs were worrisome, but Frisk’s heart plummeted to the ground when she could finally see what they were all looking at. There was a large, rocky-looking ram monster cradling a fish monster woman in his arms, trying desperately to prop her up.

“Wh-What the heck…?” Papyrus demanded.

“Oh no.” Sans looked stunned. “That’s…”

Frisk shot him a look. She could tell that he was familiar with them just by his expression, and what had happened was as clear as if that man holding his wife was screaming it.

There were two monster children, one like either parent, shaking and looking utterly confused. The little girl, who looked like her father, was especially teary-eyed. 

“Mommy, n-no,” she whimpered. “N-No, you can’t!”

“L-Lari, she c-can’t hear you,” her brother croaked. 

The huge monster cradling his wife heaved out a sigh and dipped, lost to the world, and touched his brow to hers.

“Just… Just a little longer, love. Please,” he begged.

Frisk looked up at her brothers. She grimaced. She felt a pain deep in her soul. She rubbed her thumbs over her fingertips as her magic started to bristle on its own. She had a thought. It felt like the whole inside of her mouth was sand. She gulped. She didn’t even know if it was possible, but she’d saved Sans, hadn’t she? Determination swelled in her. She rolled up her sleeve, but it slipped back down.

“If I go back,” she said softly, “she’ll… still fall. Huh?”

Sans’s eyes darted to hers. He nodded. She grimaced and took a deep breath. She unzipped her sweatshirt and took it off to get it out of the way, and then quickly handed it off to her brother. He put a hand on her shoulder and raised his brows. She smiled sheepishly and shrugged. There was pride in his eyes. He tussled her hair.

Quickly, she slipped through the crowd towards the collapsing family. Someone noticed her. She heard a gasp. She gulped and forged ahead. Someone else yelped and the way was cleared for her by alarmed monsters. Someone must’ve recognized what she was. Maybe not quite enough to be certain, since they weren’t running. She didn’t have time to care.

As she broke the circle, the young rockram looked over at her with wide, tearful eyes, and the fish monster turned to his sister, eyes going wide as they settled on Frisk. His ear fins twitched as he caught the buzz of a human on the lips of the worried crowd.

“Please. I can help,” Frisk said. “Let me see your mom.”

“What?!” he yelped.

His sister grabbed him, her lip quivering, and tugged on his arm to move him aside.

“Lari?!” he protested.

“Any help… I don’t c-care, I want… I want a-any help,” she mumbled.

Frisk smiled sympathetically and nodded. Neither kid protested as she walked past them to their father. He was overwrought. Frisk knelt down by his side and put a gentle hand on his huge, craggy arm. He looked up, shocked, and his eyes grew wide as he took her in.

“H-Human?!” he croaked out.

“I can help,” she said.

“Please, not now, not now,” he said, dazed, clinging to his wife and recoiling. “I c-can’t go, too, I h-have two kids, I—”

“Listen. Listen to me.” Frisk grabbed him and let a little red magic tingle from her fingertips. “I’m not going to hurt you. I can help her. Let me help her.”

“What?” he asked. He looked at her tiny hands on his rocky scales. He grimaced. 

She felt an ache in his soul. She bit her lip and grabbed his shoulder tight. “Please, if you hurry, I can do it,” she insisted. “I know I can. Please. Don’t be scared.”

“Trust her!! Trust her, please!!” Papyrus shouldered his way through the crowd, eyes wide, fists clenched, as he met the gaze of the rockram. “That’s my sister! She can help! She’s really good at it! I promise!!”

The other monsters looked at him with surprise and alarm. Flint stared at him intently for a few seconds. His head drooped and he raised a hand to wipe his eyes.

“God. Okay. Okay,” he muttered, and he turned to the kid and grabbed her shoulder lightly. “I… I don’t understand. But… But if you can help Naiad, I’ll give you whatever you—”

“I just wanna help,” Frisk said. “Just gimme some space?”

“…Alright,” he muttered.

The rockram gently let his wife down onto the cobblestone and pulled back. Both his kids raced to him, clinging tight. Frisk took a deep breath and she carefully shifted around so that she could lift the woman’s head into her lap. She rubbed her hands together, closed her eyes, and lit her soul brightly. The monsters in the crowd cried out, but she heard Papyrus shush them as best he could. Gently, she touched her fingertips against Naiad’s forehead. 

Frisk had never felt a fallen monster’s energy before. It was so faint and toneless; already the colour of dust. It was almost unbearably low. She’d felt Sans’s a thousand times, and his was as low as seemed to be functional. This was nothing like that. It was like the poor lady was hollow.

She focussed as best she could, reaching through herself and the monster, too. There had to still be something there. Some little tick of energy, something still holding her together. She started to see, in her mind’s eye, a little flicker of light. Frisk stuck to it and let her soul pulse with that slow, weak shimmer. Three times and a gentle, pistachio green made itself seen. A single, tired note called to her. Frisk opened her eyes to look the lady in the face. She could give her more time, she knew it. She had all the time in the world. She just wasn’t sure how much either of them would be able to handle. 

Her vision began to scramble— she could see Naiad’s face shift, become lively, the lighting changing as if she were elsewhere. There she was. Frisk drew back as far as she could— a headache building heavily in her mind— until she couldn’t take it a second longer. She felt it slip, felt herself choke, her body numbing, but she grasped as hard as she could until she could sense that something clicked. She released. Somehow she knew that it was about a week.

There was a crack in the air; a red burst from her body, and she trembled and deflated as, rather abruptly, Naiad opened her eyes wide. She looked around with confusion and sat up. In an instant, Flint let out a wail and grasped her hard and tight in his arms. Frisk was washed in relief despite feeling like she might collapse herself. 

“Oh!” Naiad squeaked. “Honey! I’m sorry, I must’ve dozed off! Um…”

“MOM!” the little boy shrieked. He threw himself at her and she laughed and hugged him gently. 

As the tiny rockram joined them, Papyrus grasped Frisk’s shoulder and gently helped her up.

“You okay?!” he demanded.

“Y-Yeah,” she said. She was trembling and felt cold through her extremities, but the fact that that monster was being hugged and cooed over by her family made every moment of discomfort absolutely worth it.

When she turned to look at Papyrus, the gawking, mumbling crowd over his shoulder gave her pause. She gulped. They had to have known by now. She could hear them saying the word over and over. Before she could say a thing, she was grabbed and yanked backwards, and then hugged very tightly around the chest by the rockram girl, who was even shorter than she was. 

“Th-Thank you!!” she stammered. “Thank you!!”

“Oh! Uh…” Frisk wilted and squeezed her tightly in return. “No problem. Gonna be okay now.”

The girl nodded, whimpered, and pressed her snout into her shoulder. Frisk rubbed her head gently. 

“D-Did you see that?!” a monster squeaked from somewhere.

“But that’s a human! That’s definitely a human!” another said.

“No, she’s gotta be an angel! Like the Delta Rune says!” said a high, feminine voice.

That set a rumble through the crowd. The little monster pulled back and looked up at her with big, shimmery eyes.

“A-Are you…?” she asked. “A-Are you that? Are you a surface angel?”

“Um. I am… a human,” she said. “B-But, um! I, uh…” She had no idea what to say. She gulped and offered her hand. “I’m Frisk.”

“Oh!” the rockram giggled and shook her hand with both of hers. “I’m L-Lari! That’s my mom you saved.”

“I’m really glad,” she said.

Clapping suddenly startled her, and when she turned, the crowd of monsters had gotten closer and had started to applaud. Some were on phones, others seemed to be crying. Papyrus put his hand on her head protectively but, quickly, the kid was overcome as monsters swarmed in. A tentacle grabbed her hand and shook it, and a big pointy-toothed grin met her before she was whisked into a toasty hug by a monster made of fire.

“We thought you were scary but then you weren’t!!” he said.

“A surface angel!!” someone announced. “Told you! I told you!”

Frisk was overwhelmed as the crowd patted her and shook her hands; so many that she couldn’t process all the faces and voices except to know that she’d been pulled away from Papyrus by excited, overwhelmed monsters.

“She stopped a fall! Completely stopped it!!” the voice that called out was jubilant. “It was magic!”

Frisk was shocked. They weren’t scared anymore? Her heart skipped a beat.

Before she could get her bearings, the monsters paused. A rumble of worry took them. A red bird lady, the monster closest to her, put a wing on her shoulder protectively, much to her surprise.

“He’s with the Royal Guard,” someone said.

“You gotta let him through,” said someone else.

“She’s not bad, though! She’s not bad,” squealed a voice.

“Surely no one would…! She saved that lady! That has to count for something!” someone said.

Nervously, the crowd parted. Frisk almost burst out laughing when the face that greeted her was just her grinning brother.

“With the Royal Guard, huh?” she asked.

“Someone recognized me,” he said with a shrug. “Thought I was here for work for some reason.” He ruffled her hair. 

She grinned at him and wiped her eyes. He grabbed her around the shoulders.

“Alright. Nothin’ much to see here,” he announced. “Takin’ this kid. By order of the Royal Guard or whatever. She’s, uh, our new secret weapon.”

“Not very good at keeping secret, though,” Frisk said apologetically.

“D-Does that mean falling down…? Can it be cured now?” the bird woman asked.

“M-Monsters aren’t gonna fall anymore,” the kid said. “Not because of the mountain. Promise.”

“Kinda gotta keep it on the down-low, though,” Sans said.

The group that had gathered seemed to wilt with relief. Sans put Frisk’s hoodie around her shoulders and she smiled up at him. She could finally take a moment to look around the crowd. There was probably just over a dozen monsters there, all kinds of them. A bunny, some lizards, a few different elementals, something like an octopus with a ton of pointed teeth, a family of blobs,some typical dogs, and a couple different kinds of bird monsters. None of them looked afraid. Some even looked happy. They were conferring amongst themselves, chattering and excited; checking their phones. She could only catch snippets of what they were saying.

“I can’t believe we got to meet a human that didn’t attack anyone!” the rabbit was saying.

“I was really really scared for a second,” a young blob said, blushing.

Quickly, Papyrus strode in front of them all, pulling their attention straight to him as he cleared his throat. “Um! Thank you, all of you, very much, for trusting the human,” he said. “She is, in fact, my little sister, so I th—”

“How can a human be your sister?” a bird asked.

“What was that magic she used?” the fire elemental wondered.

“Is she the angel from the old stories?!” the bunny asked shrilly.

“Aren’t you that skeleton from Mettaton’s show?”

“Uh!” Papyrus raised his hands as if to slow them down. “I can answer all your questions! Just, um, one at a time!!”

Frisk was happy to see the attention all on him. It suited him. She let out a sigh as she finally relaxed. Her vision fogged for a moment and there was a wobble in her legs. She put a hand to her face and breathed slow. After a few seconds, it started to go away, but her stomach was in knots.

“S’cuse me,” the bird woman said, drawing their attention. “Um. She’s…?” She pointed her wingtip at Frisk. Her brow furrowed and her crest of red feathers flattened. “She’s not in trouble, is she? She’s not going to the dungeon, right?”

Sans laughed. “What d’you think, kiddo? Dungeon seem like a good idea to you?”

“Sans!” she whined, elbowing him gently before she shot a smile at the worried bird. “We’re on the same side. Promise.”

“Oh good!” The feathers on her cheeks became tinted with orange. “I’m sorry! It’s just… She looks like she’s my daughter’s age.”

Frisk blushed. 

Sans grinned. “Welp. That went a lot smoother than I thought.”

“I’m just so glad I helped that lady,” Frisk said.

“Sorry, can I…? Can I ask?” the bird pressed. “Why would…? Okay. This will sound rude, but why would a human come here? Why would one want to help us?”

“I fell in a hole,” Frisk said. “And monsters are super nice. I’ll help anyone I can.”

“Oh! That’s really lovely,” she said. “I can’t say I understand entirely, but I’m really glad you happened to show up!”

“Yeah, kiddo’s got pretty good timin’,” Sans said.

The bird turned her attention on Sans. She looked at him with a sense of familiarity in her eyes, and she clacked her beak thoughtfully. “And you’re… in charge? Of the human?”

“In charge in that I make sure she eats three times a day,” Sans said with a grin and a shrug. “She, uh, pretty much does wants which, to be fair, is mostly helpin’ people.”

“I have so many questions,” she admitted.

“I can answer a few. Probably,” Sans said.

Frisk couldn’t keep herself even remotely invested as the lady began to question her brother on human curiosities— she was too tired. Her body was starting to feel weak, but as Sans was preoccupied and Papyrus was acting like a public relations representative, Frisk took a look around until she caught sight of the family she had set out to help to begin with. They were off in the park again, sitting on a hill. The adults were holding each other. She slipped off and headed towards them.

The moment the rockram caught sight of her, his eyes went wide. He kissed his wife’s head and then got up in a hurry. He approached her, but froze a few feet away, a hint of nerves on his face. “You…” He pushed through whatever fear he held and he got closer, dropping down to hold her by the shoulders. “I… I can never repay you, but whatever you want, I—”

“Dude, I don’t want anything!” she said, unable to help a laugh. “She okay? You okay?”

“Wh…? Uh. Aye. We’re, uh. We’re… okay,” he said. “What did you do? I had no clue humans could… I mean, a’ight, I heard your kind were real powerful-like, but only with killin’, but I guess it's with healin’, too? Is that it?”

“Ummm… Well. Kind of?” Frisk said apologetically. “It’s weird. Um. It’s not really a human thing, it’s more of a me thing.”

“I’m not sure I follow, little ‘un,” he said. “Oh! Uh. You are a… kid, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she said with a laugh. “I’m eleven.”

“Eleven… God. Okay,” he said. “Just a kid. That makes a heck of a lot more sense.”

“Does it?” she asked, tilting her head.

“Well, sure! It’s hard for kids to be bad, I reckon,” he said. “Grown-ups, maybe it's a bit easier, y’know? God. Never thought I’d be so happy a human showed up down here.”

“I’m really glad I could help,” she said. “Um. Could I talk to her? Would that be okay?”

“Oh! Yeah.” He nodded. “C’mon.”

He straightened up and gestured towards the other three monsters. Lari was sitting with her mother and brother, watching curiously. She waved. Frisk smiled and waved back.

“Guess you already know Lari,” he said, gesturing towards the little girl. “That there’s Adaro. And Naiad. Oh. And I’m Flint.”

“Frisk,” she said. 

Naiad looked at her with wide eyes. “You’re the one?” she asked, ear-fins perking up. “Really? You’re a human?”

“Y-Yeah,” Frisk said. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Much better,” she said. “Thank you so much, I… I didn’t think I was that close.”

“It’s alright, love,” Flint said gently.

She smiled tiredly. Frisk knew, though. She wasn’t fixed, not yet. But now, at least, they’d snuck away with a little more time.

“Um. Could I…? Could I talk to you?” Frisk asked.

Naiad nodded and slowly got to her feet. She tilted her head and started off slowly along the ridge of the hill. Frisk followed closely.

The lady seemed to flow as she walked. Though she was a fish monster like Undyne, she had none of the same boisterous, stomping gate. She looked very serene. She brushed her claws through her hair and took a deep, satisfied breath.

“It’s funny,” Naiad said quietly, “that a human would save me. Of all people.” There was a little sadness in her eyes, but some curiosity, too. There was also a nick in one of her ear-fins and along the scales on the back of her neck, just barely in view when her hair shifted.

“…You lose family, too?” Frisk asked worriedly.

“Ah! So easy to tell?” she said, though she smiled. “It’s alright. I know well enough not to blame all of you. But it’s nice to know that letting go of the anger was worth it. Nice to have a little bit of confirmation bias, hm?”

Frisk could imagine it, stark as daylight. The serenity of Waterfall punctured by a human who, for whatever reason, had decided that day to become a murderer. A community of monsters, wiped out with few exceptions. And for what? It made Frisk’s throat tighten. She fought to get ahold of herself.

“I’m glad you guys weren’t too scared,” Frisk said, willing her voice not to crack. “It’s weird, I’m still not used to being the scary one, you know? Up where I’m from, I was the one who was scared.”

“How interesting,” she said. “So. What have you done to me? I realize I’m not healed.”

“N-No, um… Okay. This is gonna sound crazy,” Frisk said, “but I wanted to explain it to you. I turned you backwards in time.”

“B… Backwards in time?” The woman froze in her steps, her yellow eyes going wide and staring at the kid with shock. “How on earth…?”

“That’s a long story,” Frisk said.

“Okay. Um. How…? How long?” she asked. “Not the story, I mean. Me.”

“About a week,” Frisk said.

“So… So I have a week,” she said softly. “Hah. Strange. I much prefer this, actually. This is a strange sort of blessing, isn’t it?”

“Wait, um! I’m… not sure exactly how this works, but, your, um, health?” Frisk said. “Is it because of the mountain?”

“How could you know that?” she asked with surprise.

“Thank god,” Frisk said. “Um. So if we got out. You’d get better. Right?”

“Uh.” Naiad’s eyes went wide. “I… I think so. Why?”

“Okay! Um!” She reached up and took her hand, holding it tight. “You’re gonna be okay.”

“What?” she asked blankly.

“Don’t worry too much, okay? I promise. You’re not gonna fall. I… I can get us out.”

“Not with your soul, surely?!” Naiad said with alarm.

Frisk couldn’t help the surprise that showed on her face. This monster was about to fall. She would be dust soon if Frisk hadn’t intervened, simply for the fact that they were trapped behind the barrier. 

“What?” Frisk asked blankly.

“What what?” Naiad asked, dropping down to one knee and holding the kid’s shoulders gently. “Tell me you won’t.”

“What?!” Frisk squeaked again.

“You’re already shaking having just done what you did for me,” she said. “And you’re a child! I could never in good conscience approve of such a thing. You are someone’s daughter. I couldn’t bear to lose one of my children like that, not for anything. No, no, you’ve given my family enough time to settle everything. It’s more than anyone could ask for. Please. You weren’t planning on that, were you?!”

Frisk’s heart thunked. Her throat went tight. Her eyes welled up and she wiped them quickly. “Oh wow.”

“What?” Naiad asked gently.

“I… I guess I just didn’t expect that,” she said.

Naiad tilted her head. Her ear-fins drooped. “Have…? Have others been telling you that you must?” she asked quietly. “I know not everyone would agree with me, but they have no business asking for your sacrifice. Surely you know this?”

Frisk couldn’t help a smile, even as she hiccoughed and had to brush her sleeve over her face. “Thank you. My brothers said I’m not allowed to, either.”

“Good!” she said with a laugh. “Poor thing.”

Frisk’s eyes were all but shimmering. She grabbed Naiad’s hands and smiled. “Hey. Listen. I think I know another way. So… So don’t count on going down in a week, alright? In a few days, everything’ll be better. Promise.”

“Oh, little one, that’s impossible, I couldn’t possibly—”

“Hey, i-it was supposed to be impossible to get a fallen monster back up again, too, huh?” Frisk insisted.

The woman stared at her with surprise. She was quiet for a while, but then she smiled and nodded. She grabbed Frisk into a hug. “Thank you,” she said.

Frisk almost choked. She cautiously hugged her, too, but soon found herself gripping tight. “A-Any time,” she said.


	74. The Superstar Skeleton Arc

“Shit. Shit shit shit.” Undyne almost tripped over her bed as she tried to rush; tugging her plated boots on. Her mind was racing. 

The alarmed, emergency texts from New Home sent her into a tizzy. She yanked her breastplate from the floor. Okay, so Frisk had somehow caused a stir. There had to be a good reason, but the half-dozen texts on the emergency line had outed her. 

Fine, Undyne thought as she shoved on her armour. No problem. She’d just stomp on over there, pretend to arrest her, and when the barrier went down in a few days, no one would be the wiser. Frisk would be safe, the monsters would think they were safe: win-win.

She pulled on her gauntlets and clunked on her helmet before storming from her home and racing down the road. New Home was a long way, but she could run it. No problem. She’d keep telling herself that until she had the kid in hand.

There was no way she could make it in that heat of the Hotland, so once she made it to the border of Waterfall, she braced herself and made a sprint for the lab. She was heaving for breath by the time she slammed through the door. She heard Alphys squeal.

“U-Undyne?! Wh-What’s wrong?” The little lizard, screwdriver in hand, was leaning over the railing, looking at her with wide eyes. 

Undyne pointed at the elevator. “New Home!” she grunted.

“O-Oh! Okay! U-Um!! H-Hang on!!” Alphys stumbled towards the escalator and scrambled down, hanging tight to the railing. “What’s g-going on?!” She didn’t wait for her to answer before rushing towards the elevator and opening it up.

Undyne joined her as she punched in a code and kicked a button near the floor. The doors slammed closed and the elevator rocketed upwards. Undyne braced her hand on the wall and took a deep breath.

“It’s Frisk,” she said.

“WHAT?!” Alphys yelped. “Wh-What happened?!”

“I don’t know. She got seen,” she said. “God. She’s probably with Paps, at least, right? He can keep her safe, right? I mean, she hasn’t gone backwards, so…? What was she thinking?”

“It m-must’ve been important,” she said, her voice warbling.

Undyne frowned and grimaced. “Can you make it go faster?”

Alphys nodded. She took a deep breath and clenched her fists. After a second, her scales flickered with electric energy, and she banged her fist into the elevator. The yellow magic crackled across the walls and, with a shudder, the elevator shot ahead with a thrum of energy.

Undyne grunted and braced herself, and Alphys pressed her back into the wall. They both stumbled when it crashed to a halt. The door slid open with a pleasant _ding_. 

“Okay. See you soon?” Undyne said.

“Y-Yeah!!” Alphys said, waving as Undyne rushed out. “G-Good luck!!”

Undyne only ran until she found her way onto a street. Then, she puffed out her chest and walked briskly but calmly. Didn’t want to alarm the citizens. She pulled out her phone to look at the blurry pictures of Frisk to try to see where she was. Maybe a park? There were a few in New Home, though. She grimaced. She noticed, though, that she had a few more texts. Worriedly, she checked one. She paused with surprise as she read it over.

“_Um! Sorry!_” someone who’d wrote in initially had sent. “_Really sorry to bother you Captain. It was not a human! Sorry for the mistake!_”

Undyne frowned with puzzlement. This was a monster who’d sent in one of the blurry pictures. Puzzled, she fumbled with her phone as she leaned up on the nearest building. It was hard to use with gauntlets on, but she managed to bring up another of the new messages.

“_Hi Mrs. Captain Undyne!_” the text read. “_I sent in about a human but my brother took my phone and it wasn’t me it was just a prank SUPER SORRY!!!_”

To her surprise, most of the messages were in a similar vein. One even claimed that there hadn’t been a human at all. It was an angel. Whatever that meant. Every single report of a human had been retracted by some excuse.

Undyne stared at her screen. She snorted out a laugh. She tucked her phone away again in her armour and finally relaxed. What to do now, though? Better to turn around and go home, or to show a presence anyway? She elected to do the latter. 

She walked the streets, trying to get a read on the atmosphere. Everywhere she checked seemed normal. Business as usual. She peeked down alleys and into the little atriums. Nothing out of the ordinary.

A park check came up nothing. Another one was similar. However, one near an apartment complex had an air of excitement about it. She thought she heard a strange word again. Angel. This must’ve been the place.

“Hey, boss.” 

She almost jumped and whirled to see Sans, grinning, beside her, leaning up against the wall. He saluted casually. 

“Knew I recognized that clunkin’ sound,” he said.

She grinned. “So? Trouble?”

“Oof. Welp. Better come with me,” he said.

There was a small patch of trees beyond a jungle gym and Sans brought her towards them. Just beyond, tucked a little ways out of sight, she picked out Papyrus sitting in a group with two little monster kids and two adults, a ram-like monster with a stone hide and a monster very similar to Undyne herself. Papyrus was animated, like he was telling a story, and as they got a little closer, they saw he had Frisk in his lap. 

“What happened?” she asked quietly.

“What came through on emergency?” he asked.

“Human. New Home. That’s about it,” she said. “Then, go figure, same amount of messages sayin’ either it was a mistake or somethin’ else. A surface angel?”

Sans snickered. “Guess she won them over.”

“I heard of that with the Delta Rune story,” she said, “but I dunno what that is.”

“Not super sure, either,” Sans admitted. “I think it has wings? I dunno.”

Undyne chuckled and shook her head. “So?”

Sans shrugged and he pointed to the fish monster. “See that lady? She just kinda dropped.”

“What, like…?” Undyne’s eye went wide and she stared at him. “Actually fell?”

“Mhm.” Sans shoved his hands in his pockets. “Frisk fixed her.”

“What, like… fixed, fixed?” Undyne repeated, and she lowered her voice. “She turned her back?!”

“Sure did,” Sans said. “She’s on a countdown. But that shouldn’t be an issue.”

“God. Wow. Okay. Uh. Dude, that’s kind of amazing,” she said. “So she did that in front of everyone?”

“Eh, a dozen or so,” he said. “But I pulled rank and Paps sweet-talked ‘em. Seemed to go over okay.”

“You pulled rank?!” She couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s a first. Not surprised at all about your brother, though.”

It wasn’t long before Papyrus caught sight of Undyne from the corner of his eye. He grinned sheepishly and gave Frisk a nudge. They said goodbye and headed back through the trees to see them. Frisk blushed and looked at Undyne sheepishly.

“Um. Am I in trouble?” she asked.

“Pffft, no,” Undyne said. “I was here to cover for you.”

“Oh! Th-Thank you!!” she squeaked. She hugged onto her and Undyne scoffed and patted her head with a heavy hand. 

“Thanks for coming, Captain,” Papyrus said brightly. “But! As you can see! I, the great Papyrus, have soundly diffused the situation! I mean. Unless you are here in full armour for some other reason than human-related shenanigans?”

“Heh. You got me, Paps,” she said. “Just glad everything worked out. Uh. Oh! Could you?” She offered her phone to Papyrus. 

He took it with a look of confusion on his face.

“Just text Alph that things are fine,” she said.

“Fair enough!” Papyrus said, starting to type right away.

“Jeez, sorry to cause such a scare,” Frisk said worriedly. “I-I didn’t mean to, I just—”

“You saw someone in trouble and you helped,” Sans said. “Can’t ask for more than that.”

Frisk smiled bashfully. She was extra relieved when Undyne nodded. 

“Yeah. Under these circumstances, I totally agree,” she said. “And. To be fair. Kiddo, all the monsters who ratted you out tried to take it back pretty quickly.”

“Oh! Really?” she said. “They didn’t have to do that…”

“Yeah, but they didn’t know that,” she said.

“That’s all great and all,” Sans said, “but, kid. You need a sit down?”

“Kinda,” she said. “But, um. You know what this all means, though, right?”

“That humans and monsters really will get along and everything will be just fine?” Papyrus suggested as he gave Undyne her phone back.

“N-No, um. Well, maybe?” Frisk said. “But, um. We gotta hurry up. Six days. We gotta go before then.”

“Can you handle that?” Undyne asked worriedly.

“We have to,” she said. 

“But you have to be exhausted after that,” she pushed. “Just look at you.”

“And after the CORE thing,” Sans said. “And the shadowman thing.”

“I, um… I guess I am actually pretty tired,” Frisk admitted sheepishly. “Turning her back was… It was actually pretty hard. I feel like I almost missed it. I dunno if I can do it again. Especially if I don’t catch her right when it happens. So… So that’s even more reason to go as soon as we can, right?”

“Yeah. True,” Undyne said. “We can do that.”

“Gotta,” Sans said.

“Good,” Frisk said.

Without warning, she swooned. Papyrus yelped, but Sans was already close enough to catch her.

“And there she goes,” he said.

“Frisk, are you okay?!” Papyrus demanded, dipping down and putting his hand on her shoulders.

“Y-Yeah. Yeah,” she said. “Sorry.” She tried to straighten up, clinging tight to Sans’s arm with one hand and rubbing her forehead with the other.

“You held it together a while,” Sans said.

“Brother, you should probably take her home,” Papyrus said. “I’ll find Asriel.”

“Cool. See ya,” he said.

As was far too common now, Sans set Frisk up on the couch with some blankets and a hot drink. He took the corner and she was in his lap before he even asked her if she was still too cold. He flicked on the TV and she settled in with a sigh. 

“Hey, sis, keep it together, alright?” he said.

“Got it,” she said quietly. She closed her eyes. 

He held her; rested his chin on her head lazily. Didn’t mind the bit of background noise.

“Ugh, I wanna puke,” she muttered.

“Well. Let me know.” he said. 

“Kay…” She sighed quietly. “I’ll… I’ll be okay. I just don’t feel well.”

“Rest.” He glowed a little. 

She slumped and went quiet, focusing on breathing slowly and deeply. She soon began to relax, going limp in his arms.

“Kiddo?” he said. “I’m, uh… I’m real proud of you.”

“Thanks.” She gripped onto his shirt. “I… I didn’t even know her. I… I guess we took longer than this to get out last time, didn’t we? I don’t think she made it out.”

“Probably not,” he said.

“How many more could there be? H-How…? How many more did I miss?”

“Hey. You can’t think like that,” he said. “It’s not an everyday thing. And you never had that power before.”

“I guess.” She sighed and quietly laughed at herself. “Sorry. I don’t mean to get all mopey, I just… I want to save everyone. B-But… But I’m still too weak. If someone else fell today, I dunno that I could…” She pouted.

Sans laughed and rubbed her head. “You’re impossible, you know that?” he said fondly.

“I know. Sorry. I’m pathetic,” she said quietly. “I just saved her. I… I did it. I can do it.”

“Hey.”

She squeaked as she was lifted in blue and spun around to face her brother. She looked at him bashfully, and he gently bonked his brow on hers. She sighed and smiled.

“M-Maybe pathetic wasn’t the right word,” she admitted sheepishly.

“Damn straight,” he said. “Jeez, kiddo.”

“Sorry,” she said.

“Still proud of you,” he said.

She laughed. She reached up to hug him around the neck and snuggled up to him. He bumped his brow on hers and he glowed his eye gently for her. It sent a gentle, cool feeling through her whole body. It was instantly relaxing.

“Thanks, Sans,” she said quietly. “Really. Thank you so much.”

“Don’t gotta thank me.” He grinned. “You’re my little sis. We’re in this together.”

Frisk looked embarrassed. Her soul began to latch to his, and he could instantly feel the tremor in her energy— how exhausted she must be. 

“Get some sleep,” he said.

\- - -

There was still a lot of excitement bristling in the air around the park. Not a single monster had approached Undyne, though. She was grateful. 

She turned from her seat on a hill to the sound of footsteps, and Papyrus rejoined her, offering her a blue nice cream bar. She accepted it readily.

“Thanks,” she said as he sat beside her. “So how long you gonna wait for?”

“Until he shows up,” he said. “Though I do have some plans tomorrow night, so hopefully it is before then.”

“Better be,” she said, gnawing at the top of the frozen dessert. “Whatcha up to tomorrow?”

“Oh! I have a hot date, apparently.”

Undyne almost choked and she snorted, covering her mouth. “With who?!”

“With an alligator girl. It was Mettaton’s idea,” he said. “It was second prize at his event! Dinner with the great Papyrus! I’m sure I won’t let him down!”

“Oh right. I keep forgetting. You’re kinda like a famous actor now, huh?” she said, nudging him with her elbow.

“I think so! I thought I’d feel more different, though,” he said.

“Whatcha mean?” she asked.

“Well, I feel like the same old Papyrus! Which is great. But I thought there would be more, I don’t know, sun rays and sparkles,” he said.

“Hah! No. That’s just Mettaton, I think,” she said as he chucked his own nice cream bar into his mouth. “And you’re great the way you are.”

“Of course I am! But thank you for saying so,” he said.

Papyrus smiled brightly. Undyne scoffed. She bit into her cold dessert and then shot the skeleton a curious look.

“Kid okay?” she asked.

“Which one?” he said. “We have two kids! Unless you mean the kid named Kid.”

“Uh. Guess I meant Frisk,” she said with an embarrassed laugh.

“I… I think… I’m not sure.” His brow furrowed. “A lot of very weird things have been happening to Frisk recently. And now she even just had to reveal herself to a bunch of people and she fainted maybe twice today. And last night was really bad.”

“Was it? Oh. Sorry to hear that,” she said. “Jeez, she’s tiny though, huh? How much you think she can take of that fainting stuff?”

“All of it, technically,” he said. “It’s just like weird, awful things like to follow her around everywhere.”

“Hope you’re not talkin’ about me.” Asriel popped up before them with a snide smile on his face. 

Papyrus’s worry lifted instantly and he scooped the little flower up out of the ground and bumped his brow to his, a big, relieved grin on his face. “There you are! I’m so glad you’re back!”

“Oh. Uh. Hi to you, too,” he said, settling into the skeleton’s hands. “Hi, fishface.”

“Hey, stinkweed, how’s it hangin’?” Undyne said.

“Meh.” He shrugged and looked around. “Hey, uh, where’s Frisk and the bonehead?”

“Oh! They went home,” Papyrus said quickly. “I said I’d wait for you. Frisk wasn’t feeling well after she used all that magic.”

“Wait, what magic?” Asriel asked, frowning.

“She turned back a lady who fell down,” Papyrus said. “It was pretty amazing. But it really tired her out.”

Asriel stared back at him with wide eyes, and then couldn’t help but glare incredulously. “What?!” he snapped.

“Watch it,” Undyne said.

“You serious?! In front of all these people?!” He looked at her, suddenly seeming very worried. “Is that why you’re here? Did you like, fake arrest her or something?”

“Oh. Heh. No.” Undyne finished her nice cream and tossed the stick, which dissolved into sparkles. “That was my plan, though. Turned out okay anyways.”

“Ugh. God. What was she thinking?” he mumbled.

“She was thinking she could save someone’s life, and luckily she was right,” Papyrus said brightly. 

“And nobody attacked her?” he asked.

“Nope! Not a one!” Papyrus said. “I did have to do a little explaining, but I don’t mind that. I come across as very knowledgeable and trustworthy, so it really wasn’t a problem.”

“I figure a lot of monsters are probably a lot like I used to be,” Undyne said with a shrug. “All gung-ho about the whole human-killing business until one comes face to face with you and gives you a glass of water. Uh. Metaphorically. Guess that must’ve hit you pretty hard, huh, Paps?”

“Me? Oh, no, I never wanted to kill a human,” he said quickly. “I would never want to kill anyone.”

“Yeeeah.” Undyne’s brow furrowed and she folded her arms. “War mentality does strange things to your head. But, uh… Why’d you wanna be a Guard so much, then?”

“All the Guards in Snowdin help people all the time,” he said. “And everyone thinks they’re really cool! And they look up to them. Kind of like how I look up to you!” He smiled sheepishly, his cheekbones flushing faintly. “…I wanted to be just like you. I never saw someone I thought was also the coolest, so, when I saw you patrolling and solving problems for monsters in Waterfall, I thought that was extremely cool and I wanted to do that.”

Undyne stared at him silently for a few seconds. She cracked a fond smile and patted him on the head gently. “You’re a good kid, Paps. You don’t need to be a Guard to do those things, though.”

“I guess you’re right,” he said.

“Ugh.” Asriel rubbed his brow. “That’s great and all, but what do we do about Frisk?”

“I’m not sure I follow,” Papyrus said apologetically.

Asriel’s brow furrowed. He folded his leaves. “I have an idea. You gotta take me to a place, though,” he said.

“Well! Okay!” He jumped to his feet and offered his hand. “Have some time, Captain?”

“Guess so,” she said. “What’re you thinkin’, short stuff?”

“You’ll see. But you won’t like it,” he said.

\- - -

The afternoon flowed on like a quiet, lazy river, going ever forward with no particular urgency to bear. Drifting in and out, Sans found himself in a pile of blankets with Frisk slumped over him like a cat. Lethargy making his head feel heavy, barely able to see through the grogginess, he pulled her up to hold her. He rested his fingertips against her temple and let his soul touch on hers. She wasn’t dreaming— not one of theirs, at least. That was more relief than he was expecting.

She was such a funny kid. Seemed like he could move her wherever while she was out and she wouldn’t wake up. She was kind of like him in that. 

He dozed off for a while again, only to be roused by something he couldn’t quite place. He frowned with confusion as some sort of sound rattled his skull. Took him a second to process. A banging on the door; a female voice.

“S’open,” he called groggily.

The banging stopped. He heard a timid squeaking sound. 

The door opened a crack and Alphys, breathing hard, but with a look of relief on her face, hurried inside. She didn’t have a coat, only a thin sweatshirt, and she looked a little frosty.

“Oh. Hey, Doc,” Sans said.

“Oh. G-Good. Y-Y-You two a-are o-o-okay.” She was shivering more than she was stuttering as she hurried inside. “Un-Undyne called m-me from… W-Well, it d-doesn’t m-matter, b-but she t-t-told me everything. She a-asked m-me to come ch-check on you b-because you w-weren’t answering th-the phone.”

“Sleepin’,” Sans said, slowly sitting up and grabbing the kid to slide her into a little blanket nest. “You, uh, wanna sit down? You’re turnin’ blue.”

Alphys nodded quickly but she didn’t seem to know where to go. Sans scooped up his bundle of little sister, and Alphys slunk onto the couch. She pulled up one of the other blankets and let out a trembling sigh.

“Th-Thanks,” she said. She leaned over and looked at the snoozing kid. “Is, um…? I-Is she o-okay?”

“Sorta,” he said.

“I… I h-heard what she d-did,” Alphys said quietly. “T-To that monster? I… Hah… I, like, j-just cried for l-like fifteen minutes. It’s amazing. I n-never thought… I mean, a-after my thing f-failed so hard, I never thought s-someone could h-heal that…”

“Not healed,” Sans said. “Kiddo gave her a week. So we have six days. At best.”

“R-Right. Right right r-right.” Alphys nodded. “N-No problem. I’m s-sure w-we can do that. W-We’re all r-ready, aren’t we?”

“Not sure the flower kid is,” he said.

Alphys blinked at him. She tilted her head. “Why? I-Is something wrong?”

“Not sure.” Sans frowned. “It’s… Ah. It’s hard to explain. He’s been dreamin’ his sister.”

“Is that… b-bad?” Alphys asked.

“Depends how much it sounds like her,” he said.

Alphys looked confused. She didn’t seem to know what to say. Her eyes went wide. “R-Right, since your dreams are s-so… H-His must be, t-too, since he… Oh. W-Wow. So, w-wait, she’s not still…?”

“Doubt it,” he said. “Just kinda worried he might flip.”

“Wh-What? N-No… He w-wouldn’t! W-Would he?” she asked. “B-But… But e-everything we’re doing, it’s f-for him, isn’t it?”

Sans’s gaze drifted down to his snoozing kid. He slumped around her and gently cradled the back of her head. He nodded. “We don’t have a lot of time,” he said quietly. “Do me a favour? Spend more time with the kid before we go, okay?”

“O-Oh! I’d b-be happy to… uh…” She cautiously accepted the sleeping girl into her arms as Sans passed her over. “Oh… Sh-She’s so tired, I c-can feel it f-from here… B-But…”

“Look. When our souls get grabbed,” Sans said, “I’ve seen what Frisk saw, but I don’t know what it feels like on the other end. It’s…” He sighed— tried to find the words. “It’s like a void of time and space. Our memories get kinda messed up. Made it rough on Frisk. I'm just hopin’ that being’ around her might help with that. Especially if the flower kid loses his nerve.”

“D-Do you really th-think he will?” she asked worriedly.

“Kinda.” He folded his arms. “He still doesn’t trust us. Well. Maybe he trusts Frisk. And almost Paps. From what I’ve seen, those human souls might do weird things to him. Even he’s worried about it. Don’t blame ‘im.”

“S-So you’re saying… i-it might m-make him paranoid. I understand.” She looked down at Frisk and couldn’t help a fond smile. “D-Does she really n-not mind people just… h-holding her like this? I m-mean, I know she’s n-not actually a puppy b-but…”

“Wouldn’t do somethin’ she did mind,” Sans said. “She’s, uh… She really likes bein’ close to people she cares about.”

Alphys blushed slightly and smiled. “I’ll… I’ll d-do whatever I c-can,” she said quietly. 

“Want some tea?” Sans said.

“Ooh. I’d l-love some. Thanks,” she said.

Sans vanished and the tap in the kitchen began to run. She sighed quietly and leaned back. She gently flushed Frisk with a calm, warm burst of healing energy. She could feel her soul warbling. It wasn’t like she’d been injured, but like something else was affecting her. She hoped she could help, at least a little. She was surprised when she felt the kid in the blankets gently cling to her— her soul touching against her own warmly. 

“So kawaii,” she whispered quietly.

“…A… Alphys?” Frisk opened her eyes just a crack and seemed pleased with what she saw. 

Alphys was taken aback for a moment. The kid’s irises flickered with red, but then faded down to normal. Frisk grabbed her around her middle in a weak, but happy, hug. 

“Hiya!” she said groggily. 

“Oh, F-Frisk! H-Hey, sweetie, h-how are you feeling?” she said gently.

“I’m super tired,” she said. “But… But I’ll be okay. Thanks.”

“I heard what y-you did,” she said. “I’m s-so proud of you, you know?”

“Oh! Th-Thank you!” Frisk said. “I, um…! I’m glad that it helped.”

Alphys snickered. “Y-You’re amazing. Really.”

“You’re so cold,” Frisk said.

“Ah…! Y-Yeah. I, um, j-just came inside, um, recently,” Alphys said.

“Here.” Frisk squirmed and got one of her blankets, then tossed it up around the lizard’s shoulders. She grinned. “Better, right? We have like a million blankets, it’s super good.”

Alphys giggled. She patted Frisk on the head and the kid smiled. 

“Hey, you actually woke up today, that’s somethin’.” Sans wandered back in with a magic hold on three mugs of tea. “Feelin’ a little better?”

“Yeah! Thank you!” Frisk took a quick sip of tea as soon as she got hers, and then stuck her tongue out. “So flowery.”

“I know. Sorry. It’s better for you than the other one, though,” he said. “Sugar kinda helps a bit if you need more.”

“I know,” she said. “This is fine. Thank you!”

“We’ll go to Grillby’s later,” he said.

“Really?!” Frisk’s face lit up. “Oh cool! I could really go for a burger, now that I think about it.”

“Duh,” he said. “Plus. You deserve it. Savin’ people’s lives and all.”

He ruffled her hair and she giggled, pleased. He chugged his tea and then checked her phone. It was later in the afternoon than he had thought. There were missed texts from Undyne; quickly sent a message back that they had just been snoozing and that Alphys had arrived. 

He tossed the phone to Frisk and she peered at it curiously. She sighed and laughed weakly, rubbing her hand through her hair.

“Jeez,” she muttered.

“Forget it,” Sans said.

She smiled bashfully and began to drink her tea, gulping down a few, large mouthfuls with a wince on her face. “Oof, it’s like drinking fancy soap,” she joked.

“Might just be fancy soap and we never noticed,” Sans said. “Can you blow bubbles?”

“Sans,” Alphys scolded jokingly.

Frisk’s phone suddenly buzzed with a sense of urgency beside her. She looked at it and hurriedly put the tea aside to pick it up. “M-Mom? Oh! I… I’m…” She snickered and hiccoughed, her eyes welling up. “I-I missed you a lot! Mhm! Y-Yeah, of course I have time now.” She slid off the couch and slowly climbed the stairs before disappearing inside the bedroom. 

Sans sighed with relief. “Good timing.”

Alphys shot him a questioning look and he grinned bashfully.

“A kid needs her mom sometimes, y’know?” he said. “It’ll be better. Once this is done.”

“Sure will,” she agreed.

“Just hope I was smart enough to do whatever I did with the memory thing to her, too,” he said as he sat down. “Must’ve. Lived with her. Can’t imagine why I wouldn’t.”

“So… S-So does sh-she kind of f-feel like… a parent? T-To you, too?” she asked.

“I don’t remember it all,” he said. “From what I do, yeah, kinda. It’s weird. But it’s kinda good, too. It’s… Heh. It’s funny seein’ it through Frisk. I was so… comfortable there. It’s interestin’. And Papyrus frickin’ adored her. It’s gonna be good to get them back together.”

“Y-Yeah! Yeah, that… That sounds really nice,” Alphys said. “D-Did I, umm…? Did I know h-her? I c-can’t remember at all.”

“Yeah, you did,” he said. “You’ll like her.”

She sipped her tea carefully. It did not taste like soap. “I, um, was d-doing a bit of low-key s-soul work today,” she said. “I, um, l-listened to that song, um… U-Undyne sent it? Did you hear th-that? The two hums together.”

“Oh. Yeah,” he said. “Frisk’s and the flower kid’s old one.”

“It’s fascinating.” Alphys’s eyes glittered. “N-Never heard anything like it. Th-The closest thing I’ve heard is… Sometimes, f-family members might h-have resonances that s-sort of, um… tie together? Or they’re, um, s-similar. B-But usually not like this, where i-if you play them at the same time they just… f-fit. I don’t know.”

“Yeah. Weird,” he said.

“Do you think F-Frisk would mind if I, like, j-just study the heck out of h-her when all this is over?” she wondered. “She’s s-so interesting! Um… I m-mean, I wouldn’t do anything w-weird to her or anything.”

“You’ll have to ask her,” he said. “She’ll probably be fine with it.”

“Such a g-good kid,” she said quietly.

\- - -

Frisk seemed a lot better after talking to Toriel, but even so, she dozed off again in Sans’s lap in front of the TV soon after coming back. Her energy was still trembling and exhausted.

It was late afternoon by the time Papyrus burst back in with Asriel on his shoulder and Undyne right behind. Frisk didn’t budge, but Alphys got up to greet her girlfriend with a hug and a smooch.

“How’s everything?” Undyne asked.

Sans pointed at the dozing kid. She nodded.

“Got anywhere I can ditch the armour?” she asked.

“Our room!” Papyrus assured her. “Asriel, let’s get started!” He headed straight for the kitchen.

“What kept you?” Sans asked as Undyne stomped up the stairs.

“Thievery,” she called.

“Broke into Asgore's. Stole like three teabags,” Asriel said. “He won’t notice.”

“Edgy,” Sans said.

“Look, it’s for Frisk, okay?!” Asriel said defensively. “Next to a big dumb slice of pie, this is the closest thing to a cure-all we got. If we couldda told him about her, I bet he’d hand over a whole box. And I mean it's not like he locks his house ever.”

“Welp. You’re not wrong,” Sans said.

Papyrus emerged, tenting his fingers, looking embarrassed. “So you don’t think he’d be mad, either? That’s good. I-I only agreed because Frisk was…! Oh. How is she, anyway?”

“Been better,” Sans said. “Been worse, too.”

“That’s not helpful,” Papyrus said with a frown.

Sans laughed. He rubbed the kid’s head fondly. “She’s okay. Better since she talked to Tori,” he said. “Tired as hell, though. Can’t blame her. Glad she sleeps like a log.”

“I’ve b-been healing h-her a little,” Alphys volunteered. “I, um, th-think it’s kind of h-helping.”

“Do you guys have any idea how disturbing this is for me?” Asriel asked from the kitchen. “Haaahaha, boil, little flowers, BOIL! Shit. Okay, now it’s kind of funny. I hate flowers, did I ever tell you that? They suck.”

“You were r-right, I should have m-made you into a fly-trap o-or something, Asriel, I’m s-sorry,” Alphys said.

He laughed. “No. No no, that’s literally impossible,” he said. “I couldn’t be anything else. At all. It’s fine. I’m joking. Kind of. Well, not really, but you know what I mean.”

“Aw, Asriel, let me help you,” Papyrus said quickly, hurrying back into the kitchen. “That stuff is hard to maneuver for someone so small!”

“Hey, do you guys think I could just be a perpetual source of tea?” Asriel wondered. “A petal here, a leaf there… No, wait, I bet I’m poisonous, scrap that.”

“Now you’re just bein’ ridiculous,” Sans said with a grin.

They heard the thump of metal upstairs. After a few seconds, Undyne slid down their banister in just shorts and tank-top. Alphys went bright red. 

“Oowaaa, that’s better!” Undyne said, stretching her arms high above her head. She let her hair down and rubbed her fingers through it. “What a weird day, huh, guys?”

Alphys stammered something incoherent and slumped down to the floor, dragging one of the blankets with her as she hid under it, her tail the only part of her peeking out. Undyne raised her brows, smiled sideways, and then turned her attention to Sans.

“Can I have the squirt?” she asked.

Sans shrugged and nodded, and with a grin, Undyne scooped the kid up gently and cradled her, letting a bit of cyan glow through her palm and into the back of her head.

“She really can sleep through anything, huh?” she said quietly. “Just like you, huh, Sans?”

“Pfft, no way,” Asriel said, rolling into the room. “That guy’s borderline narcoleptic.”

“Nah, just lazy,” Sans said with a wink. 

Undyne scoffed. She gently poked the kid on her nose. “Hey. Frisk. You wanna get up?” she asked quietly. “We got some tea for ya. Should help you feel a little better.”

It took a moment, but the kid’s eyelids fluttered. Undyne snickered.

“That’s hilarious. Really, all that talking and nothin’, but if we just ask you, you get up?”

Frisk blinked groggily. She smiled and rubbed her eyes with her knuckles. “Guess so. Hi.”

“Hi,” Undyne said with a grin. “How you doin’?” 

“Wobbly.” Frisk hugged the fish monster pretty tightly considering how shaky she was. “Oh! Everyone’s here?”

“Hey, you doofus. You’re really a terrible superhero, did I tell you that?” Asriel said with a grin. “Really? You let everyone see you?”

“N-Not everyone!” She protested. “Just… a few. And I had to help that lady.”

“I don’t know, Asriel, I think she’s pretty good!” Papyrus came out of the kitchen with a smile on his face. He passed Frisk a cup of tea after Undyne placed her on the arm of the couch. “I’m happy to see you aren’t doing too bad, little sister.”

“Thank you!” She sipped the tea and was instantly warmed to her core. “Oh. Wow. Is this Asgore’s?”

“Yup, and we don’t have a lot of it, so stop getting so damn sick,” Asriel joked.

“It’s not a big deal, I can just ask for more,” Undyne said. “He just, uh, wasn’t home.”

Papyrus sat down beside Frisk and she cautiously slipped off the side of the couch to sit on his lap. He gladly grabbed her close. The blanket at their feet bobbed and Alphys finally removed herself from her hidden place and took a deep breath. Frisk squeaked and then started laughing.

“There you are! How long were you down there?” she asked.

“Not t-too long,” she said with a sheepish grin. 

She grabbed Asriel when he rolled closer. Sans chucked her a pillow to sit on. Undyne plunked down on the table and folded her arms.

“Okay! Same page time? We, uh, gotta go in a week. Right?” she said.

“Six days, max,” Frisk said.

“What, really? I didn’t agree to that,” Asriel said.

“Thought you’d wanna get goin’ quicker than anyone,” Undyne said, narrowing her eye.

“I do! I just… The soul thing, it’s… not pleasant, I dunno,” he grumbled.

“I gave the monster that fell a week back,” Frisk said. “She’s falling because she feels hopeless about the mountain. If it’s open, she, um, shouldn’t fall anymore. No one else, too. So. That’s why.”

“…Oh.” Asriel frowned, but he nodded. “Alright. Fair enough.”

“I, um… I also have other news,” Frisk said. “This, um, it’s not really important. I mean, it is to me, but—”

“Then it’s important to us,” Undyne said. “Spill it.”

Frisk nodded. She took a deep breath. Her grip on her mug tightened and she stared into the golden liquid quietly for a few seconds. “I remembered everything about the, um, shadowman,” she said. “Last night. I had a weird dream where I saw him melt and I could understand him talk for the first time. And then after that I remembered every time I met him.”

“W-Wait, what?!” Alphys said. She stumbled back and put a hand to her mouth. “D-Do you know who he is? Could he t-tell you?”

“No. No, it wasn’t like that,” Frisk said. “He’s, like— or, he was— kinda stuck in a time void place, I think. He didn’t really know who he was. Only that I think he was a monster before whatever happened to him. He was, um… He was really nice, though.”

“So it was like you thought and you actually didn’t have to be worried about it at all?” Papyrus asked.

“Kind of,” Frisk said. “I mean… Every time he ended up hurting me, he felt so bad. He never meant to.”

“So you remember that, then?” Undyne asked, eye widening. “You remember the times he took you?”

“Yeah. Um. But more than that,” she said. “I… I’m not sure what he is. Maybe a type of weird time ghost or something. Because, um, I saw him on the surface, too. My whole life. One of my first memories ever is of him.”

The room went so silent that a pin dropping would’ve been like the crash of cymbals. All eyes were on Frisk. She didn’t know what else to say. 

“…WHAT?!” Asriel barked.

“Kid, are you serious?!” Undyne demanded. 

“Y-You… You s-saw him on the surface?!” Alphys squeaked.

“That’s why I think maybe he’s a ghost or something?” Frisk said. “I’m… I’m still not sure why he came to me back then. Maybe it’s because he’s stuck in a time void thingy and maybe time doesn’t really mean as much to him, so because I could do time stuff later, he just found me early. I really don’t know.”

“But he was nice, though? He wasn’t a bad person, right?” Papyrus insisted.

“No, he wasn’t bad at all,” Frisk said quickly. “He was always really nice to me, even though I’m pretty sure he knew I wouldn’t remember him. Oh! And… And Sans? His accent, I… I heard— well, it’s not exactly the same— but that rocky goat man? Flint? His accent is pretty similar to the shadowman’s. Is that helpful?”

“Not sure,” he said.

“It doesn’t help say where he’s from?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Not really. You, uh, noticed, even Paps and I don’t sound exactly the same, right?” he said. “Accent’s like, half built into your soul. So it’s not too helpful.”

“Dang it,” Frisk said with a sigh.

“B-But… But wait…” Alphys said. “H-How does that…? I mean. W-We think he’s a scientist, though, r-right? Someone… Someone we knew, m-maybe?”

“We?” Undyne asked. “Who we talkin’ about here?”

“Sans and I,” she said quickly. “S-So…? So how d-does that fit in? Unless… Unless th-there’s more than one p-person missing?”

“Missing?” Frisk asked worriedly.

“Y-You brought up s-some email printouts from the b-basement,” Alphys said quickly. “I… I honestly thought th-they were just blank sheets of p-paper at first. I’m n-not sure what changed, b-but I recently looked a-at them again and found that th-they really were messages. Work e-mails between Sans, m-me, and… and s-someone we don’t remember a-at all.”

“So is this some super deep weird conspiracy crap or what?” Asriel asked, eyes wide. “Is there a bunch of people stuck in some stupid time place?”

“Dunno if there’s a way to know that,” Sans said.

“You guys actually think it might be more than one person?” Frisk asked worriedly.

“Not your guy,” Sans said. “Honestly? Your guy is probably the science guy. If we’re assumin’ the blue save guy and the note guy and your guy are all the same person. Which makes sense.”

“Oh my god, that would be so weird if he was a friend of yours,” the kid said, eyes wide. “I mean… Jeez. He probably was. C-Could something have happened? Maybe the CORE?”

Sans tapped his teeth thoughtfully. “Everything did start goin’ sideways after that thing ten years ago,” he admitted. “You might be onto somethin’, kiddo.”

“Did it really?” Papyrus asked worriedly. “I guess that is when I started seeing more of those star things Frisk does saving at.”

“And everything is connected,” Asriel joked. “I dunno, you guys really think so?”

“With stuff th-that literally can’t b-be remembered by most people— I m-mean, anyone b-but Frisk, I guess— who knows, really?” Alphys said with a sigh.

“Well, listen, I mean, he’s my friend,” Frisk said, “and… and if he might have been your friend, too? That’s an extra reason for me to try to find him again, isn’t it? After we’re done?”

“I’ll h-help out, for sure,” Alphys said. “Either way. I feel like I n-need to know what’s going on, a-after all this.”

“Thanks,” Frisk said.

“Hey, Frisk,” Undyne said. “Was it your shadowman guy who stitched up your arm that one time?”

“Um… I don’t think so,” she said. “I still don’t remember that at all. Sorry.”

“Ah. That’s okay. I was just wondering.” She grinned and rubbed the back of her head. “Jeez, kiddo, it’s been a hell of a few days, huh?”

“I’ll be okay,” Frisk assured them quickly. “I, umm… Well, I mean… If any of you happen to see a weird guy with just a dark black flowy body and a white face with a big smile and cracks near the eyes, tell me, okay? Hopefully while you just stare at him so you don’t forget? The last time I saw him, he, like… turned to dust on top of me a-and I’m really worried about him now.”

Alphys’s brow furrowed and she looked at Sans, concerned. He shrugged. 

“I’ll let you know if I see anything like that, I promise!” Papyrus assured her. “Hey, finish your tea before it gets cold, okay, little sister? I can feel your energy starting to pick up already.”

“R-Right.” She sipped from her mug tentatively.

“Is that it? Really?” Asriel asked, a hint of worry in his voice. “You remember this guy, he vanishes, and… what? What was it for? What did he want?”

“I think he just wanted to be remembered,” Frisk said quietly.

“And he put you through all that junk just for that? I’m not buyin’ it,” he said.

She shrugged. She didn’t have an answer, just like everyone else. She couldn’t help a small, worried sigh. Papyrus hugged her gently, resting his head on hers.

“It’ll be okay,” he assured her. “This is weird. But things are always weird. And we can always handle it, together.”

“Yeah, that’s super true,” Undyne said. “Jeez, kiddo, sorry it's just been weird stuff after weird stuff for you.”

“Hey, don’t worry, that’s my life like every single day,” she joked. “Thanks for the tea, you guys. I feel a lot better.”

Papyrus look down at her worriedly, He took a deep breath; braced himself. “How about. We all. Go to that bar?” he suggested. “You know. THAT one? That might be. Um. Nice?”

“Read my mind, bro,” Sans said.

“Oh no, that’s almost as bad as the last time I started making terrible jokes like you do,” Papyrus said with a frown. “But, in any case! Let’s… Let’s get this over with! I mean! Let’s get some dinner!” 

“I’m down,” Undyne said. “We can keep talkin’ about all this crazy crap over burgs!”

She jumped to her feet and yanked Alphys up and hurried her towards the door. “Stealin’ a coat, okay?!” she demanded.

“Yup,” Sans said.

“ALRIGHT! Good! Alphys, GET WARM!”

“Aaaah okay okay, let me n-not drop Asriel though!”

“Yeah, definitely don’t do that,” Asriel said.

“I am going to regret this, aren’t I?” Papyrus asked quietly.

Frisk turned and smiled at him. His cheekbones flushed instantly.

“Thank you,” she said.

“O-Oh! Um.” He scratched his cheek. “No problem at all!”

He bounced to his feet, gently placing Frisk on the couch before he got up to help Alphys into Sans’s jacket. Frisk cut her eyes at Sans as she smiled and jerked her thumb at Papyrus. He shrugged and held out his hand towards the door. She quickly tipped back the rest of her tea before hopping upright. She stumbled slightly; swooned for a just a second before regaining herself and hurrying to join the others. 

\- - - 

The group huddled into a booth in Grillby’s for dinner, asking more questions about the shadowman, recounting their days; talking about Mettaton’s show. Frisk could only do so much, though. She started to go quiet sometime after the food had been made, and the tremble in her fingers was as clear to Sans as if it were his own. Something even Asgore’s famous tea couldn’t fix, it seemed.

If that was the case, he was at loss of how to help her. The things she’d been through in just the last twenty-four hours were unheard of. 

Now that Frisk had broached the subject again, he almost wished that it were possible for her to let Papyrus fuse with her soul for a little while. That would have lifted her, he was sure of it, but it wasn’t an option. Their brother would see his memories through her, and he knew Frisk wasn’t keen on him seeing what was in her head, either. If there was a surefire way to lock him out of her memories, he might have suggested it. Papyrus’s sunny disposition would have brightened her right up.

As the others around him talked— as Frisk leaned sleepily up under Papyrus’s arm— Sans slumped onto his fist. There had to be another way. Something else to steady her. 

Papyrus had never been like this as a kid. He had always been the stable one. Frisk, on the other hand, was far too much like her oldest brother, in his opinion. He didn’t know what to do for her. Couldn’t fathom it. But, he was the adult, right? He needed some sort of answer. He couldn’t just leave her like this.

Sans was still mulling it over long after Alphys and Undyne had said goodbye and all the others had gone to bed. He plunked himself into their bedroom and sat on Papyrus’s computer chair, watching his siblings under the glow of the nightlight. Papyrus hadn’t noticed. He cradled the sleeping little girl, stroked her hair, and cooed at her gently as she trembled. 

Sans made a silent exit and stood in front of Asgore’s door. He knocked and entered.

“Howdy! I’ll be with you in a moment!” Asgore called. “Who is it? Would you like some tea?”

“Just me again,” Sans said. “Uh. No, thanks, don’t worry about it.”

“It’s no trouble.” The King emerged from the left doorway and his brow instantly furrowed. “But you look troubled, my friend. Come in, sit down, tell me what you need.”

Sans followed him in and sat down at the table when it was gestured to. Asgore took a seat close to him and looked at him with concern.

“What’s wrong, my boy?” he said.

“Ah… Sorry. Don’t like just showin’ up when I need something,” Sans said.

“No! No no no,” Asgore said quickly, smiling fondly. “Sans! I am the King. Helping with what people need is my job! This is literally what I am here for! What happened?”

“…Sis’s sick again,” he said.

“What?! Oh no. Are you sure? Is there anything I can do?” Asgore demanded. “Do you know what’s wrong?”

“She’s… Heh. She’s just exhausted. All the time. Her magic, it’s… Weird. It’s not like anyone else’s,” he said. “Alphys’s been lookin’ into it, but… The kid’s goin’ through a lot. I was wonderin’ if you, uh, maybe had any advice? Just… I dunno, in general.”

“I was worried about that,” he said quietly, tenting his fingers, “when I saw that her magic was red.”

Sans raised his brows. “You have some red, don’t you?”

“I do,” he said with a smile. “As did my wife, just a little. It’s, um… fairly common in boss monsters. It comes from the spirit of determination in one’s soul. I think that’s also what Doctor Alphys labeled it, officially, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Sans said. “Know much about it?”

“A monster with a red soul must be absolutely saturated with it,” he said. “It’s very uncommon because our souls are not supposed to… Well… We’re supposed to become unstable, when that happens. A red-souled monster will not, but… Tell me. Does she have premonitions?”

Sans knew a little of where this was going. The determination in him had always let him see things, as well. He shrugged and nodded.

“Hm. I thought so,” Asgore said. “The last monster to have a red soul is… was the one who gave us the newest prophecy of the Delta Rune.”

“You get those?” Sans said.

“Oh! Goodness, no,” he said bashfully. “The prophetic powers seem to come with it being inborn. No, boss monsters are more suited to using red magic than anyone, but it's because we are physically able to handle that much of the determination within our own forms. Sometimes simply because we are larger! And it’s almost never inborn.”

He held out both paws. A spark of deep red flickered like flame in one, and in the other, a leaf green orb glowed softly.He let them both fizzle out and smiled shyly.

“I think there was one exception. One of your ancestors, possibly!” he said.

“A skeleton?” he asked, raising his brow.

“Mhm! I recall a skeleton. With a magic split. Do you…? No, you wouldn’t. It was an old trait where some skeletons from certain families would have heterochromia,” he said. “You, for example, might be born with your basic magic taking a blue colour, am I right? And so other shades of blue magic came to you quickly. And it works like a rainbow, doesn’t it? Easier to learn colours nearby to that, like greens or purples, perhaps.”

“Guess so,” Sans agreed.

“In these skeletons, they might have colours quite separate from each other. I noticed your brother actually uses mostly blue magic, doesn’t he? You taught him? He picked it up very, very easily, didn’t he? That’s why I wouldn’t be surprised if one of your ancestors had a split,” he said.

“Ah. Alright. Fair enough,” Sans said.

“Mhm!” he said. “There was a boss monster a long while ago, she had red and blue.”

Red. That peaked Sans’s interest. “Did you know her?” he asked.

“My parents did. I was just a child. I remember her well enough,” he said. “She always seemed to have a sixth-sense about her as well.”

“Did she have any problems? Headaches?” Sans asked.

Asgore rubbed his beard thoughtfully, his brow furrowed slightly. His ears perked suddenly. “You know, she may have! I recall my mother making some special soup for colds and headaches. I believe it was for her.”

“Hm…” Sans rested his chin on his fist. Might be futile, he thought, but maybe it was worth a shot. “Hate to ask but you, uh, got a recipe?”

“Oh! I may, actually, let me take a look,” he said. 

He walked over to his bookshelf and squatted to run his claw along the spines. Sans leaned around to look. Storybooks, tomes on gardening and plants, with a history book or two, were organized on the shelf in a greyish gradient. Asgore hummed to himself as he searched.

“We may not have the ingredients down here, unfortunately. But…”

“Hey, better than nothin’,” Sans said.

Asgore took a moment, and then stood up with a contemplative _hmm_. He turned to look at the skeleton with a sympathetic frown. “You are quite worried, aren’t you?”

“Kiddo’s been through a lot. Most of the problems, though, I know are goin’ on here.” He tapped the side of his skull. “I’m hopin’ if I can help her, y’know, feel better physically, maybe… I dunno.”

“Aw. Sans.” The King gently patted his shoulder. “You’ve taken on a lot, haven’t you? Do you need any help? Anything I can offer?”

Sans shrugged. Asgore still looked worried, but he pulled away. 

“One moment,” he said. “I may have it in my bedroom. Hold on.”

The huge monster slipped off on soft paws. Sans sighed and slumped on the table. What was he doing? Felt like a wild goose chase. He just wanted his kid to be okay. He put his head in his hand. 

“Ah! Sans, my friend, I think I—! OH!” Asgore rushed to him, putting an old book on the table quickly and putting a hand on his back. “Are you alright?! Your eyes…”

“Black, huh? Heh. Sorry,” he said.

“What happened? Please. Let me help,” he said gently.

Sans didn’t think he could. He didn’t even know how to explain. He and Frisk were two of a kind— their issues didn’t translate well to analogies and half-truths. Better not to bring it up at all. Maybe he shouldn’t have come.

Before Sans could say a word, the King pulled him into a hug, cradling his head gently. The skeleton immediately felt like a kid again. Didn’t much help that the King was almost twice his size. He huffed an exhausted, raspy laugh. 

“Sans, I’ve known you since you were born. Please. Let me help you,” Asgore said gently. “Let me help your family.” He pulled back, holding his shoulders and frowning. “There’s more to this, isn’t there?” 

“Nah,” Sans said. “Hey. Don’t worry about it. You’ve been, uh, soup-er helpful.”

“Sans. Listen.” The King slipped away and sat down again, pulling his chair in close. “I’m not sure that this will help, but you know of my daughter, don’t you?”

Sans almost hoped his eyes were still black. “Yeah,” he said.

“I know this is by no means the same, but she also had red soul. It seemed like sometimes she would become ill. Just, exhausted, not sleeping right; complaining about her dreams.”

“What kinda dreams?” Sans asked.

“Oh! Just… nightmares, I suppose,” Asgore said. “My little girl, she came from a very troubled place. Normally, she was a very steadfast little thing, but when she got ill, her energy would seem off and nightmares about her old life would come back to her. It would happen after any spikes in her… not magic, but in her soul. I’m not sure how to explain it.”

“Right,” Sans said. “And, so, what? Soup?”

“Ah. No, actually. My, um… My wife. She would hold her. Rock her to sleep. Listen to her talk about all her problems,” he said. “She was the type of child who bottled everything up. It would build and build and, as she… I’m not sure how to explain this, but as she became more like us, it was like her emotions would affect her physically, like what happens to a monster. Even so, it seemed to affect her more than my son.”

“And you think it’s because of the, uh, determination?” he asked.

“Well… If I’m honest. When I began to develop more myself, I believe I went through something very similar,” he said. “So. Yes. I do.”

Sans tapped his teeth thoughtfully. Could it really be that simple? Asgore smiled at him. He pulled over his old book and flipped through ancient pages. He found a loose sheet, folded tenderly, and he opened it. His eyes lit up.

“Ah! Here,” he said. He put it in Sans’s hands and patted him affectionately. “Give it a try! Let me know.”


	75. The Superstar Skeleton Arc

Asgore’s soup recipe was, unsurprisingly, a lot like tea. Filled with a bunch of plants Sans had never heard of. He had no idea if it was even curative.

His head was feeling heavy and awful, but he took a moment to stop in a general store in New Home. He lethargically browsed a meagre supply of food. Some monsters hated cooking; much food was made just as-is. Finding ingredients separate aside from the basics wasn’t always easy. Sometimes the monster’s version of a thing didn’t even have the same name as what used to be found on the surface.

He picked up some orange vegetable and some chikin, and a weird green stick-like something that had a name a lot like what was listed on the ancient recipe. It also asked for noodles, but they had plenty of those at home.

He took one more detour. The café was still open and he stopped for that pink cake his sister had really liked. Apparently they only made it in slices, so he bought ten of them. 

Sans took a shortcut straight to the kitchen from a back alley and shoved the bag of groceries onto the counter. He was about to reach for a pot, but he heard a weak choking sound just beyond the room. An instant sinking feeling tumbled through his ribs.

In the living room, he found Frisk, huddled up on the couch, sobbing quietly with her face in a pillow. He’d been expecting it, but his heart broke anyway. He sat with her and scooped her up. She squeaked with surprise and instantly clung to him, burying her face in his shirt.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered. “I’m s-sorry.”

“Hey. Hey. Don’t.” He gently patted her head. “What happened?”

“N-Nightmares… Just… J-Just nightmares,” she said softly. “I… I… I’m f-f-fine.” She choked and heaved in a deep, shuddering breath. “I c-can’t stop.”

“S’alright. Breathe,” he said. “No problem.”

She trembled and cried into him for minutes until her tears were spent and all she could do was choke rasping breaths. “Sorry,” she said softly.

“Stop,” he said.

“Uggggh.” She whined, huffed, and sat up only to dramatically flop herself over his shoulders. “I feel l-like traaaaash.”

“Sound a little better, though.” He snuggled her. “What’re you doin’ down here by yourself?”

She finally got up the will to sit back, wiping her eyes on her palms. “I… I woke up and I… I c-couldn’t stop, and… and I d-didn’t want anyone else to wake up, too. Paps has a b-big day tomorrow.”

“Ah, jeez. Kiddo.” He rubbed the back of his skull. “C’mon. Last thing you should do when you’re like this is be alone.”

She sniffled and nodded. She was about to get up, but Sans put a hand on her shoulder and he stood instead.

He left for the kitchen and came back with a glass of water for her. She drank it quickly. He sat across from her crossed his legs, and took her empty glass to chuck it away. 

“Okay. So. Talk to me,” he said.

“About what?” she asked, wiping her eyes again.

“Anything.” His eye lit with blue. “Everything.”

“Oh… Um. I dunno,” she said sheepishly. “I… I don’t wanna bother—”

“No. Stop. Drop that.” He gently grabbed her head and bonked his brow on hers. “I don’t want you to think of any of that crap. I don’t want you to worry about me for a damn second.”

Frisk’s eyes went wide. She blinked back at him with surprise. He grinned sympathetically and ruffled her hair.

“C’mon. It’ll help. You look awful,” he said.

“I know, I know.” She giggled and wiped her eyes again. “I dunno. My head’s full of junk.” 

“I know. So. Get it out,” he said.

Frisk looked a little uncertain. She gulped and clenched her fists. “I… I keep dreaming about you melting and just when I thought I could deal with that and remember it wasn’t real, I start dreaming about my weird shadowman friend melting and it’s just awful,” she said. “And now I’m worried about him. And I have all these memories…”

“Yeah. Must be weird,” he said.

“So weird!” she agreed. “Like, I really really care about a guy that we weren’t even sure was real like two weeks ago! It’s the weirdest feeling. And the fact that he was on the surface totally messes with me!”

“Fair enough,” Sans said.

“I know it’s gotta be the same guy who did those stuff in those blue saves, you know? I saw his memories. I heard him talk to his kid,” she said. “And then what Alphys said, and if we’re not sure it’s even the same guy as she was talking about now, just even the thought that maybe there’s more than just him like that?! That super freaks me out. I want to help him! And anyone else like that. But I don’t know how. And that messes with me, too!”

She pouted and folded her arms tight against her chest. She looked up at Sans with big, worried eyes. “And then there’s the soul thing. I keep thinking, what if I can’t do it? I think I can give over that extra determination, but I’m not sure. And what if the monsters don’t want to give any bits of themselves? Alphys said there’ll be enough souls, but what if we have just, like, a couple holdouts? Or people who just don’t get the message? We have to save Asriel. We have to. He’s such a grump but actually I love him and I want him to be okay so bad.” She sighed and rubbed her hands through her hair. “I hate that he’s hurting. And I hate that he keeps dreaming of his sister because I know that’s just hurting him more, too.”

“Tough, huh?” Sans said.

She nodded quickly.

“A-And I’m worried for Alphys. She’s gonna be so upset if her plan doesn’t work out,” she said. “I… I’m sure it will. But. If something happens. She’s gonna blame herself, and that’s no good.”

“Yeah, only you’re allowed to blame yourself, right?” Sans winked.

“Oof! My heart!” Frisk put a hand to her chest, but she laughed and rubbed at her eyes with her knuckles. “You have a point. I… I dunno. It is my timeline.”

“You’re not omniscient,” he said. “Or omnipresent.”

“Omni-what?” she asked.

“You can’t know everything that’s happening all the time. And you can’t be everywhere at once,” he said. “You’re a time god, sure, but not that kind. And that’s fine. It’s perfect. Alright?”

“Perfect? I dunno,” she said quietly.

“Look. Kiddo? You’re exactly what we need. Who we need. Couldn’t be anyone else for this place,” he said. “I know I’ve said it before. But, y’know. Just in case you forgot. This timeline waited for you. Bein’ the anchor means you’re savin’ us just by existing. That’s not too hard, right?”

“I… Heh. Yeah. I guess you’re right,” she said. “Sorry, I—”

“Don’t. S’okay.” He patted her head. “Jeez, kiddo. Y’know, I get it? Really. I do. You’re doin’ real good.”

She seemed surprised. She tented her fingers. “Thanks. But… It’s just so much. Everything. A-And… And all these weird time powers that are just happening to me now, they’re nuts. I mean, I love them because I can totally help people better now, but it’s just so weird that I can actually do anything at all. You know? But what about that weird eye glowing thing? I just don’t know what the heck was up with that,” she said. “And now I’m also worried about that Naiad lady! The only person I’ve even come close to turning back like that was you. But she was actually falling, which is really different. And I’m scared of her falling again. So… So I want to go. To see Asgore. And the barrier. I want to do it as soon as we can. But I’m kind of nervous about it because what if we’re not ready?”

“We’ll deal with it,” he assured her.

“I know. I know we will,” she said. “We’re gonna do it. But… It’s all been leading up to this. And now we’re gonna go. But I’m really worried about Asgore. I don’t wanna fight him, but I gotta kinda make a scene and distract him while Az does his thing with the souls, but it just feels so ugh. And me, I just feel… I feel so sick, bro, I’m scared and I wanna puke without actually puking and I’m so tired and I want us all to feel safe and I just want hugs like all of the time and I want mom to come live with us again and… and… Ugh.”

She put her face in her hands and groaned. The skeleton tilted his head slightly. His kid looked so small in that moment. It didn’t sit well with him. Sans patted her hair gently. She looked back up at him with uncertainty on her face.

“I’m sorry, that’s a lot, huh?” she asked quietly.

“Nah. Not really,” Sans said.

“What?! R-Really?” she squeaked.

“I mean, it's about what I expected,” he said.

“Oh.” She blushed. “Y-Yeah. You would, wouldn’t you? There’s more, but—”

Sans held his hand out to her, gesturing for her to continue. She sighed.

“I dunno. Mostly I… I just don’t wanna disappoint anyone,” she said. “And I want… I want to save everyone. And I want to stay with you and Papyrus forever. I don’t want anything like a reset to ever happen to us again. S-So I’m going to try as hard as I can.”

“I know,” he said.

The kid looked back at him skeptically. He held her gaze easily. Not a shred of placation on his face. She lightened, just a little. Sans had never been an optimist. Even so, he seemed sure. Steady. Like always. Frisk felt some of the knots inside her uncoiling. She cracked a smile.

“Hey, Sans? Thank you. That… That helps.” She leaned into him and hugged him tight. “A-And thanks for glowing for me.”

“Any time, kiddo,” he said. He rubbed her head with a reassuring sparkle of blue in his fingertips. “Oh. By the way.”

He flopped off the couch and waved for her to follow him to the kitchen. He dragged over a chair in blue magic and, when she sat on it, he passed her a slice of the pink cake.

“Wh…? Thank you!” she said.

“I, uh, also got some sort of recipe from the King,” he said. “Supposed to be helpful for stuff, I dunno. Wanna stick around? I was thinkin’ of makin’ it.”

“You wanna cook together?!” The kid’s tired eyes lit up. “Heck yeah I do!”

Just the notion of it seemed to perk her right up. Sans was glad. He ruffled her hair and dragged out that pot he’d been looking for.

Following the old recipe, they dumped the stuff Sans had bought, plus an onion and some salt, into a pot and filled it up with water. Then, all that was left was to turn the stovetop on and wait. 

Sans passed out in the corner of the couch and Frisk nestled up beside him with one of his joke books. She found a science book stashed inside, but she couldn’t read that one. 

After a while, she heard a little commotion from upstairs and looked up from a page on knock-knock jokes in time to see Papyrus burst from the bedroom and vault down the stairs. She waved at him meekly and his momentum died. He let out a loud sigh and hurried over to her, squatting down and cupping her cheek.

“Did you get taken?!” he asked worriedly. “How long were you gone?!”

She smiled and shook her head. “Got up a while ago,” she said.

“Oh phew!” he said. “I’m so sorry, I usually notice you’re gone much more quickly than that.”

“You were probably tired,” she said. “Don’t worry.”

Papyrus huffed. He gently bumped his head on hers and then straightened up. He looked into the kitchen curiously, then leaned in to peek into the pot and then pulled back, shooting her a confused look. He pointed at it and raised his brows.

“Soup,” she said. “Sans got a recipe from Asgore. It’s… It’s supposed to help me, um, feel better.”

“Feel better?” he repeated. He hurried over and squatted down again; grabbed her hands gently. “Are you still not feeling well?”

Sheepishly, she shook her head. Papyrus gasped.

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “Can I help?”

“Well… I dunno,” she said. “Just hanging around is nice, though, if you feel like it.”

“Of course!” He hopped up beside her and patter her head. “Should I heal you? Would that help, do you think?”

“I dunno, I think I’m all just kinda out of it,” she said. “The night was bad and then I did that backwards-time thing and I… I’ve never done it like that before.”

“Really? How do you mean?” he asked.

“Well, before that I turned people back a few seconds, or a few minutes,” she said. “I’ve never even done a day before, and I did a whole week for her.”

“Wowie. You know, I never thought about that before,” he admitted. “That’s… That’s amazing.”

Frisk shrugged. Carefully, he grabbed one of her hands. He gently felt the squishiness of her palms, and then traced her finger bones carefully. He shot her a smile and offered her his open arms. She gladly climbed into his lap and he cupped her face to bump his brow on hers.

“Little sister, I never imagined magic like that! It’s fantastic,” he said. “I’m so proud of you. To think! Your tiny hands can do all that! Hey, do you think what they were saying is true? About the angel from the Delta Rune? Is it you?”

“No way, it's not me,” she said with a laugh.

“What’s an angel, anyway?” he asked.

“I don’t really know. I think it has wings, though,” she said. “I bet it’s Asriel.”

“Really?! Asriel’s an angel?” he asked. “I thought he was a whatever Asgore is!”

“Dunno about an angel,” she said with a laugh. “But he’s the one who really saves everyone for real, y’know? Plus, there was a part of that where he totally had giant wings.”

“Oh, wow, that’s amazing! I’d love to see that,” he said.

“He might have your soul at that part,” Frisk said apologetically. “Actually, I hope I won’t even see it because that would mean wants to fight me again.”

“Pfft, why the heck would he ever want to fight you?” he asked.

“Oh! Well… W-Well, back then, he was really lonely and stuff and he was really missing his sister and he was a little bit not thinking right, and he wanted me to stay so he thought if he beat me up enough I would reset the timeline a bunch,” she said. “It didn’t really go that way, though.”

“Oooh, right, right. I think you said something like that a while ago.” He nodded and patted her head gently. “I bet it’ll go a lot more smoothly this time! I think Asriel loves you a lot now!”

“Wh-What? Why would you say that?” she asked, eyes wide.

“Because! It’s very obvious!” he said. “He’s always really rude and grumpy whenever you might be in danger. And I know you love him very much, right? He will be family! And I think he likes that even if he won’t say that and calls me names when I say it.”

Frisk blushed and smiled. She leaned in to hug him and he instantly snuggled her. “Hope you’re right, Paps.”

“Nyeh heh heh! I am the great Papyrus, of course I’m right!” he said confidently. “Get some rest. Don’t worry. I’ll keep watch.”

\- - -

Asriel was drowning. He was blinded by gold and green, a tide of smothering petals. He was suffocating in the floral scent. He couldn’t swim through it. Couldn’t scream— his mouth stuffed with leaves and pollen. Couldn’t tell up from down.He wanted to cry but he couldn’t even do that. He just wanted it to stop. He begged for someone to make it stop.

He could barely hear, but he thought he heard something through the overwhelming silence. A single note. Two? 

Something broke the darkness, strong fingers seized his tightly. He was yanked up and he stumbled to his knees on an island amongst the false sea, coughing up golden petals. Small hands rubbed his back, and he looked up through blurry eyes and saw… Chara? No. No, not Chara. He blinked. 

“F-Frisk?” he choked.

She grabbed him tight into a hug. His arms hung limply at his side.

“Oh man, Az, you put yourself somewhere so weird,” she said gently. “I saw you go under. Are you okay?”

“I… I…” He pitched forward and grabbed her as tight as he could, begging for the dream to let him keep this body just a little longer. “You real?”

“Yeah,” she said gently. “Do you want me to try to wake up? I can come get you.”

“No. No.” He trembled and pushed his snout against the side of her neck. “I don’t wanna go.”

“Okay,” she said gently.

He never wanted to let her go. Never wanted to leave this moment. 

It took a long time for him to pull out of her arms. He rubbed his eyes and sniffled, the scent of flowers still stuck in his nostrils. He was so sick of that smell. It clung to his whole form. He groaned and whimpered, and tried to catch his breath.

He felt a gentle hand begin to stroke his head. He jerked sideways and looked up, and Frisk pulled back with an embarrassed look on her face.

“S-Sorry. Was that weird?” she said. “Th-The dogs like it. I know you’re, um, not a dog, b-but I just thought—”

“N-No. No. It’s fine,” he muttered. 

She looked relieved. There was a little bit of inquisitiveness in her expression as she tilted her head.

“What?” he said.

“Oh! Um…” She had a bit of light to her eyes. “It’s just good to see you like this.”

He stared at her blankly. To him, the falseness of it made it almost unbearable. He knew what she meant, though. He nodded and she scooted closer to him. He couldn’t stop himself from holding her hand.

“God. I… I hate this,” he muttered. “I guess I really screwed up, huh?”

“What d’you mean?” she asked worriedly.

“I… I want to leave. I want to leave so bad.” He bared his short fangs and gestured to the ocean of flowers around them. “But I can’t have my body and not be in a place like this. It’s like…!” He drooped and ran his fingers though the fur on his head, eyes fixed on the scrap of brown stone beneath them. “It’s l-like I’m being punished. I…! I didn’t deserve this!! N-Not… Not at first, you know?”

“You don’t deserve it now, either,” Frisk said.

“I dunno. Maybe I do,” he said. “Maybe that’s why I’m trapped here.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Frisk said gently.

“You can’t say that!” He frowned at her, a grimace on his face. “All the shit I did…! Everything! It… It all leads to this.”

“So you think a kid who made one mistake deserves to be stuck in ironic punishment hell forever?” she asked.

“I’m kinda shocked you know what ironic means,” he said with a smirk.

“I’ve been reading a lot!” She smiled and grabbed his arm. “C’mon, Az.”

He sighed. Shook his head. “It was more than one mistake.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “Hey. If Chara can go off and rest, what makes you worse than her, huh? What makes you think some weird thing is out there punishing you?”

“You seen the shit that happened to me?” he asked, raising his brow. “C’mon, it’s like, thumb of god or something.”

“Nuh-uh!” Frisk said. “According to Sans, I’m the only god-thing around here! And I say that’s junk. No way.”

“You’re so naïve.” He laughed tiredly. So why did he want to believe her? “Pretty scrawny god.”

She shrugged and leaned back, looking out over the churning fields. She cut her eyes at him. “I don’t know if I really believe all that stuff,” she said. “But, I mean, maybe he’s right. T-Technically. I mean, I guess the time thing kinda adds to it, huh?”

“So you do believe it,” he said.

“I know I’m the anchor,” she said. “That’s what’s important, I think. And maybe the rest of it does make me a time god thingy. So. If that’s true. If it helps.” She pointed her thumb at her chest. “This timeline’s time god thingy is definitely not punishing you.”

Asriel snickered; managed to crack smile. “Well. Thanks for that. Doesn’t make a difference. But. It kinda helps.” He tented his fingers. “You… probably are one.”

“Oh great.” She laughed. “Don’t feel like it.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “Probably better that way, actually.”

He sighed tiredly. There was a slight breeze tugging on his clothes. Still smelled like flowers. He looked at Frisk and he slumped and hugged his knees.

“Ugh. This was so much easier when we were enemies,” he muttered.

“Enemies?” She laughed. “When was that?”

“You know, the like two hundred times I tried to kill you?” he said.

“Was it that many times?” She looked surprised.

“I dunno, probably,” he said. “You can’t tell me you didn’t think I was your enemy.”

“I, umm…” She smiled bashfully. “I didn’t, really. I thought you were being a weird jerk but then I figured out why you were being a weird jerk and I just couldn’t really be mad anymore.”

“You’re hopeless.” He snickered and he couldn’t help a fond smile crossing his face. “Sis, really, you’re crazy.”

Frisk stared back at him with surprise. Took him a moment to realize what had slipped out. He felt a shock of hot embarrassment and a knot in his chest. He opened his mouth to try to backtrack, but Frisk grabbed him, huddling close. He looked down at her with surprise. His paws were shaking, but he cupped the back of her head and slumped; cuddled in close before he could help himself. He felt her soul pulsing close against his chest and the little bit of determination in him sparked in reply. It warmed his whole body. 

He wanted to ask why. Why? He hadn’t done a thing to deserve this. He stopped himself. He’d never be satisfied with her answer. But, in her arms— where her grip was surprisingly strong and reassuring— he felt something a little strange. He felt safe. It made him tingle all over. She hadn’t been lying. She wanted him in her family, didn’t she?

He heard a disgusted scoff. He turned to look at saw a glowering face with red eyes looking down at him. He jerked back with surprise, eyes wide, mouth agape. His eyes locked on hers. She felt like a black hole. She sneered.

“You never learn, do you?” she asked. “Theeeey’ll leeeeave you. Just. Like. Always. Idiot.”

“Az? What’s wrong?” Frisk asked quickly. She grabbed his cheeks and turned his head, forcing his gaze away from his sister. Her eyes were glowing red, too. 

He gulped; felt a thump deep inside him. He felt sick.

“Did you see Chara?” she asked. “Are you okay?”

“Y-You didn’t see—?”

She shook her head. She smiled sympathetically and gently touched his temple. “She’s still… in here, huh?” she asked worriedly.

“Wh-What do you—?”

“We, um… We both did that soul thing, huh?” she said. “It leaves you with a lot.”

“Sh-She, um… She tried to lock me out,” he said hoarsely. “Wh-What about you, huh?”

“Me?” she asked, puzzled.

As he watched, the glow in her eyes died as her brow furrowed with confusion. Asriel tried to shake it off. It wasn’t because of Chara. Couldn’t be. Right?

“…Never mind. Forget it.” 

“No, it’s okay, what were you gonna say?” she said.

“When she… When she was in your head, did she…? I mean…? Was it the same?” he asked. “Like when you gave Sans your soul?”

“No, it wasn’t like that at all,” she said.

“Good.” He slumped forward; felt his throat get tight, especially as she gently hugged him again. “G-Good.” He clung to her tightly, buried his face against her shoulder as she stroked the fur on his head.

He snapped awake to the sound of a door closing. He couldn’t feel his limbs. Couldn’t feel a thing for a long few seconds. He couldn’t help but curl up and sob. He wanted nothing more than to tear his leaves off; rip his stem apart. He wanted to call for his mother, but it was no use. He wanted to call for Frisk but he slumped down and his voice caught with shame. 

He whimpered, sniffled, and kneaded his eyes with his leaves. He gulped and straightened up, finally. He was surprised to find a bowl of steaming soup and a spoon beside him, and a note written on a napkin that said _ENJOY!_ in Papyrus’s handwriting, with a heart drawn beside it and a cartoon skeleton’s head with a chef hat on. Asriel scoffed, but he couldn’t help a weak smile. 

With his mechanical arm, it was easy enough to use the spoon and try the broth. It tasted kind of familiar. He liked it. It set a drowsy warmth through him. He didn’t feel quite so sick as before; couldn’t smell flowers through the scent of hot soup.

He was almost done when the door opened a crack and Frisk slid inside. She looked gaunt and tired, but her gaze was surprisingly resolute when she looked at him.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Y… Yeah,” he said quietly.

“Sorry, I would have come sooner, but I kinda almost fell over when I got up,” she said as she hopped up to sit on Papyrus’s desk chair beside him. “Paps wouldn’t let me leave without eating something first.”

“Well. That’s fair.” Asriel’s voice was still hoarse. “A-Are, uh…? Are you okay?”

She nodded. He puffed out a relieved sigh.

“What, uh…? What time is it?” he asked.

“It’s early. Umm… Six something I think?” she said. 

“Hm.” He sipped down the last drops of soup and rubbed the side of his head. “Kinda wish I could have slept longer.”

She nodded. She reached out and gently patted his head with her fingertips. He bristled, but he tried to force himself to relax.

“I’m fine,” he said.

“Yeah. Sure.” She sighed quietly. “I’m sorry. I know this is awful. But we’re almost there. For real.”

“Y-Yeah. Yeah. I’m, um… I’m almost ready,” he said. “But… Are you? I mean, I know you are, but will you be…? You know. Fine?”

“Better be,” she joked.

“No, I mean, for real,” he said. “How, uh…? How are you? Right now?”

“I’m… I dunno. I’m kinda okay. I mean. I feel sick. But other than that, I’m fine,” she said. “Sans big-brothered at me super hard and that helped a lot.”

“Big-brothered? What’s that mean?” he asked.

“Like, I dunno, he let me cry like a dork all over him and he made me talk about my problems and we made soup together after, it was really helpful,” she said. She smiled shyly and tapped her fingertips together. “He’s always so nice to me. It still kind of shocks me sometimes, how nice everyone here is. Especially him, sometimes.”

“Why? Because he’s so cynical?” he asked.

“Because of what other humans did to him. What others… like me did to him.” She looked sad; bit her lip. “He knew your deal. He got used to you. But the others, it was… hard. Some of them almost made him hope it’d be okay, y’know? Before leaving or going bad. Some of them, they went out of their way to hurt him on purpose. Some of them would kill him at the end of the world, and then reset and kill him again. He hated those because it was like, he couldn’t even do his job, y’know? And those weren’t even the worst ones.”

“Which were the worst ones?” Asriel surprised himself with the genuine concern in his voice.

Frisk shook her head. “S-Sorry. It… It hurts to e-even think about,” she said. “So. I dunno. I guess stuff like that makes me really grateful to him. I mean, I’m really grateful to everyone. But… I mean, me and him, we… we have that weird thing in our souls, huh? So it’s kind of nice that, when you’re going through a bunch of crazy, unbelievable stuff, someone understands. Does that make sense?”

“Makes total sense,” he said.

“But, I’m also really grateful to have you here, too,” she said with a smile.

“Me? What? Why?” he asked.

“We’re three of a kind!” she said. “We’re kinda like a team, huh?”

“Kinda pathetic team,” Asriel said, smiling sideways. “The weakest monster in the world, a stupid flower, and a human runt. Bonus points for us all being emotionally broken weirdos who each died a bunch of times, which definitely does not help.”

Frisk scoffed and giggled. Asriel’s smile widened and he snickered, shaking his head. 

“What a damn mess,” he said.

“Yeeeeeah,” she agreed reluctantly. “We’ll figure it out.”

\- - -

Papyrus greeted them with a big smile when they came downstairs. He had a weird black box contraption set up near the TV. His phone was sticking out of one of the slots in the front of it. 

“Asriel, good to see you up!” he said brightly. “Wowie, everyone is on my schedule today! Well.” He shot a look at Sans, who was still a lump of bones on the couch. “Almost everyone.”

“Whatcha doin’?” Frisk asked.

“Ah! I took some of movies people liked a lot out of the Archives,” he said. “Apparently, you put a code in your phone, and then your phone in one of these sciency disk-writer contraptions, and then you get a disk with the movie right on it to keep!”

“Since when do we have one of those?” Frisk asked curiously, standing on her toes to look at it.

“We didn’t! They let me borrow it,” Papyrus said— he was talking very fast. “So nice over there. No idea why I didn’t go sooner! I should go back! I’ll probably go back there a lot now that I know!”

“Does it take a lot of time?” she asked.

“Ummm…” He took a peek at his phone. “Yes! A long time! I think! Looks like it! Wowie. Yes, it’s quite slow actually. I’ll do yours first, don’t worry! It’ll still probably take a really long time though, but that’s okay, I think. Isn’t it? I’m sure it is!”

Frisk and Asriel shared a look. She raised her brows. She snuck over to her brother and gently tugged on his sleeve. “Paps. Um. You okay?”

“What?! Okay?! Yes, of course, I’m perfectly a hundred percent okay, why do you ask? Do I not look okay?” he demanded.

Now that he mentioned it, around his eye sockets was more grey than usual. Frisk smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

“I dunno, it’s just, you seem kinda, um, anxious,” she said.

“Anxious?! Pffffffft, ANXIOUS? Nnnnoooo, why on earth would you think I was anxious?!” he said. “I am completely calm and cool as a fair bunch of snowy cucumbers! Obviously! Nyeh heh… heh.”

Frisk looked skeptical. She put Asriel up on the table and then climbed on it herself, standing up and beckoning Papyrus closer. She reached up to gently grab his face and bonk his forehead on hers.

“Come on, bro,” she chided gently.

“F-Frisk…!” he stammered.

“Oooh. I get it. Heeey, you’re nervous about your date,” Asriel said. “C’mon, the great Papyrus isn’t scared of some alligator, right?”

“Wh-Whaaaat? Nnnoooo! Nyeh. Heh. Heh…” He leaned his elbow on the wall and tried to look casual. “No no no, of course not.”

“Aw, Papyrus!” Frisk cooed. “It’s okay! You’re gonna do great. I met Bratty before, she’s pretty nice.”

“Oh…? Do you…? Do you know her?” Papyrus asked, edging closer. “Is she your friend?”

“Umm… Well, in another timeline, she was kinda like a friendly person I knew. I like her,” she said. 

“She can be kinda abrasive, but she’s not bad if you can get around that up-speak thing she does,” Asriel said.

“You know her, too?” he demanded.

“I met everyone, basically,” he said.

“She really liked junk,” Frisk volunteered. “Like, trash junk. And Mettaton stuff.”

“Hm. Well, that sounds fairly normal,” Papyrus said. “But that does make me feel a bit better hearing you like her.”

“So if you can feel better, that means…” Asriel grinned smugly. 

Papyrus’s cheekbones flushed. He stood up straight and put a hand to his chest. “Do not worry about me, siblings! I am very tall and cool and charismatic! Honestly, there’s not a thing in the world to be worried about! Nothing that I, the great Papyrus, can’t handle!” he asserted confidently. “And I am definitely not anxious at all, or worried, or concerned.”

“Wait, siblings?!” Asriel said shrilly.

“Oh stop it, it’s inevitable,” Papyrus said, waving a hand at his dismissively. “In any case, I’m sure everything will be—!”

A loud knocking at the door made him jump. Frisk hurriedly dropped from the table and huddled up out of view on the couch next to Sans, who was, in fact, awake now and looking very amused.

Papyrus answered the door quickly and the whole frame was encompassed by a massive, shaggy wolf. 

“Hey, skeleton boy,” the wolf said with a low, growling drawl. “Doin’ a big clean slate tomorrow, huh? Big blizzard.” He offered a small sheet of card. “Schedule’s on there. So, don’t go out. Do your, uh, grocery shoppin’ or whatever today instead. Let your brother and your sister know, huh?”

“Oh! Yes! Okay, of course,” Papyrus said. “Thank you!” 

The wolf slipped away, stopping another monster who was just passing by the house to tell her the same thing. Papyrus closed the door and tossed the card to Sans.

“Hm. Guess we’re gonna be kinda, uh, _snowed in_, huh?” he said.

Two out of three groaned. Sans grinned and shrugged. 

“That won’t interfere with anything, will it?” Asriel asked.

“Stuck inside for a day? Nah,” Sans said. “I mean, unless you wanna just book it tomorrow.”

“Well—”

“No good,” Frisk said. “Sorry to, um, interrupt. But we need mom to be able to follow us.”

“Follow us?” Asriel asked. “Why?”

“She’s just gotta,” Frisk says. “She always does. I, um, kinda changed things this time though. She knows I’m safe now. Before it seemed like she could always sense when I was gonna see Asgore— I’m not sure how. So I was gonna call her right before going this time.”

“And this is very important?” Papyrus asked.

“I think so,” she said. “Asgore will always try to fight me if I show up there on my own and play it like I used to. And mom will always stop the fight if she shows up. It just shocks him too bad, y’know?”

“I’m confused. Do you need him to fight you?” Papyrus asked worriedly.

“I think so. See, this part actually kind of sucks, but for the soul grab to work, I gotta kinda pretend like I’m in danger? It’s what makes a bunch of monster show up to try to tell Asgore to not totally try to kill me and stuff,” she said. “Plus it’s kinda like a distraction, and then Az does his thing with the human souls, and then with the monsters that are really close by, that gives him a boost enough to grab literally everyone, and we’re good. But… it doesn’t feel good to m… manipulate people like that.”

“Eh. It’s for the best,” Sans said. 

Frisk didn’t look so sure. Asriel tilted his head. That uncertain expression on her face gave him a sense of relief. He took deep breath.

“Hey. Uh. Don’t worry about that too much,” he said. “I mean. I think it’s good that you are. But, that’s kinda the nature of our… Of your powers. You know stuff ahead of time so you can make things go better than they did before.”

“Yeah. I guess so,” she said. “It’s, um, just a bit much sometimes, you know? I don’t want things to be worse by accident.”

“I’d be worried if you didn’t feel like that,” Asriel said. “I didn’t.”

“You didn’t have a soul,” she said.

He shrugged. He cut his eyes at Sans. The skeleton didn’t reply, but he plunked a hand down on Frisk’s head and rubbed her hair. She cracked a smile.

She leaned over onto her brother and took the snow schedule from him. She stared at it and tilted her head. Some of her brother’s basic knowledge filled the gaps in hers.

“So… They do this every few months?” she said. “Paps, do we need to go bring in any of your puzzle stuff?”

“Do we…? Oh! You know, you’re right!! And, you know, I think we have some clothes that could really do with a wash.” he said. He offered her his hands. “Come with me? Only if you’re feeling well enough, of course.”

Didn’t matter either way. She took his hands.

\- - -

The town was busier than usual today. Monsters carrying their laundry to the inn and groceries away from it bustled about the snowy streets. The lines went out the doors. 

According to Sans’s memories, today and the next were what was called Snow Days in Snowden. The monster kids all got the time off school and usually people took the days to either take a vacation out of town or to huddle up inside, watching TV. Sans preferred the latter. 

“People actually seem kind of excited, huh?” Frisk said as she slipped just off the path to touch the tear in time near the inn.

It was just her and Papyrus out in the cold. She’d hoped Asriel would want to tag along, but he’d declined this time. Too cold, too tired; too hungry, he’d argued.

“Sure! It’s exciting! First there’s the snow, and then there’s an avalanche, and then everything will be back to normal by the next day!” Papyrus said brightly, letting her take his hand again as she joined him. “It’s supposed to be good for the magic of the area— the snow carries a lot of helpful energy in it— but it also just makes everything look nice again!”

“Oh! I wonder if…” Frisk paused— Sans memories answered her question.

“What?” Papyrus asked.

“Oh! I was just gonna ask if it was the same for anywhere else,” she said as her brother scooped her up for the long, stone bridge crossing. She clung tight to him as she sat up on his shoulders. “But then I remembered it was.”

“Oh really? Like what?” Papyrus asked.

“In Waterfall, I… I think they let all the water overflow from the rivers and stuff. It does the same thing as the snow,” she said. “I think it’s because the CORE is farther away from us?”

“Wowie! That’s clever, Frisk,” he said.

“Not really,” she said with a laugh. “I just remembered something Sans knows.”

“That doesn’t hurt your head, does it?” Papyrus asked.

“Oh! No, no, it’s just like… kinda always there,” she said. “Like, um… Okay! I know. Tell me about what happened on your, um… Your tenth birthday.”

“My tenth birthday?” He sounded puzzled. “I… Um… Oh! Well. I guess it was pretty similar to other birthdays. I don’t remember it all, but I do remember Sans made me a messy cake thing that was pretty good even though it didn’t look it. I remember… Red frosting. I thought he was joking with me and it was ketchup, but it wasn’t, of course. He wouldn’t do that on my birthday. Annnnd… I’m sure he got me a book and… or was that the year after? Anyway. I’m sure it was nice. Why do you ask?”

“That’s a lot like what remembering something of Sans’s is like for me,” she said.

“Ooh. I see.” Papyrus seemed pleased. “Hey, speaking of birthdays, did you decide when you want yours yet?”

“Oh! Um… N-No. Not really,” she said. 

“Well, that’s okay,” he assured her. “I’ll lend you mine until you decide.”

“Lend me yours?” she asked.

“Sure! You can use my birthday,” he said. “I don’t mind sharing!”

Frisk snickered and hugged the top of his head. “Bro, that’s super sweet, thanks.”

“You’re very welcome!” he assured her.

Out on the cliffs, they made sure all the spikes blocking paths for puzzles were firmly stashed away below the snow. Papyrus grabbed a table he’d left out and the big puzzle box that looked a lot like Mettaton’s old body. Their main goal, however, was the invisible electricity maze.

Papyrus put Frisk down nearby and used his magic to lift some small, electrified orbs, like large marbles, from the snow with his magic. He stashed them away in a little pouch, but he handed it to her. She looked in the pouch curiously.

“Don’t worry, you can touch them,” he assured her.

She cautiously reached in and took one of the orbs out of the bag. It made her fingers tingle. She liked the way it shimmered and the inside sparked. “So you put them at each corner, right?” she said.

“That’s exactly correct!” he said. “Neat, right? Our brother gave them to me when I was looking for a new way to do a maze puzzle!”

“I wonder what else you could use them for,” she said.

“Well, if you get any ideas, let me know!” he said. “But, be careful. Getting zapped can really sting.”

\- - -

“Hey. Bonehead. Heeeeey.”

Sans was still splayed out on the couch. Asriel was fed up with the silence. He gently smacked the skeleton’s skull. Sans poked him in the side of the head with one finger, but didn’t budge otherwise.

“Aw, c’mon. I’m bored,” Asriel whined.

“Take a nap,” Sans said.

“No frickin’ way,” he grumbled.

Finally, Sans opened his eyes and shot him a tired look. “Her again?” he asked.

“Always her,” he muttered.

Sans rubbed his brow. He sat up slightly, and though there was a heavy lethargy about him, he gently poked the flower again, but this time his finger sparked with a blue glow. The feeling was cool and a little relaxing.

Asriel sighed. “Did you ever dream her?”

“Sure. All the time.” Sans drew a line across his chest with his thumb. “Seemed to have a real, uh, bone to pick with me.”

“Oh. Uh. Right.” Asriel grimaced. “S… Sorry.”

The skeleton shrugged. 

“What would you do?” Asriel asked.

“Does it lock you in?” he asked.

“Huh? Oh. I… I don’t know,” he admitted.

“Then walk away,” Sans said. “Do anything else.”

Asriel flinched. “It’s not that easy,” he muttered.

“Frisk find you?” Sans asked.

“What?” he asked.

“When we were dreamin’, she felt around for you,” he said. “Thought you were havin’ a bad time and went to look for you. She find you?”

“Oh. Y… Yeah,” Asriel muttered.

“Trust her.”

Asriel stared blankly back at the skeleton. He seemed so serious for a moment. Asriel tilted his head. He flinched and looked away.

“She’s not like us,” Sans said.

He slowly forced himself to his feet and looked around on the floor. He scoffed quietly to himself and then wandered into the kitchen. Asriel could hear his feet clicking against the tiles.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Asriel called.

“Hm?” 

“What would you do?” he said. “If—”

“My sister wouldn’t,” he said.

“But what if she would though,” Asriel pushed.

“Nope.”

Sans clunked around in the kitchen. The tap ran. The kettle clicked on and the water started to bubble.

“I don’t understand you,” Asriel grumbled.

“What else is new?” Sans said with a laugh.

“How can you have any faith in her? In anyone? After all this?” Asriel demanded.

“I think, once you have a soul,” the skeleton said, “you’ll get it.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Just got a feelin’,” Sans said.

“You work a lot on feelings? I thought you were a scientist,” he teased.

“Eh. Sometimes it’s all you got,” Sans said. “Besides. Been right most of the time. I’d say it's not too bad a way to go.”

“Yeah, well…” Asriel pouted. “Mine just keep saying I should just run and hide and never come back because this’ll never work and I just make everything around me worse.”

“Hm. Good thing Paps and Frisk tend to make everything better, huh? Balances it out.” He chuckled. “I mean, there’s two of us and two of them, right?”

Asriel wasn’t sure why, but that did make him feel a bit better. 

Sans came back with a mug of cocoa spiked with cinnamon for him. Though Asriel took it, and was quite grateful as well, he couldn’t help but eye the skeleton with suspicion as he plopped down and flicked on the TV. Sans didn’t seem to notice— no, scratch that, he definitely noticed, he just didn’t care.

“I don’t get you,” Asriel grumbled.

“Feel like we’re kinda stuck in a time loop of our own, huh?” Sans cut his eyes at him and his grin widened a little. “You keep goin’ back to that.”

“Because you’re confusing!” he said.

“Really? Huh.”

“Stop it. You know it. You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Asriel said.

Sans shrugged. Asriel sighed.

“Well… Uh…” He winced. “I appreciate… You know. You not… I dunno, steppin’ on me or something.”

“Low bar,” he said with a laugh.

“Shut up, you know what I mean,” Asriel said.

The front door burst open, making the flower jump. Sans caught his drink for him in blue as Papyrus ran in, dumping a pile of junk straight onto the table.

“Sans, honestly, look at all this!!” he said loudly. “I can’t believe all the junk you kept in your station!!”

“Oh. Hey. Thanks, bro,” he said.

“Found your pet rock!” Frisk said brightly, pushing the door closed and brushing the snow from her hair as she held up a small stone in one hand proudly.

“Lemme see?” He caught it easily when she tossed it. “Mm. No, don’t think so, sorry, kiddo.”

“What?! Really? But it looks the same,” she said.

“Does it? Hm. Can’t recall,” he said. He chucked it over his shoulder and it clunked down behind the sofa.

Papyrus frowned disapprovingly, but Frisk snickered.

“Un. Be. Lievable,” Papyrus said. “Well. You better look through all this or I’m going to chuck it back out there!”

“Chuck away,” he said.

“SANS!!”

“Okay, okay.” Sans laughed and reluctantly stood up again. He slumped against the table and lifted up a frosty magazine. “Hey, uh, made some hot chocolate.” He pointed to the kitchen.

Frisk’s eyes lit up and she gave him a quick hug before scampering off. “Papyrus,” she called, “when do you have to leave?”

“Not for a while, why?” he asked.

“Well, it’s just,” she said as she came back, bringing a mug to him as well, “I don’t want you to get caught in the snow or anything.”

“Aw! Don’t worry about a thing, little sister,” he assured her as he took the mug from her and gave it a sip. “Ooh! Fancy. Anyway, my internal clock is practically perfect, I will know exactly when is the right time to head back!”

“Are you sure? You won’t get, uh, distracted?” Asriel asked, raising his brows, hiding how pleased he was when Frisk picked him up again and sat with him in her lap.

“Distracted by what?” Papyrus asked.

“You’re a weird guy, Paps,” he said, taking a swig.

\- - -

Papyrus’s nerves seemed to build throughout the day, though he adamantly denied it. Everyone noticed, though.

He retreated to the bedroom, pulling out his coolest clothes and laying them out. He desperately wanted to make a good impression. His COOL DUDE shirt was a must, obviously. He had some wearable basketballs that had been advertised as extremely cool, and some baseball caps and sunglasses that were also supposed to exude confidence and coolness. Hotpants were also a go-to for a hot date. He didn’t understand why there was a flutter in his soul as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was the exact picture of someone who was confident and amazing and definitely cool. Absolutely. Wasn’t he?

He hurried to the door and poked his head out.“Frrrriiiisssk?” he called. “Can you come help me for a second? It’s very important!!” 

She was down below, cozied up with Asriel. She stuck her thumb up in the air and he felt instantly relieved.

“Yep! Just gimme a minute!” she assured him.

He ducked back inside and closed the door. He paced the room, tapping his fingers together. When Frisk arrived, she shot him a smile.

“Hey, I remember that outfit,” she said.

“Yes! Oh, right! Of course you do,” he said. “What do you think? Is this good for tonight?”

She hesitated for just moment and he began to pace again.

“No, no, it’s not right, is it?” he said. “But it’s pretty cool, isn’t it? I mean, it must be.”

“It’s pretty cool,” she said.

He stopped abruptly and whipped off his sunglasses. “But it could be cooler, couldn’t it?” he insisted. “What should I do?”

“Paps!” She laughed. “If you feel cool, it’s fine!”

“But I don’t want to just feeeeel cool, I want to be as cool as I possibly can be!” he insisted. “Come on, you’re really good at picking things! You were right last time even when I wasn’t sure. I mean, I know I could wear basically anything and it would be cool but—”

“Don’t worry!” she assured him. “I’ll help.”

“YES! Thank you.” He put his hands to his chest. “Well, this shirt says COOL DUDE. That’d make me look cool, right? It says so right on the shirt!”

“I, uh… Hmm.” She cupped her chin and tilted her head. “I think that’s fine. And the sunglasses are okay. They make you look like a movie star! I don’t think you need the basketballs, though.”

“Oh! Well. Are you sure? Okay.” He pulled them off his shoulders and perfectly dunked them back into a box in the closet. “What about the hat, though, is that okay?!”

“If you like it!” she said. “But how aboooouut…” She grabbed a burgundy hoodie from his pile on the bed and handed it to him. “This?”

“This?” he repeated, grabbing it and holding it up.

“The colour looks good,” she said. “But, um, I dunno, any warm colour really suits you.”

“Hmm… Warm colours? HMMM… Okay! Hang on!” Papyrus dashed into the closet and slammed the door behind him. 

Frisk kicked back on the bed, folding her arms and staring at the ceiling, listing as her brother banged around in there, _nyeh_ing quietly. When he burst back out, he wasn’t wearing anything he’d picked before except the t-shirt, but he’d taken some of Frisk’s colour advice at the very least. He’d found a red-brown jacket to wear over it, and some white pants he must’ve kept meticulously clean, and it all looked pretty flashy with his red boots as well. He put his hands on his hips and stood proudly, his scarf somehow billowing. Frisk grinned.

“Cool, bro,” she said, sticking her thumbs up.

“Really? Are you sure? Cooler than before? Equally cool?” He put a hand to his chest. “Are you positive about the basketballs?”

“You look really good,” she assured him. “You don’t need ‘em!”

“Okay! Okay! Deep breaths.” He followed his own advice. “A cool platonic date! It will be fine! I am the great Papyrus! I will make a good impression and we will have a good time!”

“Yeah!” Frisk agreed.

“But the sunglasses are still okay?” He put them back on. “Does that look okay?”

“You look great,” she said brightly. “Hey, Paps?”

“Yes, what is it?” he asked.

“Look, I know you don’t wanna say you’re a little nervous, and that’s okay. But. I know you’re gonna do just great!” she assured him. “I don’t think it was super cool of Mettaton to have you do this without asking you first, but Bratty’s a nice monster and I’m sure you’ll be just fine! Besides! Who wouldn’t want to win just getting to sit and talk to you, huh?”

Papyrus stared back her blankly. She gave him a big smile. He crumbled and wrapped her in a huge hug, snuggling her close and glowing bright. There was a bit of orange in it almost instantly.

“You are just the best little sister in the whole world,” he said. 

“Gotta keep up with the best big brothers, huh?” she said with a wink.

\- - - 

Two fast-paced pep talks to himself, a cup of coffee, and another big hug from his little sister later, and Papyrus was off to meet the alligator girl. He didn’t know why he was so antsy. Maybe it was just that “date” word. That had to be it. He should’ve read his guide to dating again, he realized. It was too late for that now. He’d just have to keep being confident.

He took the boat around to Hotland, trying not to gnaw on his fingers. When he skipped out into the heat and over red stone, he was surprised to get a text from Mettaton.

“_DARLING! TO THE LAB, PLZ!! OwO. I knooooow you are very punctual so you should be riiiiiiight here, yeeeeeees??? <3<3<3_”

Papyrus was startled. The lab was just to his right. He edged over to it and the door was flung open before he even reached it. Long metal arms shot out and dragged him inside.

“I knew it!!” Mettaton cooed, slamming the door as he pulled Papyrus into the light. “Helllloooo, lovely! Ooh! Look at you! Casual, but classy! I like it!”

“Um! Oh! Thank you!” Papyrus looked back at him with puzzlement. “What’s going on?”

“I just wanted you to know,” he said in a lyrical way, “that I had the dining room all set up for yoooou and the lovely contest winner!”

“Th… Thank you?” Papyrus said cautiously.

“But of course! You really are doing me a huge favour,” Mettaton said.

Papyrus opened his mouth to remind him that he hadn’t been asked, but he was startled by a surprised yelp to his left.

“P-Papyrus?” Alphys shot him a big smile and hurried down her escalator. “A-Are you on your way?”

“Um! Yes!” he said.

“D-Don’t be nervous, it’s just B-Bratty,” she said.

“Oh, sorry, I don’t want to come off like a brat,” he said quickly.

“What? OH! N-No, no no, sorry!” she laughed. “Bratty. Th-That’s her name. The g-girl you’re m-meeting? She’s an old f-friend of mine. W-We used to live on th-the same block.”

“What?! Really?” Papyrus’s face lit up. “Oh, that’s much less…! I mean. That’s great to hear. Any friend of yours, Doctor, is a friend of mine.”

“Th-That’s the spirit.” She winked. She held a book out to him. “Um. If it’s n-not too much trouble… D-Do you think you c-could give this to her for me? I b-borrowed it y-years ago and j-just, um, n-never got around to returning it.”

“I can absolutely do this for you!” he assured her, stashing it away in his phone.

“Ooooh, Papyrus, you’re such a cutiepie, I can’t stand it,” Mettaton said, grinning brightly at him. “Thank you. Really. I really, truly mean it, darling. The whole crowd was absolutely devouring it! The solidarity will have to be through the roof! I just know it.”

“I would hope so,” he said. “Okay! I should… go. I should go, right?”

“Yes!” Mettaton thumped his on both shoulders. “And be sure to have a wonderful time!”

\- - -

When Papyrus slipped into the hotel lobby, he found the alligator girl easily amongst the other guests. She was sitting near the glittering fountain, filing her claws and clutching a purse that matched her magenta eyes and the blue and yellow stripes on her pink poncho shirt. She glanced up casually as she caught his footsteps over the sound of water, then froze. Her scales flushed and she quickly jumped to her feet.

“Um. Like. Hi,” she said.

“Hello! Bratty, right?” Papyrus said, offering her his hand. “Congratulations on winning Mettaton’s contest!”

“Yeah, uh, I got seriously lucky.” She smiled and shook it; her talon was shaking a little. “I, like, really liked you in the show.”

“Thank you!” he said.

“My best friend, too, she was, like, super jealous,” she said, “but in a nice way! Like, she was happy for me, too, but, uh…” She started to blush blue. She seemed like she didn’t know what more to say. 

Papyrus wasn’t sure either. He picked himself up and puffed out his chest. “Well! I’m glad to meet you again!” he said. “Come with me! There is supposed to be food and drinks and such over this way. Part of your prize, in fact!” He gestured towards the dining room. 

She quickly nodded and walked with him into the dim, candle-lit room.

It was completely vacant in there, but there was a table all set out for them, spread with MTT brand food and drinks. He took off his sunglasses and looked around. It all seemed very elaborate to him.

“Oh, wow, are those real glamburgers?” Bratty asked shrilly as she sat down. “Do you think it’d be okay if I, like, took some with me?”

“Go ahead, but you may not actually like them very much,” Papyrus warned.

Bratty tilted her head. She picked one up and took a big bite. She immediately grimaced, her bright pink eyes widening, and she gulped heavily. “Oh. God. Yeah. That’s, uh… That’s food?” She laughed, but she squirrelled a few away in her phone anyway. “Uhhh…That’s right up Catty’s alley. I g-guess it’s, like, not totally to my tastes yet. I guess fancy monsters like you must be used to that kind of thing, though, right?”

“Fancy?” he repeated. “You think I’m fancy?”

“For sure! You’re an actor, right? Actors must be used to all kinds of fancy stuff.”

“Well. Actually. The show was my first time acting,” he said. “It’s basically all new to me!”

Bratty’s eyes widened. She leaned forward across the table, her long snout almost touching his face. “What? For real?”

He nodded quickly. She leaned back and tapped her chin.

“But… Wow. I mean. You were pretty rad. I can hear now you totally weren’t even using your real voice, right?” she said. “And that battle was totally wicked. It must’ve taken a ton of practice.”

“Oh! Ah… Yes, of course! I mean! Who would expect something like that to be just done on the fly, right? Nyeh heh… heh…” he said. “But I have to give a lot of credit to the others, too. Everyone did a really good job.”

“How’d you land the role?” she asked.

“Mettaton just needed someone to play the scientist,” he said. “I volunteered. My little sister was the human in the play, and I mostly did it for her, to be honest.”

“Really? That’s, like, really surprising, actually,” she said. “You were really good. Honestly. Like, you were pretty much my favourite part. I thought I couldn’t like anyone more than Mettaton, but, I mean… Well. Like. Whatever. Anyway, his new body, it’s cool, right?”

“Yes, I think so! He seems very happy with it,” he said.

“I actually got to see it early,” she said a little smugly. “I think he was like, in disguise, though? He used a fake name. I didn’t know at the time…”

“Oh! Interesting,” he said. “That sounds a lot like something he’d enjoy, too, actually. He seems to really like planning things behind the scenes.”

“That always seemed, like, so wicked cool.” Bratty’s eyes seemed to sparkle. “I’ve always kinda wanted to be on TV, but I’ve never, like, seen any casting calls or anything? So, like… I never got a chance. Bet I could do it, though.”

“OH! Well, that’s easy enough to fix,” Papyrus said quickly. “Just ask Mettaton, I’m sure he’d be happy to have more actors. Especially for his crime serials. He just keeps using the same people over and over and over and it starts to get predictable. ”

“What? Ask him? How?” she asked.

“Give me your phone,” he said. 

She reached into her purse and turned it over. He tapped into her contacts list.

“Here, I’ll just add his number. Send him a text, I bet he’d appreciate it!” he said. “He loves talking with his fans.”

“What?! Oh. Man. Hey, thanks a lot.” She blushed sheepishly as she took her phone back. “You, like, don’t even know me, though.”

“That’s okay!” Papyrus said. “My s— Uh. My, um… Oh! My friend, Doctor Alphys, she said she knew you, so that’s good enough for me!”

Again, Bratty looked surprised. She took another tentative bite of her glamburger and hurriedly put it down on her plate. “You know Alphys? Wow. Small world.”

“Maybe try one of these instead,” he said, pushing a starfait towards her. “And, yes! My brother used to work with her in the lab, so—”

“Your brother? Oh. Like. That short skeleton?” She drew a U in the air with her claw and smiled. “Big grin?”

“Yes! That’s him,” he said.

“Oh. Hah. Like, even smaller world. I remember him a bit,” she said. “From, like, the two times I visited Alph in the lab.” She cautiously tried the starfait and it put a little glimmer in her eye. “That’s pretty sick, actually. Anyway! Uh, thanks, you know?”

Papyrus nodded quickly. He eyed the remaining glamburgers and could only think of that unpleasant, gritty feeling against his teeth. He hated to say it, but very little of Mettaton’s brand of food was appealing to him. Heck, he’d rather be at Grillby’s. He scolded himself for even thinking that. He took a small spoonful of one of the starfaits. Ice cream was good for the bones, he reminded himself.

“Glad it ended up being so quiet around here,” Bratty said.

“Oh?” he said. “Why? Was there something very exciting going on earlier?”

“Oh! No, not really. There was just, like, this weird rumour going around, but there aren’t even more Guards, so, like, I guess it was just whatever.”

“What, uh…” Papyrus tried to look casual and leaned his chin on his fist. “What rumour?”

“Oh! That there was a, like, human flying around New Home or whatever,” she said.

“Flying?!” he said loudly.

“Yeah, like, some humans maybe have wings or something?” she said. “At least that’s what I heard. I’ve never seen a real one. Catty told me that she heard from her cousin that, like, there might be one in New Home, like, in a secret base somewhere? But, I didn’t see anything weird coming here. Did you hear anything?”

“Ah! No! I haven’t heard anything like that,” he said quickly. “I… I actually live in Snowdin, so we didn’t get any of that news over there.”

“Ah, that’s good,” she said. “I mean. I’ve heard a lot of weird things about them. It kind of freaks me out, you know? That they could just push you too hard and you’d turn to dust?”

“Oh really?” he said, trying to keep his voice from going shrill.

“For sure! I mean. I know some turn up here sometimes. And King Asgore just needs one more soul for that whole destruction of humanity thing, but…” She shuddered. “Ugh, I don’t think I’d, like, ever want to meet one. Totally freaks me out.”

“What if she was nice, though?!” Papyrus blurted. “I mean. What if the human. Was nice?”

“Why would they be nice?” Bratty asked, confused. “I mean, they drove us underground, right? They, like, hate us.”

“I-I’m sure not all of them hate us,” he said. “I mean! They haven’t even met us! I’m sure not all of them are bad.”

“Maybe. I hope you’re right. ‘Cause, like, they really scare me,” she said bashfully.

“They do?” he asked worriedly.

“Yeah! Like, they’re super powerful and only the King could beat one, right?” she said. “And they’re so weird! They aren’t even magic and they’re powered by this weird red metal stuff called blood I think instead? It sounds really freaky. I don’t even know what I’d do if I saw one.”

“Hopefully everything would be fine!” Papyrus said quickly.

Bratty bit into the glamburger again and tried to cover a wince with very forced smile as she put it back down. She drummed her fingers on the table. “Hey, uh…” She lost her nerve.

“What?” Papyrus asked. 

“Nothing, it’s… No, it’s nothing,” she said. “Whatever.”

It clearly wasn’t nothing. Papyrus eyed the food. He understood. “Would you… maybe like to get out of here?” he suggested. “I’m sure we could find some real food around here somewhere.”

“Wh-What? No no, this is fine,” she said, hesitantly reaching for the glamburger again. 

Papyrus smiled sympathetically. “They are actually pretty terrible, aren’t they?”

The alligator melted with relief. She nodded quickly and laughed. “I thought they were so, like, posh and glamorous,” she said with a snicker. “But they’re so gross!”

“I know!” he assured her. “So gritty!” 

“Exactly! Everyone totally says you have to get one! I never realized no one ever actually talked about how they tasted. I mean… I usually won’t turn down free food, but—”

“I think we should collectively turn it down,” he said. “Mettaton would understand.”

“Is that not, like, super rude though? If he set all this up…” she said.

“I don’t think so! We gave it a good shot, and besides, Mettaton’s number one goal is to have everyone have a great experience!” he asserted. “So! Come on, I’ll take you to…! Well. I don’t actually know New Home that well! But! I have been entrusted with making sure you have a nice time tonight, so I’m sure I’ll come up with something! What do you like?”

“Well. I could kinda go for a real burger,” she admitted with a sheepish smile.

Papyrus hoped he didn’t flinch externally. He only knew of one place. Whatever it takes, he decided. A good night would be had, greasy burgers or not. “Ahh… W-Well! I… I think I know where to go,” he said. “But, w-would you, um, like to maybe look around for a place that makes coffee or… something?”

“Oh! Hey, wicked, we can trade,” she said brightly. “I know a café.”


	76. Sideways

Sans’s head felt heavy and strange. He blinked up at the ceiling of his bedroom. He didn’t recall if he’d fallen asleep on his mattress or not. Must’ve, right? Something felt off. No crack in the paint in the corner. That was weird.

He sat up and rubbed the side of his skull. There was a treadmill parked up against the opposite wall. That was weird, too. That belonged in the attic. It was a dream, absolutely. 

He stretched his arms out and fully intended to stay exactly where he was until he heard some thunking downstairs. It was soon followed by the sound of his brother muttering to himself. He could just ignore it, he thought. Didn’t need to play everything out, right?

The thumping got louder and more frantic. Sans sighed. Of course it would. His curiosity got the better of him. He shifted to the bottom of the stairs and sat down, watching as Papyrus raced around the living room, already wearing metal gauntlets and trying to pull on heavy, pointy-toed armoured boots.

“Sans! Finally, you’re up!!” Papyrus squawked. “Honestly, how could you sleep through this? I called you at least fifteen times!”

Wasn’t real. Wasn’t him. Always sounded just like him, though. Sans shrugged and watched as he grabbed a large metal breastplate from the couch and dropped it on over a t-shirt, and began to fiddle with latches on the sides. Sans tilted his head. 

“Uh. Paps?” he said.

“No time to talk, brother,” he sighed, rolling his eyes. “We finally tracked that human down near the Ruins. I told Captain Undyne I’d go take care of it. She’s supposed to meet me there.”

Sans was at a loss for a moment. He knew it was a dream, but he didn’t remember this at all. He’d seen timelines where things got far out of whack— some a little like this, some even worse— but what he saw here was unfamiliar.

Papyrus finished fastening the armour plating across his ribcage and straightened up. He grabbed a long, bone spear from near the door. “Stay home, brother,” he said. “This could be dangerous.”

“Since when did you have armour like that?” he wondered.

“Since half the dog-guards got taken out two days ago, Sans.” Papyrus’s eyes went wide. “Honestly, where is your head at? Are you feeling okay? It was by sheer luck that you weren’t at your post over there, don’t you remember?”

“Uh. Yeah. Right. Sorry. Guess it was the, uh, shock of it?” he suggested.

“Oh, gosh. Okay. I’m sorry, brother,” he said. “But, really, stay home. I’ll see you after we capture the human.”

“Right. Okay,” Sans said. “Good luck?”

“Thank you! But I won’t need it,” he said, and he let out a sigh. “I don’t understand. There must be something wrong with the human. I need to catch them; convince them to not be bad, or else… Or else.”

Papyrus rushed out of the house, slamming the door behind him. Sans was baffled. Where was he? He did a quick check of the rooms. It was basically the same as he expected, but as he’d seen before, there was no faint crack in the paint of his ceiling, and Papyrus’s room was missing his battle body outfit. It wasn’t even tucked away in the closet.

His heart sunk and he felt sick for a second. Where was Frisk? Was she in here? Stuck in the place of whatever human they were hunting? The thought sent a chill through every bone in his body. He’d have time to worry about being stuck in a timeline he didn’t remember at all when they woke up. 

He put his hand to his chest and tried to feel for Frisk. He hoped like hell she hadn’t fallen asleep, but he felt her soul ping against his. He frowned. He focused in on her and shifted towards her.

He found himself in the trees off the path towards Snowdin. The air was bristling with magic; he felt like there was some battle resonance humming somewhere. He slunk towards the path and the sound got louder. It was his brother’s. A sinking feeling dragged on him with cold claws.

He picked up the pace a little and found tracks on the path. Boots and little shoes, trailing down towards the stone bridge. She must’ve been trying to get home when Papyrus had found her. He grimaced and followed them to where the smaller tracks scuffed and went straight over the edge of a cliff. 

He looked below and saw a battle taking place. Papyrus had caught up to Frisk; engaged her. She was limping. There was red in the snow.

Without a second thought, Sans shifted himself to the base of the cliff, inserting himself into the middle of the fight. Papyrus yelped and stumbled backwards, bone in hand.

“Sans?!” he demanded.

“Sorry to cut in,” he said. “I got this.” He grabbed Frisk’s shoulder and pulled her out of the snow. 

Had to get somewhere quiet and safe. The next thing he knew, they were in his bedroom.

Frisk stared at him blankly for a second, drew in a long sniff, and then wilted and sighed deeply. She was shaking and there was blood coming through her pant leg and the way she was holding one of her arms made him think there was something wrong with it, too. He gently ruffled her hair and gestured to the messy mattress. She looked at it hesitantly. He grabbed her and helped her down. She winced and hissed, and then grabbed his sleeve tightly. She looked at him with big, watery eyes.

“I-It’s you, right?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said.

“Good. Good good good,” she said. “That w-wasn’t Papyrus.”

“I know,” he said. “Dream is messed up.” 

“I don’t understand,” she said quietly. “We don’t remember any of this.”

“Maybe it’s one that got wiped, judgin’ by the fact that the other time kid was probably a bit murdery,” he said.

“Crap,” she muttered.

Sans sighed and sat with her. “Anything broken?” he asked.

“Maybe my leg?” she suggested. “I dunno. Maybe arm, too.”

“You seem to be holdin’ up okay,” he said. “Let me get somethin’ for you.”

“Th-Thanks,” she said. “I’ll, um, try not to faint.”

“You’re good,” he said gently.

The kitchen didn’t have much. Bare racks in the fridge with the exception of a ketchup bottle. Useless. He wasn’t gonna make her drink that. He scrambled through the drawers. There wasn’t much, but there was some bandage rolls. He’d used them on Papyrus before, but that wasn’t nearly enough. He checked his pockets quickly. He had some coins, to his relief.

He shifted to the store at the inn and picked up a few cinnamon bunnies and some basic MTT soothing goo in a tube before jumping back to his bedroom. Frisk was sitting with her back to the wall, trembling. She waved sheepishly at him, though her right arm lay limp at her side.

“Jeez, kid,” he muttered.

He sat with her and offered her the food. She grabbed it readily. She took a bite and some of the shaking began to subside.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Sure thing. Okay, lemme take your arm,” Sans said.

“Oh. It’s okay. Don’t bother,” she said. “We can just sit here until we wake up.”

“You’re kiddin’, right?” he said, raising his brows. 

She shook her head. He sighed and wrapped an arm around her, gently pulling her forward to bonk his forehead against hers. She laughed.

“Okay okay, if it makes you happy,” she said.

“You’re so weird,” he said.

He took her hand and rolled up her sleeve. She winced. He gently tested her bones, prodding with careful fingertips. He could already feel the problem.

“Small fracture in the ulna. Oh. Radius, too,” he said. “No separation, though. That’s good. Heh. If I could switch them out for you, I would.”

“Hey! That’d be a c-cool way of getting around the no healing, huh?” she said with a smile.

“For now…” He held out a hand and conjured two thin bones and then rounded the ends off. “Splint, I guess.”

“You don’t have to, I’m sure we’ll wake up soon,” she said.

“Sure. But it could feel like hours in here,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”

He slathered some of the green soothing goo onto her skin, and then laid the bones against her and kept her arm straight; used the bandage to wrap them, like a makeshift cast.

“Just don’t move it a lot,” he said.

“Don’t worry, I know the drill,” she said with a laugh.

He gently rolled up her pant leg to check the one that was bleeding. There was a tear in the fabric, too. Feeling it up and down, he was relieved that there was no break in her bones. She was cut from some rocks, and he knew from her head that bruising would set in soon. She still flinched when he touched her ankle. 

“Not broken,” he said.

“Hurts like heck, though,” she said.

Sans stared blankly at her skin. It was swollen. He tried to recall through her— her pain; things she’d seen.

“Sprained? Is that that word?” he wondered.

“Oh. Yeah. You’re probably right,” she said.

“So what do you, uh…?” He didn’t know what to do, specifically, but he could remember what she’d done to something swollen before. “Got an idea.”

Again, he shifted outside, but this time to the river. He scooped up some ice and brought it home. He put it in a dishtowel, got a second one, and two cups of water. Upstairs, he gave Frisk something to drink, cleaned the gash, applied more goo, and then gave her the makeshift ice pack to hold on her ankle. He held it carefully himself for a moment, using what little magic he had to faintly numb it. It wouldn’t last long, but hopefully enough time for the ice to help.

“And that covers it. I think?” he said. “You hurt anywhere else?”

“N-No. No. I’m good. Thanks a million, Sans,” she said.

“Glad you didn’t fight me on it,” he said with a laugh.

“No energy to,” she said. “I was hoping we’d be up by now.”

“Yeah, me too,” he said.

He flopped down beside her and sighed, rubbing his eye sockets. He wished he could heal. Even in a dream, that pain couldn’t be good to sit through. He grabbed a blanket to put around her shoulders and bundled her up gently. She wiped her eyes and, when he offered, cuddled up under his arm.

“So… So what now?” she asked cautiously.

“Dunno,” he said. “Hopin’ real Paps hops in and takes control of the situation.”

“He was still out when I went to bed,” she said. “I dunno what time it is. He should be back before midnight, right? That’s when the snow starts.”

“Should be,” Sans agreed. “Hm. Guess we shouldn’t count on it, then. I don’t really know if dream-Paps is gonna just try to operate as he usually would or if me jumpin’ in will change his patterns.”

“H-How…? How real are these dream people?” she wondered.

“They’re memories,” he said. “There’s not really any surefire rules anymore, though. Used to be behaviour loops and kinda basic interactions based on their personalities, I guess.”

“Sheesh. I just wanna go home,” she muttered.

“I know.” He squeezed her gently. “I know.”

He didn’t like that dreams were the one place that fettered her. It couldn’t have felt good. He knew he was beyond caring much about how it made him feel, but for her… He preened her hair with his fingertips as she leaned on him and tried to relax and ignore the pain.

She cringed when they heard the door bang open downstairs. She looked at him worriedly. He raised one shoulder. 

“Sans?! SANS!! BROTHER?! Where are you?! Are you okay?!” Papyrus yelled. “Answer me if you’re here!!”

“He sounds pretty scared,” Frisk said quietly.

“Yeah.” Sans raised his voice a little. “In my room, bro.”

The stairs thumped with his footsteps and, after just a second, Papyrus burst into the room. His jaw dropped. He looked like he didn’t comprehend what he was seeing.

“H-H-Human?!” he yelped.

“Aw dang, still not him,” Frisk muttered.

“S’okay,” Sans told her before turning his attention back on the dream of his brother. “Yup. Got her. She’s stayin’ here, okay?”

“Wh-What?! Sans!! Th-That’s dangerous!!” he yelped.

“No no, see, you got it mixed up,” Sans said. “See, uh, this isn’t the human you’re lookin’ for.”

“It’s not?” Papyrus asked, brow furrowing with confusion. “Then why did I battle it, then?!”

“Mix up,” Sans repeated. “Kid has an evil twin. This one’s the nice one. She’s, uh… She’s a real good kid. But she’s kinda sore right now, so I was just gonna keep her here with me.”

Papyrus looked aghast. He couldn’t force out words for a good twenty seconds. His eyes analyzed Frisk quickly. He put a shocked hand to his mouth. “Oh my god because I pushed her down the cliff?!” He dropped to his knees. “Human, I’m so sorry, I thought you were your evil twin!! OH NO!! That means the mean one is still out there, right?! I have to go, I…!”

“N-No, no, Papyrus, no,” Frisk said quickly, wincing as she sat up stiffly. “No, stay here. Um. I… I took care of her. She won’t hurt anyone anymore.”

“She… won’t?” he repeated. “Oh. O-Okay. Okay. Oh, human, I really am sorry.”

“It’s okay! It’s okay,” she said with a laugh. “I’m, um. I’m happy. T-To meet you. Sorry the circumstances are not great.”

“No no no, human, that’s okay.” He wiped his eyes quickly and gently put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m happy to meet you, too. Now what on earth did I do to you?”

“Radius and ulna fractures, bad sprain on the ankle; open wound on the leg,” Sans said.

“Oh gosh, that doesn’t sound good at all,” Papyrus said. “Can…? Can I try to heal you? Would you let me do that? It’s the least I can do after accidentally breaking all your things. Wow. That’s awful. I’m very, very sorry.”

“It’s okay!” Frisk said again. “But, um. I would appreciate it if you could give healing mea try.”

“Not a problem!” he assured her, pulling off his gauntlets. “For I, the great Papyrus, am a fantastic healer, you know.”

He sat down on the mattress beside her and carefully pulled her into his arms. His bones brightened with a magic that was distinctly more orange than either Frisk or Sans were used to. It still had a very familiar, warm feeling to it, though. Frisk sighed with relief and Papyrus smiled.

“I bet that feels better, right?” he said. “Gosh. Human. I’m sorry I mistook you for your evil twin, we didn’t know there was two of you down here.”

“Don’t say sorry, it’s fine,” Frisk said. “I’m just glad she can’t hurt any more monsters.”

“Me too! It was really pretty scary,” he said. “Sans, how did you know she was a nice one?”

“I can just tell sometimes,” he said.

“Well that’s vague and non-committal,” Papyrus said with a frown. “Sigh. Human. Don’t try to leave, okay? Captain Undyne is going to be absolutely unstoppable when it comes to this. We can’t let her know you’re here. There’s no way she’ll believe there is a nice human and an evil twin and that the evil twin is gone now.”

“C-Couldn’t we talk to her?” Frisk asked.

“What?! Oh, no no no, definitely not,” Papyrus said. “Undyne’s been absolutely on the warpath, there’s no way. Heck, I won’t be surprised if she just does a giant spear rain over all that area near the Ruins, just in case.”

“That seems a bit extreme,” Sans said.

“Yes, the Captain’s really stepped things up,” Papyrus said. “To be honest, I’m worried about her, but she won’t even talk to me unless it is for work.”

“Work. So. Wait. She put you in the Guard,” Sans said with a frown.

“My god, Sans, did you get hit in the head?! Do I need to heal you, too?!” he demanded, exasperated. “Yes! Two days ago?! Remember?”

“And, uh… how long’s this been goin’ on?” he asked. “With Undyne bein’ a hard ass?”

Papyrus frowned. Sans shrugged.

“Humour me?” he said.

Papyrus sighed.“It’s been a few months, now,” he said, pouting slightly. “Ever since the Royal Scientist got taken away.”

“What?! What do you mean?! What happened to Alphys?!” Frisk yelped.

“Oh! You…? Well. That’s confusing. But anyway, it was discovered she was making these weird, colourless, melty monster fusions,” he said. “Well. I say discovered. More like she confessed? So the King came and took her and all her experiments away to New Home and no one’s seen her since. And ever since then, Captain Undyne has been… different.”

Frisk couldn’t keep the shocked look from her face. Sans’s brows raised. He rubbed his head.

“Welp. Damn,” he said.

“Honestly, brother, are you not feeling well or what?” he said. “I could have sworn we talked about this.”

“Uh. Yeah. Guess so,” he said. “Sorry, bro, must be the stress. So. Undyne gave you that armour. And that spear, right?”

“Yes, exactly,” he said. “I was quite surprised, honestly, because she used to always say she wasn’t comfortable with me using a weapon, but I guess she changed her mind! I’ll be honest, it’s not quite as fun as I thought it would be.”

“Oh, Papyrus…” Frisk muttered.

She gently hugged onto him with her good arm. His cheekbones flushed bright orange and he gently squished her a little tighter. Very suddenly, though, he let her go and he rushed to unbuckle his chest plate.

“This is not very comfy, I’m sure,” he said quickly. 

He dumped the armour the the floor where it fell, heavy and solid, and kicked off his metal boots, leaving him in just shorts and a t-shirt that read “COOL DUDE”. At least that was fairly familiar. He grabbed Frisk again and went to work, healing. He was just as warm and cozy as ever.

“This isn’t so bad,” she said to Sans.

He chuckled. “Is he ever?” he said.

She smiled and shook her head.

“Suspicious secret messages, you two?” Papyrus joked.

“Nah, bro,” he said. “Honestly? S’just a dream.”

“A dream? What is?” he asked.

“This. All of it,” Sans said.

“Whose dream? My dream or your dream?” Papyrus asked. 

“Ours? One of ours,” Frisk said. “We do a weird thing where we dream together.”

“So we’re in a dream?” he asked.

“Yes?” Frisk said. “Sorry.”

“Pffft, no no, don’t be sorry, that’s fine,” he said. “Actually, that’s a relief, because now the fact that I liked you so much even just seeing you even though I thought you were your evil twin at first makes a lot more sense!”

“That went well,” Sans said with a laugh.

“Have you ever tried telling someone that before?” Frisk asked curiously.

“A couple times. Paps always reacts about the same, though. S’pretty good about it,” he said.

“Why would I not be? It’s not like you’re forcing me to eat gross greasy burgers or whatever. I have no complaints,” Papyrus said. “But let me ask you something? Why the heck are you dreaming about this little human getting all injured? Why don’t you wake up and get rid of it? You’d be fine in the real world, right?”

“Yeeeeah, but we kind of get stuck,” Frisk said sheepishly. “There's, um, usually not a lot we can do about it unless we die. And that even doesn’t always work.”

“OH! No no no, don’t die, that sounds bad,” he said quickly. “That’s okay, just stay here with me and we’ll be safe.”

“Thanks, Paps,” Frisk said.

“Anytime, little human!” he assured her.

He snuggled her just like he would have at home, and his magic brightened. Frisk could feel the ache in her leg starting to fade.

“You’re great,” she said.

“I know! Thank you!” he said.

“Sans?” Frisk asked. “Seriously, though, where are we?”

“No clue,” he said. “Could be one of the end of the world timelines.”

“That sounds bad,” Papyrus said with a frown. “What does that mean?”

“Oh. Uh.” Sans smiled sideways. “When, uh… When our world ends a certain way, and it happens more than once, sometimes little bits go out of whack. Meaning here, the thing with the Doc getting taken away and Undyne losin’ her shit.”

“Brother, please, don’t swear in front of the human,” Papyrus said with a worried frown. “And that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but I mean, I guess it matters the most if it makes sense to you two, right?”

“Oof. That’s no good,” Frisk said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a dream like this one, where we don’t remember at all.”

“Like I said, could be erased, maybe?” Sans shrugged. “No clue otherwise. Guess we just wait it out.”

“Alright,” Frisk said with a sigh. “I’m glad I’m with you. And you, too, Papyrus!”

“Nyeh heh heh, everything is better with Papyrus,” he said confidently. “Now, don’t move too much, okay? Dream or not, this must hurt, hm?”

“For sure,” she said. “Thanks, though.”

“Of course!” he said with a rather proud grin on his face.

Sans parked himself with them and leaned back on the wall, folding his arms against his chest. It was quiet, until Papyrus started to hum aloud— his own song. Frisk absently began to whistle along and he stopped, staring at her. She smiled sheepishly.

“S-Sorry,” she said.

“No no no!” he said. “I was surprised by the sound. You know my song, though. That’s pretty cool, actually.”

Her face brightened and he grinned.

Sans kept an eye on them as he managed to relax a little. They looked pretty happy, honestly. He wasn’t really that surprised. Even a false version of their brother was great company. Frisk was starting to doze off. He was relieved. At least then she wouldn’t be in pain. 

“Aww… Look at that, brother,” Papyrus said with a smile. “She fell asleep! That must be weird. To fall asleep in a dream, hm?”

“Yeah, it’s a bit weird,” he said. “Hey, thanks for helpin’ her out.”

“It’s no problem. It was my fault to begin with,” he said.

“Not really. You couldn’t have known,” he said.

“How did you know? Oh, wait. It’s a dream for you, too, right?” he said. “You came in with her?”

“Mhm,” he said.

“That’s funny!” he said. “What an unexpected twist! I’m glad Undyne hasn’t stormed in yet. Could that be because we’d rather she didn’t?”

“Maybe.” Sans shrugged. “I mean. Wouldn’t really be surprised. We kinda derailed this whole thing with you.”

“And that’s… good,” he said cautiously.

“Yup.” Sans’s eyes darted to Frisk; her body had just started to glitter faintly with red. “Ah. There she goes.”

“Oh! What is that?” he asked.

“She’s just wakin’ up. No big deal,” he said. 

Papyrus gently released her, placing her carefully on the mattress beside him, and he smiled. “You, too?” he asked.

“Yeah, in a minute, probably,” he said.

“Well! It was very nice to see you here!” Papyrus said brightly. “Don’t you worry, I’ll take care of everything.”

“Yeah, I believe it,” he said.

Papyrus grinned and gave him a hug. He snickered and patted his shoulder. 

“Thanks for bein’ you,” he said.

“Can’t be anyone else!” Papyrus said brightly. “Have a good morning when you wake up!”

\- - -

When Sans began to rouse himself, he felt a bit strange. It was dark in his room, but not pitch-black. However, he couldn’t see much. There was his sister, dark circles under her eyes, sitting above him with a frown marring her brow. She suddenly looked relieved.

“Oh! Sans?!” Her voice was spiked with panic.

She quickly pulled back and he could see properly again. That flower kid was there beside her, looking a little worried himself. He rubbed his eye socket as he sat up.

“Was your hand just in my eye?” he asked.

“Y-Yeah, sorry, you were just lying there and I couldn’t g-get you up,” she said shrilly. “I thought if I sh-shocked you…” 

“Oh. Heh. Weird,” he said, smiling sideways. “You alright?”

She nodded quickly. Asriel huffed out a sigh.

“You guys are gonna kill me, I swear,” he said.

“He was trying to get us up, too,” she said.

“Oh. Nice,” Sans said.

Frisk sighed. She rubbed her head and then grabbed her brother and hugged him tight. He reciprocated right away. The kid looked so small. He could imagine how much she’d been hurting; how much a relief waking up must have been.

“You’re not still sore, are you?” he asked.

“Nah, I’m okay,” she said.

He patted her head gently and she huffed quietly. She sat up and gently bonked her brow against his. 

Asriel groaned and rubbed his face with his leaves. “Does that mean I’m gonna get dragged through stuff like that, too? I don’t wanna.”

“I hope not,” Frisk said.

“Got no idea if it’ll happen again,” Sans said. “Could be one in a million. But. Somehow, I kinda suspect we might get roped into some weird unpredictable junk.”

“Because our luck is terrible,” Frisk said with a tired laugh. “Uuughhh. Weird. But at least dream Papyrus was really nice, huh?”

“Impossible for him to not be, probably,” Sans said. 

Frisk sighed and flopped dramatically over her brother’s lap. He rubbed her back sleepily. They both looked absolutely drained, even Asriel could see that. He sighed. 

“Jeez. What a time for Papyrus to go out, huh?” he said.

“Hey, what time is it, actually?” Frisk wondered.

“Uh… I dunno, it was a bit past eleven when I checked last,” Asriel said.

“Should I call Paps?” she asked, looking at Sans worriedly.

“Nah,” he said. “We can function without him for an hour. Maybe.”

Frisk snickered. She rubbed her brows and blew out a tired, exasperated sigh.“Every single night.”

“Really? Don’t miss one?” Asriel asked.

“If I do, it’s usually because I’m having a nightmare.” Frisk laughed, but she sounded exhausted. “Aaaah, it’s traaaash.”

Asriel flinched. He looked at Sans, and then gently tapped on Frisk’s head. “Hey. Come on,” he said. “Screw this.”

“Huh?” She looked confused.

“Just come with me,” he insisted. 

Frisk reluctantly rolled off her brother’s legs and Asriel grabbed her hand in a wrap of vines. He beckoned to Sans as well.

“You too, bonehead, let’s go. Downstairs. Move it.”

Sans looked like he was half-asleep, and he vanished entirely. Asriel tugged on the kid’s hand.

“Just trust me,” he said. “We’re doing a stupid slumber party or some crap, get up.”

“Kay,” she said.

\- - -

Papyrus couldn’t believe he was doing. Walking someone to the bar down in Snowdin felt strange to him, but Bratty seemed excited. She’d never been to the town at all, and the snow was a completely new experience to her. 

He didn’t feel like it was exactly a fair trade in terms of food. She’d brought him to a place that served coffee that was far superior to the ancient grinds they had at home. All he was giving her was greasy, stinky burgers. But at least he knew they were edible. Probably.

They’d strolled for the river boat, chatting about the play. Bratty was very interested in the mechanics behind it all, asking about the stage and the lights and the shadow puppets. She also asked about the cameras, but Papyrus didn’t really know much about them at all. In fact, he’d never really spent much time considering what went into making one of Mettaton’s shows before actually participating in one himself. Bratty, on the other hand, was curious about everything.

“So, like, this stuff just falls here?” she asked, reaching up to catch a snowflake in her palm. She shivered and laughed. “It’s totally weird!”

“I actually found it a little weird that New Home doesn’t have a thing like that,” he said.

“Guess that’s true, nothing really falls from the sky there. Except fireworks sometimes,” she said. “So you live around here?”

“Yes, just back that way.” He jerked his thumb down the road. “And here is the place.”

Bratty looked up at the warm glow of the lights, a big smile spreading across her snout. 

Inside was vacant, except for Grillby and another, younger fire elemental that burned with green flames. Bratty seemed enthralled. She dashed up to the counter and looked around with wide eyes.

“Wow, it’s like a real bar and everything!” she said. “There’s nothing like this in New Home. Hey, do I order here?”

Grillby dipped his head. She grinned.

“Two burgers, please, and, like… Papyrus, what do you want?” She turned back to look at him with a toothy smile.

Papyrus froze up. Grillby stared at him and readjusted his glasses. The skeleton sighed and hurried up to the counter.

“If it’s not too much trouble, could we get five—?”

Grillby turned his head towards the other monster and raised his brows. “Nina?” he said.

“Ah! Right! Five milkshakes, no problem!” she assured them. She dashed off to prepare them as Grillby slid away as well. 

“Wow, they’re on point,” Bratty said, shooting Papyrus a grin. “You come here a lot?”

“Oh no no no. No. No. Not really, no,” he said quickly. “My siblings love this place, though. And the, um… The milkshakes. They’re good.”

“Oh, nice,” she said. “You have five people at home?”

“Four. One’s for you, if you want it,” he said.

“That’s, like, really nice, thanks,” she said.

She slid onto one of the bar stools and her tail wagged. Papyrus moved to join her and noticed a whoopee cushion on the seat right before he sat. He frowned deeply and tossed it across the room. 

“Do you know if they make it from scratch here?” she asked. “I always love, like, making stuff from scratch. You know, it’s kinda like… drawing a picture, or writing a book, but with food.”

“I don’t actually know, but me too,” he said. “Actually! Speaking of books! That reminds me!” He whisked a book from his phone and offered it to her. “Here! From Doctor Alphys.”

“Oh! That’s my… Hah. Thanks,” she said, holding the book gingerly. “I forgot about this.”

“Is it a good book?” he asked.

“Oh! Yeah! Sure, it's a totally great cookbook,” she said.

“Cook… book?” Papyrus repeated.

Bratty’s eyes went wide. She struck the counter with her fist. “Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of a cookbook!”

“Is that something from the big city?” he asked.

“Like, oh my god! No, no no, as if!” She opened the book wide and then shoved it into his hands. “Recipes, see?”

“Recipes?! Oh!!” He peered into the book, only to see a long list of ingredients and instructions on how to prepare a type of savoury pie. “Oh, wow, would you look at that!”

“Oh man. You’ve really never seen one…” She couldn’t help a grin. “Hey, I can pay you back for all that stuff you told me! Go on, like, take a look.”

Papyrus had to admit, he was fascinated. He flipped through the book from the start, absolutely enthralled, almost completely missing when the food arrived. 

“Hey, you want any burger?” Bratty asked him.

“Hm? Oh. No, no, absolutely not, thank you.” He finally tore himself away from the pages and smiled. “What a great book!”

“For sure!” she said. She was munching the burgers very happily. “I really love cooking, so I pretty much love this kinda stuff.”

“What a coincidence! I also love cooking!” he said. “Have you seen Mettaton’s cooking shows?”

“Yeah, duh!” she said. “I watch all of them.”

“That is very exciting,” he said. “They’re my favourite!”

Bratty snickered. “Hey, let’s trade numbers,” she suggested. “Me and my friend, Catty… Well, okay, maybe you’ll think this is lame, but, like, sometimes if we can’t get together on the day, we, like, call each other and make whatever’s on the show, y’know? Maybe you’d like to, maybe, join…?”

“Oh!! Yes, okay, that sounds like a great idea!” he said. 

The alligator beamed.

They swapped phones, and Papyrus caught sight of the time. It was fifteen minutes to midnight. When they finished up, he walked Bratty back towards the boat as snow began to swirl and the temperature started to drop to a bone chilling level. 

However, there was no boat in the river, and, in fact, the water was frozen solid into dark, sleek ice. Papyrus cautiously tapped solid surface and shivered. Bratty looked down with wide eyes.

“Oh. Man. Guess I’ll totally have to walk,” she said.

“Ah! My gosh, I’m sorry,” Papyrus said. “I didn’t realize the river would… Oh!!” He checked his phone.“No problem! I’d offer to walk you home but unfortunately the roads will be blocked in just a few minutes, but I can get you to Waterfall!”

“That’s fine,” she assured him.

He quickly grabbed her hand. Bratty yelped as he rushed her back to the main road, but the wind was already starting to pick up and the snow was blowing harshly, blurring their vision with white. The skeleton house was the end of the line, though. They could hardly proceed farther. Snow was quickly coming up to their knees. Pouting; shielding his eyes, Papyrus checked his phone again. The time was five minutes to midnight. 

“Ah, this is horrible! This is the reverse of punctual in a very frustrating way!” he grumbled.

“What’s going on?” Bratty asked.

“It’s a magic blizzard. Uh. You don’t happen to have anything to do tomorrow, do you?” he asked.

“No,” she said.

“Good, because you may probably actually have to stay over so you don’t freeze because actually the road is already blocked because someone couldn’t wait five minutes to start the snow,” he said.

“Oh. Is that okay?” she asked. “I could go to the inn?”

“You will be absolutely bored,” he said. “My siblings won’t mind, I’m sure. Besides I think the snow will probably be blocking the doors in just a few minutes.”

“Oh. Heh. Thanks,” she said.

Papyrus turned Bratty around and kicked some snow out of the way of the front steps. He’d have time to explain everything to everyone in the morning.

However, when he opened the door, he was startled to find all of the others sitting in the middle of the living room around their fantasy board game. They were bundled in blankets and the couch was mostly converted to a fortress of pillows and sheets.They all looked exhausted.

“Started early again, huh?” Sans asked.

“They didn’t last time!” Papyrus protested. He gestured bashfully to the alligator. “Um. So, this is Bratty.”

Sans raised his hand. Frisk sat up a little and shot her a smile. 

“Hiya,” she said. “Hot chocolate?”

“Oh. Uh. Yeah, thanks,” she said, standing off to the side as Papyrus shut the door. “Sorry to, like, intrude.”

“Nah. People get stuck sometimes,” Sans said. “Sit down. Do whatever.”

“You like nerdy board games?” Asriel said. “We got this thing… Uh. We’re terrible at it though.”

“Yup, ‘bout to party wipe again!” Frisk called.

“What are you all doing up, anyway?” Papyrus asked. “Oh. Wait. Let me guess…?”

“Bet you guess right,” Asriel joked. 

Papyrus frowned with worry, but Sans shrugged and smiled. He looked exhausted, but Papyrus didn’t push.

“Uhh…” Bratty smiled sheepishly. “I think I’ll watch for now. Thanks. Um. Yeah. Like, I’m Bratty.”

“Sans. Frisk,” Asriel said, pointing them out. He pointed to himself. “Flowey.”

“Nice to meet you guys,” she said. She took a seat on the floor and curled up.

Frisk soon returned, giving hot chocolate to her brother and to the alligator before she flopped tiredly over Sans’s lap and reached across to the board to one of the cards. She read it— or tried to— and then passed it to him. He laughed and patted her head.

“Still no luck, huh?” he said.

“Nope!” she said. 

“As usual,” Asriel joked.

Bratty looked at Frisk curiously. She tilted her head. “Oh. You were in the show, too?”

“Ah… Yup!” Frisk said.

“Oh wow. That’s totally awesome. You did a good job,” she said.

“Thank you!” the kid said brightly. “Did you guys have a good time?”

“Yeah, actually, I thought it was pretty tight,” Bratty said.

“Yes, it was not bad at all!” Papyrus agreed.

“Good thing you, uh, totally weren’t at all nervous, huh?” Asriel said with a grin.

“Shhh. Shush. She’s right there,” the skeleton hissed. “And of course I wasn’t!”

Bratty burst out laughing. She rubbed her head bashfully. “It’s okay, it makes me a little antsy to meet new people, too, except… Well, like, kinda except right now because I just kinda got thrown in here and didn’t have to wait and, like, build it up?”

“Sorry you’re kinda stuck with us for a while,” Frisk said. “But we’re pretty good cooks and we have some movies from the Archives! So at least we won’t be totally bored. And…! Oh! Guys, where’s she gonna sleep?”

“Ah! I don’t mind a couch or whatever,” she said quickly, raising her hands. “Look, I don’t wanna impose.”

“Not like we’re gonna boot you out,” Sans said.

Bratty looked grateful. As they picked up their game again, she leaned back against the couch and twirled her hair as she watched curiously. In came the inevitable defeat and Frisk sighed and laughed, rubbing her tired eyes.

“I am so bad at this oh my god,” she said.

“You can’t just talk your way though the whole game,” Asriel scolded. “And you keep trying to.”

“I knoooww, but I keep hoping,” she said. 

“Well next time do charisma rolls,” he said.

“But I need the int for healing!” she whined.

“Pick one!” he said.

“Ahem! Frisk!” Papyrus drew her attention from the stairs, waving. “Can you maybe come help me with something?”

Frisk scrambled to her feet, pausing only for a moment to rub her tired eyes.

When she joined Papyrus in their room, he instantly grabbed her into his arms and snuggled her warmly. She clung to his shoulders as their souls pinged against each other with an affectionate, orange spark.

“Ooh, gosh, little sister, you’re exhausted,” he said quietly. “You don’t look well. Something happened?”

“Yeah, dreams got real weird,” she said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Real weird? Like. Weirder than usual? What happened?” he insisted.

“We… I dunno. It’s hard to explain, kinda,” she said. “Me and Sans got locked into a dream but it was for a timeline he didn’t remember.”

“Oh. Wow. Has that never happened before?” he asked worriedly.

“He’s been in ones he only kind of remembered,” Frisk explained, “but this is the first one that was just completely weird. Also, you were there. Undyne let you into the Royal Guard but she wasn’t your friend because she was really upset about Alphys getting… I dunno, arrested or something?”

“Arrested?” Papyrus’s eyes went wide. “Th-That… That doesn’t make sense…”

“I know, right?” Frisk said, nodding quickly. “We were really confused.”

Papyrus nodded. He sat down on the floor and she joined him, yawning again. A fond smile overcame the worry sinking his face and he gently patted her on the head. “I’m sorry I didn’t call to warn about Bratty, we got caught out there by someone’s lack of keeping to time-tables. Aaaanndd I thought you’d all be asleep.”

“Don’t worry,” she said. “She’s nice. Do you like her?”

“Yes! She seems alright,” he said. “She said we should have over-the-phone cooking parties sometimes with some other friend of hers too.”

Frisk grinned. “I’m real proud of you, Paps.”

“Um! Thank you!” he said. “I learned about something. Called a cookbook. I think we should look for more of those. They’re like basically puzzle instruction books with the outcome being food instead of a puzzle setup.”

“Oh! Yeah! You’re right. Of course,” she said. “We’ll do that for sure.”

“Excellent!” He stretched his arms and rolled his sleeves up. “Don’t worry, little sister, if you're staying up again, I’ll keep you company. Whenever you need it.”

“I know. You’re the best,” she said with a grin.

Papyrus ditched the jacket and, when they returned to the ground floor, Sans was slumped half-off the couch behind Bratty as she fumbled with some of the character cards from the board game.

“So, like, if I rolled a five…?” she said.

“Yeah, dead,” Sans said.

“But a six?” she insisted.

“Then you, uh… You just lose the arm,” he said.

“Oh my god.” Bratty laughed and put the cards down. “This game is brutal! I thought these were all just stuff for dorks but this actually seems kinda fun. Okay. I’m in.”

“We played with baby rules the first time and it wasn’t too bad,” Asriel joked. “Let Frisk make friends with the final boss.”

“Hah! A real pacifist, huh?” Bratty asked, shooting Frisk a smile.

“Paci…? Oh! Yeah, I guess so,” she said. She sat down with them again. “Goin’ again?”

“Yup. I’m gonna play the villain this time, though,” Asriel said.

“Oh no,” Frisk said.

“Oh yes,” he said.

“Are you sure?” Bratty asked.

“He’s a little sadist,” Sans joked.

“Aw, c’mon, I’m sure he’s not that bad,” Bratty said. “Are you, cutie?”

“Oh, you have no idea.” He grinned wide. “But I’ll try to go easy on you guys.”

\- - -

Asriel’s interpretation of easy didn’t align well with the others. It didn’t make too much of a difference, however, because a short game and some milkshakes later, Sans was unconscious and Bratty was having trouble keeping her eyes open, too. 

Frisk thought the whole situation was kind of funny. None of these monsters really knew each other that well, but nobody seemed to mind in the least. She couldn’t help but feel comfortable, too. She had no intentions of sleeping, though.

As Papyrus ferried Sans back to bed and carried a still smug Asriel back upstairs, too, Frisk started to pack the board game away. Despite yawning loudly, Bratty joined her.

“Where’d you guys get this thing?” she asked.

“Oh! There’s, um, a human stuff shop in New Home? They have a bunch of boxes for sale as just boxes no matter what’s in them,” she said. 

“Oh. Okay. Got it.” She slipped some of the player pieces into a bag where the remaining ones were. “Hey. Frisk, right?”

“Yup!” she said.

“You look, like, really familiar to me,” she said. “Have we, like, met before?”

Frisk froze. She smiled embarrassedly. “Um. I w-was in that play. So, um, maybe since you saw that…”

“I dunno, it’s just, you don’t actually look much like you did in the play,” Bratty said. “Ah. Sorry. It’s probably nothing.”

Frisk hoped she wasn’t blushing. She shrugged and went back to packing up. Her nerves made her fumble— she slit her finger on the edge of a card. She hissed in surprise and then pouted and stuck it in her mouth.

“What happened?” Bratty asked.

“Papercut,” she said.

“Aw. Let me…” She took Frisk’s hand, but froze up instantly. Her eyes went wide, focused on the glimmer of red along a slit in her skin, and her clawed fingers trembled. She sniffed. “Wait. That’s not…?That’s b-blood?!”

Frisk was at a loss for words for a moment. Bratty recoiled, only to find herself trapped against the couch. She gulped heavily.

“H… Human?!” she squeaked, eyes wide.

Frisk froze. She made her choice quickly. “Um! Y… Yes! Yeah, sorry!”

Even so, the alligator backed up quickly onto the couch, stumbling through the blankets and held a pillow in front of her like a shield.

“Ah!! I’m sorry, please don’t be scared! I’m not, um…! I’m not a mean one, though, at least I don’t think so, I… I don’t wanna hurt anyone, I… Look, y-you can even feel my soul if you want?” She put a hand to her chest and let the red glimmer through her shirt. “S-See? Um. You can feel th-that I never hurt anyone. Um. If you want to? S-Sorry to scare you!”

Bratty’s eyes were still wide; still locked on Frisk’s. The kid bit her lip and glowed her soul insistently, hoping she could convey some aura of reassurance. Slowly, Bratty lowered her pillow protection, squinting suspiciously. She leaned forward and cautiously climbed back onto the floor, squatting, braced to run. She stared Frisk down intently for a few long, aching moments. With cautious fingers, she touched on the light of Frisk’s soul. The kid gulped. Her heart was beating too hard. Finally, the alligator’s rigid posture loosened. Her tail swished back and forth and she sat down, the pink of her eyes seeming to glimmer.

“Whoa… That’s… But how…?” The alligator was baffled, but some of her fear began to drift off. She raised her brows. “Do…? Do they know?”

Frisk nodded quickly. Bratty looked confused. Even so, she reached out for the kid’s hand and looked at the cut very closely.

“I totally can’t believe it,” she said quietly. “Who are you?”

“Frisk,” she said.

“No, sorry, I mean, like, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“Um. Well. This is where I live,” she said. 

“Sorry, I…” She laughed and put a hand to her brow. “God, I’m a-all flustered. I meant. Down here. Did they send you?”

“Who?” Frisk asked.

“The humans. Oh. My god, they don’t want to totally finish us off, do they?” Bratty asked quickly.

“Oh, no way!” Frisk assured her quickly. “A human didn’t send me, I came here because I wanted to.”

“Your King didn’t send you?” she insisted. “Do humans even, like, have a king?”

“The only King I know is Asgore,” Frisk said.

Bratty stared back at her with wide eyes. The gears in her head were turning, Frisk could almost see it. 

“So… So why are you here?” she asked.

“Well, um… There’s kinda a lot of answers to that,” Frisk said bashfully. “The easiest one is that I’m from a place that kinda sucked, and I heard monsters were the opposite of humans so that sounded pretty good to me. So I came here and my family took me in and that’s it, I guess.”

Bratty raised a brow; looked borderline incredulous for just a moment. Even so, Frisk could feel the faint glimmerings of her soul start to reciprocate just a little understanding. At least she didn’t look like she wanted to take off running anymore. However, that didn’t stop her from jumping when the bedroom door upstairs opened.

Papyrus bounded down to meet them, arms full of clothes. “I found some things that may possibly fit if you want to change at any point,” he said. He paused and looked between them curiously. “Is something wrong?”

“She’s a human?” Bratty asked.

“Whaaaaat? Uh…” Papyrus looked embarrassed when Frisk nodded. “Ah. Yes. Sorry. I guess that might be a little alarming but please don’t be afraid! Frisk is very sweet and nice and it’s very true that she’s my little sister. Uh. Frisk, how did she…?”

Frisk held up her finger. He placed the clothes on the couch and then gently pinched her fingertip. It healed up instantly.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Aw man.” Bratty smacked herself in the forehead. “Jeez, now I totally feel like a jerk.”

“Why?!” Papyrus asked worriedly.

“I spent all that time talking about how humans freak me out, and then I freak out when I realize this kid is one, and she’s totally just, like, your sister and whatever?!” she said. “Ugh. I’m, like, the worst ever. So lame. Sorry.”

“No no no, it’s okay, humans freak me out, too,” Frisk said quickly.

“But, like… It’s like you’re barely even human, though,” Bratty said. “If you live here and your family are all monsters. It’s like, does that even count? And you don’t have wings or anything!”

“Uhh…” Frisk smiled sheepishly— she wasn’t actually sure how to feel about that. “I’m glad you’re not so scared anymore.”

Curiously, the alligator edged a little closer to Frisk. She gently grabbed her hand and looked at where the cut had been. She shot the kid a questioning look. Frisk nodded. Bratty looked at her skin and her hands, squishing her palms and looking closely at her nails. Papyrus sat on the arm of the couch, watching with interest.

“Thought you’d totally have claws,” Bratty said. “But these are really kinda flat, huh?”

“Guess so,” she said.

Frisk was happy to let the monster check her over. It wasn’t a new experience to her when, with her permission, the alligator squished her cheeks, looked at her ears; inspected her hair. 

“This is, like, so surreal,” Bratty said.

“Yeah, I know, I’m sorry,” Frisk said.

The alligator shook her head. “I… I can’t believe this,” she muttered. “Jeez. You’re, like… I so didn’t think a human would look like this. Are you all so tiny?”

“No, Frisk is exceptionally small,” Papyrus said.

“Yeah. Um, I’m a kid. And I’m kinda small for my age,” she said. “I’m eleven.”

“Oh wow, you’re really young.” Bratty rubbed her eyes. “Ah, I feel like such a jerk for being so scared!”

“No no, it’s okay,” Frisk said quickly.

“Not really. Like, you guys invite me into your house and everything, and I wouldn’t have even guessed if you didn’t cut yourself,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

“So are you not scared anymore?” Papyrus asked curiously.

“My mind feels like…” She put her hands near her head and mimed an explosion with her fingers. “My soul is still buzzing a little too loud, but I… I’m not, really.”

Frisk felt her eyes well up and she smiled and hurriedly ran the back of her hand across them. 

“Ah! Are you crying?!” Bratty asked shrilly. “I’m sorry!”

“No, no no, I’m just happy,” Frisk said, sniffling. “I hate that I scare people. B-But I don’t blame you guys at all.”

“Aw, Frisk!” Papyrus was at her side right away, pulling her into his arms. “But you have to see that everyone who learns what you are realizes that you’re nice, right? Even in New Home! All those monsters thought you weren’t scary at all afterwards.”

To be honest, that did make Frisk feel a lot better.

“Wait, so you were in New Home?” Bratty asked. “Were the rumours about you? Can you fly?”

“Um. No. I mean, yes, but I can’t fly,” she said. “I did kinda accidentally get some attention with some magic I can use, though.”

“W-Wait, wait wait wait, humans can use magic?!” she yelped.

“N-Not really?”Frisk said hesitantly.

“It’s a complicated thing,” Papyrus said. “Frisk is special, though. Very special, in fact! And she can use magic, just like we can! The big hullabaloo was about her healing a monster in the city, though, and some people realized what she was, but then that she was nice, so I think that’s where the rumours came from. I am noooot really sure about the wings, though.”

Frisk shrugged again. 

Bratty stared at her for a few moments. She started to grin, and then barked out a loud laugh. “Like, oh my god! Wow. I’m totally glad you’re actually a nice human,” she said. “If someone said that would be a thing even ten minutes ago, I would’ve told them to get real, but this is honestly pretty sweet. But, like, imagine this, right? We’re, like, totally snowed in. Imagine this was a horror movie, right? And if I were, like, the main character and there was totally an evil human in here? That’d be totally scary!”

“Aah, that’d be super scary!” Frisk squeaked.

“For sure!!” Bratty smiled. “That’d totally be a great movie though.”

“Maybe too scary for me, though,” Frisk said.

Bratty smirked; patted her playfully on the head. 

“Ah! I’m so glad that everything worked out,” Papyrus said. “It usually does, doesn’t it? Well! Ready for bed, little sister?”

“Umm… Nnnooo, not really,” she said sheepishly.

“Man, and I’m totally awake now, too,” Bratty said.

“Oh! Well! Me too, I’m sure we could… GASP!” Papyrus grinned. “I know! The cookbook!”

“For sure!” Bratty’s tail began to wag again. “That’s a great idea! Hey, human, do you like cooking?”

“I do!” she said.

The alligator got up, grabbing Frisk’s hands and pulling her to her feet. “Like, let’s figure something out or whatever. That’ll totally kill some time.”

“Let me show you around our kitchen!” Papyrus said, leaping to his feet. “Follow me!”

He raced to the kitchen. Bratty followed him curiously. Frisk hung back and took a deep breath. She hadn’t expected that, but it had gone well. Her tired nerves were fried, but she was happy nonetheless. 

She slipped off upstairs quickly to check on Asriel, hoping he might be awake. He wasn’t. She gently glowed her fingers against him. “Good night, dude,” she said quietly. 

She hoped desperately that he and Sans wouldn’t get locked in again. It was probably useless, but she hoped anyway.


	77. The Superstar Skeleton Arc

Neither Frisk nor Papyrus had ever even heard of most of the stuff written in Bratty’s book, but they were excited to run through the old recipes. The house wasn’t exactly overflowing with ingredients, though, so they settled on a quiche— something Papyrus definitely recognized—and something called an upside down cake. The prospect was a little confusing, but Bratty assured them it was really delicious.

As they were waiting for the quiche to bake first and Papyrus finished chopping up some crabapples for the upside down cake, Frisk slipped off to check on Asriel again. He seemed fine. Drooped over, cozy with a quilt around his mug.

When she peeked in on Sans, he was awake in his room, bundled up over his head in a blanket in the dark, just his eye shining out over a book he was reading. He looked up at her and shot her a tired grin.

“Checkin’ in?” he said.

“Y-Yeah. Yeah. Anything weird?” she asked.

“Nah,” he said. 

She was relieved, but that also meant he probably hadn’t slept for very long.

“Um. Bro? Bratty accidentally found out what I am,” she said bashfully.

“Oh. Was that what that was?” His grin widened. “That’s hilarious.”

Frisk shrugged. She plopped down on the mattress and rubbed her eyes. Sans grabbed her soul and pulled her closer, touching two fingers to her temple and sparking his bones with blue. She laughed sleepily and rubbed her eyes again.

“Don’t wear out, huh?” he said.

“Y-Yeah. I know. Can I just, um…?” She snuck in closer and hugged onto him.

He fluffed out his blanket and let it cocoon her, too. She rested her ear against his soul spot and sighed tiredly. 

“Ah. Still not feelin’ well, huh?” he said.

“I’m shaking all over,” she said with a laugh. “I just wanna sleep for like two days and then get outta here. But I don’t wanna dream, I just wanna fall over and not see anything.”

“Hm. Just gets worse, huh?” he said. “Heh. Sorry.”

“S’not your fault,” she said quietly.

“Kinda is,” he said.

“But anything couldda happened to you. It couldda been all nice if those other time kids hadn’t been so weird or awful,” she muttered. “It’s not you.”

He didn’t say a word, but she heard his soul speed a beat. He clunked his head gently against hers and she snickered and settled in. 

“You know, you got the little kid excuse, huh?” he suggested. “You wanna go to bed? I’ll let ‘em know.”

“Nnnooo. No. I’ll be okay.” She drew back and shot him a grin. “Thanks, big bro.” She gave him an extra squish and then slipped away, stretching. “I’ll bring you some cake and stuff later. It’s upside down, though. I’m not sure what that means but Bratty said it was good.”

“Heh. Alright. Thanks,” he said. “Hey. Lemme know if you need anything from, uh, out there. I’m sure I’ll get around to it. Eventually.”

Frisk seemed a little more upbeat when she left. Sans always thought that was a little funny. He leaned back with his book and stared into the pages — more of those emails that he’d squirrelled away to look over. He still wasn’t learning a thing. Never called this mysterious guy by his name. Never talked about where he lived. Mentioned a café though. He was pretty sure he knew the one. 

He still had to wrap his mind around the truth of the situation. The timelines matched up perfectly, though. Of course they did. The CORE, leaving the lab, the time tears; the kid’s age. Everything. He felt his soul pick up a beat again. He huffed out a quiet laugh. No coincidences. It made him hope that this mysterious guy would show up in the real world, if only for his sister’s sake. But, as he considered it, he decided he’d really like to meet the guy, too. Kinda had a bone to pick with him.

Sans blinked. Suddenly found himself in the edge of a golden hallway. Must’ve nodded off. His chest hurt. He looked down and saw a streak of red in his shirt. He expected to make an early exit from the dream in a pile of dust, but when a couple seconds went by and his bones didn’t start to shake, he guessed he was stuck here for a while. 

He checked down the front of his shirt. His bones were certainly slashed and his determination-steeped magic had splashed from them, but otherwise he seemed intact. Weird dream. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve to blot away the red he knew he’d oozed. It was always kind of funny to see it. It’d been such a shock as a kid when a doctor had taken a sample from him and it hadn’t been blue. This was really the only other time he’d seen it, on his way to his deathbed.

He wandered down the hall towards the King’s chambers. If something was here, it was probably over there. Plus, he thought he felt a tingling of that small, out of context string of determination that was Asriel.

When he heard a commotion ahead, he knew he’d reached the right place. In the dark near the barrier, he felt a strike of shock when she saw who he was certain was Chara despite wearing Frisk’s clothes, pulling a knife up out of a battered flower on the ground. Sans’s eyes narrowed.

Without a word, black in one socket and blazing blue in the other, he raised up a massive, draconic skull and grabbed the thing’s arm as she went in for another strike. She whirled on him, her face like some twisted, dark smile with red searing out of the eye sockets. She looked shocked to see him.

“You’re dead,” she spat.

“Hey, uh, likewise.” He winked. He grabbed her soul and tossed her just a foot, and before she could say another word, he blasted her to bits. 

Wasn’t hard at all. Easy as taking a breath. He’d never met a version of Chara that could help her level of violence from hitting the ceiling.

After a few seconds, there was no more Chara. The knife clunked impotently to the ground.When Sans turned back to Asriel, there was no point in asking if he was okay. He was cut in half. He was quivering, the one eye left leaking with tears, but he couldn’t seem to make a sound. He tried to slink away as Sans knelt down, but the skeleton sighed and gently pulled him up and held him in his cupped hands. He noticed leaves dropping and petals crumpled and drifting away. That had to be horrifying for the little guy.

“Jeez, bud,” he said quietly. “She did a real number on you, huh?”

The flower tried to squirm away, but Sans lit his eye up again and he froze with a look of horror on what was left of his face.

“Hey. Chill, okay? You’re gonna make it worse,” he said. “You know where you are?”

Asriel seemed to slump. He withered in the skeleton’s palms, a torn leaf reaching out and wrapping around his finger. 

“Okay. So. This is yours, I guess,” Sans said, taking a look around as he got up. He thought about offering to finish it for the little, broken thing, but the way he gripped to his fingers said that he wasn’t all there yet. Better to wait for when he could speak. “Think I might have an idea.”

He took them to Asgore’s silent house, chucked a flower on a table out of its pot and then put Asriel into it. He dumped a glass of water into the soil and then took an exploratory look in drawers and cabinets. Turned out the old King didn’t actually have much in the way of aids for growing flowers according to Asriel’s memories.

Sans had a second idea. He found a sewing kit in an end table and returned to the table. Asriel’s mug was on its side, dirt scattered as the little plant tried to drag himself to the edge. Sans picked him up and put him in front of him as he sat down. He pinched the eye of the needle and pulled out a thread of blue magic. Asriel recoiled.

“Chill out, bud. If we’re stuck, might as well not be miserable, right? Won’t hurt. Don’t worry.” He grabbed the little flower and numbed the split with some magic; pressed the parts together and started to slowly stitch them back into place. “Just slap me if you can feel it.”

Asriel didn’t react except to stare at the skeleton with a wide eye. He eventually began to wilt again and Sans paused, only to realize he was starting to be able to hear the whine of the kid’s voice. He continued and soon Asriel able to articulate faint curses under his breath.

“Heh. Never thought I’d say I’m glad to hear you swearin’ at me,” Sans said.

“Y-You w-would not believe h-how damn uncomfortable this is,” he muttered.

“I might,” he said. “You a bit back in your head?”

“I… I don’t know,” he said quietly. “Ah. Shit. Damn. Shit. Okay. Okay. You can stop.”

Sans chucked the needle and Asriel drew in a long, trembling breath. He put a leaf tentatively to those sparkling blue stitches and looked like he might be sick.

“Guess you’re locked in, huh?” he said. “Look. If you’re needin’ a certain kind of, uh, mercy…”

“No no no no,” Asriel said quickly. “No, I can’t… I don’t want…”

“Whatever you want,” Sans assured him. 

Asriel heaved out a deep sigh and looked up at the skeleton with his eye watering.“You… You gotta know. Ch-Chara took… Chara took Frisk, she… She’s…”

“Whoa. Hey. Relax,” Sans said. “You’re still in it.”

“No, no, I s-saw her, I—”

“Hey. Listen,” Sans said sternly. “You listenin’?” He waited for the little flower to nod. “It’s a dream. And she’s not even asleep.”

“What?! How c-could you—?!”

“Feel for her. You’ll see,” he said. “Plus. I just talked to her before I passed out. She’s stayin’ up with Paps and the gator girl to cook.”

Asriel looked floored. He cautiously touched his shattered face with a leaf and he lurched forward, weeping in raspy, aching breaths. All Sans could do was offer a hand. 

“Wh-Why…?! Why…? Why does she hate me?!” he choked. “What did I do?!”

“Kid, you didn’t do anything,” Sans said.

“E-Everything… Everything she does… It’s so cruel, I don’t…” He hiccoughed and wilted miserably. “J-Just when I’m… I… Just when I let her in, it’s… it’s like she’s jealous or something!! I thought… I thought I could maybe be… Ah… Damn it.”

The skeleton gently glowed his fingers. Asriel breathed hard. After a moment, he began to chuckle darkly.

“I’m pathetic,” he growled. “I just cried t-to her and now I’m… Ugh. In front of you?! So? What now? Where’s the jokes? Or will you kill me?” He glared up at Sans.

“Do you want me to waste you?” he asked, the skeleton’s tone surprising him with the concern in it. “Like I said. It’d get you out. Or…? Heh. You still a little stuck to back then, I guess? S’okay. Don’t trust me if you can’t. Whatever.”

“I…” Asriel gulped and the silence hung heavily in the air. “Y-Yeah.” His voice was a croak. “Sorry to make you w-waste your time. Do it.”

“Alright. See ya.” With a flick of his finger, a massive skull blaster appeared above the table zapped the flower kid into nothing.

When the light of the magic faded, nothing but a char on the planks was left. Sans breathed a sigh of relief and got up. As he stretched, the table collapsed. 

He caught himself feeling pretty sorry for him, but all this left a bad taste in his mouth. The flower kid’s dreams were getting worse the closer they got to the end. He wondered if there really might be some fragment of Chara still inside him. Rebelling as she felt like he was getting closer to leaving her behind forever, maybe? It was also plausible that it was just his mind playing tricks, the same way stress triggered his own dreams to become more violent. Didn’t matter either way, Sans thought. The end result was the same.

\- - -

When he woke, Sans found a square piece of cake by his mattress. He tried it as he got up and ambled out of his room. It was incredibly sweet, which was right up his alley. 

He paused at the railing and looked down into the living room. Frisk, Papyrus, and Bratty were all parked in front of the TV which showered them in the bright light of an MTT baking show. None of them looked very awake, though. Bratty had even clocked out using Frisk as an arm rest. Sans grinned fondly. Impossible to stay scared of that kid, wasn’t it?

He headed into the other bedroom. Asriel was up, playing around on the computer, a plate of only crumbs at his side.

“Been up long?” Sans asked.

Asriel whipped around. He let out a breath. “Hour or two. God, I am messed up.”

“Welp. Seen worse,” Sans said.

Asriel sighed. He stared at the skeleton for a while, silent. He grimaced. He turned back to the computer; tried to get back to what he was doing as Sans kicked back against the wall to eat his cake. 

Asriel began to slowly wilt and his leaves twitched. “You just gonna stand there?” he demanded. He twisted to glare at him. “What are you doing?!”

“Eatin’,” Sans said. He took a forkful of cake.

Asriel narrowed his eyes. His gaze was probing and frustrated. He turned back to the screen and rubbed a careful leaf over his brow. He sighed. “Hey. Uh. Thanks for… making it less garbage. A little.” It seemed almost to hurt him to say it.

“Not so bad for a smiley trash bag, right? Don’t sweat it,” Sans said.

Asriel scoffed, but he slowly wilted. He let out a weak sigh. “…I don’t mean to snap,” he grumbled quietly.

“S’alright, I don’t care,” Sans said.

“What the hell do I do about her?” he muttered.

“Ignore her,” Sans said.

“It’s not that easy,” he said.

Sans shrugged. Asriel sighed again. He sounded so morose. He looked at Sans with big eyes, and then turned away quickly.

“So, uh… These… These dorks online, they, um… They’re still speculating about the _UGH_ special and the play,” he said quietly. “It’s, uh… It’s kinda funny. How wrong they are. You, um…? I dunno, you wanna…?”

Sans spared him and took a seat at the desk, slumping on his elbow and stacking his plate. He pretended he didn’t notice the corners of the flower’s mouth twitch upwards slightly. Must’ve been pretty damn confusing for the little guy. 

\- - -

Morning was heralded by the barking of many dogs at once for the little lizard who had fallen asleep at her computer. She blinked groggily and unpeeled her face from the table and blinked up through blurry eyes at the dimmed screen. She groped around for her glasses and put them on. 

She stared blearily at the heart-shaped icons on her screen. Frisk’s, the monsters’, and the hypothetical one for Asriel. Her soul sped and she smiled. She leaned back in her seat and stretched her arms high above her head until her back popped in a very satisfying way. 

“Almost there,” she said in a sleepy sing-song voice. “Almost there.” She snickered. She felt a little ping of excitement. 

She wondered what Asriel would look like when they were done. She wondered how his parents would react. Asgore was like her: he’d probably ugly-cry through whatever happened. She didn’t know Toriel, though. Or, she supposed she had, but she didn’t remember her at all. She hoped she’d be happy. It was probably going to be overwhelming for everyone. For her, too, she thought as her scales flushed and she smiled sheepishly. She imagined how happy he would be to have a body again. She hoped they could do him justice.

She rubbed at her eyes and did some checks through her datasets. More readings were still coming in through the radio app. It was more than she’d hoped for, and the numbers were still promising, the blue magic sticking firm. She pulled up some basic census data from a few years ago. It struck her rather abruptly and embarrassingly that she should have maybe conducted another one. There was no time now, though. They took weeks. Maybe if she’d started the day she’d heard the plan… She took a deep breath and put a hand to her chest, shaking her head and trying to ignore that shameful sinking feeling. It was fine, she told herself as she checked over the soul calculations again, just as she had every night since she’d acquired them. Things still checked out, didn’t they? Solidarity was building, Frisk would have enough determination once Asriel released his in the soul burst, and there was theoretically more than enough monsters to contribute a small scrap of magic towards saving the little boy. It would be fine, she assured herself again. She wondered what it would feel like.

Pulling on a snuggly pink robe, Alphys waddled around, gathering up a plethora of breakfast foods and fruity sodas, and then brought them downstairs. Some of the amalgamate monsters were were awake and wandering, so she dragged out a table and slowly set things up for everyone to take. She awkwardly grabbed the massive bag of kibble and poured it into a bowl on the floor. She made sure to back out of the way as the sound of nails scrabbling against the tiles abruptly began.

Big Dog ran right into the wall as if out of nowhere and their huge face hole was plunged into the bowl instantly. Alphys smiled fondly. She felt a strong hand on her shoulder and turned to see giant teeth and scowling eyes.

“MOVIE,” Lemons demanded. “Movie! We’re bored!”

“First th-thing in the morning, huh?” She smiled. “O-Okay.”

The monster seemed pleased, and they grabbed her hand and lifted it. “Arm wrestle!” they insisted.

“Well, th-that’s not fair, you’re definitely g-going to beat me,” she joked.

“Do it ANYWAY!” Lemons said.

“Okay, o-okay!” She let herself get whisked across the room. She was going to regret this later, she was sure.

Alphys didn’t fully snap out of the morning fog until her phone started to ring over an hour later. She got unstuck from between some of the amalgams as they watched one of Mettaton’s few feature films and slipped off. 

Stashing herself in the bath room, she sat on the edge of the tub, rubbing her elbow as she answered. “M-Moshi moshi,” she said, trying not to yawn.

“Hey, babe,” Undyne said. “How you doing?”

“Ah! U-Undyne!” Alphys started blushing instantly. She rubbed her headspikes. “Uhh… H-How are you? I m-mean! Um. I’m fine.”

“You busy?” 

“Uhhh… N-Nooo, not r-really, why?” Alphys said. 

“You, uh…? You wanna hang out for a bit? I was gonna do a dump run,” she said.

“Oh! Um. O-Okay. You, um, y-you have anything in mind?” she asked.

“Well, it’s just… I dunno. Maybe this’ll sound sappy,” Undyne said. “But… I dunno. I really want something for the kid.”

“Oh y-yeah? That’s sweet,” Alphys said.

“Pah! If I can ever find something she’ll like,” she said. “And. I mean. You never know. We might find a stupid flower pot or something.”

Alphys grinned. “O-Okay. Yeah. I’ll m-meet up with you soon.”

Before even getting dressed, however, Alphys took some time to set out some things for the monsters in her care to do— some books, games, more movies— and some snacks, before she took the elevator back upstairs. She sat at her desk and shoved some of the mess aside and began to write a letter to Asgore. She detailed a false plan of action for the soul vessel— something to set his mind at ease. It wouldn’t be much longer now, but if she could give him just a little peace, she’d do what she could.

She folded it into an airplane shape and threw it out the east door and down the path. She wasn’t sure why, but she’d been told a long time ago that urgent letters sent down the road that way would always get to the King and, to her surprise, it had always worked without fail. In fact, the process was so efficient that, just after she’d gotten dressed and was about to head out the door, she received an alert on her UnderNet page in the form of a very polite and grateful message from the King informing her he’d already received it.

\- - -

After stumbling through the crystal-lit pathways and through the grass that lit up at the touch, Alphys caught sight of Undyne in front of the cavern into the dump. She was flexing and stretching— doing a warm-up. Alphys blushed at the sight of her. She felt her soul stutter. She liked it. 

As she got closer, Undyne caught her eye and turned with a huge grin on her face. “Hey, Alph!” she said brightly. “Hey, cute shirt.”

The lizard stuttered for a moment and stumbled to look at her t-shirt, though it seemed pretty unremarkable to her. “Ah. I… I j-just kinda threw it on, um… I d-didn’t even… Um…” She paused, steadied herself, and took a deep breath. “I’m happy to see you.”

“Glad you could come so early!” she said.

Undyne dove into the dump eagerly, crashing through the water. Alphys followed her to one of the falls that dropped from far above, slow and quiet as far as waterfalls were concerned. Undyne put her hands on her hips and tilted her head back, squinting upwards.

“Think anyone ever tried to climb all the way up?” she wondered.

“I’m sure,” Alphys said. “But… I-It wouldn’t matter, you know? Th-The barrier…”

“Right. Right right.” She shot the lizard an embarrassed grin. “When I was a kid, I thought it was just over the big door near Asgore’s. Heh. I could never get very far up though. Oh!” She jumped over into the falls and held her arms out.

A large black plastic bag thudded into her grasp. She stumbled back a step and grinned brightly.

“Oh!! H-Hey, that’s g-good luck!” Alphys said. She looked up the falls and thought she saw another shape. She grabbed Undyne’s arm and moved her back a few steps.

Something a bit heavier crashed down into the lightly flowing water around their legs. Alphys wiped the water from her face and bent down to feel around for it. She pulled up a set of handlebars.

“Oh! Hey, that’s for one of those riding things, right?” she said. “Is the whole thing in there?”

“Ummm…” Alphys groped around and her hand came to rest on some bars. She could feel they were metal, but they were rough against her fingers. “Ah! I think s-so. It’s rusted, though.”

“Figures.” Undyne knocked part of a nearby pile of junk over and set the bag on top of it. She stuck her claws into it near where it was tied shut. A bunch of trash and dust seeped out. “Ah. Looks kinda boring.”

“Mm. Look, you can’t e-even tell what most of this w-was,” Alphys said with a laugh. She spotted something smoother than the rest and brown and brushed some of the dust away from it to reveal a weathered old book. “Ooh, wow, t-take a look at this!”

“Nice!” Undyne took it and carefully flipped through a few pages. “Ah. Can’t read it.”

“No?” Alphys squinted at it and took a turn skimming through it; it certainly wasn’t in English. “Oh! Y-Yeah, that’s…? I’m not sure, actually!”

She put it under her arm and Undyne shrugged. There was a little droop in her ears, though, as she tossed the rest of the unusable junk over her shoulder. She delved into the pile below it, up to her elbows, making a very serious face. 

“A-Anything?” Alphys asked.

“Not sure. I’m just tryin’ to… AH!” She yanked out a hunk of something, but her grin instantly faded when it seemed to be just a soggy piece of old mattress. She threw it away like a discus, and it splatted pathetically against a wall. “Gross.”

She moved through piles quickly, her long legs and her water-tuned form carrying her swiftly through the dark cavern. Alphys waded more carefully, lighting her way with her phone. She watched with interest as Undyne zeroed in on different spots of junk dug through them, growling when she didn’t pull up something she wanted.

“Do you want to use m-my phone? For light?” Alphys asked.

“Nah, I’m good,” she said. She scooped up some metal and pouted. “Ugh. I thought this would be easier.”

“Hey, no rush, right?” the lizard said gently, putting a hand on her arm. “What’s the h-hurry?”

“Ah. Nothing. Nothing. It’s just… I dunno, we’re going soon, right? And the kid, she’s still… I dunno. I just want her to feel…” She looked frustrated and rubbed the back of her head. “Ugh, sorry, it’s hard to explain.”

Undyne delved back into a pile and her ears perked up. She pulled up a small clay pot, but before she could even say anything, it came apart in her hands. “Aw man, that wouldda been perfect,” she said.

“For Frisk?” Alphys asked.

“Oh! Uh. No. For the, uh, flower kid,” Undyne said, chucking the pieces away. “Ah, it’s all porous and watery anyway, never mind.”

“W-We’re getting out soon, remember?” Alphys said gently, shooting her a smile. “He… I mean, he’s n-not supposed t-to stay a flower.”

“Right. Right right right,” the fish monster said with a nod. “Oh. Man. That means… Maybe a shirt or something? Hey, I mean, he is a kid, right? You know how old he is?”

“Umm… He told me he was, um, thirteen. W-When everything happened,” she said. 

“Jeez,” she said quietly. “Young.”

“Y-Yeah.” Alphys felt her chest get tight. She took a deep breath. “So. I m-mean. I, um, d-don’t know the growth rate of the type of m-monster Asgore is. So. I mean, he was p-probably pretty small, though, right? M-Maybe a bit bigger than Frisk? She’s, what? Ten? Eleven? I… can’t remember. A-Anyway. Um. I bet that would be nice, though.” She smiled weakly. “T-To have something for when he’s… um. You know.”

“Right!” Undyne went back to digging right away.

Alphys felt a surge of pride. She gently patted Undyne’s shoulder as she bent over and then made her own way through the heaps of junk. 

She pried open an old plastic cooler and found something that was definitely food in a package inside. She grinned and put the whole thing aside. Some cracked CDs in cases and what looked like it might be an old video game cartridge followed suit. When she looked back at Undyne, she was elbow deep in a garbage pile again.

“Anything?” she called.

“I think… Maybe I… AH!!!” Undyne ripped something free of the pile and held it up. 

It was a bit too dark for Alphys to see from where she was, but Undyne let out an excited whoop.

“It’s perfect!! It’s PERFECT!! Look!” She vaulted over a trash tower and shoved her prize towards Alphys. “I mean, it's filthy and awful but it’s perfect. Look.”

The little lizard took one look and began to smile. A small, thin zippered hoodie, teal blue in colour with a large, cream coloured spot (or it would have been if not soaked with algae) across the chest and little fabric pointed ears on the hood. 

“That looks like it might actually fit her, right?!” Undyne said.

“Y-Yeah! Yeah, actually, it’s just small enough and…” She turned it over, wondering why it had been thrown out. “Ah! There’s some rips in it. Th-That’s easy to deal with. We c-can wash it at the lab, if you want?”

“Hell yeah! Oh! Okay.” She whipped it into the cooler Alphys had set up and it squished down into it with a disconcerting _shlurp _sound. “Okay, I’m goin’ back in.”

Turned out, after a few more minutes of digging, there was a batch of clothes in there that looked like they’d been thrown out together. Most of it was just pieces; unrepairable, but people could always use scraps of cloth. There was, however, a blue t-shirt with an entirely unintelligible design on it, another similar one with what might have been a yellow stripe across the chest that was all but ripped in half, and shoes that were destroyed beyond use. However, below all that, in the remains of what might have once been a backpack, sat exactly what Undyne had been searching for. Another hoodie, thicker this time and a pullover. It was brown, probably, with darker, triangular stripes along the back, a large set also in brown and a smaller line down the middle in green, which matched the hood. One sleeve was almost completely detached, the pocket in the front was hanging on by a thread, and the hood itself was ripped clean through. This one was too big for Frisk, but if Asriel was going to be taller than her… Undyne beamed and pulled it up out of the garbage. She showed it to Alphys, who began to grin and clapped her hands.

“P-Perfect!” she said.

They returned to the lab after a little more exploration with a cooler full of junk. As the clothes ran through a wash, they cuddled together on Alphys’s bed, watching a bit of TV. Undyne felt a little giddy.She leaned around the little lizard, cozied in her lap, and rested her chin on her shoulder.

“Hey,” she said. She grinned when she saw her blush. “I was wonderin’. Before we go. Out there and everything. I got this grass around and these flowers in the back of the dump that I sorta use for tea. Would you wanna grab some with me? I’d kinda like to see how they grow up there.”

“Oh! Y-Yeah, of course!” Alphys assured her quickly. “Hmm… I… I can’t remember. If it d-did or not.”

“Me neither.” Undyne raised her brows. “Hey. What do you remember? Did you get back anything from the kiddo? Of, like… stuff outside?”

“Ah… I-It’s… It’s funny,” Alphys said with an embarrassed smile. “I… E-Everything I remember, it's all inside.” Her scales flushed. “And… A-And it’s a-all with you.”

Undyne looked taken aback. She smiled fondly and kissed her brow before resting comfortably against her. “Tell me what you saw.”

“Um! Well.” She held onto her arms. “I s-saw us unpacking boxes together.”

“Did we live together?” she asked. “Guess we must’ve, right?”

“Y-Yeah. We were, um, just m-moving in,” she said. “Um. D-Do you… want to do that again?”

“Yeah, I like the sound of that,” she said.

“Oh g-good!” Alphys blew the words out like a sigh. She giggled, snorted, and rubbed her snout. “M-Me, too. I, um… I s-saw… Well. Just nice stuff f-from the house, m-mostly. A little b-bit of, um, the n-new lab. H-How, um…? How about you?”

“Beach,” she said dreamily. “Ocean. I… I almost see the sun.”

“Oh wow,” Alphys said, awed. “What was it l-like?”

“Hot!” Undyne laughed. “But the water… Ah. It doesn’t go that far, but I remember this cold breeze and it smelled like salt. It’s only, uh, short chunks at a time. But I’m real excited to see that again.”

“Oh yeah?” she said.

“Yeah, I’m gonna jump in there and I’m gonna swim down until I touch the bottom!” she stated confidently. “I mean. You think there’s a bottom? I wanna go as deep as I can!”

“I know y-you can do it,” Alphys assured her. 

“I also see lunch,” Undyne joked.

The lizard snickered. She let out a squeak and jumped to her feet as her girlfriend flopped over awkwardly behind her.

“L-Lunch! We should m-make lunch! Come on,” she said.

\- - -

Food and clothing repairs were interrupted by a call from Mettaton. It seemed very technical and serious, but it had Alphys’s eyes utterly sparkling. Undyne excused herself after reattaching sleeves and pockets, smooching the lizard on the head just as she headed out. Maybe it’d be good to see the kids in the calm before everything went down, she thought. 

She did a quick look around Waterfall— a makeshift patrol, she supposed— before heading out to the entrance of the cave towards Snowdin. Something was strange in the water, though. It was slow today, and colder to the touch than she expected. The answer to that was probably in the direction she was going, anyway, though.

She was surprised to find it much darker than usual down that tunnel towards the town. She could feel a chill in the air and soon came up against a surprising wall that plugged up everything before her. The river was barely trickling through the barrier. She touched it gently and found it freezing. Scraping her fingers through it, she realized it was snow.

With a frown on her face, she pulled out her phone and dialled Papyrus. As always, two rings and he answered.

“Hello, you’ve reached the Great Papyrus!” he said brightly.

“Hey, Paps,” Undyne said. “Uh, somethin’ weird going on in Snowdin today?”

“Weird? No, not really, I… OH! Wait, yes! Sorry! It’s one of our magic refresh days when there’s a massive blizzard and everything is covered in snow,” he said. “Why?”

“Oooh. That’s what that is,” she said, mostly to herself. “Right, we do that too. Uh. So is it safe, or…?”

“Well, I suppose so, it’s just not good to be out when it’s coming down,” he said, “Why?”

“Hm. Alright. I’m comin’ over,” she said.

“What?! How?!” he demanded. 

“I’ll figure it out,” she said.

She hung up on the skeleton making an alarmed squawking sound and eyed the wall of snow skeptically. She dragged her claws through it. She drew her fist back and her magic crackled cyan in her palm until a spear burst into being. She drew it back and stabbed, again and again, the magic shocking the cavern with colour. She’d get through eventually.

\- - -

The skeleton household was abuzz with cooking and TV again. Frisk had rested overnight, but not really slept. She and Asriel wore similar, dark-eyed expressions, but she was happy. Papyrus was showing Bratty how to finish off a pasta sauce as the last of their stuff from the Archives finished burning onto disks.

Asriel was keeping much to himself, hiding under the table and reading. Sans had also been reading, same book as last night, but he’d clocked out on the couch, as was his custom. Using the book as a pillow, funnily enough. Frisk slid it away from him and replaced it with a real one when she took note of it. 

She yawned and rubbed her eyes, dropping down heavily on the floor. She didn't realize she’d drifted off until she jerked upright as Bratty caught her by her shoulders. The alligator smiled a big, toothy grin at her and patted her back.

“Almost passing out, huh?” she said. “Guess humans need, like, a ton of sleep, huh?”

“More than none,” Frisk joked.

“The pasta is almost done!” Papyrus called from the kitchen.

Bratty smiled. “Your brother’s pretty good at that, huh? S’like he’s done it a thousand times.”

“Probably more,” Frisk said. 

“Hey. Human. Is it true that, like, when humans eat and stuff,” Bratty said, “that it goes all through their body and they have to shoot it out their butt?”

Frisk blinked back at her and burst out laughing. She almost fell over again, absolutely choking. “I…! I guess that’s true!” She had to gasp for air; giggled loudly and rubbed her face. “Oh my god, their butts.”

“You’re such a kid,” Asriel chided.

“It’s funny!” she protested.

“Is it?” Bratty grinned sideways and rubbed her hair. “So. Is that a human thing or a human food thing?”

“It’s the food,” Frisk said as she started to catch her breath. “Definitely the food. Doesn’t happen with monster food.”

“What about that red stuff inside you? Why do you bleed metal?” she asked.

“Uhh…” Frisk looked at her hands. “Do we bleed metal…? I… I don’t know.”

“It smells, like, totally metallic,” Bratty said.

“Oxidization,” Sans interjected sleepily. 

“What?” Bratty turned back to look at him with raised brows. “What’s that?”

Sans leaned up on his hand very slightly, and only one of his eyes was barely open.

“Seen metal from the human world? It rusts,” he said. “There’s a tiny bit of the same stuff inside human blood. When it hits the air, the oxygen reacts with it and makes that, uh, metal smell.”

“Wow, how’d you know that?” she said, wide-eyed.

“Eh. Read a lot. Studied some stuff,” he said with a half-hearted shrug. 

“Oh good, I’m not all full of metal,” Frisk said.

“Course not,” Sans said.

“That would make magnets a huge pain, right?” she said.

“Sure would.”

“Is there, like, anything you can tell me about what it’s like up there?” Bratty asked. “How many humans are there?”

“I dunno. A lot, I think,” she said.

“So, like, won’t they try to just push us back in when we get out?” she asked worriedly.

“No, they’re not right up the mountain. They’re pretty far away,” she said.

“Oh. But, like…” She halted her thought as Papyrus brought out some pasta for everyone, balancing it on his arms without an ounce of effort. She gladly accepted a plate from him as he passed them out. “Oh, hey, thanks!”

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but unfortunately Frisk won’t be able to tell you too much about humans,” he said as he sat down with his lunch. “She didn’t know many of them at all up there.”

“So…? Wait, really? What is it, like, a weird dystopian future up there?” Bratty asked around a forkful of noodles. “All the humans scattered all over? Is it totally wrecked up there?”

“Nah. I’m just kinda a street kid,” Frisk said with a shrug. “Or. I was.”

“Now you are a house kid!” Papyrus said brightly. 

“Okay, so, what about the sun? How hot is it?” Bratty asked. “Is it true it flies all through the sky super fast every day?”

“I bet it’s super super super hot up close,” Frisk said, “but it’s really far away!”

“What? Far away?” Bratty said. She made a circle with her thumb and forefinger. “But it looks like, this big, right? So how far is it?”

“Oh man, it’s way too far for me to even explain,” she said. “It’s really huge though! It’s bigger than the whole world!”

“Bigger than the whole world?!” Her jaw dropped for a moment and she wiped sauce from her snout quickly. “No way!! That’s crazy!!”

“Here.” Sans held out their space book over her shoulder, his finger wedging a certain page open. “Look. We’re Earth.”

“Earth…” Bratty held the book gently and opened it. Her eyes got wide as saucers. “Are you serious?! Is this right?!”

“Sure is,” Sans said.

“Like, oh my god, no way,” she said, though her eyes had gone starry. 

Papyrus hadn’t seen it. He got up and leaned over to look at a small diagram of a few planets and their scale relative to the sun. Even Asriel’s curiosity got the better of him and he wheeled himself over.

Before the conversation could continue, Frisk’s phone rang. She squeaked and fumbled to answer it.

“Hi?” Frisk asked.

“H-Hello?” Alphys’s voice came through on the speaker setting. She sounded shrill and excited. “F-Frisk? Is everyone there? Did Undyne make it?”

“Oh, is she coming?” Her face lit up. “Um, not yet, but we can catch her up? But, um—”

“Oh! O-Okay! Um. So, Mettaton c-called me up and we did a lot of talking a-about the solidarity and th-the soul build? And e-everything is looking really good!”

“Uh, Doctor—” Papyrus said.

“D-Don’t worry! I’m s-sure it’s all going t-to work! B-But I was, um, th-thinking we could all d-discuss what we’re doing with all this b-barrier stuff and then s-soul binding and all th-that,” she said. “Frisk, Asriel, do you h-have any idea of when you w-want to go meet Asgore yet?”

Frisk felt like she could melt and she looked around at the others. Bratty was gawking; Papyrus had frozen up, his hands to his mouth. Asriel looked like he was nursing a headache. Sans’s expression hadn’t changed in the least.

“Wait, you’re doing WHAT?!” the alligator blurted.

“AHH! Wh-What?! B-Bratty?! Is that you?!” Alphys demanded.

“Uh, duh!” she said, leaning in over the phone as if she could look it in the eye. “What’s all this soul stuff?! What’s going on?!”

“Uhhhh…” Alphys was probably sweating. “Uuuhmmm… Is, um… I-Is it to late to, uh, p-p-p-pretend I never…? Uhhhh… No, no, of course it is, th-that’s so stupid…”

“I’m sure it’s fine!” Frisk said shrilly.

“But what did all that mean?!” Bratty asked. “A soul build?! The barrier?! Asgore?! Like… LIKE! WHAT? Oh my god, wait, is that what Met—?!”

“Wait! Um! I… I c-can e-e-explain!” Alphys stuttered. “Um… Uhhh…” 

“Okay. So.” Sans stuck a finger in the air, catching everyone’s attention. “Here’s the thing. See the kid?” He pointed at Frisk.

“Uh. Yeah?” Bratty said.

“She’s got superpowers,” he said. “Can’t be killed. Can go back in time.”

“You’re joking,” she said.

“Absolutely not,” Papyrus said.

“Hm. So. This kid?” Sans pointed at Asriel. “Him and the other kid can break the barrier together.”

“What?!” she barked.

“Plan is, plant kid takes all the souls in the underground, then let’s ‘em go. It counts as number seven. We’re out. Then. Remember Mettaton’s show?” he said.

“Yeeeeah?” she said.

“So. S’kinda true,” Sans continued. “Kid’s the prince. Needs a soul to get his body back. If every monster gives him a small chunk of soul, no one’ll be worse for wear and he won’t be stuck as a plant.”

“Jeez, we just telling anyone now?!” Asriel yelped.

“Wait. Wait wait. You’re the prince? Like, the dead prince?” Bratty said, twisting to stare at him, wide-eyed.

“Ugh. Yeah. Yeah, that’s me,” he said, leaning around her to shoot the skeleton a glare. “Thanks a lot, bonehead.”

Sans shrugged. 

Bratty looked between all of them. Alphys could be heard breathing heavily into the phone.

“A-As if. You guys are joking, right?” Bratty insisted.

“Um. Nnnooo, nope, no jokes,” Papyrus said. “Sorry! I know it’s complicated and strange but everything Doctor Alphys and my brother said was true.”

“Ah, B-Bratty, I’m s-sorry, I didn’t realize…” Alphys stammered. “Um! Pl-Please don’t be worried, though, th-the soul thing is—”

“That’s why you asked me back then,” she said quietly. “That’s what Mettaton was talking about, right? At the café. Like, oh my god.”

“It, um… It saves the world. The soul thing,” Frisk said. “He really needs it. That’s, um, kind of why we put on the play. So maybe monsters might help if they sort of had an idea of what was going on?”

The alligator looked around the room, eyes wide. She stared down at Asriel. “So… Your name’s not actually Flowey, huh?”

“No,” he said. 

She picked up his mug and looked him in the face. She tilted her head.“So, like… in the play. You were… evil? Right? Why?”

“I… Ah. Damn it, Alphys,” he joked.

“S-S-Sorry!” she squeaked.

He laughed. “I didn’t have a soul,” he said. “I still don’t. It’s only thanks to Frisk that I’m not actively trying to stop this. When you don’t have a soul, you basically become a sociopath. And worse. So.”

“But if you get one, you’ll get better,” Bratty said.

“That’s the plan,” Frisk said. “Um. It’s hard to explain. But, um… D-Doing this isn’t just good for him, it ends up helping the whole underground. So, we were hoping—”

“I get it,” the alligator said. “When are you guys doing this?”

Frisk was taken aback, but she didn’t have an answer. 

“Day after tomorrow,” Asriel said.

The kid looked at him with surprise; couldn’t help but feel proud of him.

“Oh. Okay. Wow. That’s pretty sudden. Like, how can I help?” Bratty asked.

“What?! Really? You’d like to help?!” Papyrus yelped. “Wowie, that’s amazing.”

“Yeah. I mean. Yeah! That sounds totally important,” she said. “I can tell my friends. I mean, once they know, they’ll definitely be sure to help out. I mean, if it means breaking the barrier, that’s, like, totally wicked, so…”

“Wow, really?” Frisk’s eyes glimmered, “That’d be great!”

“Anything reliable is good at this point,” Sans agreed.

“Oh! Um! B-Bratty? If you c-can… If you can b-be, um, p-punctual? I know something you c-can do,” Alphys said. “Plus, uh… Y-You can meet Mettaton.”

“What?! Seriously?” She all but glowed and grinned wide. “Yeah, sure, I’ll do anything! Can I bring Catty?”

“A-As long as y-you two c-can keep on task,” Alphys said. “M-Mettaton’s g-going to need a little help s-setting up a broadcast ahead of time. Um. Asriel? When did you want to go?”

The flower tilted his head. He looked at Frisk. She cupped her chin.

“Um. Need to give mom enough time,” she said. “And Mettaton. And Alphys. Right?”

“Ah… Y-Yeah. I have to prepare the, um… Well. Y-You know. The, um… guys,” Alphys said.

“Okay. We’ll do it at four,” Asriel said.

“Oh? Why four?” Papyrus asked.

“I just want a time, I don’t know. There. It’s settled,” Asriel said quickly. “Okay? Okay.”

“Okay! Th-That should b-be just fine,” Alphys said. “How about n-noon, then, Bratty? C-Can you and C-Catty meet at the CORE tower?”

“For sure,” Bratty said. “Hah! This sounds totally important. I’m kinda psyched to do this. Lemme put an alarm on my phone. I totally won’t forget, Alphys! I promise.”

“I know I c-can count on you!” the lizard said brightly. “Thanks B-Bratty. Okay. Ummm… I will… call you guys again a little l-later, okay? Or, um… Y-Yeah. I’ll c-call. I’ll let th-the others know about the time. Um… B-Bye everyone!”

Alphys hung up quickly. Frisk put her face in her hands and laughed tiredly. Sans grinned sympathetically and patted her head. 

“I’m proud of you, Asriel,” Papyrus said.

“Don’t deserve it.” He took a deep breath. “Ah hell.”

“This is really a big deal, huh?” Bratty asked. 

“I feel like I’m gonna puke and I can’t even actually do that,” Asriel grumbled.

Frisk held out her hands. The alligator passed him to her, and she gently cradled him and kissed his forehead.

“It’s gonna be fine,” she assured him gently. “Hey. Look. Bratty just got here and she already agreed to help out, okay? Monsters are amazing. They’ll help you. I know it.”

“Why would you ever think that, like, monsters wouldn’t want to help you, Prince?” Bratty asked.

“D-Don’t… I’m not the Prince anymore,” Asriel said quickly. “But. I mean. You saw the play. That stuff Mettaton acted out, that’s not even close to the worst things I did.”

“Well. Okay. I don’t totally get it,” she admitted. “But did you, like, miss the ending or whatever? Everyone was really inspired. I got really into it. I know everyone around me did, too.”

“See, Asriel?” Papyrus said reassuringly. “Solidarity! It will be perfectly fine! Trust us!” 

Asriel didn’t look the least bit convinced, but he nodded anyway.

Bratty couldn’t keep a grin from her face. She pulled out her phone and started texting furiously. “I, like, can’t even believe this,” she said excitedly. “The barrier, for real?! This. Is. Gonna. Be. Sweet.”

“Sure hope so,” Frisk said.

“Like, I can’t even believe…! It’s coming up so fast! Oh man! Can I, like…? I gotta call Catty!”

“You can use our room for privacy if you like,” Papyrus said.

“Ah, thanks, dude, you’re great,” she said.

She skipped away and slammed the door behind her. They could hear her giggling right away. Frisk let out a sigh and flopped backwards onto the floor. Asriel huffed out a soft, exhausted laugh.

“Shit…” he said. “Welp. That’s the end of me.”

“No it’s not, it’s the start of you,” Papyrus said with a smile.

“Okay but if this doesn’t work and I’m just like a totally soulless this again at the end, you guys need to just kill the heck out of me, okay?”

“Nobody’s killing you,” the skeleton said shrilly.

“But if this doesn’t work at all you really should,” he said. “Just, like, set all of me on fire, it’ll be great.”

“NO.” Papyrus crossed his arms and looked at him sternly. “And no means no and that is final!”

Asriel chuckled. “It’s okay, Sans’ll do it.”

“No he won’t, that ridiculous!” Papyrus chided. He scooped him up and cupped his little face with shining amber sparkles. “I know it’ll be okay. And nobody’s going to kill you. Um, Frisk, are you okay down there?”

Frisk stuck her thumb up into the air and then let her hand drop onto her face. She rubbed her brows and sighed, letting out a quiet snicker. “I don’t believe this.”

“Yes, these are definitely unexpected circumstances,” Papyrus said.

“Yeah, but…” She sat up again and held out her hands for Asriel. “C’mere. Stop this whole killing thing, okay? It’s going to be fine.”

“Okay, one, you don’t know that, and two, it’s a good thing,” he said. “Believe it or not, I… I mean. Listen. I like you. I… kind of like all of you. But if I lose this determination from you? I’m empty again. If you don’t wreck me, I’m going to come for you.”

“But you can make the choice—” Frisk said, though her voice was a little weak. She didn’t really believe it. 

Asriel shook his head. “Sooner or later. No matter what. I’ll come for you again,” he said. “So you—”

“Better get this right!” she said with a smile.

“Heh. Yeah. That,” he said.


	78. The Superstar Skeleton Arc

Bratty was barely a shade away from glowing when she returned. She was so excited, in fact, that she grabbed Frisk and had her explain the whole thing again, from the start. The kid kept the timeline talk very, very simple and underplayed, but Bratty seemed to understand what was going on for the most part.

They finally took a moment to relax and managed to get one of the movies from the Archives running. It was animated, and not in English, but it was very pleasant. The settings were bright and vibrant, and just watching it could make someone all but feel the wind. All the monsters sans Sans peppered Frisk with questions about what things were, and how things worked, and she answered as best as she could.

About fifteen minutes in, out of nowhere, the door was kicked in and a heap of snow fell into the living room. Papyrus shrieked and instinctively grabbed Asriel and Frisk away from it and pulled back against the wall. Even Sans rose up slightly.

“NGAAAH!” Undyne burst out of the pile with her fists raised. “AH! That took way too long! Hi!”

“Holy crap,” Asriel said.

“Oh!! Hello, Undyne!” Papyrus said.

Frisk grinned and ran to hug her. She snickered and scooped her up to give her an affectionate squish. 

“Ah, you’re so chilly!” Frisk said.

“Should be!” She mussed up the kid’s hair and then plunked her down again. She raised her brows when she saw Bratty. “Oh. Uh. Hi.”

The alligator grinned and waved sheepishly. 

Undyne turned and began to heave armfuls of snow out the door again. Papyrus instantly perked up and began to help. She laughed.

“Sorry to get all this stuff on your floor!” she said. “What’s goin’ on over here?”

“Snowed in,” Frisk joked. “And Alphys accidentally spilled all the beans so Bratty and her friends know about the plan now, but they’re gonna help Mettaton with his solidarity broadcast thing.”

“Welp. Didn’t expect that.” Undyne laughed and shot the alligator a smile. “Thanks, huh? S’important.”

“For sure,” she said, reaching out to pause the movie. “Didn’t expect this when I entered that contest, but, like, I’m pretty glad. You ever met a human before, Captain Undyne?”

“Ah. Yeah.” She shot the kid a fond smile. “Not what I expected.”

“I know, right? I thought they had wings and metal inside them, and like none of that was true,” Bratty said.

Though Asriel rolled his eyes, Frisk giggled. Papyrus scooped her up under her arms and held her against his chest. 

“Oh, hey, Bratty! If Captain Undyne got in, that means you can go home whenever you want!” Papyrus said.

“Oh! Heh. Yeah, like, you’re right.” Her scales flushed and she grinned bashfully. “You guys wouldn’t mind if I, like, stayed for the end of the movie, though, would you?”

“Not at all!” Papyrus assured her. “Stay as long as you like!”

\- - -

Undyne settled in with them and they started up the movie again from the start, and once it was done, Papyrus left to walk Bratty home through the snow tunnel, propping it up with bone scaffolding as they went.

As Undyne borrowed their kitchen to boil some water, Frisk stretched, yawned, and wiped her eyes. Asriel slid in close to her and looked up at her curiously.

“You’re, uh, going to sleep before that whole thing soon, right?” he asked.

“Um. Y-Yeah,” she said. “Yeah. I’ll do my best.”

“Good.” He crossed his leaves and his brow furrowed. “My life depends on it. So. You know. Don’t screw it up. Take a page outta that bonehead’s book.” He pointed at Sans, who hadn’t moved in over an hour.

“Right,” she said.

“Hey, fishface,” Asriel said, turning towards the kitchen. “Day after tomorrow. Four in the afternoon. Goin’.”

“What, really?!” She stuck her head through the doorway, eye wide. “Serious?”

“Yeah, so get ready or whatever,” Asriel said.

“Damn. Well. Okay,” she said. “That’s progression. Alright. I’m down. What do I gotta do?”

“Show up?” Frisk suggested with a sheepish smile. “Um. Maybe stick with Alphys?”

“That won’t be a problem,” she said. “And that, uh, alligator girl and her friends, they alright?”

“They’ll speed up whatever that metal weirdo’s doing, I guess. Or. Alphys’ll give ‘em a job. Who knows?” Asriel said. “I don’t really care at all, actually.”

“Great to be part of the team,” Undyne said, rolling her eye as she vanished back into the kitchen.

“I’m really glad to have you on the team this time,” Frisk said brightly. “I mean. You always kinda were. But before it was mostly just me and Sans because of the memory thing for most of it. It’s… It’s so nice to not have to worry about you guys so much anymore.”

“Why did you bother, there wasn’t anything you could do,” Asriel said.

“Because I love them, you know?” the kid said.

Undyne made a bit of a choking sound from the kitchen. She was out again in just a few seconds, hands full of mugs. She gave the kids one each and then shoved the others haphazardly onto the table before bending to give Frisk a hug. She was surprised, but she grinned wide and snuggled right into the monster’s arms.

“I wouldn’t give it up,” Undyne said. “Not even if I remembered every timeline, ever. I mean, hell. You gotta deal with it, right? And… I bet it helps a lot to have whoever you can, right?”

“Helps especially when their name is Undyne and they’re super cool!” Frisk said.

She snickered and mussed up the kid’s hair, and then held her shoulders and shot her a big grin. “Got somethin’ for you,” she said. She whisked the thin zip-up hoodie out of her phone and then handed it over. “Found it. You like this kinda thing, right?”

“Ohmigosh!” Frisk held it up to look at it and beamed. “That’s so nice!! Can I…?”

Undyne scoffed and helped her into it. It actually fit her, for once. Frisk was in awe. Undyne snickered and gently pulled up the hood, then grabbed the kid around the shoulders and took a selfie with her before showing it. Frisk immediately started to giggle. 

“Oh man it has little ears and everything, it’s so cute!!” she said. “Thank you!!”

“Well. You know. You’ll need more clothes once we get up there, right?” she said.

“That’s super nice,” Frisk said. “Is it like a monster or something? I love it!”

“Not sure,” Undyne said. “But I’m glad you like it, kiddo.”

“It’s so great, thank you so much,” the kid said.

“Don’t cry,” Asriel joked.

“Shhh, shush, I’m not,” she squeaked.

“Oh. Uh. Hey.” Undyne gently poked Asriel’s mug. “Got something for you, too.” She produced another hoodie and laid it out in front of him.

He stared at it, baffled, and then looked up at her with raised brows.

“It won’t fit,” he said.

“Well duh, not yet.” Undyne smirked. “C’mon, dude, two days. Think it’ll probably be about your size, right? You’re gonna need somethin’ to wear, right?”

Asriel’s eyes went wide. He noticed Frisk grinning widely, starry-eyed, her hands clasped together. He sighed and laughed tiredly. “Well. Thanks,” he said. “It’s, uh… Thanks.”

“You can totally use it as a blanket until then,” Frisk said brightly. She turned to Undyne with a big smile. “Thank you so much. That was so nice of you.”

“Yeah, well…” She grinned. “You guys’ve been real busy, right? And I was thinkin’—” She cut herself short when her phone began to ring. “Ah! Sorry. It’s Alph, I should…” 

Frisk pointed her to the bedroom. Undyne ruffled her hair and bounced up there as she answered it.

Frisk gently lifted Asriel’s hoodie and then shot him a smile. “It’ll be super cozy,” she said.

“Y… Yeah,” he said.

“Oh man, we’re actually gonna have to get you a bunch of clothes, right?” she said. “Oh! You’re gonna need a bunch of your own stuff! It’s kinda exciting, huh?”

“Ah… Don’t get my hopes up.” He delved into his hot chocolate. “I’ll… Okay. I’ll… I’ll get some sun tomorrow. And then…”

“Last time!” she said.

Asriel looked uncertain. He stared at the hoodie and touched it cautiously. He grimaced slightly and then began to roll off to the kitchen.

Frisk got up and stretched. She looked at the sleeves of the thin hoodie and grinned to herself. It would be good for when they got out, she thought. It was still spring out there. 

She heard a faint clacking of bones behind her and turned curiously. Sans was asleep, still, but he was slowly tapping the fingers of one hand against the back of the other. She snickered. He wasn’t glowing at all, so he must’ve just been dreaming normally. She hopped up beside him and gently shook him.

“Hm…?” He sounded like he might just slip off again.“What’d I miss?”

“You wanna get up and have something?” she said. “You’re looking a little ashy.”

“Heh. Sounds ‘bout right.” He finally opened an eye slightly and he rubbed his palm against it as he lethargically sat up. “Oh… What’s…?” He pinched the fabric on her shoulder.

“Oh! Yeah look!” She sat back and pointed both thumbs at herself. “Undyne got me this, what do you think? Pretty great, right?”

He stared at her blankly for a couple seconds. His grin widened and his cheeks flushed a little blue. “Shit, that’s super cute,” he said.

“I know, right?!” she said brightly. She hugged him tightly and he snickered and cuddled her sleepily. “It’s got little squishy ears and everything!”

“Any excuse, huh?” he said quietly. “Dig it.”

“Mhm!” She squeezed him and glowed warmly. “You feeling okay? You’ve been asleep all day.”

“Been worse. Don’t worry about me,” he said. His eyes roamed around the room. “Hm.”

Frisk got up to grab him a mug, just as Asriel returned with a little cylindrical container and a spoon. He shook the container into his drink and then waved Frisk towards him. She looked confused, and when she squatted down, he did the same to hers. 

“Stir these, would ya?” he said, thrusting the spoon towards her.

“Um. Okay?” she said.

“It’s cinnamon,” he said.

“Oh! Okay, I gotcha.”

After a moment of tampering, she brought some spiced hot chocolate to her brother and sat with him as he drank. He started to look just a little better.

“So, what d’you think, bad dreams from now until we’re out?” Frisk asked.

“Probably,” Sans said.

“We should all, like, pile on Papyrus, then,” she said.

Sans scoffed. “Kinda true. Unless we drag him along.”

“Why does this have to be so garbage all the damn time?” Asriel sighed. “Frisk, you shouldda seen… Oh my god.”

“Bad, huh?” she said worriedly.

“I got cut right in half; bonehead over there had to stitch me up, it was a mess,” he said.

“Jeez.” Frisk’s eyes went wide. “No wonder you guys are so tired.”

“Basically.” Sans smiled and rubbed his eye with his knuckles. “S’rough. I think, once we’re out? It should… calm down. A little. Maybe.”

“Hopefully!” Frisk said. “It kinda did last time. Until… Um.”

“Me?” Asriel said with a frown.

“No, no, I… I don’t know, actually, it was a few months before,” she said. “I don’t know what did it.”

“Coincidence. Or bad luck, maybe,” Sans said. “We’ll deal with it.”

Undyne burst unceremoniously from the upstairs and vaulted over the banister. She stretched, grabbed up her mug of tea and tipped it back down her throat. 

“Hey, Sans, good to see you,” she joked. “Doin’ alright?”

“Been worse,” he said. “Dig your way in?”

“HAH! Stabbed my way in!” She sat down and crossed her legs casually. “No big deal.”

“Think that’s gotta be a first,” Sans said. 

“So. We’re really going in two days, huh?” She sounded awed.

“Yeah. That’s what I said,” Asriel said dryly.

“No, I mean… Ah, shut it, I gotcha,” she said, laughing. “It’s weird having build-up! Didn’t it just kinda happen last time?”

“Sorta,” Frisk said.

“Weird.” She looked at them worriedly. “You guys sure you’re ready?”

“Doesn’t really matter. Going anyway,” Asriel said.

Undyne’s brow furrowed slightly. She moved onto the floor and sat cross-legged, patting the carpet before her and waving Frisk closer. The kid sat opposite her, tilting her head curiously.

“I was thinkin’… Your soul, it feels a little… off?” Undyne said. “Maybe we could kinda, like, sync up a bit? Do that energy thing? What do you think?”

“I… I’d love that!” Frisk said. “Az? What about you?”

“No way, leave me out of that weird junk,” he said.

Frisk pouted. Asriel rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically.

“Uuuugghh, fine, show me what I have to do,” he said reluctantly.

\- - -

The house was fizzling with magic and a hum of gentle energy when Papyrus, shivering, stumbled back into the house, kicking snow off his boots. He was about to announce himself, but he noticed that, in fact, everyone was in the room. They were just all asleep, despite the two TVs playing in tandem and the kettle roiling in the kitchen. 

Sans was still on the couch— typical. But Undyne, too, was snoozing, laying flat on the floor with Frisk on her chest; Asriel up under her arm. 

Papyrus couldn’t help a huge grin spreading on his face. He carefully, as silently as he could, took his winter clothing off and tiptoed around the room, tucking everyone in and giving each one an affection poke of warm, amber magic on their foreheads. It was so nice to see them all relaxing, and to feel magic around them that was so calm. No nightmares for his siblings— at least, not right now. 

He headed up to his room, but left the door ajar, just in case. On UnderNet, there was a surprise waiting. He had two new friend requests. He stared at them blankly for a few seconds, and then double-checked that he was signed into his account and not DisasterBlaster. He was, in fact, in his own account. He squealed quietly and quickly accepted them. 

His excitement was swiftly replaced with a little nagging question in his head as his eyes skimmed the main page, full of the musings of strangers. He only saw that “angel” word once, thankfully. People had actually kept things quiet. Even that post was subtle and nobody mentioned humans. 

His phone chirped with the sound of a text, and he checked it quickly. It was from Alphys.

“_konichiwa papyrus!!! ^_^ can i call u??? …or could you call me? lol. srry thats prbly easier!!! XDXDOH ACTUALLY WAIT DONT AAAAAH SORRY!!! but text me? plz? <3”_

_ “HELLO!!! Yes this is Papyrus, how can I help you???” _Papyrus replied.

“_Heeeeeyyy!!! Sorry to bother u but I couldnt reach the others can u see if ur brother has any gen2 or newer power crystals? or anything similar? something that could hold a charge basically. We want to boost the broadcast blaster and i kiiiiiinda maybe lost mine. and when i say lost i mean big dog ate them……. lol….. X_X”_

Papyrus read the text over twice, rolling the notion around in his skull. Power crystals? He couldn’t recall. “_hang on I will look!!” _he told her.

He hurried into the closet and dug through to the back, pushing through a couple cardboard boxes, but it was mostly just clothing piled up in there. He could see some of his old things, from when he was much shorter. Thinking of his sister, he was glad he’d kept them, now. Maybe one day they’d fit her. 

He slipped downstairs and quietly checked under the sofa and in the kitchen drawers. He edged towards his extra bone storage and eyed it suspiciously. No dogs. Good. But, a thought crossed his mind. He cautiously stepped inside the space and edged through the door and into the basement. 

Sans’s little area down there was surprisingly clean. Didn’t even have crumbs on the floor or junk on his counter. Papyrus was somewhat impressed, especially because he’d never cleaned the place. 

He carefully checked inside a drawer in the counter. He didn’t see any crystals, but instead saw some papers and folders. He saw a childish drawing, rough lines portraying three figures. The big, black eyes and the roundness of skull made him think it was his brother, so naturally one of the others had to be him. But this third one, right in the middle? He wasn’t sure. He’d never met a skeleton aside from Sans. He gently put it aside and leaned down to peek at the very back, just in case. Nothing.

Papyrus straightened up and turned around, but Sans really didn’t keep much down here at all. There was that strange something under a sheet, though. He peeked beneath it and saw a mysterious machine that he didn’t recognize in the least. It was shaped somewhat like a squat egg and had a seat inside, and many, many buttons and levers, and little light bulb indicators that probably hadn’t shone in years. Papyrus’s face lit up. Now this looked like something that might have a power crystal in it.

He gently poked around in little panels and compartments until one revealed something that looked like his target. There was a small, clear quartz-looking crystal bar with pointed ends socketed into one of the concealed compartments by two metal clasps. Carefully, he reached in and plucked it free with a glasslike _shink _sound.

He turned the crystal over in his hands, and it thanked him with a static shock through his fingers. He squeaked and fumbled it— it clinked onto the floor with a faint, red sparkle. Papyrus _tsked_ and shook his hand out, then knelt to pick the crystal up again.

“Maybe you still have some magic in you, that’d be good!” he said. He drummed his fingertips on the hard, shiny surface. He peeked through the centre of it and then carefully clutched it close. 

Papyrus took a step and felt a weird sense of vertigo. He stalled quickly and took a breath. He thought he caught a soft blue out of the corner of his eye. A shift of lethargic movement.

“Sans?” He turned, fully expecting to see his brother there, but instead there was nothing out of the ordinary at all. He pouted. “Sans, are you goofing around in here?”

He saw blue again, near that old machine, and whirled quickly, pointing a finger accusingly. “HAH!! I see…!” His hand dropped and his brow furrowed. 

Nothing there. 

“Huh.” He gently pulled the cover back down over the machine and went back upstairs.

Sans was still on the couch, in exactly the same position as when he’d left. Papyrus snuck over to him and gently tapped on his skull.

“Brother…? Brooothhhheeerrr, wake up,” he said at an urgent whisper.

“Hm?” Sans didn’t open his eyes and his voice was low and groggy. “Sup?”

“Were you just in the basement?” Papyrus asked. “And you better not be pulling a jape!”

“Mmnope,” he said.

Even under Papyrus’s probing glare, he didn’t budge or seem to even be awake, actually.

“Alright. Fine. Um.” He tapped Sans’s skull again and held out the crystal. “Is it okay if Doctor Alphys borrows this?”

Sans slowly opened one eye. He looked at it blankly for a few seconds. “Oh. Yeah.”

“Do we have any more? She asked for something that holds a charge, and…! Oh!! Do you think the pieces of my electricity maze would work?”

“Probably,” Sans said. “Check the attic.”

“Ah! Yes. The attic! Of course.” Papyrus straightened up quickly. “Thank you, brother!”

Sans lazily stuck a thumb up and his eye closed again. He was asleep again before he’d even lowered his hand.

Papyrus silently stole his maze bits out of Frisk’s phone, tucked them away in his pocket, and then headed up to Sans’s room. With a snap of his fingers and a glitter of blue, a wide, rectangular trap-door clunked downwards, revealing a ladder that led up into the dark.

He hadn’t been up there in ages, and it was immediately pitch black as the door automatically popped closed behind him. He groped around for where he thought the light switch was, but he simply bonked into a wall. He lit his eyes, though the light didn’t go far. Pouting, he tried to follow the wall, only to stumble as it gave way. With a grunt, he found himself in a pile of boxes, and then began to slide to the sound of a motor until he clunked onto the floor. 

“Boo,” he grumbled. He propped himself up on his elbow and stuck his hand into the air, grappling until he found a flat panel and a handlebar. He pulled himself up and smacked it. “Nyeh!! Got you!”

The motor sound stopped and one, old lightbulb near the back corner flicked on. He could only barely see it, though, because where he was was surround by a fortress of boxes, with the exception of the wall of them he had fallen through. What he’d stumbled over was a treadmill, with a piece of paper taped to it, jokingly telling him to get dunked on. He frowned, scoffed, and rolled his eyes. He didn’t know how it took so much effort to get Sans to move, and yet he’d somehow found time to set the room up ridiculously. 

He began to check the boxes, but they were mostly filled with junk. More mugs, though. Old and stained with brown on the interior. There were fire damaged books, and some normal books, too. Most of the boxes were books, in fact. His brother’s, maybe? They seemed familiar. Maybe they’d put them here when they’d moved in and hadn’t bothered to take them out. It wasn’t like they really had space for them in the main house, anyway.

He gently shifted some of the boxes aside and it looked like it was set up like a maze here. He couldn’t help a fond smile. All this had slipped his mind. Sans had helped him set it up years ago, back when he was just a small Papyrus. A very basic, old sort of puzzle. It filled him with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

As he scoured more boxes, moving some from one of the maze’s walls, his eyes caught on a little patch of light somewhere he didn’t expect, off in a corner of the attic. He was drawn to it, curious. He didn’t remember a light over there. 

Behind some disassembled junk and a makeshift wall, Papyrus found a star: four-pointed and floating, just like the ones Frisk used. Shining white with streaks of gold, it cast just enough light to illuminate a small section of wall. His jaw dropped and he put a hand against his head.

“We had one up here the whole time?!” he yelped.

He got closer, tilting his head, looking at it curiously. It wasn’t exactly like the normal ones, though. Too white. Not at all blue, though. That was probably good. He watched it shimmer. The gold stained the light slowly, like the wafting of tea steeping slowly through water. It struck him with a sense of contentment. It meant Frisk wouldn’t have to go downtown to save the timeline anymore, didn’t it? It seemed very useful, for as long as they still lived in Snowdin. He wondered if it was possible to move one, maybe pack it away in a box and bring it with them? Maybe that was silly. They weren’t really objects to be moved, were they?

He was excited to tell Frisk, but for now, he went back to check around just a little longer. Rooting around in a colourful shoebox, Papyrus found some strange, tiny black and copper cylinders, and under that, a small crystal, broken in half. He wasn’t sure if it was one that Alphys was looking for, but it couldn’t hurt. 

Just a few more minutes and he came to the conclusion that, if they had ever had more crystals than that, they’d probably been lost when they moved. He started to put the boxes back as they had been, and his elbow brushed that light. He heard a faint hum. He turned to look at it with raised brows and rather abruptly, his vision tunnelled. His sister’s song buzzed through his whole skull.

He blinked hard and rubbed his eye sockets until he could see again. The sound drifted off and he was left in silence. He shook off his confusion and he texted Alphys quickly to tell her what he’d found. 

He returned to the living room, a little dazed, and sat down on the floor. He didn’t budge— didn’t realize he hadn’t, either, until his text alert went off. He fumbled to grab his phone to make it be quiet, and then checked it. Just Alphys. Just a thank you. He sighed with relief. Had he really been sitting there for half an hour, though? The clock seemed to say so. He didn’t feel like he had.

He rested his back against the wall and looked over all his sleeping friends. He supposed it was probably the right thing to get going to Alphys’s, to bring her the crystals, but he didn’t feel very up to moving. All his bones were tingling and he wanted… something. He wasn’t sure what, but whatever it was, he wanted it badly. He felt like he was forgetting something.

He carefully edged up onto the couch and, after a few long, silent seconds, he reached out and pulled Sans into his arms and hugged him around the chest. The lethargic sound of his soul made him feel a little more steady.

“Wha’swrong Paps?” his brother slurred, half-asleep.

“What? Nothing’s wrong. Why?” he said.

“Dunno. Feelin’ kinda like a security blanket.” He opened his eyes halfway and tilted his head back to grin up at him. “Alright?”

“Yes. No. I’m not sure.” Papyrus frowned slightly. “I… I feel… Weird. Like we’re missing something. Like I… forgot something?”

“Kid still here?” he asked.

“Yes. It’s not… I don’t know.” Papyrus frowned slightly. “Well. Anyway. I found a save thing upstairs.”

“What?” Sans looked back him blankly. “Not in my room, is it?”

“In the attic,” Papyrus corrected. “Can they…? Can they just appear?”

“Think so,” Sans said. “Never saw it, though. Did you touch it?”

“I did. It just… sang? Frisk’s hum. That’s about it,” he said.

Sans looked thoughtful. He folded his arms and frowned slightly. He stretched out just a little and held up one finger, then vanished completely. Papyrus pouted and curled in in the corner. Sans returned after just a minute, though, a puzzled, tired expression on his face.

“Did you see it? Did you hear it?” Papyrus asked. 

“Mhm.” He stretched his arms high above his head, then rested a hand against the side of his neck and cracked it. “Eesh. It bad that I don’t even really wanna know why that’s there?” He put a hand, fingers tinted with blue, on top of his brother’s skull. “Still kinda existential?”

“I don’t know.” Papyrus hugged his knees and pouted. “I’m not sure why I feel like this. Like… I don’t know.”

Sans tilted his head. His fingers sparked cool and gentle energy and he turned to head for the kitchen.

“Where are you going?” Papyrus asked quickly.

“Makin’ you some tea, bro,” he said as he vanished behind the wall. “Still got some of Asgore’s. It’ll help.”

“That’s for Frisk,” he protested.

“And Frisk would say you need it,” Sans said with a quiet laugh. “Don’t wake ‘em, huh?”

\- - -

It didn’t take long after tea for Papyrus to doze off, using his older brother like a pillow. Sans didn’t mind. It was good for the kid to get some extra rest, especially with what was coming up and his natural tendency to pull all-nighters. 

He could feel his brother’s soul pressed in close to his; hoped his could be the reassurance he was looking for. With a little focus, he could hear the hum that blended so well with his own. He noticed something new— a little switch of complexity in the sound that hadn’t been there before. He smiled fondly and gently patted Papyrus’s skull. A hum never entirely finished, but every little addition usually made it feel more complete. He wondered what had changed.

Papyrus didn’t sleep for long. Never did. He bundled up and headed out to Alphys’s through the tunnel still held up by bones, but not before preparing a fresh pot of spaghetti for everyone to enjoy.

Sans was awake now, despite not really wanting to be. He took a little pasta and stared over the living room as he ate, where Undyne and the kids hadn’t budged. Everyone felt a little steadier. 

He checked the time. If his estimate was right, Papyrus should be just about leaving the crystal-lit path towards that huge cave that stood at the border of Hotland and Waterfall. He shifted there and leaned lazily against the pitch, rocky wall.

Just as he suspected, crystal light was soon reflecting blue and purple off stark white bones, coming up the path. Papyrus caught sight of him and stuck his arm into the air to wave. 

“Sans, what are you doing here?” he asked.

“Dunno. Bored,” he said, leaning off his spot and strolling along with his fast-paced brother. “Couldda gone for you.”

“No, that’s alright, Doctor Alphys asked me to do it,” he said.

“So, you, uh, pulled one of those crystals outta my basement thing, right?” Sans said.

“Yeeesss, why? Should I not have?” Papyrus asked.

“Nah. S’fine,” Sans said. “Just makin’ sure I didn’t dream that bit.”

“Are you sure you weren’t sleepwalking down there?” Papyrus said.

“Yeah. I only sleepwalk to the lab, and then to the CORE,” he said. “And, it’s more like sleep teleportin’, to be honest. Why?”

“I thought… Ah… Never mind, it’s not important,” Papyrus said. “Don’t worry.”

The lab was bustling with activity, and Papyrus was instantly accosted by Big Dog. 

“OH! Nyeh heh heh, hello, you large ridiculous beast!” He grabbed the big, squishy smash of dogs and scratched his fingers up and down their neck. “Did you miss the great Papyrus? I think you did! Nyeh heh heh!!”

“I-I’d know that laugh anywhere.” Alphys waved at them from the top of her escalator. She was wearing an apron with a drawing of a steaming bowl of ramen and chopsticks on it. “Hey, guys!”

“Sup, Doc?” Sans said.

“Ah! W-Well, I figured we’d be busy up until w-we got out, so I thought I’d, um, mostly spend today c-cooking,” she said as she joined them. “These g-guys eat a lot, so…”

“So what will happen to them once the barrier is down?” Papyrus asked, a faintly worried look bending his brow as he scratched Big Dog’s fur. “They’ll be alright, won’t they?”

“Y-Yeah. For sure.” Alphys’s smile was a little nervous, even so. “They’ll, um… They’ll all go home. To their f-families.”

“Oh! Well. That’s good. So they’ll all be better by then,” he said.

“Wh… What?” She started to sweat.

“Well, that’s why you’re keeping them here, right? Because they weren’t well? But they’ll be well enough to go home,” he said.

“Uh… Y… Y-Yeah.” 

She smiled nervously and her eyes darted to Sans, but he seemed relatively unconcerned. In fact, he was across the room, watching Lemons and Reaper arm-wrestle. She took a deep breath and held Papyrus’s hand.

“I, um... I know... I know it’ll go well, but… I mean…” She sighed. “Papyrus, I… I’m j-just…”

He tilted his head inquisitively. She forced a smile and patted his hand before reaching up to Big Dog, who leaned down for pets. 

“Everything w-will be good. In a day and a half. I-Isn’t that a-amazing?” she said. “How’s Asriel?”

“Grumpy, but that’s normal,” he said. “I think he’ll be okay. I’m really excited for him. I really hope he feels more like he’s our family once he’s feeling better and once mom arrives.”

“Oh! Oh, r-right, you guys’ll be a-adopting him, won’t you?” Alphys said.

“I’m not sure if it’s really adoption if mom is his mom, and mom is Frisk’s mom, and Frisk is our sister, but yes, I guess so!” Papyrus said. “It’s a liiitttle complicated but I think we’ll all be happy with it.”

Alphys laughed and smiled fondly at him. “I th-think so, too.”

She squeaked and almost fell over as Big Dog bounded by her to push in on Sans, tackling the short skeleton down, tail whipping around excitedly.

“B-Be careful!” she said.

“They’re too _doggone_ excited,” Sans said from somewhere behind the fluff. “Right, pupper? Heh.” He snuck out from under the dogs with a grin. 

They affectionately rubbed their fluffy, goopy cheeks against his head and drooled black goo onto the floor. He snickered and they growled and woofed as a reply.

“Oof, you’re soundin’ a little _husky_, there,” he said.

“SANS,” Papyrus squawked.

“What? Little bit _ruff_?” he asked, shooting his brother a grin.

“Ooooooh you’re just hopeless,” Papyrus said. He put his hands on his hips and scoffed huffily.

Alphys put a hand in front of her snout to hide a snicker. Papyrus shook his head, but then quickly perked up and reached for his phone. He cupped the crystals and his maze components in his palms and offered them to the lizard.

“This is what I found,” he said. 

“That’s… Oh!!! Perfect, th-thank you,” she said, paying extra close attention to the bag of what looked like electrified marbles. “Oh!! These? I d-didn’t think of that, that might actually… N-Nice job!”

“No problem!” he said, grinning. “All in a day’s work for the great Papyrus!”

She grinned and ferried them away to a small box near her computer. There was one more in there, and a strange, triangular panel that changed hues in the light. 

“So that’s for…? Mettaton?” he asked.

“Mhm! B-Broadcast blaster. W-We have to overcharge it. It’s a bit technical and… W-Well, it doesn’t matter, it just t-takes a bit of prep, but… Ah. It’s okay, i-it’s not that interesting, b-but it’s important,” she said. 

“I believe it! You haven’t been wrong so far!” Papyrus said brightly. “Except that one time you wanted to test Frisk’s energy before she was ready to do that, but everyone makes mistakes every once in a while!”

“Hah… Y… Yeah,” Alphys said quietly.

With a whooshing sound cutting the air, a femur sailed by, followed closely by Big Dog and an excited bunch of white, sloshing monsters who seemed to be looking for any excuse to run around. Papyrus whirled around to see Sans sitting around upstairs, flipping a bone around with just a sparkle of blue on his index finger. Papyrus rolled his eyes.

“You’re being ridiculous,” he said. “Get back down here.”

“But the escalator is all the way over there,” Sans said.

Papyrus squinted incredulously at him. His brother shrugged.

“No teleportin’ allowed,” he said.

“Ugh. Unbelievable.” He grasped Sans in blue and pulled him back down before he turned his attention on Alphys. “So, do you need any help around here?”

“Um… N-No, not really, I…” Her brow furrowed slightly. “Um… Wh-Where’s Frisk?”

“At home,” Sans said. “Probably still passed out.”

Alphys looked confused. Papyrus nodded.

“Yes! She and Asriel and Undyne were all taking quite a long nap,” he said. “Why? Do you need her to use her time powers?”

“Oh. No. It’s just… You guys a-are usually…” She shook her head. “Never mind. Um, h-hey. Is it, um, okay if I d-drop by tomorrow? Just to, um… h-hang out. Or. Something? If w-we have time. I dunno.”

“Of course! You don’t need to ask!” Papyrus said. “Or. I mean. Maybe you do, but only because sometimes we are actually out of the house and it would be very annoying for you to come all the way to Snowdin and not have anyone there! But I suppose you could come into the house anyway. Unless it’s locked. Um…”

“F-Fair enough,” she said with a laugh, “but I—” Her words fell to a yelp as she was toppled over by a rush of scattering monsters. “G-Guys!!!”

Papyrus lifted her up and waved his arms at them, and most of them doubled back to swarm him. He grabbed up the teeth-gnashing Lemons and began to lead them all back to the other end of the lab.

“Come on, you ragamuffins, let’s give Alphys a little space, okay?”

“ARM WRESTLE ME,” Lemons bellowed.

“Okay, okay, okay!!” he said quickly. “Prepare to be thoroughly trounced!”

Alphys huffed and brushed off her shirt. She laughed tiredly and rubbed her snout. She shot Sans a bashful grin. “Y-You know… Maybe it’s w-weird. And it’ll be a relief, too, but I’ll k-kind of miss them.”

“Visit?” he suggested.

“I… I dunno. N-Not sure their families would… W-Well. Um. A-Anyway.” She cleared her throat and looked at him inquisitively. “You looked like you, um, had s-something to say.”

“Oh. Did I?” he wondered.

“Sans,” she chided.

He grinned. “Oh. Yeah. So, Paps found one of Frisk’s savin’ things in our attic.”

“What? Wow, that’s c-convenient!” she said.

“Yeah. Seems like it just appeared, though,” he said. “Anything weird in the CORE recently?”

“In the CORE? Um… N-No, nothing more than normal fluctuations,” she said. “Is…? I-Is the CORE responsible f-for those things? I… I can’t see them.”

“Probably. And your determination levels are normal, so I guess that makes sense,” he said.

“Undyne c-can see them,” she said.

“Yeah, hers are real high,” he said. “Give her a hundred years and she might just naturally promote herself to Boss Monster, who knows?”

“She’s… She’s n-not in danger f-from that, is she?” Alphys asked at a worried whisper. “I mean… when a m-monster gets t-too high…” Her eyes darted to the white amalgamates that were currently piled in around Papyrus as he and Lemons arm-wrestled, best three-out-of-five as per Lemon’s insistence. Her face fell and she grimaced.

“Not unless someone stabs her,” Sans said.

“She… Sh-She died like that, huh?” she said quietly. “I… I dreamt… I mean. It was vague. But… Like… A l-lot of light. And she was… so strong, but…” She sighed. “It’s barely there. It’s m-more of a feeling, but I don’t like it.” 

Sans’s grin turned sympathetic. He patted her shoulder gently. “Yeah, time kinda leaks sometimes,” he said. “Sorry that’s still in there.” 

She sighed and laughed tiredly, rubbing her eyes under her glasses. “Y-You’ve seen everyone d-die a lot, huh?” she said. “Me too?”

“Yeah. Sorry,” he said.

“N-No, that’s… I’m sorry,” she said. “H-How did it happen? Did…? Did an anomaly get me, too? Ugh, I bet it w-was stupid…”

“No. To both,” Sans said. “And, uh… Welp. Think you could probably guess.”

Alphys stared back at him blankly. She trembled, but she laughed and put her hand to her brow. “WOW. Like. That’s super dark. Okay,” she said. “S-Sorry. That’s, um… It’s s-selfish of me, I—”

“Don’t,” he said.

“Ugh, what i-is this universe and why is it trash?” she joked, putting her face in her hands.

Sans laughed and smiled sideways. “S’not so bad anymore.”

“If you can s-say that, after everything, I t-trust you,” she said. “But, wh-what, um…? I mean… What were those all…?” She shook her head. “Ah. N-Never mind, you w-wouldn’t tell anyway, would you?”

“Hey, thanks,” he said with a wink. “I, uh, did warn you guys not to ask about those other ones, huh? You’ll be a lot better off.”

“O-Okay, okay.” She raised her hands and smiled apologetically. “You’re worse with y-your secrets than I am, even!”

“For the greater good,” he joked.

\- - -

Frisk awoke in a cold sweat, confused, bleary-eyed, seeing colours her brain couldn’t process in a room that was mostly dark. She sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes to make them focus. She could see Undyne’s big shoulders. The monster was squatting in front of the TV, messing around with the smaller one that belonged to Asgore. The volume was low, but she could faintly hear Mettaton’s theme song playing.

She took a moment to catch her breath and let the dizziness that hit her fade away. The dreams were overbearing as usual, but they hadn’t been very long this time. She credited Undyne for that.

She snuck up beside her to watch her curiously. She was attaching a silver, metal something to the side of the TV. Undyne’s ear twitched and she reached out to rub the kid’s head. Frisk smiled up at her.

“Sleep okay?” Undyne asked.

“Mhm! Thanks,” she said. “Where’s, uh…?” She looked around. “Where’s Az?”

Undyne jerked her thumb at the table. Frisk tilted her head and, after a second, could pull out the little flower back against the wall, behind a table leg, wilted and snoring quietly. 

She cuddled up to Undyne's side and sleepily rubbed her eyes. She watched her screw the metal into the TV — seemed like it was new speakers and some sort of tuner. She already replaced some knobs and buttons in their settings.

“Supposed to make it look updated,” she explained. “Plus, I mean, new speakers for real, though. S’kinda nice.”

Frisk nodded. Undyne smiled slightly.

“Good thing Alph made this stuff real easy, this kinda thing’s not really my forte,” she said.

“S’okay. Me neither,” Frisk said. “I can steal what Sans knows if I can understand it, though, so that’s kinda neat and useful. I mean, if I needed for some reason to build some really weird science junk.”

Undyne snickered. “That feels like so long ago.”

“Mhm!” Frisk agreed. “Wish I could kinda do that with more people, too.”

“What?” Undyne turned to her, wide-eyed. “Seriously?”

“Well, yeah,” she said. “It was really cool. But the memory trade’s kinda a killer. I wouldn’t want to put anyone else through me and Sans. But if that wasn’t a thing, I’d totally want to have weird soul fusion adventures with people, if they wanted.” She smiled bashfully up at Undyne. “That’s one real good thing about the time travel thing, right? I can come back from that, so it’s not all bad. Or, at least, it wouldn’t be if the memory thing wasn’t like that.”

“It’s really that bad, huh?” Undyne asked.

“Yeah. I mean, Sans and me were kinda forced to deal with the junk and kinda half cope with it, but putting it in someone else’s head, I feel like that’d be a really really bad idea,” she said. “Otherwise, I’d be totally all over that stuff.”

“I’m sure Paps would be a great partner,” she said.

“Oh, yeah, duh!” Frisk said. “You, too!”

“Me?” Undyne asked.

“Also duh!” The kid laughed. “I mean. If you wanted to. In the h… hipo-thetical? Hypo-thetical? In case it ever actually worked like that.”

“Huh. That… That’s a big shock, kiddo,” she said. “I, uh… Thanks. Seriously.”

Frisk stood up and hugged her around her shoulders and then ambled off to the kitchen, stretching. She slapped around on the walls for the light and, when she got it, she was surprised to find a stepladder propped up in the corner against the sink. She grinned and started making hot chocolate, which was much easier than usual.

It wasn’t long after the kettle begun to boil that Sans and Papyrus returned, the latter whispering hurriedly and sternly as the former looked very much like he was trying not to laugh.

“Hey, dorks, welcome back,” Undyne said.

“Ah! Hello, Undyne!” Papyrus said. “Where are…?! Are they still asleep?”

“Just Az,” she said, jerking her thumb at the table.

Frisk stumbled from her ladder and ran out to give her brothers a hug each. Papyrus got a strange look on his face. He stared at her like he was looking right through her; like he saw something that really shocked him.

“Uh. Bro. You okay?” she asked.

“Ah. Um. Y-Yes! Yes. Of course,” he said quickly.

“You sure?” Sans asked, raising his brows.

“YEP.” He wrapped her in a hug and puffed out a sigh. “I’m happy to see you.”

“Me too!” she said with a laugh.

“I have some good and exciting news for you!” He held Frisk by the shoulders and smiled. “Up. In the attic. I found one of your save things!”

“Wait, what?!” Frisk’s eyes went wide. “We had one up there the whole time?!”

“Might be new,” Sans said.

“Whoa!! That’s useful! Thanks!” she said.

“It’s very exciting, yes!” Papyrus said. He made a confused face and wiped his eyes. He grimaced. “I, um…” There was a flicker of amber in his sockets.

“Oh. Paps? Are…? Are you okay?” Frisk asked worriedly.

“Yes, I’m fine, I—!” His voice caught and his eyes began to well up. “I… Excuse me!” 

He hopped to his feet and dashed up the stairs quickly, leaving the others baffled behind him. He slammed the bedroom door closed and the house went still and quiet. It hung heavily in the air like rough, static pressure. 

“What was that?” Frisk asked shrilly.

“I, uh…” Sans scratched his head. “No clue. I’ll check.”

Papyrus was sitting on the bed with his face in his hands, trails of amber-coloured tears leaking out between his fingers. Sans felt a hit of heartbreak and he sat beside him, a hand on his shoulder.

“Dude, what’s wrong?” he asked.

“I…! I don’t know!” Papyrus squeaked. “I don’t understand, I’m not…! I’m not even sad, I’m not… Uuugghh.” He clacked his teeth in frustration. “What. Is. This?” 

“You been sleepin’ okay?” Sans asked.

“Of course I have! I just! I. Just… Ugh.” He rubbed the heels of his hands into his eye sockets and he sat up and shook his head out quickly. “I hate that. Oh no.”

“What’re you feelin’?” Sans asked.

“Um. Uh. I don’t… I don’t know. I feel… I don’t know how to explain it,” he said. “Lonely? Cold. Very those things. But it’s not… me. I don’t feel like that. But I feel it?”

“When did this start?”Sans asked.

“I… Um.” He wiped his face again and took a deep breath. “I’m not sure. I… I felt a little light-headed, I guess, up in the attic?”

Sans frowned and curled up on himself with a ponderous expression on his face. Papyrus sighed and stood up quickly, puffing out his chest and taking a deep breath.

“It’s fine. I’m fine. Thanks for your concern, brother, but I’m—”

“Your hum evolved,” he said.

“Wait. Uh. What?” Papyrus said. His eyes went wide and he put a hand over his soul spot. “…Did it? By a lot?”

“No. Just a little,” Sans said. “But… that shouldn’t be makin’ you feel like this. Maybe… Uh… Oh. Wait. You said you heard Frisk’s song up there, right?”

“Yeeessss…? Why? That wouldn’t make a difference, right?” he asked.

Sans tilted his head slightly. He drummed his fingers on his opposite arm. His eyes lit up. “Oh. Okay,” he said. “Think I get it.”

“What?! Really?!” Papyrus demanded. “What do I do? Is there something wrong with me? Am I— gasp— sick? Not now!! We’re doing the big thing soon, I can’t be sick, right?!” 

“Mmno,” he said. He leaned back and cupped his chin. “Actually. That makes perfect sense.”

“What?! What is it?! Sans, you need to explain it out loud!” he said. “Oh no, I am sick?!”

“Ah. It’s just…” Sans shot him a grin. “You’re an empath, huh?”

“Excuse me?” he said.

Sans held up one finger. He patted his brother’s shoulder affectionately and then slid to his feet. He opened the door where, as he’d expected, Frisk was standing, nervous and wide-eyed, hesitant to knock. 

“I-Is he okay?” she squeaked. 

“He’s fine,” he said. He beckoned her inside.

Frisk hurried past Sans and reached out for Papyrus. He was taken aback; knelt to meet her and almost instantly broke down again. She squeaked with alarm and wrapped him in a tight hug.Sans watched them with interest, tapping his teeth thoughtfully. 

“What’s wrong?!” Frisk said shrilly. “P-Paps, come on, let m-me help!”

“I d-don’t know!” he whimpered.

“So… Ah. Alright,” Sans said. “Paps, just breathe.”

“I a-am b-breathing!” he protested.

“Focus on Frisk’s soul,” he said.

Frisk grabbed her brother tight and squished against him, lighting her soul until it turned orange. He drew in a shuddering breath and snuggled her and, finally, began to calm. He let out a relieved sigh and pulled one hand back to rub at his eyes.

“Phew! I… I feel a lot better,” he admitted. He sat back on the floor and Frisk gave him just enough room that their souls dimmed. “Well that was awfully strange, wasn’t it?”

“Sorry, what just happened? Frisk said worriedly. 

“Empathetic connection, don’t worry about it,” Sans said. “Freak accident.”

“What?! Really?! That’s it?!” Papyrus demanded. “After all that?!”

“Yup,” Sans said.

“Empa… Empathetic,” Frisk repeated. “Mom called you that.”

“Did she?!” he asked. “Would she know what happened?”

“I dunno, but she was talking about how you’re so good at healing,” she said.

“Oof. Well. I’m glad that’s settled,” he said. “Thank you two for the help! I am going to go get some water! Aaaaaand assure the others that I did not actually just have a mental breakdown, nyeh heh! Heh. Heh…”

He bounded out of the room and they could hear him greeting Undyne loudly from here. Frisk seemed a little shell-shocked. She grabbed Sans’s sleeve.

“He’s okay, right?” she said.

“Yup,” he said.

“What the heck happened?” she asked.

“Figure he touched that new save and accidentally got a memory imprint somehow,” he said.

“What?!” she yelped. “B-But what couldda made him cry like that?!”

“I dunno, you kinda cry like that all the time,” Sans said.

“Aah… Y-You’re right,” she said sheepishly.

“You did good, though,” he assured her. “Thanks for gettin’ that sync up so quick, that should settle him.”

“You think so?” she said.

“Yup,” he said.

“Jeez, good thing you’re so smart,” she said. “I dunno if I wouldda figured that out ever.”

“Eh. Don’t worry about it. Kinda an educated guess.” He shrugged and ruffled her hair. “Hey, go do somethin’ fun, huh?”

“But you’re sure Papyrus is okay?” she insisted. 

“Should be, yeah,” he said. “Got a little extra sound in his hum. S’pretty normal. You might not even notice for a while.”

“Okay. Okay okay.” She made for the door but then turned back for him instead. “Can we, um… Can we read a bit later?”

“Yeah, course we can,” he said.

She grinned. “Thanks a ton,” she said.

She scampered downstairs and Sans could soon hear Papyrus cackling. That was probably good. Curiously, he shifted back to the attic and was met with that gold light. He touched it curiously. The first time, it had sent a sharp tingling sensation through all his bones, but now, it was like carbonation. The hum inside wasn’t an overwhelming din, but he could definitely still hear it. So, maybe it really had just been forming. Maybe that was why it’d had such an effect on his brother. Poor kid.

He shifted himself to the stairs and plunked himself down to sit and watch as the others regrouped in front of the TV and Papyrus went off on a tangent about cookbooks. He seemed like nothing had ever been wrong. Frisk, on the other hand, was clinging closer to him than usual. He didn’t really blame her. Couldn’t have been easy to see her big brother break down so suddenly. 

Asriel was apart from the group, though. A little, balled up form, exuding a chill. Sans put his chin on his fist. Still something to look out for, huh?


	79. The Build-Up Arc

Watching the snow recede was like an event all its own in Snowdin. The flakes all packed together would start to glimmer, lighting the snug dark of homes as it pressed in against windows. Then, colour would edge in with the white, a pastel spectrum glowing as the snow, bit by bit, vanished, until just what covered the ground was left.

The town seemed to start anew, a hibernation ended at exactly midnight. The place was abuzz as if it were twelve hours later. 

Frisk watched the glittering fade with her elbows up on the windowsill. She kicked her feet, stretched, and yawned. Beside her, Asriel grimaced and yawned as well. He pouted and lightly smacked her arm. She snickered.

“Well,” she said sleepily, “wanna go see that new save thingy with me?”

“I dunno, it’s not gonna make me start bawlin’, is it?” he asked suspiciously. 

“Dunno, hope not,” she said. “Hope it doesn’t get me, too.”

She scooped him up and slipped past the couch as quietly as she could so as not to wake Papyrus or Undyne, who were both asleep there. The skeleton was uncharacteristically tired, not that Frisk was surprised. Undyne had left at one point to grab her game console — the game they had been playing was still on the TV, in fact— but half her tunnel had caved in as she returned and she’d had to re-dig it. 

Frisk knocked on Sans’s door gently and then snuck inside on quiet toes. She was surprised to see a vacant room and a ladder already hanging from the ceiling. Asriel raised his brows. The kid clutched him close and carefully clambered up one-handed. 

Sans was up there already, using a box like a stool, sitting in the glow of the light. It made his bones shine faintly. “Figured you’d come up here,” he said.

“You’re such a creep,” Asriel said.

“Shh,” Frisk scolded. “Is it…? Is it weird.”

“Mmno, not really,” Sans said. “Sorta sang before. S’quiet now. Normal.”

“So is it safe to use?” she asked.

“Can’t see why not,” Sans said.

“Really?” Asriel asked skeptically. “So. If I touched it. Nothing would happen.”

“You could give it a shot.” Sans shrugged.

“And end up like Papyrus.” He folded his leaves and frowned. “I don’t think so.”

“Nah. Need empathy for that,” Sans said.

“Shut up,” Asriel snapped.

“Guys, come on!” Frisk said shrilly. “Can we not?”

The flower frowned and pouted, pointedly turning away. Sans grinned slightly and he gestured towards the light. 

Frisk sighed and rubbed her head. She edged over to the light and gently let Asriel down on a box that hardly dipped under his weight. She reached her hand for the tear and brushed it with her fingertips. She didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary, and then, gently, clung to it. It tingled, warm, and stuck so easily she almost wanted to do it again just to be sure. She drew back and turned to look at Sans, only to find the both of them watching her with intense curiosity. She shrugged.

“Normal,” she said.

“What? Really? Let me…” Asriel waved his leaves at her. “I wanna try.”

She gently scooped him up and held him up to the light. Hesitantly, he reached forward into it. He drooped, quivered, and sniffled.

“Ah!! Are you okay?!” Frisk demanded.

“I… I…” He snickered and lifted himself back up, grinning smugly at her. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

“Az!!” she whined, pouting.

Asriel laughed and gently slapped the top of her hand. “It’s just a joke! Relax. There’s nothing weird about this thing, either.”

“Weird…” Frisk muttered. She looked at Sans with worry marring her expression. “What do you think he saw?”

“Don’t think he saw anything,” he said. “He felt something.” He sat up and stretched his arms out in front of him, cracking his knuckles. “Alright. Still up for that story?”

“Oh!” Frisk’s face lit up. “Yeah! Thanks! Asriel, you too?”

“I dunno. I was, uh… thinkin’ I might head out early,” he said.

“Aw. Really?” Frisk couldn’t help the look of disappointment on her face. 

Asriel flinched. He forced a smile. “Well… I guess another hour couldn’t hurt,” he said. 

Frisk was a little reluctant to let Asriel go, but even so, she bundled up and headed out into town with him after two more chapters of the _Trident of Vengeance_. They were getting closer to the end. Just a few chapters left. 

The colourful lights hung about town seemed extra glittery and the main street was crowded with excited monsters. It was as if a quick bout of cabin fever had suddenly been alleviated. Vendors, to Frisk’s surprise, were selling snacks from makeshift stands. It was almost like a small festival. She guessed Sans had always slept through this part. She liked it though, even though those bright lights in the dark were not helping a cold headache that throbbed behind her eyes.

She saw Kid’s sister, Daisy, in the crowd with some of her friends. She waved to her, and Frisk gladly waved back. Asriel squeezed her fingers and she hurried onwards towards the bridge.

“So,” Asriel said, tilting his head back to look up at her, “you gonna bait Toriel out or what?”

“Um. What?” she asked.

“How’re you gonna make her get you?” he said.

“Call her. Tell her,” Frisk said. “She’ll come.”

“I can, uh… plant a seed. If you want?” he said with a wry smile.

Frisk snickered. She shook her head. “Don’t worry too much about it. If… If she really feels like she used to about me, then… Then all I have to do is mention I’m going to see Asgore and she’ll be out here so fast.”

“Well. Alright. If you think so,” Asriel said.

“I won’t hurt him,” she said quickly.

“Yeah, I know,” he said. “I mean. If you had to… Well…”

“I won’t,” she said quickly. “Nope. Not at all.”

“Okay, okay,” Asriel said, laughing quietly. He shot her an amused look, raising his brows. “Really hard-line on that, aren’t you?”

“Yup!” she said.

They wandered through the snow fields, no sounds breaking the muffled night other than the two of them. The massive rock wall that separated Snowdin from the Ruins loomed ahead, utterly black in the dark. Frisk’s mind began to wander off to when her shadowy friend had met her at the sealed doorway. She half expected to see that weird white face of his shining from the shadows between the trees, but, of course, all was still.

“You can put me down now,” Asriel said.

“You want my phone?” Frisk asked.

“Nah. Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I’ll be back… maybe in the afternoon?”

“That late?” she asked worriedly.

“Why, you got plans tomorrow or something?” he asked.

“Um… No,” she muttered. 

“Then don’t worry about it,” he said, and then gave her a sly, mocking smile. “Whhyyy, you gonna miss me?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“Pfffft.” He waved his leaves and mechanical arm at her dismissively. “Alright. See ya?”

“Mhm!” She gave him a quick, gentle smooch on the head and then carefully placed him down on the ground.

He hopped from his mug, waved, and then vanished underground. 

Carefully, Frisk stashed it away in her phone. She tilted her head back to try to get a look at the worn Delta Rune up on the door. She pressed up closer and stood on her toes, but it was hard enough to see due to her height. In the dark, there wasn’t much use bothering. She felt heavy in her chest and she gulped.

She caught a flash of white from the corner of her eye. She turned quickly, feeling a little jump in her heart. It wasn’t who she hoped, but she was happy nonetheless. Her brother stood out quite a bit against the blackened trees, especially since he’d forgone his jacket or hoodie and was simply in the white t-shirt with the three Z’s on it. He looked half asleep. 

“Followed you,” he said. “Sorry.”

“Oh! Jeez, bro, you know I don’t mind, but you don’t look so good,” she said, scooting through the snow to join him. “Couldn’t sleep, huh?”

“Not for lack of tryin’.” He smiled slightly. “Kid okay?”

“Who, Az? Um. I think so,” she said.

“Tell me if you feel like he’ll flake,” he said.

“I don’t think he will,” she said. “We’ll get to Asgore, at least! I know we can do it.”

Sans affectionately patted her head, and then jerked his thumb over his shoulder, back towards town. “Grillby’s?”

“Heck yeah,” she said.

Because of the crowds, Sans brought them just to the edge of town and they slipped by and into the bar. It was busy, too— so much so that their regular seats near the taps were occupied. Sans hoped a whoopee cushion had got at least one person. 

Some blobs were leaving a booth, so they snuck into it right away. Frisk huddled up in the corner snugly on the cushioned bench as her brother rested his head on his fist and slumped over the table. Frisk felt bad for him. It was going to be a long night tonight. Probably even longer tomorrow. 

“All this build-up,” she said jokingly.

“I know.” He laughed, his voice low and exhausted. He put a hand on his head and his shoulders slumped. “Hey, uh, let me know when the counter’s not so busy, huh?”

“I’ll go,” she said.

“Kiddo, I—”

“Yoooou look like you’re gonna fall right over!” she scolded. 

“Fair point,” he said. “You don’t look so great yourself. Still gettin’ dizzy?”

“Only when I wake up,” she said. “Kinda sucks that the dreams are really not helping, too.”

“Tell me about it,” he said.

“No good, huh?” she asked.

“Paps set me straight,” he said.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve—”

“No. C’mon.” He looked amused. “You know how fast they go bad. Don’t worry.”

“Sucks,” she grumbled.

He shrugged one shoulder. She pouted and flopped forward, putting her head down on the table. She groaned. He snickered and patted her hair. 

“Trash,” she muttered.

“Absolutely,” he said. “S’okay, though.”

She sighed and lifted her head up. She leaned around the booth and then awkwardly scooted along the seat and, lethargically, headed towards the counter. Sans turned and watched as his kid scrabbled up onto a stool and sat down, heralded by a just-barely-too-loud sound of flatulence. He grinned and he saw her put her face in her hands and start to laugh. Perfect.

He rested his chin on his fist and closed his eyes. Next thing he knew, Frisk was pushing on his shoulder and the table had their regular burgers, fries, and milkshakes on it.

“Hm?” he asked.

“Mooove over, I wanna sit with you,” she said.

He had no problem with that. He shuffled sideways and the kid climbed up beside him. She clunked a bottle of ketchup onto the table and shoved it next to his plate. She headed for her fries first, dipping them into a milkshake, like she always did.

They ate in tired, comfortable silence. Someone kickstarted the jukebox, and monsters started dancing, for some reason. Frisk sunk lower in her seat. Must’ve had a headache, Sans thought. 

“Guess we should actually try to get some rest when we get home, huh?” he said.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” she said with a quiet laugh. “So. It definitely won’t happen.”

“Could go on rotation,” he suggested. “See if that stops us from amplifying the memories.”

“We can’t keep that up,” she said. “And… And it’s not fair. I want us all to be able to just, like, nap in a big blanket pile again. And it’s super not fair to ask you to stay awake at all, really.”

“S’not that bad,” he said. “Anyway. Uh. At least give it a shot? You need it.”

“Yeah yeah yeah.” She shot him a tired smile. “You too, okay?”

“Pffft. No big deal,” he said.

“Okay, but…” Her brow furrowed and she tapped her fingers on the table as she tried to find the words. “So. Um. Was there something bugging you? When you followed us before?”

“Not in particular,” he said.

“But…?” she insisted.

Sans laughed. The kid was quick.

“Do me a favour, huh?” he said. “Just… be careful. I’m, uh… I’m worried. That the kid’s gonna lose it once he gets the souls.”

“Lose it? Whatcha mean?” she asked.

“Think he might go back to old patterns. Might try to force a loop,” he said.

“What? You really think so? Why?” she said.

“Says he’s been dreamin’ about his sis. I’ve seen some of it,” he said. “I worry it might, uh, colour his perception. Especially if he’s takin’ a bunch of human souls that are all gonna be sayin’ different things to him.”

“You still don’t trust him, huh?” Frisk asked.

“No,” he said. “But, hey, I only actually fully trust like two people, so…” He shrugged.

Frisk smiled sympathetically. “Okay, fair enough. I dunno. I think he’ll be okay. He came so far, y’know?”

“Just promise you’ll watch it,” he said. “Once he grabs the souls, we… You know. Can’t exactly help as much as we might like.”

“I definitely promise,” she assured him. “I’m gonna do my best.”

“Course you will.” He smiled fondly and patted her head. “Ah, you’re good, kiddo.”

Frisk all but glowed. That made him grin, that such a simple thing could light her up. He leaned forward on the table and rested his cheek on his fist. He cut his eyes at her and grinned.

“Who wouldda thunk, huh?” he said.

“What?” she asked.

He shrugged, but his eye started to go glow gently. He drummed his fingers on the wood. “Sometimes… Heh. This’ll sound lame,” he said. “But sometimes when I look at you, I still can’t believe how lucky we got.” He paused; tapped his finger as if punctuating an ellipsis. “How lucky I got.”

Frisk grinned sheepishly and she grabbed him into a hug. “I feel like that, too! I’m so grateful. All the time.”

“I know.” He laughed and rubbed his brow. “You don’t… Heh. No need for it, you know? You’re my sister. So.”

The kid’s face lit right up again and she squished into him even closer, her soul glowing warmly. Sans snickered and patted her head.

“Funny how we both kinda broke in the same way, huh?” he said.

“I know, right?” She grinned. “I’m glad.”

“Hm. Weird.” He took a sip of his ketchup. “S’all pretty surreal, huh?”

“Yup,” she said.

She gave him a squeeze and then went back to her fries. Her eyes darted to the side as a few monsters walked past and out into the dark. She leaned around the booth and then turned to Sans with a big grin.

“Our spots are free,” she said. “Wanna go?”

“Eh.” He shrugged.

“But I wanna talk to Grillby,” she said.

He stuck his thumb up. She grinned and gathered her food up and scampered over to the counter. No whoopee cushion on the seat this time, but she checked anyway.

Grillby seemed to smile and nodded at her as he swept away the remnants of the previous diners’ meals with a wave of his arm— they clunked somewhere behind the counter. 

“Thanks for putting up with me, huh?” she said, pointing at her milkshake. 

He shook his head. She smiled and leaned a little, waving him closer. He raised his brows and joined her, dipping in conspiratorially as if to humour her. She grinned. 

“Just so you know,” she said, “barrier’s coming down tomorrow. I mean, like… Actual tomorrow, not in the morning tomorrow.”

He raised one brow and tilted his head. She held up her hands.

“I know, it sounds nuts,” she said. “But we can totally do it. Me and my friend. It’s gonna be good. I just wanted you to know.”

His brow furrowed slightly; his flames roiled. He put a hand on her shoulder. Frisk’s cheeks flushed and she tapped her fingers together.

“No, no no, we’re not… I’m gonna be fine,” she said. “Don’t worry.”

He gently patted her head and she snickered as the lukewarm flame brushed her skin. 

“Nice to see you warmed up to the kid so fast.” Sans leaned over the counter from his spot on the stool that he had certainly not walked to. He grinned.

“Sans.” Grillby rolled his eyes.

“What?” Sans smiled innocently. “Doin’ alright?”

Grillby stared at him silently for a few long seconds and Sans began to laugh. 

“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna let her do anything too crazy,” he said. “Welp. I mean. Not like I can actually stop her, though…”

The other monster looked at him skeptically. He grinned.

“Hey, you try stoppin’ a kid made just straight-up outta determination, see how well it goes,” he joked. “Seriously. She’ll be fine. She’s real good at what she does.”

“…It would be nice to see the sky again,” Grillby admitted. He crossed his arms and tapped his fingers. “But…” He turned his gaze on Frisk. “Careful.”

“I will be, promise,” she said. “And I—”

Frisk was taken from the conversation as someone tugged at her sleeve. She turned quickly and was relieved to find that it was just Lesser Dog. He was panting a little and looked worried, his ears pressed back and his dark eyes wide and round. 

“Is something wrong?” she asked. 

He whimpered. Her brow furrowed and she hopped down from the stool. He held her shoulders and looked like he was about to say something, but was denied the chance as a barking, excited mob of dogs swarmed into the bar, barking and herding out what was left of the other patrons. 

“Wuh-oh, looks like they’re barkin’ mad,” Sans said.

Grillby scoffed. Frisk felt a little hit of worry. This didn’t seem normal. 

“Hey! You! Don’t move!” Doggo peeked out from behind a table and pointed approximately in her direction. “Or. Uh. Do move. Just a bit. But don’t go anywhere.”

“Um… Did I do something wrong?” Frisk asked worriedly.

“Course not,” Sans said.

A circle of large dogs closed in around the kid and Lesser Dog began to sweat and pulled back, wringing his paws. The married dogs pulled down their black hoods in dramatic unison to look down at the kid with curiosity and seemed a little worried themselves.

“We need to ask you something,” Dogamy said.

“Something very important,” Dogaressa added.

“So you have to tell the truth,” he said.

“It’s very important,” she said with a nod.

“Um. Okay,” Frisk said. “What is it?”

“Lesser Dog’s cousin’s pupfriend told us something… Ah… Can you tell us? Is it true?” Dogamy looked at her with wide eyes. “Are you a human?”

Frisk felt like the world had frozen, the music had stopped, and her heart thunked to the floor. Her pulse raced in her ears for a moment. She took a deep breath and tried to settle herself, and the sounds came back. She looked at Sans. He shrugged. She turned her attention back on the nervous, sparkly-eyed dogs. They were probably more worried than she was, come to think of it. She supposed word must’ve gotten back from New Home. She nodded. 

“Y-Yeah. I am,” she said. “Sorry, I… I just wanted you guys to like me.”

Every dogs’ eyes went wide. They jumped into a huddle, arfing and whining amongst themselves. Doggo quickly jumped up and grabbed Sans’s shoulders.

“You said she’s your kid,” he said. “Right?”

“Yeah. She is,” he said.

Doggo’s brow furrowed and he jumped back into the huddle.

After a few more seconds of woofing, the dogs broke apart and Dogaressa cleared her throat. Doggo did a drum-roll on the table with a bone.

“We have decided,” she said, “that your puppiness stays intact.”

“Wait, what?” Frisk asked.

“You may be a human, yes, but you are still a puppy,” Dogamy said, nodding and folding his arms. “Therefore. Um. Case dismissed!”

“Was this a trial?” Sans asked with a grin.

“We really like this puppy,” Dogaressa said. “She’s a good puppy! A kind puppy. A dog-petting-other-dogs puppy. If a good puppy like that is also a human, well… Then that human must be a really good puppy.”

The kid was stunned still for a moment. She couldn’t have wished for that to go better. She let out a deep breath and couldn’t help a smile. “Thank you guys so much,” Frisk said. “That… That really means a lot to me.”

Greater Dog strode up to her silently and peered down at her. He tilted his head and then scooped her up under her arms and then pulled her into a hug, petting her head and wagging his tail exuberantly. Before Frisk knew it, all the dogs were on her, patting and nuzzling her. She laughed and petted all of them.

Sans watched with an amused grin. He took a sip of his ketchup. Grillby leaned over the counter beside him, putting his cheek in his palm. He shot the skeleton a look.

“Honestly, I’m not surprised,” Sans said.

Grillby chuckled. “Strange,” he said softly.

“You know what’s funny? Just about everyone’s looked past it,” Sans said. “I think that says somethin’ kinda good about us, y’know? Heh. Or maybe just somethin’ good about her.”

Grillby looked at him and raised his brows. Sans laughed.

“Yeah, you’re right. Maybe both,” he said.

\- - -

It was raining outside. Asriel could hear the faint growl of thunder; could see the leaves around him quiver when cool drops of rain blew into whatever cave was up there. He’d put how painfully quiet and boring it was here out of his mind. He regretted saying no to Frisk’s offer of her phone more the longer he sat there.

Curled up in a corner, he took a moment to think. He strained his memory, trying to see if any fragments of breaking the barrier remained. To take the souls of the humans, and then the monsters… He could remember watching Frisk engage Asgore; saw Toriel knock him aside to protect her and, as she scolded him, he slowly began to creep his vines through those holders.

He remembered the sense of smug satisfaction. After watching that kid dance and dodge her way through the underground, protected by friends the whole while, it had felt like such a success to finally have had his plan come to fruition. Especially since he’d gotten there through manipulating her and one of the monsters that cared for her the most. He wondered if she knew. 

He crossed his leaves across his stem and let his head nod downwards as he closed his eyes for just a moment. He could have gone in the morning. Should have. He didn’t like to admit it, but he liked the sound of souls nearby. Frisk’s especially, though even Papyrus’s had become a comfort. 

He felt a sharp tapping on his head. Startled, he drew back and looked up with groggy eyes. Seemed vaguely human in shape as he rubbed his face. That didn’t make sense.

“Frisk? How’d you get in here?” he asked.

“Are you stupid or something?” she replied.

That voice sent chills through his whole body. His vision snapped back into focus and there was Chara with an amused grin on her face, her eyes blazing. 

His jaw dropped and his mouth opened and closed like a fish, though he couldn’t find words. She scoffed and plopped back into the plants with him. She tilted her head and looked at him curiously. He shook his head and rubbed his temples.

“It’s not real, it’s not real, you’re not real, you’re dead, you’re…”

She laughed loudly, tipped backwards a little like it was the funniest thing in the world. “Az, you’re really losin’ it,” she said. “Aw. Look at you. So small. Are you really still stuck like that? Seriously?”

“L-Like you care!” he spat.

The mocking grin faded. She tilted her head the other way. “Of course I care, stupid,” she said. “Why do you think I keep pushing you? You need to get those souls.”

“I’m getting a soul,” he said.

“A soul. One. Wrong. You need all of them,” she said. “How’re you gonna end all this without them?”

“I’m not going to end all this,” he said with a glare. “I’m not…! I couldn’t anyway, Frisk has—”

“Frisk, Frisk, Frisk,” she said mockingly. “What good’s she, anyway?”

“S-She’s gonna get me a soul,” he protested. “She’s strong. And she’s… nice, and—”

“Nice?!” Chara burst out laughing again. “Oh man, Az. You’re funny. You honestly think she’ll get you a soul? No way. Take them yourself.”

“That’s not how this works!” he insisted. “Why would she lie to me like that?! She’s my—”

“Your what?” The girl’s eyes seemed to glitter, like the cold shine off a blade. “Again, there you are, playing the useful idiot.”

“Wh-What?!” He frowned. “I’m not an idiot.”

“Hm. Well.” Chara shrugged. “Up for debate.” Her eyes fogged over black and she smiled. “I’m just trying to protect you. So when they leave you. You’ll be ready to take what’s yours.”

“Th-They won’t… They won’t leave me,” he said, his voice faltering.

“If that’s really what you think, you deserve this,” she said, gently flicking his face.

Asriel recoiled. He blinked around quickly and his vision sharpened from a sudden fuzziness. It was raining, heavy enough to actually call it that. Must’ve been furious outside. He looked around quickly, a nervous energy buzzing inside him. Her name was on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it back. He took a deep, nervous breath. He rubbed his temples.

It wasn’t real, right? No matter how it looked; how she sounded… No matter how real it felt, he tried to tell himself. She was wrong. Frisk wouldn’t leave. They’d get a soul. She believed it. No matter the doubt he felt, she was sure. Did that even mean anything, though? Alphys was the scientist, and she had doubts. Strong ones. And what about Sans? He was supposed to be the other smart one; he hadn’t dissuaded Frisk at all, but maybe that was just because he didn’t have the heart to.

Asriel groaned and held his head. Just breathe, he told himself— or, at least, pretend to. Mimic the motion. It might have helped somewhere else. Here, the shadows started to press in. He felt constricted. He looked around quickly. She wasn’t still there, was she? Still lurking? He didn’t want to stay here, and yet here he was, waiting for sunlight that might not even come. He clenched his jaw and he felt thorns bristling from his stem. A deep loneliness hit him like the strike of a hammer. He wouldn’t bear it. Couldn’t. Not again.

\- - -

Sometimes, Frisk forgot how big Undyne was. As she stared up at that blue monster, her red hair billowing, stark against the white of Snowdin, she towered like a sentinel armed with a glowing spear. 

“ALRIGHT,” Undyne announced. “So! The spears are fire and, uh, the spears are also a spear.”

“Trident,” Sans said. He kicked back on the steps of the house and put his arms behind his head.

“Trident, yeah,” she said. She twirled her weapon around her finger and grinned her big, pointy teeth. “Ready, kid?”

“Good luck, Frisk!” Papyrus said, sticking both thumbs up. “Not that you need it, I’m sure.”

Training had been Undyne’s idea, not that Frisk was opposed. There wasn’t anyone better to train for a fight with Asgore with than his star pupil. Undyne probably knew his fighting style better than anyone aside from Toriel. 

Frisk stretched her arms and cracked her knuckles, shooting her brothers an amused grin. Papyrus looked excited for her, but there was still that little tilt of caution in his brow.

“Don’t worry!” she said. “I’ve done this a dozen times! It’s good to do a little warmup, though.”

“Yes, of course!” Papyrus said. “Tomorrow is the big day, after all! But, you’re sure the King will fight you?”

“Yeah, he fought me every time,” she said. “Except when I told him you and Sans were my brother a little while back.”

“Sssoooo, um, couldn’t you do that again?” he asked worriedly.

“Flower kid needs time to grab the human souls. And we need a bunch of people to show up so the flower kid can grab ‘em, too,” Sans said. “Power boost so he can get the rest of the underground. So, they gotta have a reason to show up, right? And if the King is about to take their favourite human’s soul…” He raised his brows.

“Oh. Ooooh. We’re tricking everyone,” Papyrus said.

“It’s for their own good,” Undyne said. “OKAY. Enough. Kid, you ready?”

Frisk smiled and stuck her thumbs up. Undyne’s eyes seemed to gleam and her fingers lit with magic. She drew up her claws as if trying to raise the earth beneath her and the blue points of blades pierced the snow in parallel rows around the kid. With a wave of her hands, they rushed towards Frisk and looped, exactly like Asgore’s flames would. She slid from their path with ease. Second wave was dozens more points of magic, weaving back and forth in what was almost a teardrop arc. It wasn’t hard to stay in the centre.

“Oof, nice, squirt,” Undyne said. “Guess you weren’t kidding, huh?”

“Nope!” she said.

Undyne guffawed and called up the magic again, overwhelming the snow with blue as she wove pillars and and arcs; circles that pressed inwards tightly. Frisk hardly got nicked, weaving and ducking through the magic that bristled loudly. 

“S’pretty good!!” Undyne announced. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” Frisk said. “Usually get got by one of those big ones with the weaving. It’s okay.”

“Yeah, it’s a little overwhelming, that bit,” Undyne agreed. “Me too, when I was a kid, actually. He, uh, hasn’t changed his style up much.”

“Mom’s the same,” Frisk said.

“I can’t do that type of blue or orange,” she said, absently spinning her spear, “but do you wanna try to jump it anyway?”

“Waaait, wait, time out!” Papyrus called, running in quickly. “Let me just… Nyeh.” He grabbed Frisk’s shoulder and then frowned at himself. He quickly switched his mitts out for the climbing gloves in his pocket, the ones that left his fingers mostly exposed. “There, that should go faster.” He clutched to her and began to glow.

Frisk snickered as the warmth of his energy seeped into her; she could already feel any pain from the blows fading away.

“I don’t know why I even keep wearing mitts if I’m going to keep having to heal you so much,” he said. “Silly me!”

“Does it really make a difference?” she asked.

“Nyeh heh heh, of course it does!” he assured her. “Annnnnd… done! There we go, actually, you didn’t get hit too badly at all, did you?”

“Naw, just training,” she assured him. “Don’t worry so much, bro.”

“Alright, alright!” He grinned and put his hands up as if to yield, and then took three large steps back. “Okay! Good to go!”

Undyne grinned— held back a laugh— and shot Frisk an inquisitive look. The spear in her hand began to glow.

“Alright? Ready?” she said. “From the top!”

“WAAAAAAIT! CAPTAIN, WAIT!!!” 

That was a dog’s voice, wholly unexpected, and before she knew it, Undyne was tackled into the snow by several furry bodies. Sans immediately cracked up as at least four dogs flailed around, paws kicking snow into the air, and Undyne heaved herself out of the heap with Dogaressa clinging to her arm.

“Undyne, are you okay?!” Papyrus yelled.

“Yeah. Jeez,” she grunted.

“Owww, sorry!” Dogaressa said. “We got overexcited…”

“Very excited,” Dogamy agreed, sitting back in the snow and grabbing Undyne’s hand to pull her up. 

Lesser Dog shook himself off, armour clinking like he was caught in a tumbler, and Doggo covered his ears. Undyne looked between them all with confusion and turned to scowl at Sans, who was still snickering loudly.

“Sorry, Captain! We just came to stop you!” Doggo said.

“Stop me?” Undyne asked, taking note as Greater Dog lumbered up to join them.

“Yes! Stop you from fighting that human,” Dogamy continued.

“It’s okay! It’s okay,” Frisk said quickly. She scampered over to join them and grabbed Undyne’s arm. “We’re not fighting.”

“What?! You’re not?!” Doggo shouted, fingers still firmly wedged in his ears.

“No, not really,” Undyne said.

“We’re practicing!” Frisk said.

“Oh. Well. This is embarrassing,” Dogaressa said. “Sorry, Captain!”

Undyne laughed tiredly and rubbed her brow. “That’s fine. Jeez, guys, what was your plan if we were?”

“Um. Well. We’d probably whine. And do that.” Dogaressa pointed over at Lesser Dog, whose big, dark eyes seemed to have become impossibly large and glossy. “Yes, that, a lot.”

“That wouldda been dangerous,” she said. 

“Pretty _ruff_,” Sans chimed in.

“Sans!!” Papyrus barked.

“What?” he said.

“What nothing, I can guarantee you that you’ve made that pun over a hundred times since we moved here!” he said with a scowl. “You made it at the lab just a little while ago, even!”

“So you’re sayin’ I’m barkin’ up the wrong tree?” Sans asked innocently. “Also. Heh. Lab.”

“Oh my god! Yes! I mean, NO! I MEAN! UGH!” Papyrus threw his hands in the air and Sans was rolling again. “You’re impossible, do you know that?”

Undyne rolled her eye at the brothers. The dogs around her in the snow were all staring at her, except Lesser Dog, who was being pet contentedly by Frisk. She laughed and shot them a smile. 

“You guys are all good dogs,” she said.

Instantly, the dogs were all patting each other and offering exuberant congratulations. Undyne bit back a laugh and stood up, brushing herself off. Sticking two fingers in her mouth, she let out a loud, sharp whistle. The dogs immediately lined up before her and saluted. She replied in kind. 

“Dismissed!” she said.

Woofing loudly, tails wagging, all the Guards bounded off, with Lesser Dog pausing to lick all four of the others before running after his pack, flailing his little paws as he went.

“Take that as a test run,” Undyne said, ears perking as she watched them go. “Man. Dogs are weird.”

“I think they’re great,” Frisk said with a grin. She got to her feet, stumbled for just a moment, and brushed the snow off her pants. “Should we go again?”

“Sure thing, squirt.” The fish monster grinned and levelled a spear at her. “But I’m not gonna go easy on you.”

“Good! Asgore won’t,” she said.

“Um! Excuse me!” Papyrus raised his arm. “Would it be alright if I joined in, too? On Frisk’s team.”

“Ooh, really?” she said.

“Don’t see why not,” Undyne said. “Get over here! And try to keep up!”

Training with Papyrus was almost like a dance. He was so quick on his feet— Frisk took a hit or two just watching him.

After a few rounds, the cold was starting to bite the kid, so they retreated indoors for tea and video games. Frisk snuggled up with Sans and a blanket, and as Papyrus and Undyne duked it out on the TV, she turned to her phone.

A quick scroll through UnderNet and she knew what Alphys was doing. Photos of ramen with pink sparkle filters and comparing herself to trashcans she saw in what appeared to be New Home. It almost looked like she was ready to start a review blog.

Though it made her heart speed a beat and Frisk knew it was probably in vain, she checked her messages again. She chewed the inside of her cheek nervously as she skimmed those old texts from her shadowy friend.

“_hey_,” she typed. “_just wanted to let u know, tomorrow we r gonna go brake the barier so if u can id love to see u outside ok? i mean just in case u come back and we r all gone._” She sent it, and the error message came back like it always did. Still, she hoped. Her heart beat a little too hard. “_can u meet me by the ruins door today @ 2? ill wait for an hour. ok?_”

She didn’t expect an answer, but she was still a little disappointed as minutes ticked by without one. 

She was jarred by Sans’s chin clunking lightly down onto her head. She held in a laugh and rolled her eyes up to look at the drowsy skeleton. She wondered what he was thinking about. She yawned and, after a few minutes, slipped away over the arm of the couch to get some water. 

When she came back, her brother had flopped sideways and passed out entirely. She snuck in front of the others during a break in the rounds; noticed a shape pass the window. She peeked out curiously. Nothing much but dog Guards. She smiled to herself and leaned up on the sill, tapping her toe behind her as she watched them scamper back and forth. They were tossing sticks for each other. She guessed the discovery that dogs could pet each other had quickly led to dogs playing fetch with each other, too. 

They ran out of view towards Waterfall. Frisk stretched and used her stripy sleeve to wipe her watering eyes. A new, dark shape caught her interest and she leaned in close again. The two black knights from Hotland trudged by, carrying a large something that looked a lot like a telescope by. After a few seconds, they were followed by— much to Frisk’s surprise— Alphys.

The kid’s face lit up and she vaulted over the couch and went straight for the door. 

“Alphys!” she said brightly.

“Ah!!” The lizard stumbled over herself in the snow. She was underdressed in her lab coat and was a little blue, but she smiled and gladly accepted the kid into a hug as she jumped off the steps. “Hi, F-F-Frisk!!”

“You’re so cold!” she said.

“Y-Yeah, I g-g-guess I sh-should have gotten a b-better coat.” She smiled and leaned around to look at the Guards. “J-Just keep g-going, if you can, um… I-If you can just take it to the town sign? I’ll m-meet up with you th-there.”

“Whatcha doing?” she asked.

“Oh, a-actually,” Alphys said, distracted, “I m-might need y-your b-b-brother, and—!” She squeaked loudly as she was scooped up in Undyne’s strong, blue arms. She stammered something incomprehensible, but then gave in to a giggle and snuggled into the other monster gladly. 

“I didn’t know you were coming!” Undyne said.

“Y-Y-Yeah, it was k-kinda last minute,” she admitted. “Oh! Um. S-Sorry, Frisk. Uh. Everyone.” She turned slightly to wave at Papyrus, who had come to the front door curiously. “I j-just, uh… I j-j-just…”

“For cryin’ out loud, Doc.” Sans was outside out of nowhere with a tired grin on his face. He chucked his coat at her.

When Undyne put her down on the ground, she gladly put it on.

“Aaaah, that’s m-much better,” she said, pulling up the fuzzy hood. “Oof! I’m g-gonna need one of these on the surface, huh?”

“Yep,” Frisk said. “So?”

“Oh! Oh, right! Um! It’s j-just a bit of final touches,” Alphys said quickly. “I r-realized the soul thing would probably work a l-lot better if we had, these, um… These.” She reached into the front of her jacket and pulled out a disk, white and faintly translucent— flat on one side, domed on the other. “They’re part of a-an energy relay n-network. W-We can use them to, um, sort of “collect” the soul magic, and that th-thing I had brought in? It should help channel it towards where you said you’d b-be, Frisk.”

“Oh! Wow, that sounds super useful!” Frisk held the disk carefully and peered at it curiously. “So how does it work?”

“Oh! W-Well, they’re, um, a little obsolete b-because they need to be charged e-every week and, uh… Basically, w-we used to use them as p-part of an, um, p-personal item transfer system. B-Before I finished the dimension box tech,” Alphys explained. “I just retooled them a t-tiny bit. P-Plus, w-we can pretty easily c-combine all that with the, um, broadcast blaster. Magic is, um, r-really easy to convert completely into a resonance, b-basically, so it’d be a lot like moving everything on a radio signal. It’s, um… Well, it’ll m-make everything go a lot faster and smoother.”

“How’s the radius?” Sans asked.

“Oh! Better. B-Better, I made some u-updates a few days ago,” she said. “W-We’ll just need a couple in town and t-towards the woods and—”

“Oh! We can do that for you!” Papyrus said confidently. “And then you can handle the whatever-else-you’re-doing.”

“Oh, perfect.” Alphys looked relieved. She pulled out her phone and began to text. “I’ll s-send you my m-map and…”

The air near her shimmered and a cardboard box labeled “_7119-20518 old relay parts NOT TRASH”_ plunked from nowhere and into the snow. Papyrus scooped it up and shot a look at Frisk.

“What do you think, little sister?”

“No problem!” she assured him. She ran back inside, presumably to put shoes on.

“Mind if I tag along?” Undyne asked Alphys.

“I’d l-love it,” she said. She turned to Sans with a small smile. “S-So. Um. How, uh…? How is she? And where’s A-Asriel?”

“Kid’s out,” Sans said. “Other kid’s mostly okay. Finally slept alright thanks to the Captain, there.”

“Pah!! Guess I’m cozier than I thought!” Undyne said.

“Of course y-you are, you’re really cozy,” Alphys said. Her face immediately flushed bright red and she tried to hide under her hood. “I-I-I mean… Uh. Um. Oh n-no. Nooo no no, just p-put me in the trash…”

“Pffft, you’re weird, Alph,” Undyne teased.

“Uuuuuugh…”

Sans grinned and shook his head. He pointed his thumb back at the house. 

“I’m gonna lay around. Good luck.” He vanished.

Alphys took a deep breath and put a hand to her chest. She smiled up at Undyne and tapped her fingertips together. “Things s-suddenly seem to be going so fast,” she said.

“Really? Feels slow to me,” Undyne said, “and I bet it’s gonna feel even slower tomorrow, until right when it happens, and then it’s gonna feel like two seconds.”

“Hah! I th-think I know what y-you mean,” she said. “E-Even though I almost feel like I don’t h-have enough hours in a day.”

“Well, that’s why you got us, right?” she said, sticking her thumb up and grinning bright.

“R-Right!” Alphys said.

\- - -

Papyrus and Frisk bounced around town, sticking the small relay disks all over— in the small blocks of houses, across the river; along the sides of the cliffs just beyond the edge of town. Alphys’s map was very specific— seemed to form some sort of pattern that was probably very precise and mathematical. 

They passed the Hotland Guards walking back towards town as they headed for the Ruins. Alphys and Undyne were there with that strange telescope-shaped something attached firmly to a tree, the tapered end pointed squarely at the centre of the doorway. 

“Doctor! Our task is complete!” Papyrus announced.

“Perfect, thanks y-you guys,” Alphys said. “You should h-have one more disk left, right?”

“Yep! Here!” Frisk handed it over. “I’m real glad you thought of this. Az’s gonna be really happy to hear there’s more, I dunno… It’s more of a for-sure-technology thing behind all this.”

“I sure hope so,” she said. “The p-poor little guy…”

“Don’t worry so much,” Undyne said, thumping her on the back. She took the disk, grabbed to the tree, and bounced upwards, anchoring herself by the feet in the bark. She plunked it into the back of the instrument. “Here, right?”

“Yup, convex side out,” Alphys said.

Undyne screwed the disk in and it let out a faint, melodic thrum and its pale surface began to shift with colour, like fish deep below the surface of a pond.

“How many c-colours is it showing?” Alphys asked, standing on her toes although it didn’t help at all. 

“Uhh… Blue, yellow, gold, red, black, and purple,” she said. “That about right?”

“Hm. More r-receptive than I thought.” Alphys sounded pleased. “A-Alright! We’re good.”

As Undyne jumped down from the tree and brushed herself off, Frisk checked her phone. It was almost time. When she looked up, the others had started to head back towards town. Undyne and Papyrus were chatting about something, but Alphys had paused to blow on her hands. She caught Frisk out of the corner of her eye and turned around.

“Aren’t you c-coming?” she asked.

“I, um… I was actually gonna maybe wait around here. For Az,” she said. “And, um…”

“And?” Alphys tilted her head.

“Well, it’s just… I left the shadow guy a message to see if he’d show up at a time,” she said. “So… I dunno.”

“Oh! W-Would…? Would it be okay if I… stayed with you?” the lizard asked curiously. “W-Would that be weird?”

“Oh! No, I’d love that,” Frisk assured her.

“Guys, you coming?!” Undyne called to them— she and Papyrus were already across the bridge.

“Um! W-We’ll meet you guys at the h-house in a while!” Alphys called back.

“Frriiiiissssk, is everything alright?!” Papyrus called.

“Fine, bro, see you at home?” she said.

She saw him stick both thumbs up high in the air. Alphys smiled shyly and put her hands in the sleeves of her coat. 

“Th-Thanks,” she said. “I’d l-like to see Asriel. And… And, your mysterious friend. I h-have some questions for him.” 

She delved into her phone and pulled out two small, white boxes. She tossed them on the ground just off the path and gave them a kick— they each formed a small, basic chair, cushions and all.

“Ooh, wow, that’s cool!” Frisk said brightly. She sat down and bounced on the seat.

The lizard snickered and smiled fondly, taking the chair beside her. “S-So. Um. A-Are…? Are you excited? For tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Frisk said.

“Nervous?” Alphys wondered.

“Just a little,” she said. 

“A-About Asgore?” she asked. “Undyne t-told me all about it.”

“Oh! No, no, that’s one of the easiest parts,” she said. “Well, easiest for me. I mean. I don’t like putting him through it. Obviously. Um. No, that’ll be fine, even if we have to fight a little. It’s just the stuff after, because I don’t know how it goes.”

“I-Isn’t that a little exciting, though?” she asked. “I’ve been feeling b-buzzy all day. D-Do…? Do humans get that? Like, your hum goes fast and y-you feel kind of n-nervous but excited but a little sick, too?”

“Oh! Yeah. We call that butterflies,” Frisk said. “But I don’t really know why.”

“Interesting.” Alphys tented her fingers. She smiled nervously. “Ah… J-Just thinking about s-seeing the outside… It makes me a little sc-scared, but… I r-really want to, too.”

“Do you wanna try to take back more memories?” Frisk pointed to her cheek.

“Oh! Well, I… Hmm…” Alphys bit her lip and then, after a moment of consideration, shook her head. “Thanks, F-Frisk, but I… I think I’d like to see it for real! Y-Yeah.”

“Fair enough,” the kid said.

“Must be s-so weird…” Alphys said quietly.

“What?” Frisk asked.

“Oh! S-Sorry, I was just thinking about, uh… About y-your powers. With the, um, time loops and stuff,” she said. “When S-Sans and I were, um, studying the Dark Model, we could see some of the loops happening, but I don’t think e-either of us actually expected there to be s-someone who experienced them.”

“Oh right, yeah, Sans didn’t time travel back then,” she said. “Yeah, I guess it is kinda weird, huh?”

“Oh. O-Oh god.” Alphys laughed and rubbed her face with her palms. “I j-just realized… I mean. You… know all about that, don’t you? Y-You know about everything your brother and I ever researched.”

“Yup!” Frisk said.

“D-Does… Does it bother you?” she asked softly.

“No, why would it?” she said.

“W-Well, we had to study human souls, s-sometimes,” she muttered.

Frisk shrugged. Alphys took a deep breath and smiled.

“Th-Thanks. But… But, isn’t that an awful lot?” she asked. “If, um… If you ever n-need help understanding something f-from back then…”

“Oh! Thanks!” she said. “That feels like so long ago to him.”

“W-Well, it’s your whole life!” Alphys joked.

“Huh?” Frisk asked.

“T-Ten years, right?” she said.

“Oh. Hah… Y-Yeah,” Frisk said.

Frisk felt her phone rumble in her pocket and she rushed to pull it out. She didn’t know why she’d hoped a reply from the shadowman— of course, she didn’t get one. She had a text from Papyrus, letting her know he was going to put her clothes in that chest Sans had received, if that was okay with her. It was. 

She sighed and put the phone away in her pocket. She noticed Alphys looking at her with worry on her face. She smiled a little and curled up in her seat.

“So, how’s the fanfic?” she asked.

“Oh! Ah… Um… W-Well, I haven’t really had time to, um, w-write for a little while, but it’s not t-too bad,” she said sheepishly.

“Any Disaster Blasters?” Frisk asked.

“Ah! Um. K-Kind of?” Alphys blushed. She seemed very distracted by the scales on her fingers. “I… Uh. I a-actually got a little st-stuck and I started, uh, writing… um… AUs…? J-Just to pass the time…”

“Really? What kind?” Frisk asked. 

“W-Well, I… I sometimes think, um, human-swaps are interesting,” she admitted.

“Human-swaps?” Frisk asked. “Oh. Wait, are those the ones where you guys are humans?”

“Y-Yes!” she said.

“Why would you wanna be humans?” Frisk asked with a laugh.

“It’s just, um, an e-exploration of, well… d-different possibilities, you know…” Her scales turned a darker stare of red in her cheeks. “S-So... So I tried that, and….”

“Wait, what would I be in one of those?” she asked.

“Oh!” She looked up quickly. “W-Well, a monster, right? If it’s a swap?”

“Ooh!” Frisk’s face lit up and she leaned closer over the edge of the chair to get closer. “So? What was I? What did you pick?”

“Oh! W-Well, a sk-skeleton, right? That makes the most sense,” Alphys said with a smile. “I, um, made you a little skeleton with, um, c-cute little horns like some of them used to have, um… I dunno, it s-seemed kinda right, what do you think?” 

This kid’s eyes were sparkling. “That sounds great!”

“Really?!” Alphys started to grin brightly. “Oh g-good! Because, I, um, thought, you’re p-pretty special, right? So it would, um, m-make sense to make you a horned skeleton to, um, st-stand out, just a little.”

“Wow, that’s cool,” Frisk said. “And so everyone else would be a human, then. What did you do with yourself?”

“ME?! Um… I… I didn’t, um… How d-did you know I was even in it…?” she asked quietly.

“Of course you are! Everyone is, right?” she said. “Did you do like you used to?”

“Hah… I g-guess you must know pretty w-well.” She blushed and her eyes went wide. “Oh. No. Th-That means…! OH NO! That means you’ve r-read all my old stories by proxy, haven’t you?! Oh my god…” She seemed to turn to goo in her seat. “I belong in the g-garbage.”

Frisk burst out laughing and clapped her hands together in her mirth. She shook her head and wiped her eyes. “It's okay! It's okay. It’s a long time ago! I don’t super understand them if I look back at it. Don’t worry. I just remembered you did a human one before where you were, like, short and blonde, right?”

“Aaaaahh… Oh my god.” Alphys held her snout in her hands. “I, uh… Y-Yeah, um… I…” She took a deep breath to steady herself. “I… I sort of t-try to tone m-match, since there aren’t a lot of h-human colours, so, I… I make myself a little pale and th-then with yellow hair and glasses, and… umm… Is that weird?”

“No, I think that’s about right,” Frisk said.

“R-Right, so, um… I… I would do, um… Undyne a bit darker than you, and with red hair, and still… big. B-Big arms… Um… Same h-height, I guess.”

“She’s taller than most humans,” Frisk said.

“What?! Really?” Alphys asked. “How t-tall are humans?”

“Papyrus is about the size of a kind of tall human,” Frisk said. “And you and Sans are kinda like, pretty short humans? I’ve seen a lady as tall as you before, but I’ve never seen a guy in real life as tall as Sans who wasn’t a kid; most of them are taller. But I’ve seen a guy on a movie as tall as Sans. But Undyne, she’s really tall! Especially for a girl, usually they’re a little shorter. And then Asgore and mom, they’re way too tall, I don’t know if there’s any humans as tall as them.”

“W-Wow. Well. That’s good to know,” Alphys said with a laugh. “H-Honestly, I… I d-didn’t even think about that. So… When w-we get out there… most humans w-will be taller than m-me…”

“Yup,” Frisk said. “It’s okay, me too! But, I mean, everyone’s taller than me.”

Alphys snickered. “I guess th-that means you’ll grow up to be taller than me, too!”

“Naw, I bet I’ll always be small,” Frisk said. “But that’s okay, I have tall friends.”

The lizard snorted and nodded, smiling at her fondly.

“S-So, um, I actually b-based y-your brothers’ appearances a l-lot off you, h-how you normally are,” Alphys said. “I used to do them really, really pale. But… since you got here, I thought making them l-look more like you would be better.”

“Oh! You don’t have to, though, I wouldn’t wanna change your artistic stuff!” Frisk said quickly.

“No no, I like i-it both ways, honestly,” Alphys insisted. “Even if it’s j-just in my head. B-But I’m, um, a l-little stuck, c-could I maybe ask you something?”

“Sure,” Frisk said.

“W-Well. Okay! Um…So, d-do think S-Sans would have s-scruffy hair, or do you think he’d just shave it off?” she wondered.

“Ummm…” She tilted her head and then pulled her fingers through her own hair. “Umm… Oh. He’d get Paps to buzz him really short, I think. Like, with one of those loud razor things. He wouldn’t wanna deal with a lot of hair, but I don’t think he’d wanna be totally bald if there was an option just because he would like to have his head just a little warm in the cold, I think. Papyrus would like to have hair, if he were human, though. I think he’d try to make it look really cool.”

“Of course!” Alphys said. “Would it be really long? L-Like the boys in an anime?”

“Ummm… I wouldn’t be surprised if he put it really long at some point, but I think he’d probably like it better shorter,” she said. “Because then he’d look more like an action guy than a rock-and-roll guy, and I think he’d like that more.”

“A-Alright, fair enough,” the lizard said with a laugh. “Th-Thanks, Frisk. I know that was, uh, s-super dorky and weird…”

Frisk shrugged. “Doesn’t bother me at all!” she said brightly. 

“It is totally super dorky and weird, though.” Asriel popped up from the snow with a sideways smile. “Hey, dorks.”

“Az!” Frisk grinned and bent to scoop him up in her chilly fingers. “Doing okay?”

“Been worse,” he said. “Got rained on.”

“Does r-rain actually come in from there?!” Alphys asked.

“Little bit. Through the hole this doofus fell through,” he said, pointing at Frisk. 

“So… Wait, y-you…? Oh wow. Hey. C-Can you get to the other side of this d-door?” she asked.

“Not right up, it’s solid stone. That is also enchanted,” he said. “Why?”

“W-Would you be able to, umm…” She produced another translucent disk and and offered it to him. “Can y-you hold that?”

“Yeeeah?” He grew some vines out and wrapped it tightly in them. “Where to?”

“As cl-close to the door as you can g-get?” she asked. “On a w-wall?”

“Sure.” 

He saluted when Frisk put him back down and then he ducked and vanished. 

“So, what kind of horns?” she asked, turning back to Alphys. “Like, a unicorn horn? Big horns like Asgore?”

“Hm? Oh! Um… Well, i-in the old books and things, usually they have, um, either curled horns like a r-ram, or sort of straight ones that go back.” She put a hand on either side of her head with her fingers pointing back behind her, as if to mark where the horns would be. It was a little similar to the ones on the edges of her crest, but the alignment was a little different. She smiled bashfully and wrung her hands. “I picked a short version of that k-kind for you. I think it would b-be kinda cute!”

“You’re not sciencing Frisk to have horns.” Asriel was back already, giving the lizard a skeptical look. “You just know she’ll just get them caught in everything.” 

“Wh-What? Oh, n-no, that’s not—”

“No no no, Az, she’s talking about her human-swap fic!” Frisk said brightly as she picked him up again.

Alphys looked like she wanted to vanish into the snow.

“Oh. Oh man.” Asriel grinned in a rather unnerving way. “You gotta tell me all about that.”

“Uhhhhhhh.” Alphys pulled up her hood and pretended she wasn’t there.


	80. The Build-Up Arc

An hour passed, and there was still no sign of the shadowman. Disappointed but not at all surprised, Frisk sent him one more text before they headed back to the house. The whole thing made Asriel roll his eyes.

Papyrus was very excited to see them— eager to show off how he’d meticulously ordered Frisk’s clothes by type and colour, rolled them, and lined the chest with them. It was a rather banal thing, but he was so proud of it. It was sort of strange for Frisk to see all that stuff in one place like that. Things that were all hers, now. There was a kind of permanence about it that was oddly reassuring to her. 

Alphys had coopted the downstairs and had set up more snacks than Frisk had realized fit into a dimension box all across their table at the side of the living room. The lizard seemed very pleased with herself and Undyne quickly waved Papyrus and Frisk down.

“I th-thought it might be, um, nice to m-maybe have a little bit of a thing with… y-you know, snacks and m-music or something?” she said.

“That’s weirdly irreverent, huh?” Asriel joked as he snacked on some chips. “Hey, guys, I’m gonna die tomorrow. Party, right?”

“You’re not gonna die,” Frisk said, her brow furrowed.

“Might as well,” he said.

“Asriel, come on, you’re going to be okay!” Papyrus assured him. “Why do you think you’ll die? Because you won’t! I’m sure of it! I don’t think that’s an option, actually.”

“Because that’s what should happen to me when this soul thing doesn’t work,” he said. “Barrier’ll be down, though, so that’s nice.”

“Aw, A-Asriel, don’t worry so much,” Alphys said gently. “Don’t b-backslide on us, okay?”

“Yeah, you nerd, haven’t you seen how much work Alph's put into this crap?” Undyne said. “She’s got all this science junk all over the place. You’re gonna be fine. You just gotta, like, get into it.”

“Sure,” Asriel said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“Chill.” Sans was on the couch, picking through a dry batch of cup-noodles like they were pretzel sticks. He looked grey and was slouched low into the shoulders of a baggy blue hoodie. “Won’t get anywhere thinkin’ like that.”

“You’re one to talk,” Asriel said.

“Sure am,” he agreed. 

Asriel scoffed and dug into the chips again. Frisk sighed and shook her head. She scampered over to the flower and gave him a quick smooch on the head. He jokingly waved her off. 

“Hey!” Undyne slammed her hands onto the table. “Listen! Forget that crap, kid! You’re fine! Tomorrow’s gonna be great! And besides, tonight’s for everyone to chill out!”

“Speakin’ of chillin’ out,” Sans said. He shot Frisk a look. “Whatcha think, milkshakes?”

“Oh!! Yeah! That would be perfect,” she said. She scooped up Asriel and grinned. “Come with me?”

“What? Oh. Uh. Fine,” he said.

“Then we’ll go! Sans, stay, you look super tired,” she said.

“Not arguin’ with that,” he said, and he sat up as the kids headed towards the door. “Put it on my tab, alright?”

“Okay, okay,” she said with a laugh.

As soon as they were out the door, Sans looked more alert and sat up slightly. He stuck a hand up. 

“Game plan?” he said.

“Brother, what are you talking about, what game?” Papyrus asked. “…Were you just pretending to be tired so you wouldn’t have to go out?”

“Pfft, no,” he said. “Got lucky. Listen. Need to talk to you guys.”

“Is s-something wrong?” Alphys asked. “Oh no! Did I m-miss something?”

“No, no. Just, uh… This thing that’s goin’ tomorrow,” he said. “It’s kinda big.”

“Well, yeah, duh,” Undyne said.

“Oh! W-Wait! I…! I get it,” Alphys said. “Y-You’ve… seen it, right, b-because of Frisk?”

“So you can tell us how it goes?!” Papyrus said. “Why did you hold this back until now?”

“Ah… Dunno, didn’t wanna put more on the kid’s shoulders.” The skeleton shrugged slightly. “We’ve all got bigger ones than she does, right?” 

“Pfft. Well, obviously,” Undyne said. “So. What’s up?”

“So. Deal is, I’ve seen this junk through the kid’s perspective, but I can’t remember from ours,” he said. “So. What I think is that, if this goes south, she’s gonna need a little help.”

“Goes south? What do you mean?!” Papyrus asked, eyes wide. “What could go wrong?”

“Asriel,” Undyne said, folding her arms.

“Asriel,” Alphys agreed reluctantly. “But h-he hates being a f-flower, I thought he’d be really eager f-for this.” She folded her arms, too, but nervously, like she was comforting herself. “He… He is still p-pretty negative, isn’t he? Oh, the poor little guy…”

“Oh, come on,” Papyrus said incredulously. “He wants a soul, he loves Frisk, there’s no way he’d do anything weird, right?”

“I’d bet he’s gonna fight her,” Sans said with a shrug.

Papyrus let out a shrill, indignant scoff. Undyne’s brow furrowed and her ears drooped. 

“So what do we do?” she asked. “Sans, what are you getting at, dude? What do you know?”

“He’s been dreamin’ of his sister a lot,” he said. “Long story short, s’probably what’s makin’ him so down on this. Gets all up in his head and makes him paranoid. Won’t be surprised at all if he loses his nerve and tries to force a loop again.”

“F-Force… a loop?” The little lizard paled and her eyes went wide. “I hope that d-doesn’t mean what I think that m-means.”

“Just spell it out, would ya?!” Undyne said, knocking her fist on the table. “I dunno what the hell that means.”

“Alright. So. What I see from the kid in the old stuff is that our flower guy basically insists on either trappin’ her in the void with him or makin’ her reset to play again, get it?” he said. “If he thinks the soul thing ain’t gonna fly, bet he’ll do it again. Might need to talk him down.”

“Ugh. That’s frustrating,” Undyne said. “How do we help with that? Sounds like the dork needs some cheerleaders or something.”

“Hm. Nah, high energy doesn’t suit me, at least,” the skeleton said. “Papyrus, though…”

“Of course, I’d be a fantastic cheerleader!” he said. “…Would that help? Wait. How do we help, exactly? If our souls will all be grabbed in a big soul pile or however that works.”

“Yeah, that’s just the thing,” Sans said. “When we get taken, we’re gonna be out of it. But, don’t really wanna leave my kid out there alone if our flower pal goes rogue. So… Maybe…” He looked thoughtful and blue magic crackled along his finger bones. “If my magic is a kinda memory magic, too… Think I got an idea.”

“W-Well? T-Tell us,” Alphys said eagerly. “I’ll do a-anything to help them. Both of them.”

Sans grinned slightly. “You guys, uh, ever heard of a Trojan horse?”

\- - -

The kids returned after a while with a stack of milkshakes, with a special coffee one for Papyrus and an extra bottle of ketchup for Sans.

Undyne and Alphys stayed late, playing video games and cooking dinner with them. Obligations had the lizard head back to the lab around 10:00, and though Undyne walked her home, she soon returned with more movies to spend a few more hours. She seemed reluctant to leave, and they had no desire to kick her out. In fact, Frisk was glad to have her stay as late as she did. It was good to have a lot of friends around, especially with what was coming. Undyne only headed back to Waterfall when she realized the morning would probably require a quick patrol, since she’d somewhat neglected them the day prior.

After all this time, it felt surreal to Frisk that tomorrow was the day. She wasn’t sure that she was nervous, but she felt a little jumpy. She couldn’t stop tapping her fingers. Too bad she couldn’t speed time forward, she thought.

Snug in a blanket, she lay on her stomach with her journal and, inside, the folded makeshift list of misadventures. “Anyone wanna make bets on how bad the dreams will be tonight?” she joked.

“Aw, Frisk, don’t worry!” Papyrus assured her from the kitchen. “I bet they’ll be just fine!”

“Should we just collect from him now?” Asriel asked.

“Nooo, never mind, bet’s off,” Frisk said with a laugh.

“What? Why?” Papyrus asked. “Oh, never mind, would any of you like me to pack you a lunch for tomorrow? Because I’m going to.” 

“No way,” Asriel said. He crossed his leaves and nestled down into his mug as he huddled against the wall under the table. “I won’t be able to eat. Ugh.” 

“You should eat! Keep up your energy,” he said.

The flower scoffed quietly and sunk a bit lower. Papyrus stuck his head from the kitchen and looked around at them all. He squatted and smiled warmly at Asriel.

“Well, Mr. I-Won’t-Be-Able-To-Eat, be assured that the great Papyrus will have a great lunch waiting for you when you change your mind! Nyeh heh!” he said. “Things are going to go a lot better than you think, you’ll see.”

Asriel simply sunk down farther. Papyrus stuck his thumbs up and then bounded to the kitchen. 

“So! Three lunches anyway,” he said. “Right, Sans?”

“He’s asleep,” Frisk said.

“Figures.” Papyrus sighed and leaned back out of kitchen again. “Frisk. You should get some sleep, too. You too, Asriel. Tomorrow is a big day. The biggest day! I want you to both feel very good, and rest is very very important to boost your health!”

Asriel simply pouted. Frisk stuck a thumb up and then looked down at her checklist. As her brother went back to packing spaghetti away in paper bags, she sighed and sat upright, crumbling it up into a ball and tossing it towards Sans’s wayward sock. Asriel raised his brows.

“S’useless,” she said. “Just assume the counter’s off the chart.”

“Pffft.” Asriel sighed. “Could have been a funny gimmick.”

“Naw, it was just kinda to make me feel better about all the stupid stuff I do,” Frisk said.

“You’re not stupid, you’re fantastic!” Papyrus called.

“Nice that someone thinks so,” Frisk said with a laugh.

\- - -

Asriel did eventually doze off in his little corner. Frisk wrapped him gently in a soft blanket. Sans was on the couch, as he had been for hours, dozing soundly. Frisk snuggled up with him. She hoped she wasn’t being selfish. A bad dream was probably inevitable, but she always felt like she could get to him faster if she was closer. That and, despite everything, his hum helped her sleep no matter what.

She watched Papyrus bustle around with sleepy eyes. He seemed frantic except for how content he looked. 

“Paps. Paps. Paaaaaps,” she said, trying to draw his attention.

He bounced over and readjusted the blanket that was around her and Sans. “Yes, little sister?” he said, lowering his voice to a loud whisper.

“Get some sleep, too, okay?” she said.

“Don’t you worry about me!” he assured her.

“I know, but… You know.” She smiled and shrugged.

He cackled quietly and bumped his brow against hers. “Good night, Frisk,” he said gently. 

“Mhm, good night,” she said.

She watched her brother through increasingly blurring eyes as he ran back and forth, preparing something and stacking something else. She could feel Sans’s soul give a familiar flicker of energy. Just as she thought; she was a little annoyed that she had been right. He didn’t feel too awful, though. Too bad bracing oneself didn’t work while dozing off.

Frisk saw gold— felt like the second she closed her eyes. She wasn’t surprised in the least. She also felt a hard blow to her chest and the wind was knocked from her. She was dazed for a moment; took her another to process seeing three femurs, stark white, sticking through her body.

“Oookay. Okay. Oh. Ow. Owww.” She plopped back and the bones dissolved into sparkles. She put her hands to her stomach and felt the hot blood. 

It was a strange sensation, though not an entirely unfamiliar one. They’d gone straight through her, but hadn’t actually done a lot of damage. She had to take a moment to catch her breath, only to realize that she was probably about to get hit again. Her gaze jerked upwards with worry and she locked eyes with her brother. He was right there, just a few feet away, blue eye blazing— flickering with a gold that mirrored Papyrus’s. She hadn’t realized he was so close. She stuck her hands up right away and smiled sheepishly.

“Mercy?” she asked.

“Ah. Shit.” He dropped down on those shiny tiles and pulled her over, then scooped her up into his lap. “Jeez. Uh. Real bad timin’, huh, kiddo?”

“Pfft, n-nah, it’s okay,” she said. “I was kinda trying to get in, so actually I’m pretty happy. Oof! That’s a bit rough, though, huh? G-Good hit.”

“Can I, uh…?” His finger bones began to glow, but he froze up. “I don’t think I… Ah, what the hell.” He pressed his magic into her, concentrating. 

She realized he must’ve ben trying to heal. She gently held onto his shirt. “It’s okay.”

“No. It’s not.” He sighed. “Sorry. Never shouldda been you. Not in a million years.”

“S’okay, it happened before,” she said.

“Point still stands.” He grimaced. There was a little liquid glittering in the corners of his eye sockets. “Shit.”

“Ah…!” Frisk hugged him tight. “D-Don’t…! Oh. Big bro. It’s okay. It’s okay, I promise.”

He didn’t say more, but he leaned in and put his arms around her gently. He sighed. He sounded miserable.

“Saaaaaans,” she whined.

He replied only by rubbing her head. The kid felt a surge of determination. She held him tight and glowed bright and warm. His breath shuddered, but he let out a weak, choked laugh.

“Hey. Don’t worry about me.” She grinned up at him bashfully. “Couldn’t give us a break, huh? Well. I mean. Except for me.”

He managed a tired, amused grin. “Pfft. Ah. You’re good.” He bumped his brow against hers. “Now what do I do withyou?”

“Oh! Ooh! Is she hurt? Let me help!”

They were both shocked still by Papyrus’s voice. They were shocked even more by his appearance. Frisk shrieked and Papyrus made a very similar noise and jumped back with a start. His bones were laced with cracks; his jaw was a little lopsided. His eye sockets looked like they’d dripped themselves down his face. Sans’s eyes went wide and he looked like he might faint. 

Papyrus immediately raised his hands and gave them a lopsided grin. “Oh! It’s okay! It’s okay, relax!” he assured them, putting a hand to his chest. “My handsome visage might have taken a bit of a beating, but it is me! The great Papyrus! Obviously. I mean, I hope obviously, the damage isn’t THAT bad, is it?”

“P-Papyrus?!” Frisk stumbled to her feet and raced for him. “A-Are you okay?!” She grabbed him tight. “What…?! What happened?!”

“I’m not actually sure,” he said. “I… Hmm. I went to bed after I saw you’d fallen asleep, Frisk, and then I woke up here and I was laying in the snow outside the house, and when I went home I noticed I was a bit off, so I knew it was a dream, and I thought I should try to find you two, and then I felt Sans so I came over here! I’m glad to see the both of you are here now, though! I mean…” He sat down with Frisk and gently held her. He took off his mitts and wrapped her in a gentle, healing hug. “I’m not happy you got hurt, though. What happened, anyway?”

Papyrus turned his gaze on his brother. Sans still looked stunned; stayed silent for a few heavy seconds. Frisk worriedly looked at him and he flinched. His eyes went black, except the distressed flicker of blue in the left. They could feel his heart breaking from here.

“Brother?!” Papyrus asked worriedly.

“Um! Paps?” Frisk said quickly. “See, um. This memory… This is an old memory. It’s not good. And what sort of happens sometimes is that an evil someone shows up and Sans has to battle them.”

“Battle? Sans? Really?” he asked.

“Yeah! And he’s good, too! It’s really cool,” Frisk said proudly. “But, see, when I pop into this dream, I end up where that evil someone was standing. So, accidentally, this time, I dropped in right on top of Sans’s attack!”

“AH! Really?! I guess that explains why it looks quite bad but it isn’t, really?” he suggested. “Seeing as Sans is the weakest monster and all.”

“Yeah, exactly,” Frisk said. “Big bro can only do good damage on people who hurt a lot of other people, you know?”

“Oh really?” Papyrus asked, wide-eyed. “Wowie. Well! Not to worry, you two! I can heal this for sure! Too bad I couldn’t heal myself, though, nyeh heh…”

His fingers flared up with amber and his magic passed into Frisk easily. She could see some little sparks of red prickling in it, though. She looked up at his distorted face curiously. She was surprised to pull out some red in one of the cracks in his skull, too.

“Did…? Did my magic do that to you?” she asked, eyes wide.

“Pffft, no, why would you think that?” he asked.

“S’not breakin’ him.” Sans was beside them now, putting a reassuring hand on his brother’s shoulder. He sounded a lot more like himself again. “It’s… Heh. Believe it or not. It’s tryin’ to rebuild him.”

“What? How do you know that?” Frisk asked.

He smiled tiredly and traced one of the horizontal cracks on the side of Papyrus’s skull. She had to lean sideways to look.

“Just saw this one shrink an inch,” he said.

“So. Wait. That means…” Papyrus turned to look at Sans, eyes wide, cheekbones flushed. “Oh. I… I wasn’t… That’s what she meant by an evil someone. Wasn’t it? Nyeh! I guess that explains why I had a weird sandy feeling in my boots!”

Sans sighed. He squatted down and gently held his brother’s head to bump his brow against his. “Sorry,” he said.

“Why are you sorry?!” Papyrus laughed and grabbed him into his arms, too. He squeezed the both of them tightly and snuggled them. “You do really need to stop having such awful dreams, though.”

“Tell me about it,” Sans said. 

“Can’t we snap you out of it?” he asked. 

Sans looked puzzled. He put a cautious hand against his chest. His brow furrowed. “Not mine.”

“What?!” Papyrus yelped.

“Az,” Frisk said worriedly. 

She reached up to smooch Papyrus on the cheek, then did the same to Sans before she stumbled back onto the floor. She ran towards one of the wide thresholds that led from the golden hall.

“Asriel?” she asked. She didn’t hear a reply, but she could feel one somewhere. 

She ran from the hall, her heart thumping, until she reached the garden. “Az?” she called.

“St-Stay away!!” Asriel’s voice rang out loud and shrill.

She couldn’t see him, and the way it bounced around the room, he could have been anywhere. She looked around worriedly.

“Don’t you dare, I’ll…! I’ll… I’ll tell Asgore everything, I’ll…!” He was angry now. Defiant. “I won’t let you kill me, I won’t, I—!”

“Az, it’s me, I’m not gonna hurt you,” she said.

“Yeah right, sis,” he said sarcastically. “Finally figure out to not even try to beg you and you expect me to believe that crap?”

“It’s Frisk,” she said.

“What?” he snapped.

“I’m Frisk,” she said. “It’s not Chara.”

“Frisk?! Prove it,” he spat.

“Um. Okay, but how, though?” she said. “It’s a dream, so, I mean, if I was Chara wouldn’t I just know what to say anyway because I’d be mostly built out of your memories?”

“What?! I… Uh…” He popped up from the garden with a gaunt look on his face, his brow furrowed. “Oh. Jeez. It really is you, huh?”

“Yeah,” she said.

He sped towards her and she dropped down to hold him in her hands. He rubbed his brow with his leaves and a frustrated scowl darkened his face.

“Shit, I thought it was her,” he said.

“Nope,” she said.

“Did… Did she get Sans?” he asked cautiously.

“Nope. Sans got me, though.” She smiled bashfully. “Are you okay?”

“Wh… What?” He stared at her blankly and then shook his head quickly. “I…! Yeah! Yeah, I’m fine, I… My head hurts.” He let out a long sigh and drooped over. “I’m sorry. I…”

“Why?! No. Never mind, it’s fine, don’t worry,” she said. “Sans and me, we end up here when we’re really stressed, too.”

“Didn’t used to,” Asriel muttered. “Now I just… wait. T-To…? To get stabbed, I guess?”

Frisk lifted him into her palms. She kissed his brow gently. His face flushed

“Let’s get the others and go home, okay?”

He didn’t seem up to protesting.

The golden hallway was empty when they returned, however. Frisk was puzzled. She saw the walls starting to run as if they were made from sand.

When she blinked, she was settled in against Sans. They were on the couch, snuggled under Papyrus’s arm as he gently cradled Asriel. The TV was on, but everyone looked half-asleep. Her brother was lazily rubbing her back. She would have been fine with that if she wasn’t sure he felt incredibly guilty. 

She sat up stiffly and his eyes darted to hers. She smiled sheepishly and hugged him. He seemed content enough with that.

“Time?” she asked quietly.

“Too damn early,” he said.

Papyrus shifted and leaned over to look at her. He smiled wide. “Hey, you’re finally awake! How are you, little sister?”

“Fine,” she said.“Az is…? Still asleep?”

“He dozed off again, yes.” Papyrus looked down at him fondly. “I guess today will be the last day I can hold him like this. Actually. That’s really exciting. Do you think he’ll let me pick him up once he isn’t so tiny and but still in need of a boost from a cool and tall skeleton?”

“I hope so,” Frisk said. “Sorry about what happened to you in there.”

“Pfft! Nonsense, little sister, don’t be! You were the one who got startled, after all. Don’t worry about the great Papyrus for a second!”

“Did you, uh…? See anything else in there?” Sans asked.

“No, not really. Why? Was I out for a long time?” she asked.

“Yeah, kinda,” he said. “Welp. Guess there ain’t much we can do, huh?”

“Yeah, turns out you and Az both have junk there,” she said, raising a few fingers as if to count the reasons. “And I guess I kinda do, too?And… Jeez, what was up with what happened to you, Paps? And… weeee are just gonna be stuck going back there forever and ever, huh, bro?”

“Yeeeeah, probably,” he said apologetically.

“What a strange and weird thing,” Papyrus said with a frown. “That’s not a good place, right?”

“No, it pretty much sucks,” Frisk said. “We’ve been there, what? Four times? Since I got here?”

“Think I did six,” Sans said.

“Oh crap, which ones did I miss?!” Frisk squeaked.

“Forget about it,” he said with a tired laugh. “It’s in the book, anyway.”

“That’s just butts,” Frisk grumbled.

“Well! I’m glad I could come, then!” he said brightly. “Everything is better with Papyrus, right?”

“We just don’t want you to get hurt, bro,” the kid said.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t hurt even a little bit,” he assured them. “Was Asriel alright? He didn’t want to talk about it.”

Frisk nodded and her brother looked relieved. He smiled fondly at the dozing flower. 

“He’s going to feel so much better,” he said. “Go back to sleep, Frisk, it’s too early.”

“…Yeah. Yeah, you’re right,” she said. “No dreams!”

\- - -

Alphys was running out of tissues. Drying her eyes and wiping her snout were getting tiresome, her scales feeling sore and rough. She’d never taken this long to make bento boxes before.

All around her, pale, colourless, sloshing monsters flopped around the room of beds, babbling and going about their business. They didn’t know what today was, but they seemed to sense an excited energy in the air. 

The boxes were for the road— a snack, or a dinner, for after the barrier fell, for all the ones going home. Maybe it wasn’t necessary, but Alphys needed to be doing something. It was only eight in the morning and she’d already reviewed every note she’d ever made about the soul building process, twice. She’s looked at her diagrams, her models; her waveforms. She felt about as good as she could about that, but that didn’t stop her soul skipping beats and her fingers from shaking.

She sniffled and wiped her eyes. Big Dog put their big empty face over her shoulder and panted, drooling black goo. She laughed and wrapped her arm around their head and rubbed their ears gently. 

“Ah… I’m g-going to miss you guys,” she said quietly. “But… But you’ll be happy. I h-hope.”

“…Sad?” Mrs. Snowdrake had moved closer, a worried look on her several faces. 

Alphys smiled. She shook her head. “N-No. No. Just e-emotional. I’m okay. D-Don’t you worry.” 

She gently packed away one of the lunch boxes in a checkered cloth and tied it closed. She breathed out a sigh and let her shoulders sink. Big Dog sunk lower on her, too.

“It’s w-weird,” she said absently, resting her cheek on her fist. “I never… I never knew, before, you know? I n-never expected it to happen. And n-now it’ll… it’ll definitely be today, and it t-turns out that it’s not even really the hard part.” She rubbed her tired eyelids with her fingertips and smiled as more of the mooshy monsters pushed in closer to her. “Ah… Sorry, guys. It’s… It’s going to be g-good, it’s j-just surreal, too. I think back to… To before. I know y-you guys don’t know before, b-but there was some time loops and it w-was really weird, but… th-thinking about seeing my friend off to see the King, and then just… th-the barrier goes flash and it's gone! It’s… so weird.”

She stretched and stood up, and the others gave her space. She took a long look around the room. It would be weird when it was vacant. Soon, she wouldn’t be here, either. They’d go up— build it again. She trembled and put a hand to her chest.

She traversed the rooms, gathering up what little belongings each monster had and packing them up in travel bags. The whole thing made her throat tight with guilt, but she tried to push it back a little. She’d made a thousand mistakes with these monsters; today wouldn’t be one of them. She hoped.

As she gently folded a paper snowflake and place it in an envelope for Mrs. Snowdrake, her phone began to play a familiar TV theme. She took her time to answer it.

“Hey, M-Mettaton,” she said.

“Alphie! How are you? Where are you? I’m at your place,” he said.

“Ah… I’m just, um, downstairs,” she said. “I’ll c-come up.”

“No no, that’s alright, I’ll come down. Toodles!” He hung up on her.

Mettaton joined her quickly, a big grin on his face. “Soooo, what are you doing? Ready for the big day?”

“Ah… A-Almost,” she said as he leaned over her shoulders. “I’m, um, j-just getting ready to send everybody home.”

“Well, that’ll be weird, to have an empty house again, hm? So quiet!” he said. “What changed your mind?”

“I did,” she said. “I… I guess it’s, um… It’s n-not very brave now, but I… In, um, other timelines? I b-brought them home after F-Frisk found them and… and it went okay, you know?”

“Oh! Did it, now?” His smile widened knowingly. “See?”

“See what?” She laughed. “D-Don’t tell me you forgot how y-you acted the first time you saw them.”

“Yes, well. Things changed,” he said quickly. “I got used to them. But, anyway, it’s still brave, darling.”

“I… don’t think so,” she said, but she smiled tiredly up at him. “Th-That’s okay. I don’t… I don’t n-need… As long as they’ll b-be okay, that other stuff doesn’t matter.”

“If you say so,” Mettaton said, putting his hands on his hips.

The metallic monster watched her silently for a few moments as she finished packing up. She sighed with satisfaction and took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

“Sooooo.” Mettaton sidestepped to get in her line of sight. “The relay is working, yes?”

“Mhm. E-Even extended it into the Ruins,” she said with a smile. “It’s fine f-from where I’m at.”

“Ah, perfect!” he said. “So, I’ve been playing around with the timing schedule, and I was wondering, for this whole Asgore thing, should I make a grand appearance? Would that be helpful?”

“Ummm…” Alphys’s eyes went wide. “I’m, um… I think th-the timing after might be too close?”

“After?” Mettaton repeated.

“Y-Yeah! After the b-barrier breaks,” she said. “We don’t know h-how long Asriel h-has. So… So it’d probably, um, be best if y-you keep to the tower.”

“Aw. Really? No dashing interruption?” he said. “No Mettaton at ground zero?”

Alphys bit her lip and tapped her fingers together. He chuckled and put a hand against his chest. 

“But maybe I would be more useful manning my post, hm?”

“Thank you,” Alphys said like a sigh.

“So.” Mettaton sat down on the table beside the bag she’d packed and crossed his legs. “Worried?”

“Of c-course,” she said with a laugh. “Ah… I guess I’m j-just going to trust that Frisk knows h-how this goes. I mean. Of c-course she does.”

“So the premise of this is that she’s done all this before,” he said.

“W-Well, mostly. She got the b-barrier down before. But she d-didn’t get Asriel a soul or else, um, we wouldn’t be here,” she said.

“Right, I think I see.” Mettaton folded his arms and cocked his head slightly to the side. “This… This is a bit surreal, isn’t it?”

“I know, right?!” she said shrilly.

He guffawed and extended his arms to pull her into a hug. “We are just going to shine on the surface! Well, I say we. I mean mostly me. But you, too, I’m sure you’ll twinkle,” he said. “Want to come quadruple check the tower with me, darling?”

“Ah… Yeah, I’d b-better,” she said. “Phew. Y-You know what? This is gonna be good. Not just good, it’s g-gonna be great!”

“Yes! That’s the attitude!” Mettaton said with a bright grin. He straightened up and looked around cautiously. “Did you hear that?”

Alphys frowned, puzzled. She went quiet and looked around. She heard light, slow footsteps. She felt a jolt of panic, but quickly realized there was only one monster who it could be. She peeked out past the door and caught sight of Sans near the entrance to the large bed room. Mettaton peeked out above her head and then stuck his arm our.

“Hello, my boney friend!” he called. “Whaaaat are you doing here? OOH! Did you bring Frisk?!”

Sans stuck his hand up. “Nah,” he said.

Alphys smiled and went to greet him, but she noticed quickly that he was looking very grey; very tired. “Sans? Wh-What’s wrong?”

He shrugged. She tilted her head. 

“You worried?” she asked gently. “You d-don’t look good. Are you okay?”

“Miserable.” He grinned nonetheless. “Can’t sleep.”

“Oh! Do you n-need some help?” she asked. “I mean… It’s t-technically morning, but—”

“No. I mean, can’t,” he said again. “Got anything you need doin’?”

“That’s out of character,” Mettaton said as he strode up. “Something must be really wrong, hm?”

Sans shrugged again. Alphys sighed and gave him a hug. He was a bit stiff, but she could hear a falter in his hum from that close. She patted his shoulders when she drew back.

“Well, I w-won’t pretend to understand. But… B-But don’t worry. You can, um, h-hang out for a while if you want.”

He nodded, but he didn’t seem satisfied. Alphys tapped her chin.

“Well… If… I-If you want something to do, y-you could always put some e-extra relays up in New Home,” she said. “W-We got it covered, but more is always better if you, um, don’t mind the busywork.”

“Nope. Uh. That’s probably just what I need,” he said.

\- - -

Slow and steady, Sans attached more of the relay disks around the alleys of New Home. He hardly processed it, shifting from place to place, slapping them on walls, and wandering off, scuffing his slippers on rock and cobblestone. He felt sick deep into his soul. He kept seeing those three long femurs. 

He’d done it a dozen times, he was sure. Back when she didn’t have control. Back when they didn’t know. Especially in that time that’d been undone. He hadn’t had a problem when they’d agreed to blast through those fights as quickly as they could, even if she couldn’t act. But, now? He couldn’t stop seeing that red on her striped shirt. 

He guessed maybe this was his payback. She’d been roiling over seeing his skull melt, maybe it was his turn. She’d never want that, though. It wasn’t even close to the worst thing he’d ever seen, or that had even happened to her, but he couldn’t help running it over and over in his head. That split second… He sighed. He tossed a disk onto the outer stone wall and it stuck like a wad of gum.

Once he was out of disks, it was encroaching on noontime. He was already exhausted. He took a break on a park bench and watched monsters roam around him with tired, heavy eyes. He dozed off for just a minute or so, until the word “human” filtered into his head. 

He looked with a squint over at a small group of women tittering amongst themselves, fluffing their feathers and clacking their beaks. He heard them mention a human soul— some distorted version of what had happened a few days ago. He didn’t like the talk of that energy as if it were disembodied; as if it didn’t live inside his little sister. It felt almost perverse to him. 

There was a little rumble in the air. The news had spread. That was probably a good thing. In fact, it gave him a little idea. Might be helpful to spread it a little farther, and to the right ears, wouldn’t it?

He rubbed the back of his skull tiredly. He shouldn’t be here, he thought. This wasn’t good for either of them, was it? The end was on a countdown. It was selfish of him, wasn’t it? He took a deep breath and steadied himself. Back to Snowdin, he thought. After all, the town’s favourite little human was about to save the world. Might be good for a few monsters to get a hint of it.

\- - -

Frisk woke with a sense of panic making her feel like she was plummeting from a cliff. Like forgetting to do your homework, or a friend’s birthday, she thought she’d missed something important. She checked around the whole house— in her phone, in Sans’s basement desk; in all their notes. She was at a loss, but she did notice something that unnerved her a little. The house was empty.

She double-checked the time. Just a few minutes past noon. She rubbed her eyes, her lids feeling heavy. “Papyrus?” she called. “Sans? Asriel?”

Nobody answered. She pouted. She felt a chill. Couldn’t be a dream— words she’d seen hadn’t been gibberish. She headed for the door to grab her winter clothes only to hear a burst of magic outside. 

She was struck with relief and opened the door. Papyrus and Undyne were tossing bolts at each other just down the road. Asriel was on the step near the threshold and he looked up at her with a smirk.

“Finally awake, huh?” he said. “You actually sleep?”

“Yeah, think so,” she said.

“Cool. Me too. After that… whatever that was,” he said. “You, uh, didn’t see Chara, right?”

“No? No. It was just me there, I think,” she said.

“Alright.”

She reached back inside for her black hoodie and shoes, and dragged them out. She closed the door and sat down, struggling to shove her feet into the sneakers. The tongues kept getting stuck.

“Hey,” she said. “I’m not forgetting anything, right?”

“How would I know?” he said. 

“Are you forgetting anything?” she asked as she pulled on the hoodie.

“My sense of hope and wonder?” he suggested. “Ah… I dunno. I’ll be okay.”

“Aren’t you even a little excited?” she asked worriedly.

“I, uh… I mean, yeah. Of course. It’s just nerves, I guess,” he said. He visibly hesitated; seeming to twist. “Did, um, Alphys say anything to you?”

“About what? This?” she asked. “She seems really en… enthusiastic about it! I think she’s a little nervous, but she’s always a little nervous.”

“Right, right,” he said, nodding. “…Guess you could always ask Sans.”

“Love to,” she said. “He here?”

“No, I thought he was with you,” he said. “Don’t pout.”

Frisk sighed. She put her cheek on her fist and watched as Papyrus and Undyne exchanged shots. 

“But where is he, then?” she said. “When’s the last time you saw him?”

“Dunno. Wasn’t around when I woke up,” he said. “I’ve just been hanging around with ol’ Spaghettibones and Captain Fishface ’til now.” He gently whacked her with his metal arm. “Hey. I’m sure he’s fine. He’s just probably… I dunno. Doing whatever the hell he’s into today.”

“Yeah,” she said quietly.

“You’re lucky, you know,” he said. “He’ll come back for you.”

“I know,” she said.

“Even if I think he’s just trying to not tell you he thinks this plan is trash, and that I’m trash,” he muttered.

“He didn’t say that,” she grumbled.

“Well, no, but…”

She cut her eyes at him and smiled tiredly. He gulped and sunk down in his dirt. 

She saw the fight in the snow grind to an abrupt halt. It looked like Papyrus was on the phone. Had to be with Alphys, Frisk thought. She checked her own, just in case. Nothing in terms of texts, but she did have a few friend requests on UnderNet. Those two kids whose mom she’d lifted back up. She was glad to accept. Nothing anywhere from Sans, though. Not like he had a phone anyway. She sighed and got up.

“What?” Asriel asked.

“I’m gonna go see if Sans is back,” she said.

“Alright, I guess,” he said. He grabbed her pant leg when she stood up. “Um. Don’t, uh, worry too much.”

Frisk couldn’t really help that part. She felt pathetic with that anxiety inside her as she went back into the house. Today was the last day she needed Sans keeping his distance because of whatever was going on with him. Probably guilt, Frisk realized. He’d never been good about forgiving himself for anything.

The door burst open with a gust of air and Papyrus almost raced in, but stopped with his leg in the air when he saw her.

“Oh!! You’re awake!” His face lit right up and he bounded over to scoop her into his arms. “I’m so glad! Did you sleep okay?”

“Y-Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” she said with a laugh.

“Welllll you don’t exactly feel all the percentages of good, do you?” he said.

She could feel his soul testing hers. She snickered and patted his shoulder affectionately. “I’m fine,” she said again.

“Okay, well, Asriel and I, we need to go to the Ruins door for something Alphys wants checked,” he said. “Would you like to come, or…?”

“Um… I think I’ll stay,” she said. “In case Sans comes back. I, um, kinda need to talk to him.”

“Fine with me!” Papyrus said brightly, plunking her back down to the carpet. “Just keep your phone with you! I mean, I know you always do anyway, but just in case.”

She nodded. He grinned and was outside again in a puff of snow.

Frisk rubbed her hair. There was a thud in her chest. She gulped. What was wrong with her?

She grabbed her journal and two slices of the pink cake and sat at the side table, taking a little extra moment to breathe. She’d wait for her brother to come to her.

She flipped back through the book, skimming for Sans’s handwriting. She found it in spots, where he’d marked those dreams she had missed, but his descriptions were vague. The only thing he was very clear about was that they were crap. What else was new? 

She sighed and got up. She cautiously checked in Sans’s room, but he wasn’t there. He could be in the attic, but there was no ladder so she couldn’t check. She peeked around the rest of the rooms and felt a cool, lonely ache when she still couldn’t find him anywhere. 

When she took her seat again, she reluctantly ate a mouthful of cake. She wasn’t very hungry, but a monster’s only real cure for feeling less than good was eating and sleeping.

She felt a little ping of something in the air and perked up in her chair. She caught sight of white out of the corner of her eye and looked back over her shoulder. Sans was leaning up on the wall near the stairs. She smiled at him right away.

“There you are,” she said.

His arms were folded. He slumped back a little. “Still not a hundred percent, huh?”

“Hm?” Her cheeks heated up. “Oh, um. I’m okay. I’ll be fine. I’m not getting dizzy anymore.”

He nodded. His eyes dropped to the floor. Frisk pouted.

“Hey, wanna come sit with me?” she said. “I got cake.”

He didn’t really react, but after a few seconds, vanished in a blink and reappeared on the chair beside her. She grinned and pushed a slice of the cake and a fork towards him. He slumped forward and very slowly took a bite or two. There was a chill about him. Maybe he’d been outside somewhere. She wondered what he’d been up to.

“Just a few hours, huh?” she said brightly.

Her brother paused. He looked up at her and he wilted slightly, drumming the end of his fork against the wood. Frisk reached out and grabbed his arm.

“You’re coming with me, right?” she said. “Are you feeling okay enough?”

His brows raised. He leaned back in his seat and put a hand to his forehead. “Me…? Jeez, kid.” He laughed tiredly. “You got a strange habit of worryin’ about the wrong person, huh?”

“Aw, Sans, c’mon,” she said. “What’s wrong?”

He didn’t answer. He just stared at nothing. Frisk sighed.

“Bro, come on, talk to me,” she said. “You told me to talk to you about what was bugging me, right? So you should talk to me, too. If you want to. I’d want you to, if you want.”

He didn’t emote in the least. He drummed his fingers on the table. It seemed like it took him forever to answer. “…I could’ve stopped it,” he said quietly.

“Huh?” she asked. She stared at him blankly.

“Saw it. Didn’t react fast enough. Could’ve stopped it if I had,” he said.

“Oh! Dude, it’s okay!” she assured him quickly. 

“Nah,” he said.

Frisk pouted. “Hey, Saaaans. Sans. It’s no big deal. It’s not even the first time.”

He smiled tiredly and rested his temple against his fist. “It’d almost be easier if you were pissed,” he said quietly.

“What?! Why?!” she squeaked.

He smiled; looked grey and tired around his eyes. Frisk stared at him probingly but he didn’t say a word. She frowned and pouted as her brother put absolutely no effort into being inscrutable but succeeded anyway.

She leaned forward onto the table and watched him. He looked like he would have dozed off if he wasn’t expecting her to say something. She didn’t understand. Why would it be easier if she was angry? That hardly sounded like him. That was like what Asriel would say. She tapped her toes against the floor. Took her a few more moments, but something clicked in her head. She sat up and stared at her brother with a determined frown on her face.

“Jeez, bro,” she said.

He shrugged. She began to smile and reached over to grab his arm with both hands.

“Fine. Be like that,” she said jokingly. “But, okay. Then, I forgive you.”

“…What?” He looked a lot more awake and an expression of mild surprise shot across his face. “…Forgive me?”

“Yeah. Well. I can say it’s not your fault, like, nonstop, but that doesn’t make you feel better, does it?” she said. “Because you blame yourself anyway, yeah? So. If that’s how it is, I forgive you. Does that help?”

Sans stared back at her for a few long seconds. His eyes fell but his smile grew. He pushed back his chair a little and rubbed his face with his palms. Frisk watched him worriedly but, to her surprise, he laughed. 

“Yeah. Thanks, kiddo,” he said.

She grinned and hopped over to squish him affectionately. He laughed, low and tired, and hugged her close.

“Hah! I figured it out!” she said brightly. She shot him a big smile. “You got enough to worry about, bro.”

“Welp. Can’t argue with that,” he said. 

“I know! Good! Don’t,” she joked. She grabbed his face, and he let her gently bonk her brow on his. “Stole it!”

“Pfft. You’re a dork,” he said, mussing up her hair. 

She waved her hands at him, but she still had a big smile on her face. She plopped herself on his lap, grabbed him into a hug again, and lit her soul up against him.

“Love you so much,” she said.

They flickered purple and Sans sighed and laughed.

“Jeez. What am I gonna do with you?” he said.

“What am I gonna do with you?” she joked. “No more moping, okay?”

“Pfft. As if,” he said. “…Love you, too.”

She flopped over his shoulders and he finally relaxed. 

Sans mussed up her hair and gently plunked her back down onto her feet as he got up to stretch. “Did I mention I’m a mess?” he said.

“What else is new?” she joked. “You really feel better though, now, right? I mean. You know you’re not awful and everything, right?”

“Eh. Debatable.” He shrugged and grinned— even more so when she pouted. “Don’t mean for you to have to put up my garbage like that. Not really fair of me.”

She tilted her head and frowned, puzzled. She reached up and grabbed him, and bonked her brow on his again. He laughed and knocked his knuckles on the top of her head. She snickered and smiled up at him.

“No more not fair, okay?” she said. “I know I’m a kid, but there’s nobody else like us. We’re a team. And I’m okay with dealing with you not feeling good in your head. Duh. You do the same for me all the time!” She offered her fist and her face was a picture of determination.

He scoffed and bumped his knuckles against hers. She lit right up. He laughed.

“You, uh, do realize I’m the grown-up, right?” he joked.

“So what? Grown-ups need someone to tell them they’re okay, sometimes, right?” she said.

“You have enough to worry about,” he said.

She smiled and shrugged as a reply. “That’s okay! Where were you before, though, was everything okay?”

“Mhm. Fine,” he said. “Just droppin’ some hints around. No big deal.”

“Hints?” she asked.

“Yeah. Just to smooth things along. Don’t worry about it,” he said. He looked her up and down and tilted his head. “You wanna take a nap before you go? You’re still a bit off.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said. “I’m… I’m okay. I don’t think I could sleep, anyway.”

“At least finish your cake,” he said.

“Yeah, you too!” she said.

“Not gonna complain about that,” he said.

\- - -

When Asriel and Papyrus returned, they were still on the phone with Alphys—and Undyne, who had joined her. The little lizard’s stutter was a bit stronger than usual, probably because she was talking double-speed. There wasn’t much in terms of a plan, but Papyrus decided he would hang back after the call that would bring Toriel out from the Ruins. She’d know the way, but a guide would probably be a welcome bit of help. Plus, as Sans pointed out, having someone at each stage of the path would be good idea. Alphys eagerly agreed. The more info the better. Very scientific. Also, with Bratty and Catty dealing with any of Mettaton’s issues, that freed up Alphys to help with making sure everything else went smoothly. 

Asriel was quiet, listening; bristling. Frisk cuddled him reassuringly, though she could tell he was feeling sick with nerves.

The plan was to give Toriel two hours. The time was ticking down. 

Frisk was up in the bedroom, getting ready. She’d finally ditched her pyjamas and swapped int the t-shirt Sans had given her, as well as the hoodie she’d just gotten from Undyne. She liked being cozy, but this one was light enough she didn’t think she’d get too hot jumping around Asgore’s flames. 

“Hey, Az?” She turned from the mirror and shot him a look where he sat on the action figure table. “Need anything?”

“I dunno, no,” he said.

“This is enough time, right?” she asked.

“Think so,” he said. “You saved?”

“Gonna, right before seeing Asgore,” she said. “And that’s the last one until you’re okay.”

“What? Really? Why?” he said.

“We dunno how fast you change back into a flower after we do the barrier thing,” she said. “Don’t wanna accidentally stick you somewhere in the middle.”

“Oh. Jeez. Uh. Okay. That’s, um, a good thought,” he said.

“We were actually thinking of getting, like, a stop-watch and timing it, before you were okay with being our friend,” she said with a grin.

“Pfft. Let’s skip that,” he said. “So. If this goofs, we’ll have to just break the barrier over and over in a loop?”

“Yeah, that’ll sorta suck, but it’ll suck a lot less than you being stuck!” she said.

He nodded. “Um. Maybe make sure you have, like, something you can shove in your face if you catch on fire or something,” he suggested.

She snickered. She made sure she had everything in her phone, and stared at the clock. It was about twenty minutes until 2:00. She quickly browsed through her texts. She felt a cold chill deep into her stomach. 

“O-Oh no! Be right back, okay?” she squeaked. She barrelled out of the room and down the stairs.

“Frisk, what’s the rush? Oh! Are we going now?!” Papyrus demanded as she raced by him.

She hurried to get her shoes on, and her scarf. “No, no, I just… I totally forgot, I gotta tell Kid,” she said. “I’ll be right back!”

She jogged straight to her friend’s house with her heart pounding. She knocked hard on the door. Nobody came. Frisk gulped and knocked again. She bounced up and down on her toes. Finally, after a few seconds too long, the door opened a crack. She was relieved to see Kid, but he looked a little grey-eyed.

“Oh! F-Frisk! Hey!” He smiled. “I’d hug you, but I got a cold! Sorry I haven’t been out.”

“Oh! No, that’s okay,” she said. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Mhm, should be better in a day or two, sorry I can’t come play or anything,” he said. “What’s up.”

“Um.” She leaned around him to check inside— nobody else was nearby. “I gotta tell you. I’m, um, doing the barrier today.”

“The…? The b-barrier?!” he yelped. “What?! Dude!! Really?!”

“Yeah. In, um…” She checked her phone. “Two hours-ish.”

“WHAT?! You mean…? You mean we’re…? We’re gonna be free in two hours?!” he demanded.

“That’s the plan,” she said. 

“Yo, you’ll b-be okay, though, right?” he said.

“For sure,” she said.

“Promise?” he said.

“Yeah. Ah, jeez, forget the cold.” She squished him into a hug. “Aaaah, I’m goin’ nuts.”

“No way, dude, you’re so cool,” Kid said. His tail was wagging. “Be careful, okay?” 

“For sure!” she assured him.

“Um! So how will I know when it’s done?” he asked.

“You’ll know,” she assured him. “See you soon, okay? Feel better.”

Frisk rushed through the snow and back to the house to find her brothers waiting outside. Papyrus clung gently to Asriel, who stretched his vines in anticipation.

“Guess it’s time?” Frisk asked.

Sans shrugged. “Seems like it, huh?” he said. “You good?”

“Yeah. You guys?” she said.

“Nyeh heh! Very excited!” Papyrus stuck his thumb up. “Very happy I get to meet mom sooner than later! And then we’ll all get to live together and it’ll be very nice! Asriel, ready to go?”

“No. Hah. It’s… I’ll be fine,” he said. “Guess I’ll go scout it out and wait for you nerds, huh?”

Frisk held out her hands and Papyrus carefully passed the bristling little flower to her. She smiled at him.

“Hey, keep it together, okay?” she said.

“Yeah yeah yeah,” he said, waving her off. “See you in a bit.”

“Better!” she said brightly. She gently kissed his brow and let him down into the snow.

He saluted and disappeared, leaving only a small indent to show he’d ever been there to begin with. 

Frisk sighed and looked at the mug, the one with the patched cracks and the heart on the side. She clutched it close as she straightened up and smiled at her brothers. “Okay. Good? Should I call mom?”

“Call away,” Sans said.

Frisk pulled out her phone. She hesitated for just a moment. “So. Um. We all good?”

“Yes, Frisk! We just went through this, silly,” Papyrus said. “It’s going to be fine.”

“Right. Right, yeah.” She called quickly and held her phone to her head. She hoped that Toriel actually had hers, come to think of it. Her heart thumped. She half expected to hear dogs panting when the phone clicked.

“Hello?” Toriel said. Her voice almost made the kid melt. 

She choked for a second, and then took a deep breath. “Mom. Hi.”

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” Toriel said. “You sound worried.”

“Um. So. I just thought, I should tell you,” she said, “I’m going to visit Asgore today.”

“W-Wait, what?!” she yelped.

“Yeah. Like I said. I’m breaking the barrier,” she said. “I’m going today. Right now. So, I thought I should tell you.”

“B-But honey—!” Toriel said shrilly.

“It’s gonna be good,” Frisk said. “And then maybe you can come out, right? We can live together, right?”

“Frisk, listen to me, you can’t—”

“Trust me. I got this,” she said. “See you soon, mom, love you!”

Frisk hung up quickly and turned off her phone. She held it tightly in her hands and squeezed it. “Sorry, mom,” she whispered. She felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder and looked back to see Sans with a hint of pride in his grin.

“We do what we have to, huh?” he said.

“Yeah,” she said.


	81. Running on Empty

It was bright out in the snow. So bright. She had forgotten. Shielding her eyes with her paw, Toriel squinted out down a path blanketed with snow, lined with blackened trees, and marked by the footprints of a few monsters. Her soul was fluttering uncomfortably, and she ached for that small girl who was walking straight into unspeakable danger. She gulped, taking in the cold air, and her nostrils flared. She’d walked this way many times, but eons ago. She hoped it hadn’t changed much.

She took off at a run, the chill prickling her ears as she blazed down the path. She saw a small, vacant wooden structure— passed it and kept running until she saw what she was certain was a monster at another one. A dog— black and white, chewing on a biscuit. She ground her heels in and whirled on the little hut; slammed her paws down on the counter, knocking snow from the roof. The dog yelped and jumped back with wide eyes.

“Have you seen a child around here?!” she demanded. “She’s supposed to be in Snowdin, she’s a little bit brown, maybe wearing blue and pink? She’s only eleven. She’d be about this tall.” She put her hand quite low and the dog had to lean forward over to look. 

He squinted and then looked up at her with a puzzled expression on his face. “Who are you?” he asked.

“It doesn’t matter. Have you seen a child like that or not? It’s very important,” she said urgently.

The dog tilted his head one way and then the other. “Oh! You know. Maybe Sans’s kid,” he said, tapping his chin.

Toriel’s eyes lit up. “Yes!! Yes! That’s her.”

“Oh, well, she should be in town somewhere,” the dog assured her. He squinted. “Wait, should I have told you that? You look nice though, are you nice?”

“I’m her mother,” she said quickly. “I must find her before she reaches Asgore.”

“Wait. Wait wait? She’s going to see the King?” The dog’s eyes went wide. “Oh. Wow. That doesn’t sound…? Hang on!!”

He threw a sign over the front of his booth that read, “BRB!! STAY!! BUT MOVE JUST SLIGHTLY!” and sprinted away, dropping charred biscuits behind him as he went. Toriel’s ears pinned back, but she rushed off in the same direction. 

She didn’t see that dog again— couldn’t focus either way. From there to a sign announcing the entrance to town was a blur. She felt a hit of surreal reality. All these young monsters roaming the streets she recognized a little from so long ago. She peered around; raised her ears little. She wished that girl had a song to follow. 

She paused and took a breath. She braced herself and then dove in headfirst. She stopped any monster she could, asking about Frisk. The answer was always the same: they’d seen her around town with skeletons, but other than that, nobody was really sure. She felt panic building deep in her, but she didn’t let it show even though she could feel the fur on the back of her neck bristling.

Then, a rabbit told her she’d seen her in Grillby’s. That name stopped Toriel short. Pointed just a little down the road, she took off only to find herself stopped in front of an old tavern with an updated sign flashing above amber windows. She’d have known it anywhere. Her eyes watered and she pushed in through the door.

The jukebox was going, but it was quiet inside. The only monster there was a man made of fire behind the counter, drying frosted mugs. Toriel gulped. He raised his eyes and stopped mid-wipe. He put the thing down slowly with a heavy clunk.

“…Your Highness?” he asked.

“Oh goodness! Grillby!!” She raced to him as he came around the counter and grabbed him into a tight hug. “You…! You’ve made it through, all this time.”

He gently patted her much larger shoulders and his flames sparked. She pulled back and smiled at him fondly.

“I can’t believe it,” she said.

He nodded. “Likewise,” he said quietly. He held one of her paws in both hands. “We thought you were dead.”

“I am very sorry,” she said gently. “I wish I had time to catch up now, but I need to hurry. Please, could you tell me if you’ve seen… Alright, this will be a strange question, but have you seen a small human come through here. I was told she might have stopped by.”

He tensed up and readjusted his glassed.

“Please,” Toriel insisted. “She’s in danger.”

“…Frisk?” he said worriedly.

“Yes! Frisk! You’ve met her?” Her face lit right up. “Please, old friend. Do you know where she might be? Or places she stays? She’s headed for Asgore. I cannot allow it.”

Grillby looked surprised, but he nodded. “That way.” He pointed east. “Last house.”

\- - -

Papyrus was pacing. He knew he shouldn’t. It wouldn’t help speed the time. He wished he knew when Toriel would arrive. He put “ifs” out of his mind. She’d come. And it’d work. And everything would be good. It had been almost half an hour, though, since Sans had grabbed Frisk and whisked her away to the capital. They were fine, they’d said. Just waiting around. 

This was very surreal to him, but he really enjoyed being in on the plan this time in this way. He remembered this strange other plan that had been similar but not quite so helpful that Asriel— back when he had known him as Flowey— had made when he and Frisk had managed to help break the barrier those two other times. He’d felt rather accomplished back then, but everyone was in on it this time. Now, the only one he had to really help was Toriel.

He really wanted to see her. He knew he’d make a good impression, but he wanted to do it sooner rather than later. Frisk seemed to adore her, so he was sure he would, too. He couldn’t remember her face, though, and it bothered him a little.

While he was busy wearing a groove in the rug, he caught some shifting colours through the window. He quickly bounced over and peered out through the icy glass. It seemed like there was an unusual amount of movement towards Waterfall.

Papyrus resumed his pacing. He hoped Asriel and Frisk were okay. He texted his sister a little message of good luck and some hearts. He jumped with surprise when there was a loud, frantic knocking on the door. His soul fluttered and he rushed to open it.

He was startled to find a very tall woman at the threshold. A goat-like monster with white fur, floppy ears, and short horns, wearing a purple robe emblazoned with the Delta Rune. 

“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said, “but I’ve been asking around and I heard that a small child named Frisk was seen here?

“W-Wait are you…? You’re not Toriel, are you?!” he asked.

“I am,” she said, her violet eyes going wide.

His soul could have burst. His eyes began to glow before he could help it. “Y-You’re her,” he said. “You’re mom.”

“I’m…? Oh! My goodness!” She looked almost as surprised as he had. “You wouldn’t happen to be Papyrus, would you?”

“I am! The great Papyrus! And—! And oh my gosh I’ve been waiting so long to meet you!” He grabbed her into a hug as tight as he could. He felt tiny compared to her, and when she chuckled quietly and gently reciprocated, he knew exactly why Frisk loved her so much. He didn’t remember her, but he remembered how her soul felt— warm and loving, even though she’d only just met him. He breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“I’m glad to finally meet you, too, little one.” She rubbed his skull and smiled down at him brightly when he pulled back. Her eyes were glistening.

“Nyeh!! Are you alright?” he asked.

“Oh, yes. I’m sorry, Papyrus,” she said with a smile. “I… never really expected to actually see a skeleton again. Goodness, just look at you.”

“Look at you!” he said. “I’m so glad you came out!”

“You’re… Hah. Oh, what a sweetheart you are,” she said. “Unfortunately, I’ve come under worrisome circumstances.”

“You’re looking for Frisk,” he said.

Toriel nodded. “She calls you her brother, doesn’t she? Then I must be on the right track.”

“Um! You are! Sort of?” Papyrus gulped. “She’s with our brother. They were headed for New Home. I think they were going to try to talk to the King.”

“I heard.” The worry that had been on her brow before sunk back in almost instantly. “But… why would Sans take her?”

“Oh, uhh…!” Papyrus wracked his mind quickly. “She wanted to go! Um! I’m sure he thought that together they could convince the King they could do, um… whatever Frisk wanted to do.” 

“Papyrus, my child, can you help me?” she asked insistently. “We need to catch up with them.”

“C-Catch up with…? Oh! Oh, yes! Yes, this is how it’s supposed to go! Right! Okay.” He puffed out his chest and put his hand over his soul spot. “Of course! Together, I’m sure we can… Uhh…”

He couldn’t help but lose his focus as he noticed a strange brigade of monsters heading towards Waterfall. Toriel turned to the sound of them passing. It was mostly dog Guards, accompanied by a few others. Dogaressa paused.

“Papyrus!! Are you coming?!” she demanded.

“Coming where?” he asked.

“We all heard your little sister might be heading towards the King!” Doggo barked. “We heard she might need help! We’re going to find her!”

“Oh! God, right, okay!” he said. “G-Go on ahead! I… I’m sure we’ll catch up and find her!” He grabbed Toriel and pulled her aside, lowering his voice to a whisper. “I know a few shortcuts to the King’s place, don’t worry! Just let me get changed.”

“Thank you so much, little one,” she said.

He quickly ushered her inside, though she had to duck a little for the doorway. He hopped around, pulling on his boots, as Toriel looked around with interest.

“What a cozy little place,” she said. 

“Thank you! We do have a nice house, don’t we?” he said. “Do you have a nice house, too?”

“I would like to think so,” she said. “Um, honey, so—”

“Don’t worry! Don’t you worry one bit,” he said. He pulled on a jacket and and grabbed her hand. “There’s a secret path up to New Home through the lab! I can take you!”

“A secret path?” Her ears perked. “So Asgore will not know we are coming?”

“Nnnooo, I don’t think so. Why?” he asked.

“Do not worry, my child,” she assured him. “We will get there, and we will reach the little one, and no harm will come to her. I promise.”

“Oh! Well, good,” Papyrus said. “Come on, then, let’s hurry!”

\- - -

“You know what really sucks?” Frisk bounced on her toes, peering out the golden windows in the grand hallway that lead towards the throne room. She couldn’t see a thing of any significant shapes beyond the glass, only that light that stained the room.

“What?” Sans said.

She turned back over her shoulder to look at him and couldn’t help a smile. “This dumb place is so pretty!”

Sans snickered. He joined her, leaning his elbow on the widow sill and stared up at the Delta Rune that adorned the stained glass. Frisk shot him a fond smile.

“It was so funny, meeting you here the first time,” she said. “Sorry I didn’t listen to you.”

He chuckled and patted her head affectionately. “You did good. Real weird to think to back then.”

“I know, right?” She stretched sleepily. “So what would you say now?”

“Dunno.” He turned and leaned his back against the stone, folding his arms. “Somethin’ about compassion, I guess. Maybe somethin’ about tryin’ your best and that you’ve done a good job up ’til now. I’m real proud of you, y’know.”

“Thanks,” she said with a grin. “I’m proud of you, too.”

“Heh. You’re weird,” he said.

She yawned quietly and sat down on the floor. She rubbed her eyes with her knuckles. “Wish I brought one of our books. Wanna try to finish the _Trident of Vengeance_ tonight or tomorrow? I wanna know what happens to Sylph.”

“If we’re even conscious.” He sat down beside her and tapped her on the head. “Any messages?”

“Oh! Umm…” She checked her phone. She’d missed a dozen calls from Toriel. “Oof. Poor mom.” 

When she checked the UnderNet, she actually had a lot of messages, some from accounts she wasn’t even friends with. Word had travelled fast. Monsters were really worried. She felt pretty bad about it. There was a group-text from Mettaton that included Alphys, Undyne, Bratty, Catty, and Napstablook, letting everyone know that things were good to go. She also had a few texts from Papyrus.

“_MOM IS HERE!!! WE’RE COMING!!! <3 <3 <3_” he’d sent, and then another, about a minute ago. “_srry about bad punctuatn i am typing this secretly we r almost at the lab!!!_”

Frisk showed it to Sans. He stared at it tiredly and rubbed his face. 

“Time?” he asked.

“Y… Yeah. Yep.” She stood up and grabbed his hands to help him back to his feet. “Okay. Going? Right?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“Okay! Okay okay.” She nodded. “Um. You wanna check to see how everyone’s doing?”

He stuck his thumb and vanished. Frisk took a deep breath and then rushed out of the hallway. 

This area of New Home reminded Frisk a little of the lab, in that there were quite a lot of rips in time to stick to in a small area. She was grateful for it. She ran to the entrance of the throne room and peeked in just around the corner. A dark hallway was lit at the end by golden flowers and vibrant green foliage.

“Asriel?” she asked at a a whisper. “Are you here? You doing good?” She thought she heard a rustle of plants. She might have seen a little speck of gold where there hadn’t been one before, but leaves crinkled gently and she saw just the edge of a large white paw before she drew back and ducked around the corner. 

She put a hand to her chest and steadied herself.

“Hey.”

She jumped again at the sound of Sans’s voice, and he was grinning at her when she turned around to meet him. 

“Jeez,” she sighed.

He laughed. “We’re good to go. Checked on everyone. So.”

“Wow, that was fast,” she said.

“All I really needed was a thumbs-up,” he said. “They’re on their way.”

“Ah… Right. Right. Okay.” She texted their whole group, and said it aloud, too. “Saving.” She reached into the light and the world clicked into place.

She looked up at her brother and he patted her head. 

“You’re good,” he said.

“Right. Yeah. For sure,” she said quickly. “Yeah. Okay. No big deal, just…”

“You want me to come in with you?” he said.

“No. No no, we should… We need the commotion, right? If people heard there was a fight and then don’t hear a fight, they might just leave, right?” she said. “Ugh. I hate this. Did I mention I hate this?”

“I know,” he said. “You’ll do great.”

Frisk nodded. She bounced on her toes and then steadied herself; tried to assume the meditative pose Undyne had taught her. “Okay. Okay. No going back, right? Right. Just breathe, Frisk. Breeeaathe.”

Sans put his hand on her shoulder. She smiled back at him and quickly wrapped him in a hug. He held her close and patted her head. 

“Got it,” he said.

“Right. Yeah. For sure,” she said. “You, uh… You meet up with Paps, and I’ll go.”

“Yeah.”

“Right. Yeah.” Frisk took a deep breath. “Going. Right.”

“Right now,” Sans said.

“Yeah. Right now. Gooooing.” She headed for the door and then turned back to her brother with a smile. “See you soon, right?”

“Yeah. Duh. Go,” he said with a grin.

“Okay! You too!” She formed her hands into a heart and grinned. “Love you!”

He snickered and ruffled her hair, then vanished completely. 

Frisk bounced on her toes. She stretched out her legs, and then her arms, interlocking her fingers and cracking her knuckles. Nowhere to go but forward. 

She took one last long, steadying breath and then slipped into Asgore’s garden. A scene she’d seen a half dozen times played before her. The great King, his back to her in a field of grass and flowers, tenderly tilting a watering can over the little plants to give them a drink. 

Frisk gently rapped her knuckles against the wall. She saw the giant monster’s ears perk slightly.

“Oh? Is someone there?” he asked.“Just a moment! I have almost finished watering these flowers.” He gently tipped the last drops of water out over the gold petals and placed the watering can down in the grass. “…Here we are!” He sounded quite satisfied.

Frisk felt awful that she was about to ruin his day.

Asgore turned around with a smile already on his face. “Howdy! How can I…?” It took him a moment to process what was standing in front of him and his words fell short. His eyes went wide and his whole expression pulled downward. “Oh.” The word was heavy in the air.

Frisk smiled sheepishly. “Hi,” she said. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“Oh. No. Young one. I…” He cracked a sad, tired smile. Knew what she was instantly, of course. “I so badly want to say, _would you like a cup of tea?_ But… You know how it is.”

“Yup,” she said. “I do.”

“You… must’ve heard, then. On your way here,” he said. “Why did you come?”

“Everything has to end somewhere, right?” she said, shrugging. “I thought it was time to meet you.”

“Oh. Uh…” He couldn’t seem to make words form for a few, long seconds. “Then… if you feel ready, please…” He gestured to the dark entranceway beyond the garden. “Come.”

His pace was slow and his gate was stiff as he walked on ahead. He didn’t even bother to check that she was following. Of course, she did. She felt so bad that it had to play like this, but in the end, it’d be worth it. That’s what she kept telling herself, anyway.

He was in the grey hallway; had paused for her to catch up. He gave her a forlorn smile, almost like he wanted somehow to be reassuring but couldn’t bring it out of himself. He almost reached for her shoulder, but he pulled back in on himself, hiding his great paws under his cloak.

“How tense…” There was no warble to his voice, but his tone was soft. He set off down the dark passageway, and she followed close behind. “Just think of it like… a visit to the dentist.”

“I’ve never been to a dentist,” she said apologetically.

“Oh. I apologize. Bad analogy, I guess,” he said. “It… won’t be pleasant, but just close your eyes and it will be over very quickly. I promise you. I… I will not make this any harder on you than it must be.”

Frisk thought the same of him. She felt nothing but sympathy. She wished he’d let her hold his paw for his part. 

The King paused before the doorway framed with large columns and a glimmer of starlight, and took a deep breath. “Are you ready?” He looked back at her with a sad smile. “If you are not, I understand. I am not ready either.”

“Do you want some time?” Frisk asked.

The King paused. He couldn’t hide how taken aback he looked. He turned to her, his brow furrowed with concern. “Why would you ask such a thing, young one?” he said gently.

“We both know what’s up, right?” she said. “It’s… not easy. Either one. So… if you need a little breathing room, I can wait. But I’m not leaving, okay? Are you sure there’s not another way? I’m okay with not fighting, if you are.”

The implications seemed to settle hard on Asgore. Something almost cracked. He gritted his teeth and turned, walking forward into the dark room ahead. “No, young one. I’m sorry. This is how it has to be. But, thank you. I will go ahead. Join me when you’re ready,” he said. 

Frisk could see the discordant light of the barrier from here; saw it disrupted by Asgore’s large form. She quickly checked her phone. She sent a group-text to her friends and siblings— let them she was heading in to face the King. Before she could even put it in her pocket, she’d gotten texts back. Alphys sent her hearts, Papyrus had typed that he loved her in all caps, and Undyne told her to put up a good fight. They had been waiting on her. She took a deep breath and put the phone away. Good to go. She was ready.

She stepped into the strange twilight of the room where the barrier pulsed over the old way out of the mountain. She remembered that feeling like carbonation when her bones had passed through it. 

Asgore stood before her, looking up to the peak of the cave. His ears twitched to her footsteps. “This is the barrier. This is what keeps us all trapped underground,” he said.

“We gotta get rid of it,” Frisk agreed. 

“Are you sure you are prepared?” Asgore asked her. “There is no coming back from this.”

“Wouldn’t have come if I wasn’t,” she assured him.

He turned to face her. She could feel his soul start to spark; to test hers cautiously. She could already start to feel a little of what he was. It was heavy enough to crush the mountain flat.

“I see…” he said. 

His magic, a pleasant green, sparked bright along the floor and seven capsules raised up out of the ground. Inside each one, a human soul sat, glowing faintly, except one. It was vacant, waiting. Frisk remembered the fear, the sadness, and the determination she’d felt the very first time seeing it. Their last hope, glowing just inside her chest. Now, though, it could take a different form. She hoped Asriel was in here.

“This is it, then,” Asgore said. “Ready?”

She had to be. She nodded. “Yeah. For sure. I’m ready. But I’m not going to fight, okay?”

Asgore’s brows dropped, his face steadied and he appeared resolute. The sound of his soul began to swell as it linked into hers, forcing the red in her soul to shine out through her shirt.

“It’s okay,” she assured him.

He held out a paw and a red, pointed trident thunked into being. He clutched it tightly. “It was nice to meet you, human,” he said. “Goodbye.”

Frisk stuck her thumb up. His soul flared bright with determination, striking her with its strength and reluctant melody. He held his weapon tight and slammed it forward, piercing the floor itself as Frisk hopped out of the way. Red magic lined the ground and grasped into the walls, clutching the room like a cage. He grimaced; wasn’t even looking at her as he raised his palm and fire swelled. She remembered this, too. He commanded it like a puppet master, but he fought like her mother. She slid through gaps in the blaze without a single spark of damage.

He lifted his head and stared at her through the fire. He looked confused, and heartbroken. The great monster bared his teeth in a grimace and bowed his head again. He gripped his trident tight in both hands and jabbed it towards her with weighty furor. Frisk slipped and ducked out of the way, the sharp ends missing her entirely as she hopped back. One sweep more caught her across the shoulder and she tumbled to the ground, but quickly righted herself. His attack was heavy and it burned. She’d almost forgotten what magic that was trying to kill a person felt like in her skin. 

She bounced back. She took a deep breath and touched her shoulder. The sear was deep. It’d probably scar. Not too bad, though.

“Young one, you must fight,” he said. “I cannot offer you mercy. And I…” His voice faltered.

She knew what he was thinking. “I’m really sorry this is hurting you so much,” she said gently.

He stumbled. His grip slackened. His eyes got big and his dark irises shimmered. When he bowed his head and fire bristled from around his body, tears made steam rise from the floor. 

His attack didn’t have time to erupt. In an instant, half the room was engulfed in fire that glittered with pink, and Asgore was struck to the side and dropped to one knee as a ball of flame barrelled into him. Frisk whirled with surprise in time to see her mother stomping into the room, full of righteous fury, rolling up her sleeves, her fur aglow and fire escaping between her fangs as she snarled. 

“You miserable creature!” she roared, placing herself between Frisk and the King. “Torturing an innocent child! I won’t allow it!!”

Asgore, from his spot on the floor, looked like he’d seen a ghost. He froze like a statue, seeming not to believe his eyes. 

Toriel snorted with disdain and turned her back on him. As soon as her violet eyes rested on Frisk, her fire died and she broke into a smile. “There you are! I was so worried about you. Are you alright? He did not hurt you, did he?”

“N-No, I…” Frisk choked. “Oh my god, mom.” She rushed over and the woman dropped to her knees and embraced her tightly. Frisk buried her face against her mother and let out a long, exhausted sigh. She couldn’t help a giggle. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you, too, sweetheart,” she said. “I’m so glad I found you before something horrible happened.”

“T-Tori?” Asgore had finally managed to right himself. He stood with a disbelieving smile on his face. “You came back!”

“Do not _Tori_, me, Dreemurr,” she snapped, whirling on him and standing firmly between him and the kid once again. Her expression turned stern and grim. “You’re pathetic. It did not need to come to this. You knew you could have claimed one human soul and left here to gather others ages ago, and then freed our people peacefully. Instead you waited, forcing everyone to live in despair down here in the dark, and what? Stealing the souls from children who wanted to return home? Or meekly hoping that no human ever arrives at all?”

Frisk grimaced. There was a darkness hanging heavy over Asgore.

“Tori… You’re right,” he said. “I know. I am a miserable creature. I—”

“NGGAAAAAH, WAIT! WAIT WAIT!” Blue magic lit the ceiling for a second and Undyne raced in, followed closely by Alphys. “NOBODY F…!!! Oh. OH! Are we too late?! Is it over?!” she demanded. “Is everyone okay?!”

“Hi, Undyne,” Frisk said. “Hey, Alphys.”

“Oh, hey, kiddo! She looks okay, huh?” she said.

“Y-Yeah, oh thank g-god,” Alphys said. “W-We h-had some trouble with…! A-Anyway, we thought…” She grabbed Frisk into a hug. “N-Never mind. Oh! Your sh-shoulder…!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Frisk said. “It was barely anything.”

“Oh! Are you Frisk’s friends?” Toriel asked curiously.

“Uh! Y-Yes!” Alphys said quickly, eyes going wide.

“Hello! I am Toriel,” she said.

“That’s my mom,” Frisk said with a bashful grin.

“Hey, Tori, good to meet you!” Undyne said.

She dropped down to give the kid a quick hug and a big smooch on the head before she strode over to the absolutely shell-shocked, teary-eyed Asgore. “Dude, hey. You alright?”

“I’m not even sure what to say,” he admitted.

She laughed and thumped him on the shoulder. “Hey. It’s gonna be alright. That’s your ex, huh?” she said. “Pretty rough, buddy. But it’s gonna be okay.”

“I’m n-not entirely sure what is going on,” he admitted. “I…” He looked between Undyne, Alphys, and Frisk. “H-Human, I—”

“Hey.” Sans appeared as if from nowhere, startling everyone still for a moment as he approached Frisk as if nothing was unusual. “So. Looks like it worked. Nerds comin’ in from all over.”

“What, really?” she asked shrilly. “B-But they don’t need to for it to work, I… Oh man. They’re so nice.”

“You made a good impression,” he said with a wink, patting her head. “And Paps has our nerd covered. Hey, sorry, I interruptin’ something?”

“Sans, holy crap,” Undyne said, trying not to laugh.

“Wait… Sans?!” Toriel’s eyes went wide. “Ah!! I knew I’d heard that voice before!!”

“Hey, Tori,” he said, shooting her a grin. “Good to see ya.”

She beamed and she grabbed him into a hug. He snorted and laughed, and patted her shoulder.

“I am glad to see your face,” she said.

“Really? Huh. That’s a first,” he joked.

“Saaaaans, shuddup, I love your face,” Frisk whined.

“This dumb mug?” He pointed at himself and grinned. “Weird sensibilities, kiddo.”

“Stooooop,” she said.

He laughed; couldn’t stop his eye from glowing and he rubbed the back of his skull as Toriel put him down, smiling fondly at him.

“So you are the one who has been taking care of our little girl, hm?” she said. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Don’t need to thank me,” he said. “It’s symbiotic.”

“Wassat?” Frisk asked.

“S’good for both of us,” he said.

“Oh, yeah, that’s super true,” she said. “Basically the truest.”

“Wait. Wait one moment. Sans?” Asgore had to push forward a little, eyes wide, and he quickly wiped his face on the back of his paw. “This… This is your little sister?”

“Yeeeeah, sorry for bein’ a bit misleadin’ about her,” he said with a grin and a shrug. “Almost everything I said was true except the not knowin’ what she was thing. Promise it’ll be worth it, though.”

“Sorry, Asgore, this must be super confusing,” Frisk said quickly, and she turned to Toriel as well. “You, too, mom. It’ll be done soon.”

“Um. Honey? I’m not sure I follow,” Toriel said.

Frisk quickly tried to think of how to explain, but she was distracted by the sound of a distant rabbling. She turned to the door as the sound of boots punctuated the air. Papyrus skidded into the room, panting. 

“Okay! Hello! Hi! Siblings!!” He raced over to wrap each of them in his arms. “Done! They’re here. Almost. Okay? Okay!!”

“Who’s here, sweetie?” Toriel asked gently.

“Okay. Okay. Enough of this.”

A cracking sound drew their attention back towards the door and, spotlighted by the opening, in the dusky glow of the room, sat Asriel. His body prickled with thorns and his vines stretched out over the soul’s capsules. He looked exhausted, but he grinned.

“Six souls, right? Six human souls.” He lifted the green one up in his vines and twisted around it. “I’m sick of waiting. Let’s do this.” Like a constrictor, he crushed each soul quickly in his tendrils and the power flashed a spectrum of colours. He heaved in a deep breath and began to laugh. “I forgot how good it feels,” he muttered. “This won’t feel so good, though.”

His vines shot out, wrapping around each monster’s chest in an instant, heaving them all off their feet and forcing their energies to glow.

“Hey, watch it!!” Undyne growled.

Toriel yelped. “You?!” she demanded.

“Yeah. Me. Sorry,” Asriel said. “Won’t hurt you. Not on purpose, anyway.”

Alphys covered her eyes with one arm and breathed deeply as the vines gripped her tight. Papyrus grimaced as the plant matter wrapped into his ribcage. He reached for Sans’s arm, who was leaning his elbow on the roots that held him up, drumming his fingers against them and pointing at his head, where part of a vine had decided to snake its way into his eye socket.

“Really? Right in the eye?” he said. “Bein’ eye-ronic or somethin’, bud?”

“You’re just the worst,” Asriel said. “But. No. Easier entry. I remember you got fragile ribs, consider it a curtesy.”

“Excuse me for not sayin’ thanks,” Sans said with a laugh.

“B-Be careful with them!” Frisk said shrilly. 

“I am. I…” He frowned in concentration and began to chuckle. His vines tapped on their souls and spots in the chests began to shine brightly. He grinned. “Ahh… There we go…”

Before Frisk could say a word, Asriel erupted into vines and roots, growing so fast and so thick and entwined that it was hard to discern. She shielded her face as she lost sight of him and thorny tendrils whipped by her. 

“Az?!” she yelled. “What’re you doing?!”

“All the souls. I’m taking all the souls.” His voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. “That’s what you wanted, right? That’s what we wanted. That’s what we’ve always wanted.”

She could hear hums, out of sync, pounding; pulling in different directions. She was stuck in a jungle, rushed around without moving, dizzied by the speed of the vines racing all around her tiny pocket of space. 

“I’m taking them all,” he said again. “The whooooole underground’s worth. Won’t be long now. Hah. This is so easy. Why didn’t I do this sooner?”

Frisk’s heart thunked. She grabbed onto the vines and put a hand over her soul, lighting it up brightly. “Asriel, come on,” she said quietly. “Don’t lose it, bro, you got this. I know you do.”

“We always wanted their souls,” he replied. “Yes. We did. We just got them another way before, didn’t we?”

That hardly sounded like him. Why did his voice start to sound like his sister’s? She gulped. Her heart beat hard in her chest. He’d come for her, soon. He was going to, for sure. Just like Sans warned. She grimaced.

She thought she heard a hum she recognized through all the noise. It sounded like Papyrus. It called to her. She edged around her slowly shrinking circle to find him. She could feel his soul through the vines. She reached a hand out and it split. She could see his boney fingertips. 

“Paps?” she demanded.

He didn’t answer. She heard his voice, but not a word. He wiggled his fingers in reply. 

Determination surging, she grabbed the vines and forced them apart and she stumbled into a nightmare. Her brother was there, but the plants had overcome most of him, pinning him into a bed of tendrils by every limb, weaving in and out of holes they’d stabbed through his clothes as they’d filled his ribcage, his soul shining through in patches, flickering amber and white. A thick vine had shoved its way through his mouth, wedging his jaw open wide and pinning his head down against a writhing mass of vegetation, where little branches started to stick into his left eye socket. Even so, he looked happy to see her.

“P-Papyrus?!” she shrieked.

He made a quiet, pleased throaty sound in response and waved with just the fingers on his right hand. 

She dropped down on top of him and began to tear at the plant, trying to rip it away from his head as fast as she could, but it was firm. She yelped when she saw the branches trying to creep farther into his eye and she cupped his face and tore them out.

“D-Don’t worry, I’ll g-get you free,” she assured him. “It m-must be j-just growing t-too fast; it m-must be an accident, right?”

“Ah-hm!” he agreed.

She grabbed the vine again and pulled but it was stuck tight. Her heart pounded. Frantically, she tried to loosen something else; anything. His arms were still pinned firmly down, as was his chest. She almost choked. He looked up at her with confusion.

“Oh, Paps…” She whimpered. “I… I’m too little, I c-can’t—”

“Aahmmnnhn!” he said.

“Wh-What…?” she said. “Paps, I can’t understand, I—”

“Aahh-mm-nn-nn-hhn,” he said more slowly, as if his muffled annunciation would somehow help her. He frowned, steadfast, and his eyes lit up amber. 

She gritted her teeth and touched her brow to his. He let out a quiet, affectionate coo. He started to hum to her, her song. She suddenly understood. 

She hurriedly pulled back and grasped to the vine again, calling up her magic and focussing as hard as she could. She could see it moving in her mind’s eye and, with a burst of energy, turned it backwards and ripped it away from him.

“Pah! Thank you!” he said. “That was a bit unpleasant.”

“A bit?!” she yelped. She frowned at the walls around them. “ASRIEL!! YOU GOTTA STOP, YOU’RE HURTING THEM!!!”

“It’s not actually that painful,” Papyrus volunteered. 

Frisk ignored him, magic burning in her hands. She forced back the vines, twisting them in reverse just enough on one of his arms to release him.

“This was a mistake,” she said quietly. “There’s no way… ASRIEL!!! Let them go!!”

“Let them go? Ooh. Now we see who you really are, hmm?” he said.

“What d’you…?! You’re not thinking straight!” she yelled. “Come on! Think about this!!”

“Oh… Hah… Yes… You’re right,” he said. 

His vines began to encroach and Papyrus quickly held Frisk down against him protectively with the one arm he could lift.

“I have you, little sister,” he said quietly.

“I’m sorry,” Asriel said softly. “I got carried away. I’ll see you in a minute.”

In an instant, they were engulfed entirely. It felt so heavy, and so dark. She could hardly move, but she clung to Papyrus as tightly as she could.

When she could see again, she certainly wasn’t anywhere normal. Frisk was floating in darkness. Before her stood Asriel, a lone speck of light in the black. His flower form was obliterated and now he stood, towering, much like his father did. He looked like a goat monster once more, but with long, curling horns, and streaks of dark stripes on his fur, most prominently under his eyes. The robe he was garbed in bore the Delta Rune, just like their mother’s. 

Frisk was taken aback. She wondered if all the power had forced him into this form. Whatever it was, she couldn’t help the excitement she felt despite her heart pounding. “Asriel!” she called. “You okay? What happened back there?”

Her friend’s black eyes opened slowly. He looked at her silently for a moment; didn’t answer, and she froze up.

“Az?” she asked.

“Oh. Howdy, _Frisk_.” He smiled a little and, with such speed that she couldn’t follow, he swooped in to stand before her. “God, you’re short.”

“Oh, come on, you’re cheating,” she joked. 

“If you think that’s cheating, you’re gonna be real mad in a second,” he said.

The blackness burst into spectrum of colours and stars, streaming in what felt like an endless expanse and he grinned brightly. 

“Holy what?!” Frisk yelped. “Dude, what’re you doing!?”

“Change of plans,” he said. He raised a paw and grinned as a sparkling, cosmic energy— burning bright and radiant— bristled in between his fingers.

“Oh, no, no no no, what?” she demanded, her heart sinking. “Az, c’mon! What’s wrong? C-Can’t we talk about it?”

“Will you tell me the truth?” he muttered.

“Y-Yeah, of course,” she said.

“She didn’t tell me the truth. She never told me the truth.” His eyes started to glaze, his face twisting into a pained grimace. “Family doesn’t lie to family so why would…? Why would…?”

“Az, please, you gotta snap outta it,” Frisk pleaded. “She’s not here! She’s gone! It’s just us! Please, trust me!”

Asriel huffed. A pained smile crossed his face. “Trust you? With her in your head?”

“She’s not in my head, Az,” she squeaked.

“Are you sure? Because what I see in you, I’ve seen before. Everyone loves you. You have them all wrapped around your finger,” he said. “Even that grinning bag of bones. You’re just like her. You manipulated everyone, didn’t you?”

“M-Manipulated?” she repeated shrilly. “I—! I don’t think so! I mean, I never m-meant to… I just wanted to help everyone! I…” Her eyes welled up. She felt her heart thumping, hard. “I… I just wanted to help you.”

“Yeah. Sure. That’s what Chara said, too,” he said.

“I’m not Chara,” she said. “I’m not! I barely even knew her! Please, Az, stop. J-Just… If we just keep going like we planned—”

“The barrier’ll break. And you’ll all leave. Like before,” he said, nodding.

“But this time you can come with us!” she pushed. “You’ll have a soul! It’ll work. It’ll be fine.”

“She said that, too,” he said.

“I’m not lying!!” Frisk yelled, her voice snagging. “I’m n-not! Asriel. Please. C’mon. We worked so hard. I want you to be okay!”

“Heh. Maybe that’s how you manipulated me, too. After all this, I kind of love you for all the dumb stuff you said to me, Frisk,” he said, tilting his head. “Don’t you see? That’s why I need to do this. I figure, we have two choices. We stay here together, or you reset and we loop again.”

“What?!” she yelped. “Az, what do you mean?! What about the plan?”

“It’s doomed,” he said. “Won’t work. Not enough monsters. I can feel them. I can feel how hollow I… There’s not enough determination after what I pulled in the CORE. So…”

“We have to try!” Frisk insisted, tears coming to her eyes. “Please, Az! We worked so hard to get here!”

“You mean you worked so hard to stop the end of the world.” He smiled mockingly. “I’m just a byproduct. Save me. Save the world. Right? It doesn’t really matter. Could’ve been anyone, really.”

“Wh-Why are you saying this?” Frisk whimpered. “Y-You do matter. So much. Don’t you know how much we tried to…?! Even when it wasn’t—! Az! Y-You’re… You’re like family, now, why can’t you understand?! I love you.”

Asriel froze, but only for an instant. His brow furrowed. “I don’t want to be a flower again,” he said. “I don’t want to go back to having no soul. But. I want to be alone even less, so… Two options, Frisk. Pick one. Stay with me. Or loop again.”

“N-No,” she said. “No, we can’t do that.”

“So you won’t stay?” he asked.

She shook her head emphatically. “I can’t. We can’t,” she insisted.

He sighed. “Well. Okay. Reset, then. Go all the way back. We can do it all over.”

“Can’t do that either,” she said.

“Why not? It’s not like it’s hard,” he said, brow raised. “You’d do it for me, wouldn’t you? You erased all their memories before for me, didn’t you?”

Frisk felt sick. Guilt hit her like a truck. “I-I was trying to save you,” she squeaked. “Please, Az, let’s just try!”

Asriel’s snout wrinkled. He sighed and tilted his head. “Fine. Fight it is.” His speed was such that he phased backwards before she could even blink. “I’ll wear you down eventually.”

Their souls lit up together. The sound was bombastic. Excited. Somehow, not two songs, but one. Frisk had never noticed before— didn’t have time to dwell on it now, either. Asriel began to glow a little.

He raised his hand high and the stars bent to his whim— magic poured down from the heavens and smashed around Frisk. She yelped, stumbled out of the way only to have another She raced through the gaps, twisting and spinning in midair. She took a hit to the gut and cried out, tumbling backwards through the air until she managed to right herself, catching a burst in red and freezing it just in time to get out of the way as it exploded, dying the air with a rainbow gradient.

“Asriel, please, stop!!” she shouted.

He grimaced and he held out his hands. Streaks of light became solid; twin blades made of the starlight pulled from around him. She didn’t have time to feel hurt; he came at her, slashing with steady, powerful strikes. Heart pounding, she dodged back and forth, nimble, aided by the immaterial nature of the world she could fly in, only to have Asriel leap into the air above, raise his arms, and call down incandescent lightning.

Frisk did her best, but the magic seared her and she spun through space, her small form aching. Dazed, before she could right herself, Asriel joined the blades together, plunging downwards right for her. She noticed too late. Her little body was split. Pain, cold, then nothing. Then, heat, like a roaring flame. 

She opened her eyes to the chaos of colours and exploding stars. Asriel looked, for some reason, like he was hurting. He had a hand to his chest. 

“Hah… Even then… Even when I kill you,” he panted, “you’re too strong to beat… Just like I thought. You really are something else, you know?”

He came at her like whirlwind, swords in hand, but for Frisk, it was suddenly like time was slowing. His blades jerked back a fraction of a second in his hands. Right, then left, then right again, she sped, and Asriel couldn’t hit her. A flicker of frustration crossed his face but, unwilling, he had to pause. He looked, for a moment, like he was in pain. A sort of white glow began to emanate from his chest. 

“Az?” she asked worriedly.

He bared his fangs. Kind of looked like he was going to be sick for a moment. Her first instincts were to go to him, and she got halfway before he let out a snort and a cry of pain. 

“Get away!!” he roared.

His soul began to pulse, warping his body. He yelped again. She couldn’t hold back. She raced to him and grabbed his shoulders.

“Asriel, l-let me help, let me—!”

“GET AWAY!!!” He ran her through. 

She choked; tasted blood in her mouth. Again, the dark took her.

Frisk could hear a song, but only for a moment. Whispering, words she couldn’t understand, but voices she knew. What happened? She forced her eyes open and was stunned to see darkness, spotted by a field of souls. White monster souls. Towering over them loomed an incomplete rainbow of six bright, colourful human souls. Her heart sunk and her blood ran cold. Had Asriel absorbed her, too? Was that what this was?

“G-Guys?” she called. “Asriel? Sans…? Papyrus? Mom? A-Anyone?” Her voice seemed to drift off into nothing. She couldn’t help the fearful sound that left her. This was new. She didn’t know what to do.

Quite suddenly, she heard a grunting sound. She whirled quickly and, to her surprise, saw strange, colourless visions of her brothers. Parts of them were missing, or obscured, hidden under a strange, white light that seemed to drift like fire. Papyrus was thumping his fist against something.

“Bro, what are you doin’?” Sans sounded exhausted.

“Going! To! Get! Out!” he said.

“Why?” Sans asked. 

“I don’t know! I… I just feel like we have to! Like we’re supposed to!” Papyrus insisted.

“Eh, what’s the point?” Sans asked.

Frisk’s heart leapt. She raced to them, waving her arm frantically. “Papyrus!!” she shouted. “Sans!”

When Papyrus turned to look at her, though, Sans vanished. She stopped in her tracks. Before she could ask, her brother held out a hand and produced a long femur and held it tight, like a club.

“P-Papyrus, what are you doing?” she squeaked.

“Ah-HAH! I knew it! A human!” he said, pointing the bone square at her head. “Prepare yourself for battle, human! For I, the great Papyrus, will be the one to capture you!!”

“Wh… What?” Frisk couldn’t help the tears that welled up in her eyes. “P-Paps, no… No, I… I’m not fighting you!”

“Then brace yourself, human!”

Frisk could barely see well enough to dodge— took a blow to the head and toppled over. Her eyes wide, she stared up at her brother and what little was left of his face. She shook, tears rolling down her cheeks. She couldn’t deal with this now. She felt like she was going to be sick. “B… Big bro, don’t you recognize me?” she whimpered.

He froze. “Big… bro…?” he repeated slowly. 

She thought, for a second, she’d gotten through to him, but he immediately snapped back into character and stood up tall and straight. He towered above her; she had never felt smaller in her life. 

“Nyeh heh heh!! What a strange thing to say!” he said.

“It’s m-me!” she insisted, forcing herself to her feet. “Don’t you remember? All our… our puzzles? You said I was y-your assistant. A-And how we read together, and we make spaghetti, and…! And how we did that play together?”

“What a… What a strange thing t-to…” His voice faltered. “Is this some kind of human trickery?”

“Papyrus, please,” she begged. “T-Try to remember! W-We said…! We said we’d always be together. Y-You said we w-were three now, and we always had to be three. Right? You… You said you were my big brother and… and that you loved me. It’s true, right? B-Because I love you so much.”

“Wh… What?” Papyrus began to shake. The bone in his grip dissolved. He put a hand to that flame marring his features. A little of his light stuttered with a faint, blue colour. “I… I can’t see,” he said quietly. “I can’t…”

“Papyrus, I—”

“I know you. I can’t see you. Come on… Come on come on come on,” he muttered, knocking on his skull. “Nyoo, this isn’t… right, it’s not right, I’m so confused, I—”

“Papyrus,” she said softly, grabbing his hand.

“I… I need to capture humans,” he said, grabbing tight to her shoulder. “I need to. You are a human, so I have to—”

“M-Maybe, but I’m also a squishy skeleton, right?” she said quickly. “Y-You said… You said I could be a skeleton. Skeleton three. Remember? Your sister.”

Papyrus stalled in his tracks. His fingers trembled and loosened their grip. “OH!” He said it so loudly it made her jump. “FRISK!!”

There was a crack in the air. Something, somewhere, broke, and that distortion over him lifted. Frisk’s absolute heartbreak flipped on its head in an instant at the sight of his gawking expression and the golden-orange colour staining his bones, spreading like sunlight melting a veneer of ice, except for a small oval of blue in the middle of his forehead.

“Frisk, ohmygodohmygod I’m so sorry,” Papyrus said, wrapping her in his arms. “I don’t know what came over me, I—”

“It’s okay. It’s okay, it’s okay,” she said, laughing through tears as she thumped his shoulder. “I got you.”

“I got YOU!” he said. “Always. Always! Okay?”

“I know,” she said.

“I won’t let it take me again,” he said.

“I know,” Frisk repeated. 

“I’m going to tell everyone to wake up!!” he said. “We need to get out! I remember now! The plan! We’re going to help you, little sister, I promise! Just hang on!”

In an instant, he shattered into light and Frisk was left alone again, in utter darkness. Her mind reeled. What plan? Help her? She didn’t understand.

She spun to look for some light, some way out, but instead came face to face with her other brother. Like Papyrus, it was almost like some sort of white flame had overtaken much of his head. She couldn’t see his eyes at all. He seemed to stare at her for a second, then sighed, his shoulders sagging.

“Oh great. This again? Look. Just stab me and get it over with,” he said. “I give up, you win. I’m sick of this.”

Frisk couldn’t bear it a second time. She shook her head and held out her hand. “No. Wait,” she said sternly. “Don’t you dare.” She crossed the space between them, stared up at him, keenly aware of where he must’ve thought he was, and then grabbed him tightly into a hug.

“Uh… Okay,” he said, puzzled.

“I don’t know who exactly you’re seeing, Sans, or maybe… maybe you just forget me,” she said, her voice cracking. “But I’m… I’m not that. I’m not Chara. I’m not hurting you.”

“Does it really matter at this point?” he asked. “So, what, you swapped in? That’s just great, pal. But, uh, we’re all still stuck.”

“We aren’t,” she insisted.

“Everyone’s dead,” he said.

“They aren’t,” she said.

“World’s endin’.” He sighed. “Ah. What the hell is the point, anyway?”

“Sans, you gotta stop,” she said. “You’re too strong for this.”

“You must not know me very well, then,” he muttered.

Frisk frowned, hot tears dribbling down her cheeks again. But, after a moment, she smiled. She giggled at the absurdity of it and looked up at him. “Actually!” she said, grabbing both his hands in hers. “I know you super well! Tibia-nest, I probably know you better than anyone!”

There wasn’t much at all of his face showing through that flame, but she could see just the edge of his mouth pull upwards.

“C’mon, bonehead, you really think we won’t make it to to-marrow?” she pressed. “We will! We just gotta work together!”

“Heh… Not bad, kid,” he said. “You’re different, aren’t ya? Where’d you come from, anyway?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m Frisk. I’m the anchor. And I’m your little sister,” she said. “And I love you more than anything.”

“…Me? Why would…? Why would you love… me?” He sounded baffled. “I don’t have a… I don’t have…”

“See? You can’t even say it. Because you know it’s not true, somewhere in there, don’t you?” she said gently. “C’mon, bro. Snap out of it. I need you.”

“Pfft. Right. No one needs me,” he said.

“Not true.” She focussed some red, affectionate energy into her palms and reached up to him, cupping his face. “Super not true.”

He froze; rattled as his shoulders shook. 

“I need you. We gotta get outta here,” she said.

“You… Heh. You’re not makin’ sense,” he said. “There’s no out. Just give up. I did. It’s so much easier.”

“You didn’t,” she said.

“Uh… Pretty sure I did,” he said.

“You’re the one who always told me to keep it together,” Frisk insisted. “You’re the one who always said you had my back. I really need you right now. Sans, c’mon. D… Don’t forget? Okay?” She hugged him again, begging for him to snap out of it. 

There was no expression to read as he looked down at her silently for a while. He sighed. Wilted. To her surprise, he put his hand on her head gently. Whatever was really him in there jabbed at her soul and grasped to it with tentative fingers.

The world shuddered and flashed for a moment. And there he stood, staring down at her looking thoroughly taken aback, the black-and-white of his body dyed over entirely purple.

“Oh. Shit.” He laughed and grabbed her into a hug, lifting her right up off her feet. “Jeez, sorry, kiddo. No idea where my head went.”

Relief took her and she beamed, tears in her eyes. “It’s okay,” she assured him, clinging to his shoulders and and laughing. “Oof, I’m really glad you’re alright.”

“Heh. Thanks, kiddo. You did good.” He drew back, grinning, and ruffled her hair. “Hey. Don’t worry. You got this. Get back out there.”

“You sure? But what about—?”

“Don’t worry about the others, Paps and I got it covered.” He winked. “Go on. Let ‘im have it. ”

“O-Okay,” she said. “B-But I don’t know how.”

“Sure you do,” he said. “This is your world. You can do it.”

“You sure?”

“Sure thing, kiddo. I don’t keep sayin’ you’re a time god for nothin’, y’know,” he said. “I’m rootin’ for ya.”

He vanished like Papyrus had. The black was so dark she would have thought she was blind if she hadn’t been able to see her hands. She took a deep breath. He was right. All she had to do was go back. How hard could it be?

Determination surged through her body and she closed her eyes. Warmth flowed all through her and she focused. What did she want most? She had to finish what she started.

Suddenly, bombastic energy shot though her mind and she tumbled backwards, dazed in the rainbow of magic that almost blinded her. She righted herself quickly to find Asriel, still hunched, blades plunged downwards into nothing. He looked up at her and squinted incredulously. 

“What?! H-How did you—?!” His words were cut short by an involuntary yowl. He jerked, as if something struck him.

“Asriel, are you okay?!” she demanded.

“Shut up! Shut up, shut up!! I—!” He growled and doubled over. “What’s… happening…?”

Two spots of light shot right out of him. Frisk backed up only to find them circling her. She knew the feeling of their energies instantly. She felt tears come to her eyes. Her reaction was almost instinctual: she held out her hands and each one settled in. The lines on her face, amber and blue, lit up brightly and magic ran like water down her fingers. Those souls took the light and, in an instant, bodies reformed from glowing energy. 

Papyrus, a shimmering golden-orange, held her hand, standing, towering, decked out in the plate armour of a valiant knight. Sans, reforming on her other side in light blue, looked the same as ever. He grinned at her as she gawked— said something in a language she didn’t understand. Papyrus responded in kind and thumped his fist against his chest. Sans pointed both index fingers at him and said what was presumably a joke, and Papyrus yelled at him. His expression changed on a dime and knelt down before Frisk and touched their brows together affectionately. Frisk could have cried and she cupped her brother’s face and let her soul glow. He laughed, same _nyeh heh heh_ as ever. He stood and whirled, scarf billowing like a dramatic cape, putting his hands on his hips and assuming a rather heroic stance before her. Frisk couldn’t believe it. He looked so cool.

Asriel finally straightened up and stared at them like he had no idea what to make of them. He sneered with forced bravado. 

“F-Fine! Two souls lost, big deal,” he said. “Papyrus, you can’t be serious, challenging me like that. You’ll never make it on your own.”

Sans put a hand on Frisk’s shoulder protectively and Papyrus grinned and extended a hand— in it, formed, too, from his own energy, a heavy kite shield that looked like the bone skull of a Gaster Blaster.

“Oh my god, he’s not gonna…” Frisk gasped.

Asriel snorted and charged him with his swords.

“Papyrus, no!!!” she shrieked.

Those swords crashed down onto the shield her brother raised to block but, to her shock, and Asriel’s too, didn’t move an inch. Papyrus grinned. They broke apart and Asriel tilted his head.

“Well, that’s a surprise,” he said. “But you can’t run on her energy forever!”

Papyrus responded— bright, confident, and a little smug. Asriel snorted and swung his swords again, and again, the skeleton matched him.

Papyrus was fast— faster than she’d ever seen him. Anticipating every move with such precision it was as if he could see it in advance. Just like Sans could. 

“Oooh my god he’s so cool,” Frisk breathed. 

Sans patted her shoulder and said something quick, the tone reassuring. She shot him a look of confusion. 

“You, um, realize I can’t understand a word you’re saying, right?” she asked worriedly. 

He was taken aback for a moment. He sighed, seemed to curse, but then grinned and raised his hand. Bones spelled out, “_wastin his time._”

“Why?” she asked.

“_trust me_” He wiped the tears from her eyes with his sleeve. 

She smiled and hugged him tight. “Always,” she said. 

He beamed.

Papyrus was pushing Asriel, keeping him from Frisk, no matter the pace. Matched him. Blocked him. Forced him back. 

Sans took her through space. They watched, Frisk in awe, Sans with a huge grin on his face. 

“ENOUGH!” Asriel roared. His swords became pure energy and he called down a star of destruction.

Papyrus was back with them in an instant, holding the shield up over them steadily. Impacts hit it to almost no effect, magic scattering like fireworks. He said something quickly to Sans, and Sans shrugged and his reply was short. Papyrus’s eyes went wide and he looked at Frisk and he yelled a single, questioning word. He demanded something of Sans, which his brother quickly rebutted, pointing at Asriel. Papyrus pouted, but then whirled and blocked Asriel head-on as he rushed them. The tall skeleton was knocked, tumbling through space and Asriel let out a triumphant huff. Sans frowned and jerked his thumb after their brother. Frisk nodded and he vanished.

“You and me, now, Frisk,” Asriel said. A cannon covered in spikes and radiant light appeared in his hand like it hand always been there. He fired. 

The rainbow of energy was intense, but Frisk spun and flew out of the way, her determination carrying her fast and far.

“Az, we don’t have to fight!” she said.

“I’m not doing this without you anymore!” he yelled. “Just reset!”

“I can’t!” she insisted. “I’m not leaving without you, either!”

He roared and threw massive stars like a crushing meteor shower. It would have been beautiful if the weight of that magic wasn’t overwhelming. Frisk tumbled and dashed, the energy rushing through her ears like a hurricane.

A lull of only a second let her catch her breath and then more lasers fired, but suddenly veered drastically off course. Frisk whipped around to watch, and then looked up at Asriel. He buckled again and his chest was glowing. He fought through it and caught Frisk off-guard— blasted her to nothing.

She refused. She was an ember, then a flame. She opened her eyes and Asriel sneered, but it was still a bit forced. 

“Looked like it hurt,” he said.

“You think that hurts, try taking three femurs through the chest at once,” she joked.

“Hah! You haven’t even seen my true power!!” he yelled.

“I have and I’ll still totally dunk you,” she shouted back. “With friendship and determination and stuff!”

He roared; called the lightning again, a rainbow of electric devastation. She raced from it, forwards and back, searing her arm and fighting through the pain. 

She shot upwards to meet him, and he pulled his swords again, but then let out a yelp as that bright spot in his chest swelled again. Frisk felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Sans grinning at her. 

“_use magic_” he spelled.

Frisk didn’t even ask, just concentrated and did her best. The lines in her skin radiated, blue, then orange, and then, overtaken by her own resounding, brilliant red. Asriel winced and covered his head.

“Sorry!” Frisk called.

Sans laughed. “He’ll be fine,” he said.

“Hey! There we go,” Frisk said.

“Bonus,” Sans said. “Watch this.”

Papyrus slid up beside them, taking a deep breath, just as two more dots of light shone out of Asriel’s chest. Yellow and lightning blue. Undyne appeared first, electric blue, eyes like fire, armour spiked like a styracosaurus, folding her arms and grinning widely. Then Alphys, normal, a lemon yellow, but crackling with little lightning sparks. Both, too, were marked with that same blue spot she’d seen on Papyrus. Asriel laughed tiredly.

“Four souls lost,” he said. “S-So what?”

“Four souls powered by straight determination, dude,” Undyne said smugly.

“Yes! Powered by Frisk’s boundless potential, every one of us is at the very least a defensive match!” Papyrus announced, pulling his magic shield from his back. “I will be more than happy to block every attack! Provided you, um, don’t knock me through time and space again, that was really rather unpleasant.”

“This really changes nothing,” Asriel said. His energy pulsed outwards like the start of a storm. He bared his fangs and his eyes went white. “You. Are. Not. Leaving. Me.” His voice was distorted, warping and low. “This… This is where we all end. Or we all go back.”

“W-Wait, wait, let us talk t-to you!!” Alphys cawed.

He ignored her, his body pulsing energy bright and fast, knocking everyone back with a hurricane force. Frisk yelped and held her ground as much as she could. The energy tried to drag her backwards, tugging hard at her sleeves and skin. When she could see again, there were no specks of colour. It was just her and Asriel.

He was massive. His face was stretched, beastly, and ghost white. His limbs were disjointed and clawed with points like swords, and wings stretched out into the dark expanse, glittering with stars. Her mouth dried. Her energy called out. She still felt her friends, to her relief. She saw Asriel sneer. 

“I don’t know why they bothered,” he said. “Really. I should kill them. That’d do it, wouldn’t it? But… I don’t know if even you could forgive that.”

“…Asriel,” she squeaked.

“I can still kill you, though,” he said.

His magic called down a wave of burning meteors, so big that they were disorienting to look at. Frisk rushed to move; though their trails were like a storm, she faced Asriel down without taking a hit. He snorted.

“Go back.”

She shook her head.

“GO. BACK,” he ordered.

“You gotta let us try,” she insisted.

“GO BACK!!!” His voice was a roar, and he raised his massive hands as energy pooled in his palms: a vibrant, eye-burning white. “I’LL RIP YOU APART!!”

“Az, I know you’re scared,” she said. “Just let me—”

“NO!!!”

He levelled that energy ay her and released everything. It was blinding. It burned. Everything hurt, and froze deep down to her core. She felt herself shatter. But she refused.

Everything faded and he stared her down in the black. She shook a little, but she held firm. He snarled.

“You forget. Because of you, I’m determined, too.”

She felt a sting of shock when he blasted her a second time. She was sure she could see his eyes. Those black eyes, tears lit up in the light dribbling from them. Her pain, it was just her body. She could deal if she really tried. Grimacing, she made a push. But she couldn’t move. Her body was frozen. Her mind reeled. He was stronger. He had to have been. She got dizzy. She couldn’t see. There was a ringing in her ears.

Little specks of colour dotted her vision. She thought maybe she was losing it for a second, but she quickly realized it was very deliberate. Light blue, amber, cyan; yellow. Like stars. Again. And again. Then more. Purple, magenta, light and darker greens; silver. Lights and colours, sparkling out, until that was all she could see. She wasn’t going to break this time. She heard them in the back of her mind. Felt their energy, their songs, and then hers burst through all of it.

She flew up and up, the pain draining her, her body like a weight where she would have otherwise soared. She fought, and reached, her soul blazing, red blaring through that wave of light. Cutting it. She was determined.

She reached, and reached, blinded, the sound of her soul screaming out, overcoming all others. Stretched her hand towards him. The wind stilled, the burning subsided. Finally, she could blink the spots from her eyes and the palm of her hand met the tip of that giant monster’s soft, furry snout. There was a moment of silence and she held on with both hands, gently, her little body going limp as he looked back at her, tears streaming down his face. Their song slowed, the sounds entwined. Inextricable from one another.

They both had to catch their breath. Frisk gulped heavily.

“G-Gonna chill out?” she asked quietly.

“F… Frisk…” He bared his huge fangs in a grimace. “…How?”

She laughed tiredly. “Determination,” she said. “I’m not letting you out of it that easy.”

“Easy?” He laughed. “…You’re insane.”

“Please. Please let us try,” she said. “Let us help you.”

“I don’t want to go back again,” he growled quietly. “I w-won’t get be taken in again, I won’t—!”

Frisk gently kissed his snout and then rested her brow into his fur. “I know you’re scared,” she said softly, “but all the stuff in you right now, it’s making you not think straight. I know it. This isn’t you.”

He let out a low, shaky growl, but when she looked up, the wilting of his ears and and the shimmering in his eyes told her that she was right. She lit up red in her palms and he sighed. 

“Snap out of it,” she said softly. “She’s still in your head, dude. But it’s not real. It’s just bad memories, okay?”

Cautiously, he reached a hand out to cup her small form. She settled back in his palm and took a breath. She felt like she could just break if he blew on her too hard, but she didn’t let that deter her.

“How do you know?” he whispered.

“Because she’s gone. I know it hurts,” she said. “I can’t imagine how bad it hurts. But what she wanted, we know it's not right, don’t we? And… A-And I know, for sure, that I’m never going to leave you behind again.”

“You can’t promise that,” he said.

“I can. I do,” she said.

He gently let her go and she floated in space before him. She wiped her eyes on the back of her arm.

“So where do we go from here?” he asked.

She shrugged and she held out her hands. Hesitantly, he reached out to her and he let her hold two of his fingertips. She smiled and he sunk a little lower, flinching, and taking a long, deep breath.

“F… Frisk, I—”

“I got you,” she said. “I’m gonna keep you safe. From now on. Okay?”

“You’re kidding,” he said.

“Nope,” she said.

“You’re crazy,” he grumbled.

“Doesn’t matter,” she said.

“Hey.” Sans appeared beside her. 

She jumped and even Asriel looked startled. He just looked amused.

“You kids worked this crap out yet?”

“Sans!” She grabbed onto him with relief. “Oh man.”

“You done blowin’ up my little sis?” Sans asked, cutting his eyes at Asriel. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you to play nice with the other kids? You’re so grounded after this.”

“But…! But she didn’t even…!” His long ears pinned back. “Come on, dude.”

“Hey! Helloooo!” Papyrus blinked in beside them, too, in a flash of amber and then looked just as surprised as they did. He rubbed the back of his skull. “Well! That was jarring!” he said. “Is the fight over? Did we miss it?”

“It’s over,” Frisk said. “Right, Az?”

“Uh…”

“OH GOOD. That’s excellent, I’ll tell you,” Papyrus said. “Because. Absolutely. This is the craziest thing we’ve ever done. Ever. At all. Asriel. You are too large, right now, but very cool. Love the wings. But. You will have to get small again after this, or you will not fit in the house.”

“After?” Asriel looked baffled. “There… There isn’t an after.”

“What a silly thing to say! Of course there is,” Papyrus said.

There was a faint, distant roaring sound, and rushing in like wrecking ball came Undyne, dragging Alphys with her. She conjured a spear in both hands, and Papyrus took her by the shoulder.

“It’s over,” he said.

“What?!” She looked aghast. “I missed it?!”

“Yup,” Sans said. “Captain Chaos got it outta his system, I think.”

“Shit.” She laughed. “Oh well.”

“Oh thank g-god,” Alphys said.

Asriel looked at them, wide eyed; baffled. He put a giant hand to his head like he had a headache to match his stature. “This… This changes nothing,” he said. “Not a thing.”

Frisk smiled sympathetically. Papyrus put a hand on her shoulder. Their energy resonated around her and she smiled.

“Really?” she asked. “I think it changes a lot.”

“Hah! Change of heart? You actually going to try to fight me?” he asked. “I won’t turn them to dust, but—”

“We’re not gonna fight,” Frisk assured him.

“No? No. Of course not,” Undyne said. “What are we doing?”

“A-Asriel, w-we didn’t break away t-to help Frisk battle y-you,” Alphys squeaked. “W-We wanted t-to try to t-talk. Okay?”

“Right,” Sans said. “Figured you might flip.”

Asriel frowned. He tilted his head. He looked between all those glowing souls with suspicion. “I don’t understand.”

“You panicked. We get it,” Sans said. “Scary stuff. And you kinda got a bad influence in the back of your head. But things are different now.”

“How?!” Asriel demanded. “I’m… I’m still stuck. I’m still trapped here.”

“Hah! Don’t be silly, Asriel,” Papyrus said. “We’re all your friends! We all want to see you pull through this!”

“You guys are idiots. Don’t you see I can’t keep going?!” he snarled. “Your plan isn’t going to work! It can’t!”

“You can’t know that,” Undyne said sternly.

“Alphys said—! Alphys said it’d never work, sh-she…!” he began, but Alphys hurriedly shook her head.

“No no n-no, Asriel, it’s okay,” she assured him gently. “I… I did used to think it’d never work, but all our r-research now says it’ll b-be okay! If…! If you r-release the souls to break the b-barrier, the extra you h-had from Frisk will go back to her. It’ll w-work. It… I-It might be patchy, b-but it’ll work.”

“But I heard you say it wouldn’t work,” he said, his brow furrowing. “I heard you. Just recently. You said it to Mettaton, and—”

“To Mettaton?” Alphys tilted her head and tapped her cheek thoughtfully, then snapped her fingers. “Oh! O-Oh, Asriel, I’m sorry, y-you only heard the e-end of the conversation! I was t-telling him all about h-how far we’d come, and how w-we really broke through m-my doubts from the start. I b-bet if you feel his soul, y-you’ll be able to tell! I promise.”

Asriel stared back at them all. Cautiously, he raised a hand to his chest; looked like he was lost in focus for a moment. He gulped and shuddered, eyes lingering on Sans questioningly. The skeleton shrugged and nodded. Asriel had to stop his lip from quivering. 

Frisk smiled and floated up to face him again. “Az,” she said gently. “C’mon. Let us help. You can trust us.”

“After this, there’s no way the monsters will—” he started, but Frisk gently reached up touched his snout. He gulped.

“Do you know how the magic I have works?” she asked. “It’s all to do with memories and junk. So, if I tell you now, that doing this, putting a soul in you, it’s going to save the whole world, every monster in you will feel that. So, even if they wouldn’t do it for you, or for me, thousands of monsters are going to give you a little bit of themselves to save the world.”

“How can you know that?” he asked.

“Because monsters are amazing!” she said with a laugh. “Do you realize how many people I’ve met here that would stick their neck out for me after knowing me for only a few minutes? People who shouldda been scared to death of me are my best friends now. My family. Our family, Az.”

“Th-They’re idiots.”

“They’re made of love,” Frisk said. “C’mon. Give them a chance.”

“She’s right, kid,” Sans said. “Take her advice. Maybe you, uh, give up here, and things’ll be better tomorrow.”

“You got your time to be a cool badass chaos god guy, but we should probably all get home now,” Undyne said with a grin.

Asriel’s ears pinned back. Before he could say another word, Frisk hugged him tight around his snout. He looked like he was going to cry. He quivered and closed his eyes, covering them with one hand as he cupped the other around Frisk gently. His lips pulled back in a pained grimace. His body wobbled; his form collapsed like it had all been a mirage. 

He was still bigger, but like a battered, exhausted version of the first form he’d taken. He dropped to his knees, his face in his hands. Frisk knelt down with him and stroked his fur between his horns.

“You hear it, right?” she asked quietly.

“Wh… What?” he muttered.

“Our magic,” she said softly. “The hum. Went soft, huh?”

“…I just hear one song,” he said.

“Exactly,” she said.

He looked up quickly, his black eyes matching hers. She grinned.

“Maybe it was always supposed to go like this, huh?” she said. “Maybe… Maybe I’m the anchor but… I think you’re part of that, too. We’re both here to keep this place steady. Right? Together?”

He nearly choked. He pulled her into his arms.

“Hey, there you are. You’re gonna be alright,” she said gently. “Let it go, okay? We’re all here for you. You don’t need to listen to her anymore. I know it’s hard. I do. But it’s gonna be okay. Listen. I… I think I have something for you.”

“Huh?” he asked softly

“Well, it’s just…” She smiled sheepishly. “When, um, Chara was in my head? She left some stuff that wasn’t her, actually. So…”

She reached a hand out to him. He stared back at her, the meaning of her words dawning on him. He let her hold his paw, and she put it against her cheek where those blue markings usually shone. She closed her eyes and focussed. Tried to let it go the same way the blue magic on her face did. He let out a little gasp and she looked up at him. He trembled. A glimmer of her red sparkled like a star in the deep black of his eyes. 

“Sis…” he whispered.

“I’m sorry about Chara,” she said.

He shook his head. “I… I miss her. I miss her so much. But… B-But I meant… you. Sorry. Is that… weird?”

Frisk couldn’t help a grin. She grabbed him and snuggled close and he clung to her like his life depended on it. 

There was a collective sense of relief from the others. Undyne knelt and thumped him on the back affectionately and Papyrus raced over and hugged everyone.

“What a bummer, I didn’t even get to use my cool spirit armour,” Undyne joked.

“I did! Nyeh heh heh heh!” Papyrus said.

“Really cool, bro,” Sans said; he squatted in front of Asriel. “Hey. Kid. Listen. We’re gonna lend you our power again. It may not be much in the grand scheme of whatever, but you’re gonna use it right, aren’t ya?”

Asriel held tight to Frisk and locked eyes with the stocky skeleton. There was a spark of understanding between them. He nodded. Sans grinned and patted his head. 

“Good. Because I am gettin’ tired as heck just floatin’ around out here. Later.” He winked and his body dissipated into a glowing soul, blue fading to white, that lazily touched into Asriel, shimmered, then vanished. 

“On my way!” Papyrus announced. “Good luck, Asriel! Frisk! I know you can do it!”

Undyne barked out a laugh and thumped him heavily on the shoulder. “Keep it together, punks. See you soon,” she said.

Alphys stuck her thumb up and winked.“G-Ganbattene!”

The three of them, too, reverted to souls to rejoin him in a twinkle of white light.

Asriel took a deep breath and put a hand to his chest, and tears started to dribble down his cheeks. “J-Jeez,” he muttered.

“What?” Frisk asked gently.

“Oh man, their… their e-emotions j-just kinda hit me like a train,” he said, his voice tight.

Frisk held his big paw tight in both hands. He took a long, deep breath.

“I’m… I’m kind of scared,” he said.

“Why?” she asked gently.

“Don’t remember what’s next,” he admitted.

“It’s okay,” Frisk said. “We’ll go together, that’s something, right?”

The world seemed to open up, then shrink, and then drop. Air whistled past Frisk’s ears and she held onto Asriel tightly, shutting her eyes against the vibrant array of dark and patchworks of stars. 

When she felt her feet something that resembled ground, she was holding Asriel’s hands in hers. Before her, he stood just as he should be, a little goat-like monster boy with fluffy white fur, the same height as her, in a green and yellow striped sweatshirt. He was still crying. He sniffed deeply and laughed, and then released her to wipe his eyes.

“Dang. I always was a crybaby, huh?” he said quietly. His voice was different. Higher. Younger. How it should have been. 

“Pffft,” Frisk snickered. “Same here. I never used to be like that, but now I just cry at everything!” She put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. 

He looked at her, sniffled, and tried to regain himself, but failed. His shoulders shook with sobs and his knees gave out, tears speckling the void around them with pricks of light. Frisk dropped down with him and held him tight.

“You’re gonna be okay,” she said quietly.

He sniffled and rested in her arms for a long while.

“H…Hey, Frisk?” he said quietly.

“Yeah?”

“I… I can’t believe what you just… I mean, dang.” He laughed tiredly and pulled back, wiping his eyes. “So much for being all-powerful with that many souls, sheesh. Can’t even beat a little k-kid.”

“I was just really, really determined,” she joked.

“Are you okay?” he asked. He sniffed deeply and finally pulled back a little. “I’m so sorry. That must’ve hurt a lot.”

She shook her head. “Don’t worry about that,” she said.

“I can’t believe I stabbed you, though!!” he said shrilly. “Like, more than once!! What was I thinking?!”

“It’s okay, I understand, you were all messed up,” she said.

“It’s just… Those human souls in me, it just… it made me hear her in the back of my head over and over and…” He rubbed his head. “Ugh. I’m so weak.”

“No. No no no, hey,” Frisk said gently. “You’re not. You’re super not.”

His ears perked up a little and a hopeful look splashed across his face. He rubbed the back of his head, and suddenly his eyes were alight.

“Oh!! And, oh my god, Papyrus was—!”

“He was so cool!” Frisk said.

“He was!” Asriel said with a laugh. “Oh my god. I can’t believe he held up! That was amazing!” He put his paw to his chest. He sniffled and took a deep breath. “F… Frisk. I’m so sorry. I… just threw a huge tantrum like a stupid baby. I was just… scared. It wasn’t like the fear of getting torn apart. It was… crushing. Like we’d done all that work and I knew I would just… I would just be a nightmare afterwards. Or you’d leave. After really feeling what it was like to be your friend… And all their friends, too, kinda… I didn’t… I didn’t want…” He hiccoughed. Had to catch his breath. 

Frisk held his hand and he squeezed her.

“I messed it up,” he muttered. “I messed everything up. I… I can’t ask you to forgive me for that, but I hope maybe we can—”

“Forgiven!” Frisk said brightly.

“Wh… What?” he asked blankly.

“I forgive you. Of course,” she said.

Asriel stared at her in silence for a few seconds. His eyes welled up again and he smiled. “C’mon, Frisk, you’re just gonna make me cry again.”

“Cry all you need to, I’m not going anywhere,” she assured him.

He smiled a little wider, but then sniffed hard and wiped his eyes. He took a long, deep breath. “But you know I can’t stay,” he said.

“You wanna go?” she asked gently. “You can catch your breath if you want to.”

“I think I might just want to get this over with,” he said. He smiled fondly and put his paw against his chest again. “It’s so weird. With all these souls in me? It’s like… I feel like myself. But I can feel everyone’s feelings, too. It’s… It’s amazing, you know? Mom and dad, they’re… they’re gonna be okay, huh? But, sheesh, you and these skeletons, you have some crazy attachment issues, huh?”

“Guilty,” Frisk said.

“And Undyne, jeez, hero complex on that one! And strange how Mettaton can be such a narcissist but use it for good, kinda? And don’t even get me started on Alphys.”

“Okay, okay,” Frisk said with a laugh.

Asriel snickered, wiped his eyes again. “You’re lucky you have so many people who love you so much,” he said. “And they all really believe in you. I kinda can’t help it, too.”

“You know they love you, too,” she said. 

“Heh. I guess you’re right,” he admitted. “This… This really might work, huh?”

“I think so,” Frisk said.

He got to his feet, his fur bristling a little. Frisk stood up with him and he took a deep breath.

“They feel it,” he said. “Inside. They feel my plan. Heh, it’s weird, but I think even these human souls are excited, too. Everyone is. Our hearts are all beating together. Funny, isn’t it? After everything I’ve done, they’ll still trust me enough for this. Frisk, are you ready?”

“Are you?” she asked. “This is a big deal, huh?”

He nodded, but he smiled anyway. “This is what Alphys brought me back for,” he said. “I was meant for this. Breaking the barrier. I’m… getting excited, actually! Okay. Let’s do it.”

Frisk stuck both thumbs up and Asriel closed his eyes. His body began to glow and Frisk stepped back to give him some space. 

The energy radiated and felt like a warm, encompassing hurricane as the souls raised up and out of Asriel’s body and it lifted him right off his feet. Frisk shielded her eyes. It was bright white with pricks of rainbow shining and sparkling like a slow-motion firework. She could feel comforting energy flowing all around her, and it overwhelmed her to the point of tears. It was like she could hear many familiar voices brushing past her ears. 

Everything ended as quickly as it had begun, and the world felt like it had snapped. There was a sense of relief in the air. Frisk had felt it before— she knew the barrier was gone. Just like that. It felt so simple. She couldn’t help but laugh and she wiped her eyes quickly.

Asriel gently alit on the ground. He rubbed a hand through the fur on his head and Frisk ran up and grabbed him.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yes. I… Heh. It doesn’t feel too bad yet, actually,” he said.

“How long can you hold it together?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I dunno, but I—”

Frisk squished him into a hug tightly. He stared at her blankly and then smiled and gently grabbed her in return. 

“I, um… I kinda love you, Frisk,” he said quietly. “Thanks for trying.”

“Heh. I kinda love you back,” she said. “I’m not done yet. I’ll find you after, okay?”

“Well… We’ll see, I guess,” he said. “But… Promise me if this doesn’t work, you’ll… you’ll do something to stop me, okay? I’ll still be broken.”

Frisk nodded, but she smiled. “Most things can be fixed,” she said, “Just takes a bit of hard work and determination! Papyrus told me that once.”

“Such a sap. Heh. Oh man.” He pushed his snout against her shoulder and he grasped her tight with shaking fingers. “I don’t wanna let go.”

It took him a few moments longer before he finally forced himself to pull out of her embrace. “Even if this goes bad,” he said, “thanks. And tell everyone else thanks, too. And if… If I don’t make it, tell Alphys she did her job well, okay?”

Frisk nodded. Asriel smiled and began to walk off— he turned once more. He rubbed his head.

“And… Undyne… tell her I think she’s really cool…? And Mettaton, that I forgive him, and his play was p-pretty good. A-And tell Papyrus that… I love him, okay?”

“I will,” Frisk promised. 

“A-And take care of mom and dad for me, alright?”

“Of course,” she said.

“And… And tell Sans thanks for trusting me, I know that wasn’t easy,” he said.

“Az, you’re gonna be okay,” she said.

He laughed tiredly and waved. “See you, Frisk.”


	82. Just A Little More

Voices mumbled around Frisk, but couldn’t make out the words. Her eyelids felt heavy. She felt herself being propped up and held securely. Gentle, furry hands lifted her and cool, smooth finger bones checked her forehead. Her head swam and she lost it for what felt like only a second. When her attention was caught again, she felt movement and it made her a little dizzy. It took her a moment to figure out that whoever was holding her pacing frantically. Had to be Papyrus.

“Bro. Relax.”

“But why won’t she wake up?! I need her to wake up! She HAS TO WAKE UP! I refuse to have her not wake up again!!!”

“GAAAH, I’M GONNA FREAK OUT!”

“U-Undyne, it’s… it’s g-gonna be okay. It’s gonna b-be… Oh n-no, I’m gonna puke.”

“Would you like some tea? It… It’s a little cold, but—”

Frisk heard frantic gulping and a sort of wheezing sound, and footsteps running away. More followed them into the distance.

“Now, now, please. Calm down. My child, let me help, won’t you?”

“I-I can’t let her go, I… I—!”

“Bro, it’s okay. C’mon. You’re makin’ me dizzy just looking at you.”

There was a lot of movement and then bony knees under her. A wave of warm magic all through her, soothing the ache in her muscles. 

“No no no, Frisk, come on, please. Please please, I can’t… I can’t handle this,” Papyrus whispered. “I don’t want to miss you again. P-Please.” His bones were rattling. 

She tried her best to move. Her eyes still wouldn’t open but she made herself grab him, whatever she could reach— felt like his arm. He froze. 

“F… Frisk?!” he asked shrilly. “Little sister, are you there?! Are you awake?!”

She gulped dryly. Her tongue felt heavy in her head. The words were hard to get out. “Y-Yeah. Sorry.” Her voice was so soft it felt like it might just tumble back down her throat and disappear. “Hang on.” 

It was much harder than she expected, but she blinked her eyes open and saw Papyrus grinning at her, eyes bright with magic and watering profusely. He lifted her limp form and held her close, blowing out a deep sigh of relief.

“Bro, it’s okay, it’s okay,” she said softly, and she hugged him with weak arms around his neck. “I’m fine. Just got blown up a couple times. Kinda tired. It’s okay.”

“Mhm,” he said.

“You crying?” she asked softly.

“Mmmhm.”

She smiled and gently rubbed the back of his skull. “Gonna be okay?”

“Y… Yes. Yes, of course,” he said. “Phew. My god. Frisk, please stop almost dying, I don’t think my soul can take it!”

“Aw! I didn’t almost die, I just was out a little longer than the rest of you,” she said gently. “Do you remember what happened?”

“Yes! It was first-hand some insane soul floating weirdness, I’d rather not do it again,” he said, “but I think I was pretty resourceful in there, don’t you?”

“You fought a god-powered monster and barely took a hit,” Frisk said with a laugh. “If there’s any time to call yourself the great Papyrus, it’s now, dude. You were amazing.”

“You think?!” he asked. “It was really mostly thanks to you, your soul’s power was enough to supercharge everyone! Luckily only I really had to use it, but—”

“Papyrus,” she said— she grabbed his face to look him in the eyes very seriously. “Big brother. That was the coolest frickin’ thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life.”

His cheekbones flushed. “Really?!” he asked. “I guess I was pretty cool, wasn’t I?!”

She snickered, nodded, and kissed his forehead. He cooed and hugged her tighter against his chest, glowing so warmly she had to make very sure she didn’t just fall right back to sleep.

She could feel, though, a hole in his shirt, around the shoulder. She knew there must’ve been more. She cuddled into him closer. “Do you remember before that?” she asked softly. “R-Right after the vines grabbed everyone?” 

“Ummm… Nope. Not really, not at all, why?” he asked.

She sighed with relief. At least that was something worth forgetting. “That’s okay. It was just a bunch of plants,” she said quietly. “Papyrus?”

“Mhm?”

“I love you so much,” she said.

“Nyeh heh! I love you so much, too,” he said. 

“Hey, look who was worried over nothin’ again.”

They turned; only then did Frisk notice they were huddled in a corner of the throne room. Sans grinned at them and sat down beside them. 

“Dude,” Frisk said, smiling. “Thanks so much for the help. That went weird pretty quick.”

“Welp. Yeah. Figured it might,” he said.

“You always do,” Frisk said brightly.

“We couldn’t have done it without you, y’know,” he said.

“It’s true, if you hadn’t snapped us free, who knows what might have happened,” Papyrus said. “Oof. Little sister, I’m so sorry for whacking you.”

“Dude, you whacked her?” Sans asked with an amused smile.

“I didn’t mean to!!” Papyrus protested. “I thought I was stuck in a fight with a violent human, not my little sister! I couldn’t see.”

“Don’t even,” Frisk said quickly. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“But still!” Papyrus said.

“Nah, s’okay, it got me, too,” Sans said with a shrug. “I asked her to kill me.”

“SANS!!”he yelped.

Frisk laughed tiredly. “Okay, okay, guys, enough,” she said.

Papyrus let her up and she gave Sans a lethargic hug. He snickered and patted her back gently. 

“You almost ready to go do the soul thing?” he asked.

“Think Mettaton is?” she said.

“Eh. Give him a minute, he’s probably kinda disoriented like we were. Oh. Hey. There’s Tori.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Frisk, you better go say hi, everyone’s been flippin’ their shit.”

“SANS!” Papyrus cawed.

“What?” he asked.

Papyrus smacked his forehead with his palm and Sans grinned.

Frisk snickered, and she got to her wobbly legs and peeked around her brother to, in fact, see Toriel, standing off near the doorway, reserved and worried. She smiled wide and waved.

“Mom!” she called.

Toriel jumped, almost as if she had snapped out of a daze, and she took a hesitant step towards the kid. “F-Frisk?” she asked.

Frisk grinned and raced over to her, and she bent to one knee and accepted the girl into a gentle hug.

“Thank goodness you’re alright, little one,” she said.

“You too!” Frisk said. “You okay?”

“Just fine,” Toriel said. “I’m so glad you’re not hurt after that strange plant nonsense.”

She pulled back to look Frisk in the face fondly and cupped her cheek with a huge, soft hand. “My goodness. Back then, when you said you were going to Asgore, I was so worried for you,” she said. “And when you called and said…Well, anyway. I almost can’t believe it. It’s just as you said. The barrier has completely vanished.”

Frisk grinned and nodded. “Yup! Thanks for trusting me.” 

“Such a strange child,” she said with a laugh. “You’re welcome. I am glad I did. You seem to have made many interesting friends, haven’t you?”

Frisk nodded and grinned, and then took her hand. “Did you guys all get introduced?”

“There was a bit of panic when we came to and found you on the floor, honey,” she said with a sympathetic smile. “There was not much time for introductions.”

“Oh! That’s okay!” she said. “You met my brothers, though, right?”

“Briefly,” she said with a smile.

“C’mon! They’ll be so glad to see you,” Frisk said.

She turned to lead her back to the two skeletons, now hanging out against the wall where they had been sitting before. Papyrus looked to have finally calmed down a bit. Sans noticed them first, as usual. He waved lazily.

“Hey, Tori,” he said.

“S-Sans. Papyrus,” she said “Thank goodness everything worked out. Are you both alright?”

“More or less,” Sans said. “You?”

“Oh, yes, I’m just fine, thank you,” she said. “I’ve never experienced something quite as strange as that, though, and I’m an old lady! Oh, Papyrus, look at your poor shirt! What happened?”

“Oh! Uhh…” Papyrus looked down at himself and pulled his shirt out straight to look at the holes. “You know, I’m not sure! Oh well, that’s okay! I’ll just patch it, it won’t be a problem at all!”

Toriel tilted her head. She came a little closer, her smile gentle. She put a hand on Papyrus’s shoulder. “Honey, you were so worried about little Frisk, weren’t you? I hope you’re feeling better, now.”

He nodded, but then tilted his head, looking at her as if he recognized something. Toriel’s expression turned bashful. She tented her fingers and looked between the skeletons and the kid with a sort of hopeful smile.

“Maybe this is forward, but… since you are Frisk’s brothers, I… Now that I see you, I feel like… I’m not sure why, but I feel like we might all make a very nice family. Would that be alright with you?”

Sans grinned and shrugged. “Cool with me,” he said, and then nudged Frisk with his elbow gently and lowered his voice. “Told ya.”

She grinned.

Papyrus froze up. His bones rattled and, rather quickly, he grabbed Toriel in a tight hug and squished against her. She smiled and cozied him close. 

“I… I just realized,” Papyrus squeaked in a warbling voice, “th-that I really missed you.”

Toriel looked surprised for a moment, but she smiled gently and cupped the back of his head. “Shush, shush, little one,” she cooed. “It’s alright now.”

“Ohmigosh that’s so cute,” Frisk whispered.

“Dude, I know, right?” Sans said.

When Papyrus pulled back, he wiped his face on the back of his glove and smiled. 

“Thank you for being so nice,” he said. “I was really looking forward to meeting you. I mean, I know we met earlier, but I was just… I’m very glad.”

She seemed surprised, but she smiled. She turned to the others and then gently ruffled Frisk’s hair. “Seems like I must have missed out on a lot,” she said.

“Hm. We’ll tell you all about it a little later.” Sans winked and then nudged Frisk with his elbow. “Kiddo, go check on the others, huh?”

“Oh! Right!” she said. “See you back in there!”

Frisk sprinted back for the room that the barrier had once blocked, and saw Asgore and Undyne comforting Alphys near the far wall.

“GUYS!!” she shouted.

Undyne whipped around and she was immediately beaming. She sprinted to Frisk and lifted her into her arms. “Thank god,” she said.

“FRISK!! F-FRISK!” Alphys ran up and Undyne pulled her into their hug, too. “O-Oh my g-god, are you okay?!”

“Yeah!” Frisk smooched each of them and Undyne started laughing. “You guys are alright, too, right?”

“Yeah! Went okay?!” Undyne asked.

Frisk nodded. Alphys sighed and, when Undyne put them down, snuggled Frisk close before hurriedly letting her go.

“Oh g-god, I’m s-so sweaty, I—”

“Alphys. It’s okay,” Frisk said with a laugh.

“Um…” Asgore was standing behind them when they turned, the huge monster wringing his hands, a bashful, somewhat embarrassed smile on his face, his ears pinned back. 

Undyne put her hand on Frisk’s shoulder.

“Um. H… Howdy,” Asgore said.

Frisk grinned. “Hi, Asgore,” she said. “Doing okay?”

He nodded a little stiffly. He knelt down to look her in the face. “I… am sorry, little one,” he said, “for what I was about to do.”

Frisk laughed and shook her head. She took one of his huge paws in both hands. “Don’t even think about it,” she assured him. “Nothing bad happened. And the barrier’s gone, huh? Just like you wanted.”

He nodded. He looked, for a moment, like something was bothering him. Frisk tilted her head.

“Oh for—! Just hug her, you dork!” Undyne said.

Asgore only hesitated for a second more before he cautiously reached out to the kid. She snickered and stood on her toes to reach up for his shoulders. He scooped her into his arms and gently squished her close. 

“Thank you, little one,” he said quietly. “For… For showing me another way.”

She nodded and snuggled close. “It’s alright,” she said quietly. “Things are gonna be better after this. Promise.”

He chuckled softly. “You were very brave.”

“Thanks! You too!”

He put her back on the ground and gently patted her head. “To think,” he said, “all those years… and today, it’s over. Without bloodshed. I… I can hardly believe it. It’s like a dream.”

“I know, right?!” Undyne said. “Our kid’s pretty good, huh?!”

Asgore laughed again, obviously hiding a puzzled frown as he rubbed his brow. His eyes darted to the side, however, and he looked rather suddenly like he’d seen a ghost.

He got to his feet and brushed off his cape. Toriel, Sans, and Papyrus had come back in. Toriel was making a bit of a face, like she was incredulous about something. Her expression shifted to a pointed, gentle smile when Frisk met her eyes. Before she could say a word, however, Alphys took Frisk by the shoulder and pulled her to the side.

“S-So should I call M-Mettaton and the others?” she asked. “A-Are…? Are you ready?”

“Yeah. Let’s get this done,” Frisk said. “Thanks a million, Alphys. Lemme know when they’re ready?”

She nodded and hurried away with her phone in her hand. Undyne followed her.

Frisk looked at Sans and held up two fingers. He stuck his thumb up and pulled Papyrus aside to say something to him quietly. 

“My child, why do you look as if you’re planning something?” Toriel asked as she got close.

“Ah! W-Well… There’s just one more thing we’ve gotta do, before we go out and stuff,” Frisk said. “You know, w-we have actually been planning this for a while, huh?”

“You have?” Asgore’seyes were wide and his expression, curious. “Young one, how long have you been here?”

Frisk grinned. “A while!”

“Oh my. But—!”

“We’ll explain everything later,” she assured him, patting his hand reassuringly. “Promise!” She saw Papyrus wave to her, and she smiled bashfully. “Sorry, gotta talk to my brother.”

She left quickly, Toriel watching her go and Asgore, with an increasingly puzzled look on his face, looked at her questioningly. Of course, she knew only slightly more than he did. Papyrus put his hand on Frisk’s shoulder and pulled her in close to their little group.

“Almost ready?” he asked.

“Just waiting on Mettaton,” she said.

“Promise you’ll be careful,” Papyrus said. “Binding that soul, it might be hard. Just… be safe, alright?”

“Hey! Don’t worry,” she assured him. “No matter what, we’ll get this done. And… And I’m sure I’m strong enough for this.”

“Welp. Better be,” Sans said, “because we’re not leavin’ here without you.”

“You do look a little nervous, though, Frisk,” Papyrus said. 

“Well, it’s just, it’s big, right?” she said. “But I’m excited, and—”

“Frisk!!”

She turned and saw Alphys give her a thumbs-up. She grinned and gave two back, and then looked at Sans. “Ready?” she asked.

He nodded. He patted Papyrus on the shoulder, and the tall skeleton let out a high-pitched sigh and hugged them both tightly.

“Love you both,” he said.

“You too, bro,” Sans said.

Frisk kissed him on the cheek, and he gently ruffled her hair before pulling back, ringing his hands. Sans waved at Alphys.

“Alright, kiddo and I are takin’ a bit of a walk,” he said. “Be back soon.”

“Sans, wait,” Toriel said quickly.

“Sorry,” he said. “Just got something we gotta do, huh? Kinda urgent.”

Frisk nodded. “We’ll be done really soon!” she said.

“Sorry for leavin’ you two in the dark.” Sans grinned at the baffled woman and the equally baffled King as they left. “But, things’ll come to light, uh, pretty quickly once we’re done.”

Back in the grey beyond the door, Frisk took a deep breath.

“Sure you don’t wanna save?” Sans asked.

“Yeah. Just in case,” she said. 

“Good to go?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said.

“Keep a hold, alright?” he said. “Like I said. Not leavin’ without you.”

“We’ll get it this time,” she said. “We gotta. And besides. If… If something does go weird, I trust you one hundred percent! I… I mean, I hate to cause you any trouble, but… we’re connected, huh? So, no matter what, I think you can pull me out of whatever stupid gunk I get myself into.” She put her hand over her heart, and her soul lit up that familiar, warm red. 

He smiled and did the same. There was a little spark in violet and he laughed and shook his head.

“You’re nuts,” he said. “Alright. Goin’ up?”

“Uh-huh!”

He took her hand and held it tight, and, in an instant, they were in the warm yellow glow of the sun, with stones dyed bright in the hues of the light. The breeze brushed through Frisk’s hair and caught on the hood of Sans’s jacket. They both stood, silent, for a moment, overlooking the vast expanse of trees that seemed to stretch endlessly, until there was just a tiny glimmer of something else. The ocean. 

Sans gripped Frisk’s hand a little tighter. Her eyes watered and she wiped them quickly on her sleeve. 

“Can’t wait to show everyone,” she said.

Sans nodded. He was grinning quite wide. “All this, it’ll be worth it, huh?”

“Yeah!” Frisk grinned and laughed. “Now let’s jump back down!”

Sans snickered. Frisk turned to get a good look at the cave behind them and then clambered in and over, back into the shadows. Sans followed her, grumbling quietly, scuffing his slippers a little on the rock. Frisk leaned over to look down the huge hole and her brother grasped her soul tightly in blue. She giggled. 

Below, they could see the golden flowers, shimmering in the mountain, and, to Frisk’s relief, a small patch of white.

“There he is,” she said. “Think he could catch me from here?”

“I dunno.”

She squinted down and saw a bit of movement from a white splotch. Her face lit up. “HEY, ASRIEL!! YOU UP?!” she shouted.

He moved a little more. He looked up. “FRISK?!” he yelped.

“Hiya!! I’m gonna jump down, okay?! Catch me?!” she said.

“WHAT?! Um… Um, o-okay!!! I’ll try!”

Frisk stood up straight and looked at Sans. He grinned.

“See you in a few seconds,” he said.

She gently elbowed him. “Oh stop, it’ll be fine,” she said. “You coming down, too?”

“Uh, wait couldn’t I just—?”

“It’ll be fine!” She grinned, kissed his cheek, and then turned back to the cavern. “OKAY! JUMPING NOW!!”

Even though her stomach plummeted before she even moved, Frisk leapt down that hole with much more confidence than she would’ve expected. Her vision was a blur and she dove down. She heard Asriel cry out, saw a flash of his white fur, and in a second, she was on the ground on top of him.

He let out a bit of a groan, and then put his arms tight around her. “Oooh my god,” he said. 

Frisk’s head was spinning, but she started to laugh, and she hugged him. “You did it!” she said. “Thanks!” She rolled off him into the flowers and then got to her feet, pulling him up, and looking up the gap in the ceiling for Sans. “I didn’t die!!!”

“Dude, I know.”

She whirled and saw him at the edge of the flowers, grinning. 

“I was tryin’ to say, I have a clear picture in this direction now that barrier’s gone. Couldda just teleported, probably,” he said. “Turns out I was right.”

“Oh…” Frisk started laughing so hard she had to sit down. “Oh my god, I’m an idiot.”

Sans laughed, too. He strolled up and ruffled her hair, and then turned his gaze on the baffled little goat boy.

“Hey,” he said. “You shrunk, huh? Guess this is the real you.”

Asriel’s ears pinned back and his eyes went wide. His lip quivered and he ran up to the grinning skeleton, but stopped short. “S… Sans, I…” He grimaced. “I’m so sorry!”

“Oh. For what?” Sans asked.

“I… I should’ve listened to you! I should’ve just stayed with you a-and Papyrus when you offered like a million years ago, I’m so sorry. I’m… I’m the worst,” he said shrilly, and then hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry for everything.”

Sans stared down at him for a long, quiet while. With a sigh, he gave and hugged the boy back. “Wasn’t you,” he said. “No big deal.” He patted him on the head. 

Asriel made some sort of pained squealing noise and buried his face against Sans’s chest. 

“You’re gonna be alright,” Sans said.

It took a little for Asriel to pull back. He gulped, but he started to smile. “I-I’ll do my best.

“Good,” Sans said. “Frisk?”

“Mmhm?” She scampered over. “Sup, bro?”

“I’m thinkin’ I’ll get back, make sure everything goes okay on the other end. Keep your phone on?”

“Heck yeah.” She gave him a hug. “Love you, Sans.”

“I know. Love you, too,” he said. “See you in a bit?”

She nodded and offered a high-five. He grinned and smacked his hand against hers.

“Good luck,” he said, and then he vanished.

“Alright.” Frisk took a deep breath and pulled out her phone. “Ready, Az?”

“B-But this is… This is nuts. There’s no way. Is there?” he asked. “We can’t…”

“Why? You’re not falling apart already, are you?” she asked worriedly.

“Well, no, but I can feel it s-starting a little, but…”

“Then we’re good!” She grabbed his shoulder gently, shooting him a reassuring smile. “C’mon, dude, it’s gonna be okay, we’ll do this.”

“F-Frisk, if… if this goes bad, remember your promise, okay?” he said quickly. 

“It’ll be fine,” Frisk said.

She wasn't sure if she believed it, but she was overwhelmingly determined to make it work. No matter what. She texted Mettaton and they waited for it to begin.

The silence was unnerving at first. Asriel nervously latched onto Frisk’s hand. The kid felt her heart began to pound. She kept up a brave, steady face, but she worried. What if it didn’t work? The message wasn’t fast enough? What if her spiel about the monsters being ready to save the world was really just nonsense? Even if it worked, what if Asriel started to fall before it finished? 

She took a deep breath. She pushed away those thoughts. She controlled time. If it didn’t work, she’d try again. This was her timeline. She’d make it work. She was determined.

It started out with a feeling in the air. Warm; a little tingly. A note of music. Frisk thought she imagined it at first, but another started to hum along with it and Asriel shook and clung to her more tightly. Then, a prickle of white in the darkness. Just one, at first. Then a second. Soon it was dozens. The dark around them began to light up with little twinkles of light, drifting like dandelion seeds in the air. More and more building and shining together over the field of flowers, notes starting to harmonize as they were channeled together into that cave. Asriel’s fur started to stand on end, and Frisk could feel the energy too. She squeezed his hand. It was like looking at the stars. Asriel’s breath caught in his throat. 

The light swirled, dancing on phantom wind, and began to stick together. The shape of a soul began to form, and though it was tiny, it was holding, but barely. It drifted down like it was made of feather, and Frisk noticed something that made her heart thunk. There were too many gaps. More than she had hoped. No more light was coming; the music had softened to a gentle hum just louder than their breath. There weren’t enough monsters, not without Toriel and Asgore. She took a deep breath, but caught it in her hand, her magic holding it in time before it could vanish.

She silently apologized to Sans and Papyrus, to Undyne, and Alphys, and Toriel, for any heartache she might cause. She hoped so hard that she’d be able to handle what was about to happen. She felt a little spring of confidence, though — no matter what, Sans would figure it out if she couldn’t. He always did.

She lifted her own, glowing red magic in her other hand to join it, willing that little edge on her soul to flow from her. It hurt. It hurt more than she could have imagined, but she stayed determined and pushed them together, letting the monster soul take what it needed. It was just a little. The border of it. That extra from Asriel, stitching the scraps of magic into place. Even then, there was still a gap. A small one, just off centre. She knew she had to keep going. With a knot in her stomach, the tiniest notch cut from her soul. She felt a cold shock instantly.

“W-Wait, Frisk, what are you—?!” Asriel’s protest fell short as lines of blue and gold lit up on Frisk’s face. “What’s happening to you?”

“Trust me,” she said.

Energy like fire raised from them together and, as soon as that shimmering white and red patchwork soul snapped into shape, she grabbed Asriel and pushed it into him. He gasped and the wind was knocked out of him. He began to glow and his vision went white.

\- - -

Asriel’s eyes snapped open and he rubbed his face. It took him a second to realize his hand was bigger, clawed— not to an extreme extent, but he felt a strange power beating in his chest. He sat up. His clothes were a little torn. He quickly looked around for Frisk, only to find her slumped, laying on the ground across the flower patch.

“Frisk?!” Asriel scrambled over to the girl and put his hand on her shoulder. “Frisk? G-Get up! Sis, please!” He rolled her over. 

She was worryingly ashen and there were fissures in her skin on either side of her head, on the right shone amber and the left glowed blue. When her eyes opened just a sliver, their colours matched those cracks of magic. She smiled weakly.

The sight of the goat boy was almost elating. He looked normal, mostly; a bit taller than her, though. The whites of his eyes were still dark, and his horns were long and curved at the tip, and he had those black stripes on the fur of his cheeks. It reminded her of an anime character she couldn’t recall the name of.

“Asriel,” she said softly. She started to grin. “Look at you, monster-face.”

“Sh-Shut up,” he laughed; wiped his eyes but tears flowed anyways. “Speak for yourself.”

She snickered and tried to sit up, but couldn’t manage the strength. Asriel grabbed her and cradled her against his chest.

“You overdid it,” he said quietly. “Why? Why did you do that for me?”

“I… I needed to,” she said. “We’re family, right? You feel okay?”

“I’m fine! But… But now your soul, it’s…”

“Hey,” she said gently, “I’ll be okay. I’m sure. A-And if not, w-well—”

“No, Frisk, don’t even go there. You’re going to be fine.” He hefted her up into his arms. “We’ll go see our friends.”

“Mom’s there. Your dad, too.”

Asriel froze. The soul— his soul— buzzed worriedly and settled heavily in his chest. He frowned. “T-Too bad. We’ll have a reunion once all this is over.”

**\- - -**

Asriel’s speed was still immense. The baffled citizens of the underground didn’t even know what passed them. The only thing that made him skid to a halt was when they finally reached the golden hallway into the palace, Sans stood before them. His eyes were dark. Asriel gulped.

“I really hope,” Sans said, “that this isn’t what it looks like.”

“Sans,” Asriel grimaced and his ears drooped. “I—”

“Relax,” Frisk said. She stuck her thumb up and she patted Asriel’s arm. 

He placed her gently on the ground. Sans’s eyes went wide with shock at the sight of her. She smiled and waved, but only took a few steps to him before she collapsed onto her knees. Sans was at her side in an instant, holding her up firmly.

“Oh my god, kiddo, what…? Shit. Does it hurt?” he demanded.

“Nah,” she said softly.

“What’s wrong, then?” he asked.

She grimaced. He looked at her with a confused frown for a few seconds, before his eyes darted to Asriel, who looked absolutely ashamed.

“It wasn’t enough,” he concluded, eyes wide. “Oh, god, Frisk, what did you do?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she said quietly “Don’t worry. I… I promised. I promised.”

“What, kiddo? C’mon, you’re not makin’ sense,” he said.

“I… promised I wouldn’t go again. So… So don’t worry. Okay? You guys are… holding me together, see?” She raised a hand as if to point at her face, but then went limp. 

Sans grimaced, cradling her in his arms. Asriel ran up close.

“Oh, god, is she okay?” he demanded. “Tell me she’s okay.”

Sans’s brow furrowed. He put a hand on her head and, with a little focus, gave her a weak zap of magic. Nothing. Not even a jolt in her body or a gasp in her breath. 

“Ah. Shit,” he muttered. 

Asriel’s ears drooped low and his jaw dropped. His mouth opened and closed silently like a fish for a few seconds before he collapsed on his knees. He looked like he could cry. “Sans, I’m so sorry, I—”

“Stop, kid,” Sans said. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I could h-have… I could have stopped her,” he said. “I should’ve—”

“I think we both know that wasn’t gonna fly.” Sans’s eyes dropped down to Frisk again and he sighed quietly. “Jeez, sis.”

“Let me help,” Asriel said, grabbing the skeleton’s shoulder. “P-Please. Tell me what to do. I’ll do anything, I—”

“Stop. Breathe. We’ll, uh, get through this,” he said. “We just need to…Uh…” He frowned.

Asriel looked confused for a moment before he noticed, too: the sound of footsteps and a faint calling of Sans’s name. He quivered, ears pinning back, but Sans locked eyes with him. He gulped— that shining blue iris set fear aflame in his chest.

“I have an idea,” Sans said. “Need you to trust me. Okay, kid?”

“O-Okay,” he said.

Sans rummaged inside the pockets of his hoodie and then produced a silver key. He offered it to him. “Look,” he said, “I have an idea. I need you to go back to the house. Go to my room and look for this kinda big, silver box. Got it?”

Asriel took the key and nodded, grasping it tight. He looked at Sans with determination in his eyes, gritting his teeth. “I… I won’t let you down!” 

He rushed out of the hall in a blur of fur. Sans smiled tiredly. He clenched his fingers into Frisk’s shirt.

“Heh. Sorry,” he said quietly. He put his arm under Frisk’s knees and heaved her up with him. He tried to weigh his options, unable to pull his eyes away from the magic light on his kid’s face. 

For the first time in his life, he was almost mad at her. Which was, admittedly, pointless. He knew she did what she had to do. Just like they always did. Still, he ached inside. Didn’t she get it yet? They needed her. All of her, not just the powers she bore like a bulwark. 

“Sans?!” 

Sans flinched at Papyrus’s voice. His brother must’ve come into the hallway. He hadn’t even had time to come up with what to say.

“Ah! Everyone, he’s over here!” Papyrus called. “What’s going on, brother? What are you doing in here all alone?”

Sans could hear his brother’s boots on the floor. He held Frisk tighter. The footsteps got louder and faster, and then Papyrus’s hand was on his shoulder. His brother gasped.

Papyrus ran around him, worry all over his face. He locked eyes with Sans for a moment before shaking fingers reached out for his sister as if drawn in by the glow. “F-Frisk?! How did you get her? Wh… What happened?!” he squeaked. “Is she hurt?! Did it work, do you know? Why isn’t she moving?!”

“Worked,” Sans confirmed.

“O-Oh! Well, um. Where’s Asriel? Why’s Frisk like…? Oh! She must just be really really tired, right?” Papyrus said hopefully. “But why does her face look like that?”

Sans’s eyes cast downwards and his brother knew. He winced. He stroked her head and put his hand to her chest, setting his fingers alight. The gentle, sunset glow of his magic seeped through her. To him, it was like it was falling through a sieve. 

“Oh, little sister…” he said softly. “I… I can’t feel her. Sans, what do we do?”

Sans didn’t get the chance to answer. He heard footsteps again, and heavy boots sprinted across the hall to them.

“What happened?!” Undyne called. “Did it work?!”

When Undyne and Alphys caught up, their faces fell.

“What’s up with her?” Undyne asked. “Oh, shit, did she fall down again?!”

“Oh. Oh god,” Alphys said. She rushed over to Sans and rested a hand on Frisk’s forehead. 

The girl was clammy.

“She d-d-didn’t give her own soul, did she?!” she asked; she gulped heavily when Sans shrugged one shoulder. “H-H-How much did she use?”

“Dunno. Uh. Other kid’s fine. But Frisk, not so much,” Sans said quietly.

Alphys’s eyes went wide. Cautiously, she put her arms around Frisk and Sans gave her up, albeit reluctantly. She lowered her head and pressed it to the kid’s chest and frowned. 

“Can I help?” Papyrus asked nervously.

“J-Just, uh… Just a second,” Alphys said gently.

Carefully, she squatted and lay Frisk down on the floor. Papyrus wrung his hands, and they all watched intently as the lizard’s fingers sparked with magic. She pressed her fingertips to the kid’s forehead and to her soul spot. She started to shake.

“Bad, huh?” Sans asked. “What’s happening?”

“It’s, uh… Oh. God. It’s like it’s b-b-broken and…? Um. I’m not, uh… H-Human souls are s-strong,” she said. “But it’s… It’s not like monster souls where… where this is normal, you know? H-Humans aren’t s-supposed to…Th-The body m-might not hold up, and i-if the b-body doesn’t… oh god.” She started to breathe too hard. 

Undyne put a hand on her shoulder. “What do we do?” she asked. “We can’t just let the squirt die after all this.”

“It’s…! It’s not the dying, it’s l-like… Like that state before a monster f-f-falls, like a c-coma,” Alphys whimpered. “D-Dying would be better, even! L-Like this she’s… She’s…”

“Can’t she just go back?” Papyrus asked hurriedly. “Like before. Frisk gets hurt all the time and she just goes back and—”

“Not this time, bro,” Sans said. “She can’t go back on her own if she’s knocked the heck out.”

“She’s… She’s trapped,” Alphys said softly, her eyes welling up. “Sh-She’s stuck.”

“I… I could…” Undyne began, a frown on her face. “I mean. I’ll do it. If we have to. Would that help?”

“That’d mean yankin’ the soul back out of the other kid,” Sans said. “And it’s not like we’ll be able to talk Frisk outta doin’ the exact same thing on loop.”

“Maybe we could find another way,” Undyne said.

“Frisk and I kinda, uh, exhausted our ideas on the timeline before this one,” Sans admitted. “I’m, uh, kinda at a loss here. And, well…” He grimaced. “If her soul’s all messed up, I don’t even know what’ll happen if we try to force it to reset. It might… y’know, not do exactly what we’re expectin’.”

“That’s bad?” Papyrus asked worriedly.

“Could be fine. Could be like drivin’ a car with no brakes,” he said. “I just don’t know.”

“Ah. Shit,” Undyne growled, rubbing her fingers through her hair and baring her teeth.

Papyrus frowned and his eyes welled up. He folded his arms tight to his chest. “It’s not fair,” he muttered. “Th-The barrier’s down. This whole plan, after all this time, it worked, didn’t it? We shouldn’t still be here, we should be outside watching the sk-sky and then having a barrier breaking party with Asriel and mom and the King and… and… I want my sister to be here. I-It’s not fair.”

“Yeah,” Sans said.

Undyne frowned, her expression one of sympathy. She put her arms around Papyrus’s quivering shoulders and pulled him in under her chin.

“Kid, she’s gonna be okay,” she said gently. “Right, Sans?”

“Hm.” He put his hand on Alphys’s shoulder and she looked up at him with watery eyes. “Hey. Hate to ask. Would you mind gettin’ Tori and Asgore?”

“Oh, uh… Y-Yeah. Sure,” she said. “Just, uh… W-Watch her, okay? W-We’ll… W-W-We’ll figure this out, I p-promise.” She scampered off quickly, nearly tripping on the way. “Don’t, uh… D-Don’t do anything, just… I’ll be back.”

Sans stared down at Frisk. He knelt and put a hand on her forehead. She was barely breathing. He knew his kid couldn’t die, but this was almost worse. He had half a mind to just disregard half of what he’d said and plunge a bone through her heart. He’d bear that burden to get his sister back. But, a reset was pointless. She wouldn’t leave Asriel soulless. Couldn’t. That only doomed them to loop back again. If his kid was missing a piece of her soul, then…

“So… So what now?” Undyne asked.

Sans was sure Papyrus was mumbling something as he forced the tears away from his sockets with his knuckle, but he couldn’t concentrate on that. He rolled up his sleeve. He’d already made up his mind. There was only one way for this to end, and this sure as hell wasn’t it.

“Welp. Kid’s soul is torn up, right?” he said. “I’m gonna give her part of mine.”

“WHAT?!” Undyne barked.

“Sans, you can’t!” Papyrus shrieked. “I-I mean, literally, you can’t!! Right?!”

“Watch me, bro.”

He put his hand over Frisk’s chest and it started to glow brightly, first blue, then white. He knew it didn’t make sense. Hell, nothing made sense anymore. But him and this kid, they were irrevocably connected now. Didn’t matter, human or monster, did it? Their energies were a mirror. If any monster could ever figure out how to let a human use a piece of their soul, it had to be him. He felt the determination in him swell. It made him feel a little sick, but, somehow, he was more sure than ever that this was his path.

Papyrus put his hands on his head. “Sans, you are the weakest monster! Literally! You are the weakest one!” he shrieked. “Let me do this! You already gave part of your soul to Asriel, you can’t afford to—!”

“Bro, I get it,” he said, cringing. “But I gotta do this. You think I’m gonna just let my kid go, after all this? I can’t afford not to try.”

Papyrus opened his mouth to protest, but fell short. Undyne grabbed Sans tightly by the shoulder.

“Uh, dude, I think you meant _our_ kid,” she said; she grinned. “I’m in.”

Sans couldn’t help a smile and Papyrus started to grin, his brow creasing with determination.

“Well, I mean, of course I will also do this. It goes without saying! Frisk is my little sister,” he said, pulling off his gloves. “Let it never be said we did not give it our all!”

“Thanks, guys,” Sans said.

His eye lit up blue and, as he focussed hard, it shifted in colour to flicker with gold and the intensity increased. To the alarm of the others, his hand seemed to begin to dissolve, little flecks of dust dropping downwards.

“OH MY GOD, NEVER MIND, SANS STOP RIGHT NOW!” Papyrus said.

“Nope. No. No way.” His magic flared brighter. “I got this.”

“NGAAAH OKAY, I’M DOING IT TOO,” Undyne yelled. She yanked her sleeve back and joined her hand with Sans’s, letting her magic crackle to life in her palm until it, too, began to turn white. 

Papyrus watched Sans with worry. He gulped. “Sans, if you die, so help me I’ll—”

“Die? Me? Nah, never,” he said with a tired laugh.

Papyrus sat down and held their hands in his and his eyes brightened with an amber glow. “Just so you know, I will never forgive you and when Frisk wakes up, she will never forgive you if you die,” he said.

“I’m not dyin’, I’m fine,” Sans said.

“Oh, my god, what are you doing?!” Toriel’s voice rang clear across the hall. She stared over at the strange, huddled group with shock. 

Asgore had a hand to his mouth.

“Your m-majesties, I just explained—” Alphys got caught on her own words. “Oh my GOD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

“Oh, nothing much, just giving pieces of our souls to Frisk so that she doesn’t have to live in an indefinite sleep and hoping very, very hard that my brother, who is the weakest monster, by the way, does not simply turn to dust upon doing so,” Papyrus said.

“Bro, I’m not gonna turn to dust. Chill,” Sans said.

“YOU CHILL, I AM CHILL! I AM PERFECTLY CHILL!”

“Paps, you’re screaming.”

“I AM ONLY SCREAMING BECAUSE I AM TERRIFIED!”

Alphys looked like she could faint and Toriel looked like she’d seen a ghost.

“F… Frisk? Oh, no…” Her hesitation failed. She raced to them, ears perked, her brows lifted with sadness and worry. “Little one,” she whispered, putting a paw near her mouth. “Wh… What on earth happened?”

“Her, uh, soul kinda broke. Hey, uh…” Sans was shaking, but he shot her a hopeful smile. “So, Tori, maybe, uh… a boss monster soul might help us out a bit?”

Toriel’s eyes went wide. She nodded and sat down right away and her huge hand engulfed theirs. Carefully, another large, clawed hand added itself to the pile.

“How about two?” Asgore smiled sheepishly. “We all owe this child a debt, don’t we?”

“The more the merrier, your majesty!” Papyrus announced.

“Ah… D-Don’t leave m-me out!” Alphys said. “She saved us, we gotta save her, too!”

With the addition of Alphys, the white glow swelled around them like a ball of colourless flame. Sans winced. It was more painful than he had thought it would be. He felt a tingling ache through his bones, but the energy around them was becoming warm— almost consoling, in a way. Then, it stopped very abruptly. The air settled. 

“Uh… Did it work?” Undyne asked.

No one had time to answer as a giant burst of energy erupted from their combined hands, knocking everyone back.

Each monster was sent sliding along the floor in every direction. Sans clunked into a column and looked up to see the small shape of a white orb lingering in the air above Frisk. Not quite a soul, but something similar. Maybe just enough. Hope sparked in him for just a second, but his expression fell to horror as it began, very slowly, to float upwards.

“No no no no no.” He forced himself to his feet and ran for it— it was too far, raising just a little too fast. His slippers were sliding too much on the polished floor. His eye flashed— he jumped, not through the air, but through space. His vision blurred into darkness for a fraction of a second before it snapped back. All he could focus on was that glimmer of white. 

He reached for it and grabbed it tightly, forcing it downwards with all his strength. It burned against his hands and refused to give. He started swearing, using whatever magic he could muster, but it was like there was a magnetic force pushing back.

“Frisk, buddy, can you hear me?” he growled. “You need to fight for it, too, okay? I can’t… I can’t…” His vision blurred and swam. He tried to reach down for her, to lift her into it, but he could barely graze her cheek with his finger. Panic shot through him and he had to cling back to that bit of glowing white. Couldn’t let it go. Couldn’t let his only hope just defy gravity and disappear. “Kiddo, c’mon. Please. We… We didn’t finish that damn book. You need to come back.”

His soul called out for her. He closed his eyes to try to steady himself. He couldn’t find her. Why couldn’t he find her? He pleaded and reached deep down, as far as his energy would take him.

He felt something. Some spark of light, some warmth of determination. It was like he was on top of a mountain and he could see the speck of her, bright red, at the bottom. She was so alone, so small; so far from him. It was unacceptable. He reached. He had to.

The pulse of his soul was growing so loud that he didn’t hear when Papyrus rushed him and was shocked when he joined their hands together.

“Paps?” he said. 

“Sans, you’re a total mess,” his brother joked. “Come on. No stopping now.”

Sans couldn’t help a smile. “Kid, you hear that?” Sans said. “Heh. Determination may be your thing, but I think it kinda rubbed off on us.”

They made a push. It actually moved. 

“NGAAAAH, I AM DETERMINATION!” Undyne roared. She seemed to come from nowhere and slammed her hands down on top of theirs and it was just enough. 

The energy connected with Frisk, vanished inside her, and everything went quiet. 

Sans sighed and slumped on his knees— too exhausted to even wipe the lines of tears that had dribbled down his face— and Papyrus grabbed him into a hug tightly. Undyne plopped to the ground and wiped her brow. The air was silent, the thrum of magic stilled.

“That was hard. Did it work?” she said.

Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, Frisk’s body began to glow. She yelped and grabbed the two skeletons quickly and yanked them back. The kid’s form was lost in the light and it raised higher and higher as the monsters gawked.

“ALPHYS, WHAT THE HELL?!” Undyne yelled.

Alphys, glasses cracked, was all the way at the other end of the hall, trying to help the dazed Toriel to her feet. She took one look at the swelling, spiking ball of light and shrieked. “I-I dunno!! No human’s ever t-t-taken a monster soul before!” she yelled shrilly. “It shouldn’t be p-possible!!”

Whatever Frisk was, the form shaped into strange things— monstrous bodies shifting and twisting, spikes jutting suddenly only to vanish and change to fins before reforming again. The part that most resembled a head, crowned with twisting horns, lit up in two spots with blue and amber and magic shot to reverberate around the room. The blue struck everyone. Toriel was knocked down trying to cover Alphys; Undyne was tossed, skidding along the floor and down the hallway. Asgore, who had just begun to right himself, was immediately toppled again and clunked into the far wall. Papyrus shielded Sans with his body, but the gold energy made a target of him and knocked him straight off his feet, dragging Sans to the ground with him. 

The shape was blinding. Its spots shifted; the colour drained, then replaced with red. The blazing thing seemed to take up most of the hallway. Sans squinted past his brother. He felt like the inside of his skull was burning, but he couldn’t look away. He recognized the form it had taken— he had taken the same one himself, once. What might have been wings spread wide and engulfed them in walls that looked like golden-white fire, despite the distant protests he was sure he heard from Undyne, at least.

A disjointed, flowing talon of a hand began to reach towards them. Papyrus squeaked and shielded Sans with his body. The light froze; recoiled. The red began to drip and streak what might generously be called the face, and Sans was hit with a sorrow so overwhelming against his soul that he almost choked. 

He heaved himself upright and locked eyes with it.

“Sans?” Papyrus asked worriedly.

“Hang on,” he said quietly. He could feel something. An ache deep in his soul. A song that wasn’t his, pressing in. He could feel something else. Thoughts? 

Suddenly, it was pleading. It was so lonely, like it had been that way for eternity. Waiting and waiting and waiting for someone to notice it.

“You hear that, Paps?” he asked.

“H-Hear what?” Papyrus asked worriedly.

He clenched his hand into his shirt and felt his soul and eye glowing. “You in there?” he croaked. “You are, aren’t ya?” He forced himself to his feet and offered his hand. “Must be real confusin’, huh? You scared?”

It was scared. It was terrified. It couldn’t see, and yet could see too much. It begged with him to be remembered. Everything inside it was a dizzy whirlwind and all it wanted was to be held. Sans grinned, though his eyes welled up again.

“I can do that,” he said. “C’mere, sis. Got you. Alright?”

Hesitantly, that huge, glowing hand came close again. He grasped one talon— felt the light pool and drip through his bones. It burned like hot water but he didn’t care. It begged him again not to forget. 

“You know me, I’m not real prone to it,” he said gently. “C’mon. You’re not in a good space right now. What do we do when our head is all messed up? You remember?”

The red dots in the head began to blaze. It did remember. 

Slowly, it lowered itself to meet him. He carefully cupped its massive snout and touched his brow against it, though he could feel it burning into him, still. 

“Stole it,” he said quietly. “C’mon, little sis, you got this.”

It stared at him. He could feel its mind starting to slow down. It was so grateful. With a cautious hand, it cupped his whole body. Those dots of light in its head shifted to purple.

Everything started shaking. The beast of light raised upwards and began to melt. Before he knew it, Papyrus snatched Sans tight in his arms. They had to squeeze their eyes shut as white light overtook everything. 

\- - -

Something was weird. Sans blinked up at his ceiling. It was wrong. Cracked in the corner.

He sat up and rubbed the back of his skull and looked around. He was on his mattress on the floor. Old house. Snowdin. His eyes went wide and he felt a sort of shock deep inside him. It all came back like it had never been gone. He put his hand to his skull.

“Oh my god,” he said quietly. He flopped back onto the mattress and rubbed his eyes. He realized rather quickly that he could see through his left hand, though. He held it back to find that a smooth disk had been seemingly lifted from his palm. He remembered the feeling of magic falling from that spot. “Huh.” He stuck his fingers through it and laughed tiredly. “Well. That’s a thing.”

“SANS!!! SSAAAAANNNSSS!!!” Papyrus shouted from downstairs. “SANS!”

“What?” Sans said.

Papyrus burst in, eyes wide, and immediately yanked him upright and embraced him. “Are you okay?!”

“Yeah, fine,” he said.

“I remember the surface!!!” he said shrilly. “I remember everything!!!”

Sans sighed and squeezed him back, and nodded.

“You too?!” Papyrus asked.

“Yeah.” He pulled back. “Where’s Frisk?”

Papyrus opened his mouth to answer, but fell short. His eyes went wide. “I…! I d-don’t know!” he yelped, and hurriedly, he ran out of the room. “FRISK?! FRIIIISSSSK?! LITTLE SISTER, ARE YOU IN HERE?! FRIIIIIISK!!!”

Sans felt like his soul had dropped down a pit. He steadied himself and got up.

Downstairs, Papyrus was a whirlwind. He turned the sofa upside down, turned out the drawers in the kitchen; checked in the bone closet under the sink.

“Call her,” Sans said.

“R-Right!!!” 

Papyrus pulled out his phone and anxiously paced with it. He tapped his foot loudly. “She’s not answering!!!” he said shrilly. “Oh no. Ooooh no. Sans. Sans. Sans, I cannot deal with this again, Sans, I… I won’t, I can’t, I refuse, we need her and I will not let…! Oooooh if she’s outside the mountain again I’m going to be so angry with…! WITH!!! I DON’T KNOW WHO, SANS, BUT WE NEED HER BACK AND I—”

“Whoa, whoa, dude.” Sans grabbed his arms, even as Papyrus began to breathe a bit too hard. “Relax. Relax. Breathe. Okay. We don’t know what happened yet. Okay?”

“Oh. N-No. No no. I… I can’t lose her like this, n-not when the last thing I said to her was lies!!” he said, his eye sockets welling up.

“Uh. What d’you mean?” Sans asked.

“I l-lied to her!! I should never lie, it's awful, I j-just thought…” He sighed deeply when Sans’s gaze turned probing. “It’s just that she asked me if I remembered when Asriel accidentally went a little overboard with the vines and I said no because she found me in there and I was kind of trapped but I really wasn’t worried about it because I knew it was just an accident, but I think she found it very traumatizing trying to get me out so I told her I didn’t remember even though I did because I knew she’d worry even if there wasn’t anything at all to worry about!”

“Aw, jeez, Paps,” Sans said. “That’s not that big a deal.”

“But I LIED to my favourite sister and now wh-what if we never see her again and one of the last things I said to her was lies?!” His voice sounded choked. Tears began to dribble down to his chin. “A-And what if the last thing we did together is I accidentally thought she wasn’t her and I whacked her in the head with an attack bone?! Oh my god. I… I’ll n-never forgive myself.” He looked absolutely heartbroken.

“Relax, bro. Relax. Don’t cry,” Sans said quickly. “Look. You still have her texts?”

“Y… Yes.” Papyrus quickly swiped his finger along the screen of his phone. He wiped his eyes. “Yes, all of them. Wh-Why?”

“Then we didn’t go back in time. Good.” He couldn’t articulate the relief he felt— his kid was still out there somewhere, she had to be. “She might just be knocked out. She might even just be in a spot with, uh, bad reception or somethin’. Do not freak out yet. Okay?”

“Okay. Okay.” Papyrus took a deep breath. “I will just text her a million times until she replies, no big deal. We will find her and we will get her back and everything will be totally normal and wonderful and we will have spaghetti and hot chocolate and milkshakes and it will be fine.”

“Good attitude,” Sans said. “Look. I’m gonna go check on the others, alright? And I’ll look around for Frisk. Don’t leave.”

“Don’t leave?” Papyrus repeated, baffled.

“Yeah. What if she comes back and no one’s here, and then she goes out looking and we all just waste our time runnin’ past each other?” Sans said. “So. You stay. Wait here. Okay? I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes. Good. Okay. Good plan.” He hugged Sans tightly. “Good luck, brother. Thank you.”

Sans nodded, and when his brother let him go, he patted his shoulder and vanished.

Papyrus took a deep breath. He looked around, then plopped down heavily on the couch. He stared at his phone. He sent the first text. Waited three seconds. Sent another. And another. And another.


	83. Is That A Light?

Sans wasn’t sure where to start. He supposed the beginning wasn’t so bad a place. The flower patch deep in the Ruins was empty, though. Quiet, though the air whirling around the place seemed to carry a tune. It was so soft, it was more like it could be felt than heard. It put pressure in the back of his skull, a thought he couldn’t quite grasp.

He checked the Ruins door. Nobody was there, not even new footprints. He winced. Where could his kid have ended up? Not on the surface, surely? He felt his soul thunk and a chill pass through him. He steadied himself. He’d find her. No matter what, he’d always find her. 

His thoughts shifted to Toriel. Maybe they’d found each other. He half expected it not to work, but the colour spectrum shifted from white and purple to warm, yellow light as he plunked himself in her living room, beside her fireplace. A chair was toppled over. That was odd.

“Tori?” he called. He didn’t hear anything and he wandered the house, looking around. “Frisk? Kiddo, you in here?”

He caught sight of a sheet of paper on the floor right in front of the front door. Also odd. He knelt and scooped it up. 

“_Dear Frisk, this is mom writing. If you see this, PLEASE wait in the house!!! I will be back, soon, I am just looking around the Ruins for you.”_

Frisk definitely wasn’t here, then. She wouldn’t have left this on the floor. He sighed. Good to know that Toriel was alright, but his soul was humming a little too fast. There was something a little different about it. He clenched his hand into his shirt; pleaded for it not to be because he’d lost a sibling this time. He winced. Tried to hold himself together, but he didn’t like where his mind was running off to. He gently put the note back down on the ground. He hoped the kid would come across it.

He went to the lab quickly and found Alphys stumbling, dazed, down her escalator. She yelped when she saw him and he caught her soul when she tripped at the bottom. She lurched forward and grabbed onto him with a hug.

“Oh m-m-my god!!” she squeaked. She clutched him tight and buried her face into his shoulder. “S-Sans… Sans, I… I…!”

“Remember?” he said.

“Yes!” She shot up, her eyes alight. “Everything! A-All of it! Oh my god, I… I… I-Is everyone okay?! Where’s Frisk?”

“Still lookin’,” he said.

“What?!” she yelped. She pulled back and put a hand on her head. “Oh m-my god, but…?”

“S’okay. I’ll find her,” he said. 

“I c-can check the tapes, I c-can…!”

Sans put a hand up to stop her. “Take care of your pals,” he said. “I’ll find my sister. Just need to figure out where time decided to chuck her. Were you in bed?”

“Y-Yeah! Yeah, I was, actually,” she said. “…Did you guys check her bed? Wait. Sh-She doesn’t have a bed, does she?”

“Yeeeah, she just kinda sleeps wherever,” he said. “Uh…”

“Oh, god, um, wh-what about Undyne, is she…?”

“Checkin’ on her next,” Sans said. “Glad you’re okay. See ya?”

“Y-Yeah!” she said. “W-Wait, your h-hand—?!”

He left too quickly to answer her. The first thing Sans heard when he got to Undyne’s dark house was a large crash and some swearing.

“Hey, uh, Cap, you alright?” he asked.

“What the…?!” She stumbled out of her doorless room, hair askew, eyepatch missing, confused and snarling, her claws breaking into her wall. Her expression softened and she blew outa huge sigh, her ears drooping. “God, you scared me.” 

“Sorry,” he said. He tilted his head and levelled a finger at her ear, where it looked like a small chunk of the fin had been torn away. “Uh… Missin’ something.”

“Hm?” She tried to look instinctively but didn’t have an eye on that side of her head. She grabbed her ear fin, running her thumb and forefinger over it. “Oh. Ah… Yeah, I…” Her eye went wide. She vaulted over the piano bench and grabbed up his left hand. “DUDE.”

“Hole-y crap, right?” He winked.

“Oh my god,” she said. “Seriously, though, you okay?”

“Yeah,” he said. “You?”

“Fine. Really. Fine.” She tapped the side of her head. “I… I can’t believe it. It’s all back. What about everyone else? They okay?!” 

“Alph and Paps are fine. Goin’ for Asgore next. Frisk’s MIA,” he said.

Undyne’s face fell. “Shit. Where do you think she is?” she asked. “You think she’s okay, right?”

He shrugged. She bit her lip and then patted his shoulder gently. She drew her fingers up through her hair and and tied it back and out of her face. “Alphys is okay, you said?” 

He nodded. She beelined for the door and began to pull some boots on. 

“Okay. Good. Lemme know about Asgore, yeah? And if you find the others,” she said. “I’m goin’ to your town, gonna run on the cliffs or somethin’, see if she’s lost in the damn snow again. We’re going to find her.”

He smiled tiredly. “Thanks, Cap.”

His next destination, though, wasn’t Asgore’s. With a heavy, sick feeling in his soul, he shifted himself down the CORE tower, right to the bottom. Dread pricked him, but if she was there… He found the door and heaved it open. He was hit with blinding orange light and a wave of heat, but nothing else. That long, rock path was empty and still.

“Frisk?” he called.

No reply. Only a deep rumbling and the faint bubbling of magma far below. He shut the door again, letting it clunk heavily into its frame, and rubbed his face. He folded his arms, planted his back against the wall, and took a breath. He could feel his eye sockets welling up. He brushed them with the back of his sleeve quickly. She was around. She had to be. He looked at that hole in his hand. The magic hadn’t just gone nowhere, right? 

He took a second to regain himself and then went straight to Asgore’s. He caught the King, wide-eyed, pacing in his house, stroking his beard nervously and visibly trembling.

“Hey,” he said.

Asgore jumped. He whirled on Sans and lifted him into a hug as quick as he could, much to the skeleton’s surprise..

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry, I—”

“Whoa, whoa, hold up,” Sans said. “What happened?”

“I… I almost…” He huffed. “I didn’t remember her, I didn’t… I didn’t know. I never meant to—”

“Relax. Relax. Breathe,” Sans said, thumping him on the shoulder. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m fine. Are you alright?” Asgore asked, holding him back to look him in the face. “Everyone else?”

“We’re fine,” Sans said. “Except, uh, haven’t seen Frisk, have you?”

“What? N-No. No. Why?” He pulled back, eyes wide and glistening. “Is something the matter?”

“Welp. Kiddo’s missing,” he said.

“No.” Asgore put a hand to his mouth. “B-But, it couldn’t have been the barrier, it was… it was after, with that light and… Let me help.” He put Sans down and rushed for the door, only for the shaking of his shoulders to catch up with the rest of him. He stumbled and fell to his knees. “Oh my,” he said quietly.

“S’okay.” Sans put a hand on his shoulder. “Big shock, huh?”

“I don’t understand what has happened,” he said. “But… But I’m so happy, except… Hah, I can hardly stand.”

“Stay here. Rest up,” he said.

“But the surface,” he said, eyes wide.

“Take some monsters through, then, if you’re up to it,” he said. “I’m, uh, not leavin’ without Frisk.”

“No one would expect you to,” he said gently. 

He tried to stand and Sans carefully helped him up. He smiled fondly.

“I know you’ll find her,” he said. “I will text y… your brother. If I see her. O-Or if I hear anything.”

Sans nodded. He raised a hand and left. 

Took his eyes a second to adjust to the dark. He plunked himself into a wishing room. He didn’t think she’d be here, but better not skip it. He could hear monster voices and footsteps, but not nearby. He grimaced. He put his hand against his soul spot and tried to see if he could sense her. That didn’t make sense— he wasn’t in a dream. He wasn’t surprised when it didn’t work at all. He sighed, closed his eyes, and focussed. Where else might she turn up?

“Frisk, come on,” he muttered. “Come on, where are you, kiddo?”

Up in that cave she’d come in through? At Grillby’s? In the basement of the lab? Maybe she’d made it home by now? He’d check everything. 

\- - -

Frisk felt a rushing in her ears. Sounded like a crashing wake of the ocean. She opened her eyes. She was staring straight up a the ceiling of a high cavern. Looked like there was a bit of a hole up there. She felt a faint sense of déjà vu. Hadn’t she just done this?

Gold caught the corner of her vision and she blinked and sat up as the petals of bright flowers scattered around her. The soft scent stuck in her nose. She blinked heavily and rubbed her temples, trying to clear her head. She felt like she’d been smacked by a mountain.

She heard a groan and whirled quickly. She saw a lump of white and green and yellow, and after a moment, Asriel sat up, rubbing his head. Frisk couldn’t help a huge grin spreading on her face.

“Holy crap,” he grumbled.

“I know, right?” Frisk asked. “Oof! Hey, what’re we doing back here?”

Asriel froze and turned his dark eyes on her quickly, his face a picture of shock.

“What?” she asked.

He tackled her into a hug almost instantly, knocking them both back into the flowers. 

“Whoa!” She laughed as he nuzzled his snout against her face and hugged him back. “Hi! I’m happy to see you, too.”

He started laugh so hard that tears came to his eyes. Frisk cupped his face and gave him a quick kiss on the nose. He squeaked. He had to take a deep breath.

“I th-thought you were gonna die!” he stammered.

“Really? I’m so sorry! What happened?” she asked.

Asriel pulled her upright, holding her hands, but then looked at her in shock. 

“I… I dunno! Sans s-sent me to his room to find a silver case, but I couldn’t find it, but then I… woke up here, and… a-and… Oh, s-s-sis, I…” He put a hand against her cheek. “Does it hurt?”

“Um. No?” She tilted her head. “What?”

“You’re cut. Or… s-something, I dunno, I…” He ran a finger carefully from the corner of her left eye and on a slight diagonal down to around the middle of her cheek. “A-Are you okay?”

“Oh.” She smiled sympathetically and held his hand. “Don’t worry. Doesn’t hurt. And I have scars all over! Nothing new.”

“But, your soul, it was… Oh… Oh my god, light it up,” he said.

He did his to show— it was white, streaked with fissures of red, and a fairly big chunk of it filling in a lower left section. Frisk copied him. She was stunned to find bits of white shining back in hers. Spots and lines, like a constellation, that seemed to bind a portion of it together. Filled the hairline crack in her soul like pale kintsugi.

“Oh my god, they didn’t…” she gasped. “How did they…?”

She couldn’t finish as she heard paw steps running in their direction. They turned to look just as Toriel came into view. She stopped a little ways off, standing just at the edge of the flowers, stunned still as a statue by what she saw. She said something they couldn’t hear. She took a few, stiff steps towards them.

“…A… Asriel…?” she breathed. “Chara…? No. I… N-No, it can’t… I… I must be dreaming. I must be dead.”

Hurriedly, Asriel got to his feet. “M… Mom, I…!”

She put her hands to her mouth and wobbled. Her knees gave out and she collapsed forward onto them. Asriel froze. Frisk got up hurriedly and grabbed his hand. He looked back at her, stunned. She squeezed him. His eyes went wide, but he seemed to snap free of his daze. He ran to Toriel, put his arms around her, and pushed in close. She hugged him like a vice.

“I’m so sorry I failed you,” she whimpered. “I’m so sorry, sweetie.”

“M-Mom, no! No, you didn’t, I’m… I’m not dead. We’re not dead, we’re all alive,” he said quickly. “Mom, please!” 

Toriel opened her eyes and cupped his face, staring at him with shock. “You’re…?”

“Right here, mom. I promise,” he said. He smiled despite the tears dribbling down his face and held one of her hands tight in both of his. “You didn’t fail me. I failed us. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for everything, mom, I love you.”

Toriel stared back at him blankly. It took her a moment, but his words seemed to register. “You’re…? You’re real? You’re real…?” She put a hand to her head. “How…? How can you…? Oh my god.” She cupped his face. Her eyes scanned him, trying to pick out any hint of falsities. “If this is a dream, it’s a very cruel one,” she said softly.

“It’s not, I promise it’s not,” Asriel insisted. “It’s me. For real. I’m here, mom.”

“H-How…?” Her voice was going a little shrill, and she gulped as she gently rubbed her hand through his fur. 

He put a hand to his chest and let his magic glow. Toriel stared; gawked. She shook. 

“Oh. God. Oh god. It’s… It’s really you isn’t it?” she said, her eyes going wide.

He nodded vigorously. “I… I know I look a little different now, but—”

“No. No no no.” She touched her snout into his forehead gently. “No. You’re here. You’re here. You’re perfect.”

Asriel choked and slumped against her, and she had her arms around his shoulders in an instant. She finally looked up a little to take a deep breath and caught sight of Frisk. Again, shock seemed to take her. She stared at the little girl with utter surprise. 

“…F-Frisk. That’s you, Frisk, isn’t it?” she asked.

Frisk nodded and Toriel’s eyes lit up. She reached out a paw to her.

“S-Sweetie, you’re okay, after all that…!” she said. “Oh my god. Come here.”

Frisk was taken aback, but the second she moved in, Toriel squished her into the hug, too, nuzzling her head gently.

“Oh, Frisk, sweetheart, I’m so sorry,” she said softly. “I’m so, so sorry. How could I forget my own daughter? Y-You must’ve been so scared.”

Frisk gawked. “Mom, you…? You know me, now?!”

Toriel nodded and the kid felt like she could collapse. 

She had wanted to stay back. Give Asriel his moment. This wasn’t about her, it was about him. It always had been, and that was how she wanted it. But, when her mother kissed the top of her head, when she felt that warm, familiar puff of breath through her hair; smelled the scent of cinnamon clinging to her robes, she lost it. She squished against her mother as close as she could and Toriel stroked her head gently. She gently kissed Frisk’s face, tender around that mark on her cheek. The kid couldn’t help the tears that began to stream from her eyes. Her throat was tight and it took a moment for her to even begin to try to force words out. Her fingers gripped into her mother’s robe.

“I m-missed you so much,” she said, her voice cracking. “I th-thought… I thought you might never… Ohmigod.”

“I missed you, too,” Toriel said softly. “Oh, sweetie. It’s alright. I’m here.”

Toriel gently snuggled both kids and let out a long, exhausted sigh. After a moment, she pulled back just enough to give them a bit more breathing room. She wiped her eyes and huffed out a choked laugh. “Oh, god,” she muttered. “I just… I don’t even know what to say. I suppose I… God. Asriel. I just… I can’t believe it. My little boy. How on earth are you here?”

“That is a really, really long story,” he said. He turned to look at Frisk, and his ears pinned back. “Oh, Frisk. C’mon. C’mere.”

He hugged her and she laughed quietly and clung to him. Toriel looked between the two with wide eyes.

“You…? You two know each other,” she said.

“It’s because of her that I’m back,” Asriel said. “We’re, um… Close?”

“Mhm.” Frisk snickered despite herself and wiped her eyes. “M-Mom, sorry, I kinda lied to you at the start of all this. The b-barrier was important, but my main goal was really to save Az.”

Toriel stared back at them with shock. “H-How is that… possible?” she said softly. “Oh, god, I didn’t put you up to this, did I?”

“N-No, no, I didn’t really have a choice,” Frisk said, “but it’s better this way.”

“Way better.” The words flowed out of Asriel in a sigh and he snuggled against Frisk. “Sorry, mom, I know it’s confusing. Heh. C’mon, Frisk, you gotta stop crying, or I won’t be able to stop.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just…!” She laughed, hiccoughing a little, and wiped her face again. “I d-didn’t think she’d ever remember me.”

Toriel stared at them in a startled, thoughtful silence for a few moments. “What happened?” she asked softly. “Why are we…? We’ve gone back, haven’t we? Frisk, that was your doing? This is… what your powers do?”

Reluctantly, Frisk nodded. She was about to apologize again, but Toriel scooped her and Asriel up into her large arms again and sat back on the ground to hold them both in her lap.

“I just can’t believe it,” she muttered. “Asriel. God. Sweetheart. Are you…? I mean… After all this…” She began to smile, but she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. She laughed and nuzzled the boy’s head. “Just tell me again that I’m not dreaming.”

“You’re not dreaming,” Asriel said. He reached up to hold her face. 

She laughed, the sound raspy and exhausted. She took a long, deep breath. “You two have a lot of explaining to do,” she said, her tone jokingly stern.

“We do,” Frisk agreed. “Oh. Man. Oh god. B-Before that, I gotta find the others, right? Oh, no, what day is it?”

She hurriedly checked her phone before she got an answer. She couldn’t describe the relief she felt when the clock told her it was the same as she had hoped. 

“Why, sweetie?” Toriel asked.

“W-Well, if I… I mean. I must’ve vanished from wherever, right? And… A-And if it’d been a while, oh god, that’d… I don’t even wanna think about it,” she said. “And if w-we went back, dang, that’d just scare Sans to death.”

“Ah, yes. You’re right. We need to leave the Ruins, don’t we?” Toriel said, and she smiled. “I still have two more boys to hug, I believe.”

Frisk grinned and nodded.

She checked her phone— tried to call Papyrus, but the ringing was distorted and bubbly, and then cut off. She checked the four little dots of signal on the top bar of the screen and grimaced when she saw it was only at a half.

“Aw, jeez,” she said.

“What?” Toriel asked gently.

“I c-can’t get a signal,” Frisk said.

“We are quite far below right now,” her mother said reassuringly. “Try again once we reach the house.”

“Th-The house?” Asriel’s eyes went wide and he turned to Frisk as if for reassurance. “Oh man. Oh man, oh man. This is real. This is really happening, isn’t it?”

Frisk grinned and held his hand. “Deep breaths, dude,” she said. “We got this.”

As they started back towards Toriel’s house, Frisk tried not to let her nerves take her. She had been the only one hurt as far as she knew. So, her brothers, and everyone else, they were probably still either at the castle or back at their houses. That wasn’t so bad.

Asriel had his mother’s hand and Frisk, as she tried in vain to wipe the tears from her eyes, thought it might be best to give them just a little space. She hung back behind them a few steps. She was happy for them. Asriel was her real kid, after all. She had had to watch him crumble. What she was feeling now had to be pretty overwhelming, though she was outwardly as steady as ever.

Maybe things would be a bit different, now. Maybe Toriel would be able to put some of the past behind her and work with Asgore to give Asriel the home he’d lost. Some weird kid like her, she shouldn’t get in the way, right? It was big, and new, and a little scary. She’d still have her brothers, maybe she’d be able to deal with not having a place with the Dreemurrs; maybe she’d…

She lost her train of thought when she smacked into Toriel’s leg. She squeaked and looked up, only to see the woman’s warm violet eyes and her fond smile.

“Frisk, you look about as dazed as I feel, are you alright?” she asked.

“O-Oh! Um. I’m okay,” she squeaked.

“Look kinda glazed over, dude,” Asriel said.

“Come here.” Toriel lifted Frisk up into one arm and smiled at her. “I’m not about to let my daughter stumble into the river! Silly.”

Frisk laughed quietly and Toriel gently bumped her forehead with the tip of her snout. The kid suddenly wished she had Sans to bonk her head against. 

“So,” Toriel said gently as she took Asriel’s hand again as they continued on the path, “what can you two tell me?”

“W-Well, uhhh…” Asriel looked up at Frisk worriedly. “It’s… um… Complicated. Frisk?”

“Um. So… What’s, um…? What’s the last thing you remember from the time before this?” she asked.

“Well, you were unconscious in the main hallway and the boys and Undyne were trying very very hard to give you part of their souls, hun,” Toriel said gently.

“Oh! Jeez, is that what…? Oh. God.” Frisk laughed and rubbed her temples. “That’s big. But, um, I mean. Before. Before I showed up.”

“Before you… Oh. OH. The… place from before,” she said quietly. “The surface. Right?”

Frisk nodded. Toriel sighed.

“God. Honey, I’m sorry I didn’t—”

“Please don’t worry about that,” Frisk said quickly. “It, um… It happens to me a lot.”

“Exactly! We’d met four times. You’re my daughter, for god’s sake. I should have known.”

“Mom, don’t get too hung up on it,” Asriel said gently. “The timeline is pretty messed up.”

“So you know about it, too?” she asked. “What exactly happened, here?”

Frisk took a deep breath. Asriel shot her a worried look and she knew what not to say.

“In the future. The new town we made, it got destroyed,” she said.

“Really?” Toriel asked, her voice high with earnest surprise. “But surely it… I can’t remember that.”

“Um. B-Basically everyone died, so…” Frisk said quietly. “S-So that’s why I h-had to, um, bring us backwards.”

“Was it humans?” Toriel asked worriedly.

Frisk shook her head. Toriel looked relieved, but only for a moment.

“Not a monster,” she said, aghast.

Again, Frisk shook her head. Her mother’s brow furrowed.

“We’ll, uh, get to that a bit later,” Asriel said. “It’s kind of rough.”

“Oh. Yes. Of course,” she said, and her eyes turned to Frisk again. “Oh, god, honey, did all the others lose their memories, too?”

“Y-Yeah. Except Sans,” Frisk said. “He always remembers. I mean, he didn’t remember the surface, but he knew me. He, um… Before we went back, I think he knew something bad was going to happen. I’m not sure what he did, but he kinda used his magic somehow to save other people’s memories, too, a bit. So I wasn’t alone.”

“That’s probably why you have it back now, I bet,” Asriel added. “Bet he did something.”

Frisk nodded. “Sorry it’s super confusing. I didn’t mean for there to be so many timelines like that, it’s just—”

“No no, sweetie, it’s alright,” Toriel assured her. She let out a low, tired laugh. “I have so many questions.”

“Sorry,” Frisk squeaked.

“No, no, my child, please stop apologizing,” she said. She gently kissed Frisk’s head again.

“My turn to apologize,” Asriel said with a sideways smile.

“You are… definitely an enigma, sweetie,” Toriel admitted with a quiet chuckle. “How on earth are you here?”

“I… I was here a long time,” he said quietly. “But… I wasn’t. I mean. I wasn’t me. I wasn’t… It’s confusing.”

“You… were here?” she asked shrilly. “All this time?!”

“Not until recently,” he said. “Up front, you and dad, you didn’t do anything wrong, okay? Everything that happened, it was… it was a combination of my stuff and the CORE half-exploding, it was just a huge stupid mess.”

“What?” She had to stop and stared at him blankly. “H-Honey, I… I don’t understand, I—”

“I’ll, um, explain more later,” he assured her. “But basically, Frisk kinda… found me? And she learned my story. And, um… she and all her friends, they all worked really hard to, um… b-build me a new soul so I could kinda be me again. But, I mean, it’s the, uh, piece of Frisk that’s sorta made me look a bit more—”

“Adorable,” Frisk joked.

Asriel grinned brightly and barked out a laugh. “Oh yeah, big crazy ibex horns, super cute,” he said, and then pointed at his eyes. “And I bet I have black eyes, still, huh?”

“S’okay, looks like Sans’s, without the whole no-actual-eyeball thing,” she said, leaning over her mother’s arm.

“Oh. No wonder you like it,” he said.

Toriel snickered and, when Asriel reached for Frisk, she put her down again. Frisk snickered and grabbed the boy’s face, patting those stripes on his cheeks playfully.

“I’m just sayin’, you’ll fit right in,” she joked.

Asriel looked a little smug despite himself.

When they came upon that withered tree in front of the house, Asriel froze and stared up at it with wide eyes. He took a deep breath. Toriel gently put her hand on his back.

“We… We had some nice times here, did we not?” she asked quietly. “She is still here.”

Asriel smiled. His grin was a bit sad and he walked closer to it. “No wonder it died.”

“Asriel…”

“Mom, I loved her, too. M-Maybe… Maybe more than anyone. But she… Heh. I’ll tell you and dad all about it later.” He smiled back at her. “Chara’s a big part of my story. She’a big part of all of this. Sorry, it’ll be hard to hear when we get there.”

Toriel couldn’t help the worried look on her face, and Frisk gently patted her hand. Asriel, meanwhile, walked up to that withered tree and put his hand against the rough bark.

“Frisk?” he asked. “C’mere?”

She scampered up to join him right away and he took her hand.

“At the end,” he said at a whisper, “you gave her something pretty close to hope. Thanks.”

She nodded. She watched him dig his claws into the old wood and his ears pinned back a little.

“I loved her, you know?” he said. “But… Heh. She was poison.” He sighed and shot Frisk an embarrassed smile. “I know a lot of what you did for me was obligation, but I’d… I’d really like if we could, maybe… I dunno, be a… a family? I mean, we have the same mom and everything, so—”

He grunted when she hugged him tight. He relaxed and held her to him, and blew out a sigh. “S… So… I really can call you _sis_, then, that’s not weird?” he said quietly.

“Hey, you already did,” she said brightly. “I don’t mind at all. Fuzzy goat brother, I dig it.”

He laughed. “Think Sans and Papyrus will be okay with it?” he asked.

“Dude, why you think you even gotta ask that?” she said with a laugh. “You are gonna love having them as big brothers for good, promise.” She pulled back, cupped his fuzzy cheeks and then smooched the tip of his snout gently.

He turned to Toriel and smiled bashfully. “Is that okay, mom? All five of us?” he asked. 

“Oh, sweetie, of course,” she assured him. “I… Oh my god.” She put her hands to her snout and her eyes went wide. 

Frisk and Asriel shared a worried look.

“Mom?” Frisk asked gently. “You okay?”

“Oh, my god, what am I going to tell Asgore?” she asked. “How on earth do I tell him that…?!”

“Um… I can help, if you want?” Frisk suggested.

Toriel took a deep breath, smiled, and shook her head. “No, little one. Thank you so much,” she said, “but it… it should really be me. You have been through more than enough without picking up after me. Just, the very idea of… How do you tell someone that their son, who is supposed to be dust, is… here?” She took another deep breath, closed her eyes, and then released it in a way as if to calm herself. “Don’t mind me, little ones, I will be just fine. Shall we go inside? You two must be so tired. I will get us something to drink, and… and I’m sure I can find some snacks.”

Inside the house, their mother headed straight for the kitchen to put the kettle on and Asriel held onto Frisk’s hand tightly. He rushed over to peek down the hallway. Then he pulled her back to the sitting room, scanning the place.

“This place looks so good from a normal height,” he joked.

“Kids, would you want, perhaps, some tea? Or some hot chocolate?” Toriel called.

Asriel looked at Frisk. She lowered her voice.

“Go for the chocolate, the tea’s pretty old,” she said.

He snickered and nodded. “Chocolate’s pretty old, too,” he said, then let her go and scampered into the kitchen. “Hot chocolate for both of us, I think! Let me help!”

Frisk was about to follow, but her phone quickly began to buzz. She had to turn the volume off and she checked. She had hundreds of messages from Papyrus. Relief hit her first: he was okay, and her phone worked— two good things. Then, she was shocked, worried that they had been unconscious for much longer than she thought, but when she scrolled up to the first one, she noticed it was only from an hour or so ago. She took a deep breath.

“Hey, um,” she said as she joined them in the kitchen, “I’m gonna run to Snowdin real quick.”

“Oh! Right this moment?” Toriel asked.

Frisk nodded “I gotta go get Sans and Papyrus,” she said quickly, and looked down at the incessant, babbling, increasingly insistent messages her brother sent her. “Paps is losing it, poor guy.”

“Oh! Oh, my goodness, yes, go see them. Bring my boys back,” Toriel said. “Hah. It suddenly strikes me how much I missed them.”

“You always were everyone’s mom, huh?” Asriel said with a grin.

“It was not hard, with those two,” Toriel said, smiling. “I hope you will enjoy living with everyone, sweetheart.”

“Oh, I’m sure I will,” Asriel said. “Go get ‘em, Frisk, they’re probably worried sick.”

Frisk nodded and then rushed off for the stairs down to the tunnels below the house. She quickly texted Papyrus. “_PAPYRUS! <3Youre gonna blow my phone up!!!” _She had barely pressed _send_ before her phone began ringing. She picked it up right away.

“FRISK OH MY GOD ARE YOU OKAY WHERE ARE YOU WHAT HAPPENED I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I’M SO HAPPY YOU’RE SAFE!!!” 

Papyrus was so loud Frisk had to hold the phone back from her ear a bit, especially in the echoing tunnel. She laughed.

“Bro! Bro, relax. Relax. Love you, too. I’m fine. Are you guys okay?” she asked. 

“Yes. Yes. Okay.” She heard him breathing deeply. “Okay. Yes. We’re fine. We’re all fine. Everyone is fine. Where are you?”

“I’m with Az and mom. In the Ruins, I’m heading for the door,” she said. “Meet you in Snowdin?”

“Az and mom?!” he demanded. “Oh my god, this is fantastic. I’m coming to you! See you soon! Don’t hang up! SANS!!! SANS, ARE YOU STILL HERE?! IT’S FRISK COME SAY HELLO!!! Frisk, I’m passing you to Sans, you should see his face right now. Okay love you bye!”

Frisk grinned as she heard the phone shuffling and Papyrus saying something shrilly in the background. There was a door-slamming sound and things went kind of quiet.

“Sup, kiddo?” Sans asked.

“Oh, not much, just that everything totally worked out is all,” she said with a grin. “You okay?” She heard him shuffle a little and let out a quiet huff. She smiled sympathetically. “You crying?”

“Obviously,” he said, laughing. “So what happened?”

“Woke up with Az in the Ruins, mom found us pretty quick after,” she said as she reached the door and began to push; it was easier than she remembered. “Annnnd… surprise! We did it. Az isn’t a plant anymore so I guess we really got to the _root_ of the problem!”

“Heh…” She could imagine the grin spreading on his face. “Alright, alright. Just outside the door, right?”

She squinted through the light as snow unveiled itself before her. “Uh, yep. Yep.” She stepped out, took a deep breath in the cold air, and let the door close behind her. “Yep, just got out.”

“Welp. Guess we can hang up.” 

Frisk turned and saw Sans grinning at her from her left, leaning casually against the other side of the door, though his eyes were tearing up. Frisk beamed. She fell into his arms and he squeezed her tight, like they’d been apart for a year, his magic brightening and cooing through her.

“Damn, kid,” he said, “I was startin’ to think… Ah, never mind.”

“Sheesh, c’mon, Sans, I—” When she looked up at him, her words fell short as she saw there were tears, glowing with the blue of his eye, pouring down his face. “Sans…” Her heart thudded. She had never seen him cry like that before. 

He was still grinning despite it, and quite brightly, too. She smiled sympathetically and reached up to cup his face, wiping her big brother’s tears gently with her thumbs. He huffed a laugh out and touched his brow against hers. They glowed together. Still sparked purple when their energies touched. 

He snickered and brushed his sleeve across his eyes before he grabbed her and lifted her right up off her feet. She yelped and giggled, and held him around the shoulders tightly. He beamed. He snuggled her close and she felt, suddenly, happier than she could’ve imagined, like it all sank in. She cuddled in against his shoulder and he cupped the back of her head, the way his fingers gripped gently into her hair betraying that sort of absolute relief that was echoed in the pulse of his soul. 

“Thanks for not bein’ dead, kiddo,” he said.

“Hah! No problem,” she said. “Did I blow up or something?”

“Kinda,” he said.

“So what the heck happened, though? Last thing I remember is getting kinda dizzy in that gold hallway. I think you had me. Mom said something about you guys doing something to my soul?”

“Hm. Welp. You passed out; Alphys said you might not make it since your soul split. Like, you might just coma up and that’d be it.” He let her feet touch the ground and put his hand on her head. “So we all kinda gave you some of us. Took a bit to get your soul to take it, but then you kinda turned into light and we all woke up back home.”

Frisk gawked. “Wow, that’s totally nuts!” she said, and she grinned. “Thanks for saving me. That’s frickin’ amazing. I can’t believe that worked!”

“Had to do somethin’. Like I said. Not leavin’ without you,” he said. 

She blushed and _pshawed_. “You alright? You guys all come out okay?”

“Yup. Not quite all, though.” He pulled back, rolled up his sleeve, and held out his left hand— there was a clean hole right through the middle of his palm. “Between you and Prince Dreemurr, seems like the _hole_ thing didn’t quite make it.”

“Oh my god,” Frisk said. She took his hand and looked through it. She flipped it over and her small fingers traced the edge. “But isn’t that one like, your main hand? Is it okay? How’s it feel?”

“Normal,” he said with a shrug. “Bet I could get it to make some cool whistlin’ noises in the wind if I tried.”

She snickered. “It’s like the jokes just write themselves.”

“Dude, I know, it’s kind of great,” he said; he wiped under his eye sockets with his thumb. “So lemme see this thing on your face.”

Frisk nodded and pointed. He cupped her cheek and ran his thumb along the mark on her skin.

“Oh, kiddo, what’d I do to you?” he muttered.

“You…? You think it was you?” she asked.

“Welp. Yeah. Think I kinda touched you there before things exploded. See, it was this big dramatic thing, with a floating soul piece, and I was trying to get you to it and I couldn’t quite reach, and… Yeah. That’s, uh, probably my fault.”

“Oh! Wow, dude.” She put her hand over his and, to his surprise, she smiled. “Do you know what this means?!”

“Uh. Nope,” he said. 

“Yoooou were powerful enough to leave a magic burn.” She grinned a bit wider. “Bro, you are just super great, just sayin’.”

He scoffed and poked her nose. “You’re so weird.”

“I love you!” she said brightly.

He started to laugh quietly. The way he looked at her, it was a lot like how he had looked when he had first realized who she was. Like there was so much relief there he might not be able to keep his feet under him for much longer. Her heart swelled.

“We finally did it, didn’t we?” she said. “We’ll always be together now, huh?”

“Ah. Kiddo, c’mon. Don’t make me cry again.” His eyes were watering even as he said it and he held her close. “Course we will. Can’t frickin’ stand it without you anymore.”

She grinned; couldn’t bring herself to care about the warm tears in her eyes for even a second. He chuckled.

“Love you so much,” he said quietly. “…Shit. I’m a wreck.”

“Love you a million times,” she said with a laugh.

He put his back to the wall. Held her warmly, nestled into his jacket, and rested his brow against her head. It was very comfortable. Frisk almost forgot they were standing out in the snow. She started to laugh and sniffled.

“We are a mess,” Frisk said.

“Yes we are.” He grinned. “Awful.”

“The worst,” she agreed. “But you didn’t fall over this time, though.”

“I still might, you never know,” he said. 

She snickered. “Maybe I’ll do it this time.”

“Nah, don’t, you already dropped like a rock at least three times today, dude,” he said. “Quota’s full. Besides, if we don’t hold each other up until Paps gets here, who’s gonna do it?”

“You’re right,” she said with a laugh. “Oh, man, bro, I’m super happy right now.”

“Then this’ll go over well. I got a surprise,” he said.

“Oh yeah? What’s up?” she asked.

“I remember. All of it.”

Frisk drew back enough to look up into his face, gawking. His cheekbones were blue; his grin, bashful.

“Wait, really? Seriously?” she asked. “You mean—?!”

“Yup,” he said.

She beamed. “About frickin’ time, bro.”

He snickered and tilted his head a little. He gently mussed up her hair. “Funny thing,” he said. “I feel about the same.”

“Well, you were right,” she said.

He squished her cheeks. “I’m always right.”

She giggled. 

They heard Frisk’s name being yelled into the wind and Papyrus was upon them in an instant, hugging them both tightly. He lifted them up into his arms and spun them around.

“OH MY GOD FRISK! Oooh you’re okay. You’re okay. Oh thank god.” He dropped to his knees and cupped her face as Sans tried not to stumble from dizziness. “Little sister, that was horrifying. Are you hurt? How are you feeling? Solid? Not a giant twisted light beast with glowing magic eyes and shapeshifting powers?!”

“Nah, I’m good!” she said. She kissed his forehead and hugged him around his neck. “I’m so glad you’re here! Thank you for everything. Love you, bro.”

“Oh! F-Frisk, I…” He choked and nuzzled her, his voice breaking as, together, they sparked orange. “I love you, too.”

He let out a long, relieved sigh before he jumped to his feet, putting his hands on his hips and frowning at Sans. “Sans, honestly, what were you thinking sending Frisk back in time all alone to do this crazy thing?! And I shouldn’t be having all my memories back _now_, I should have had them when she got here so poor Frisk wasn’t just sitting there while I talked about her missing her brothers so much while I didn’t even realize that _I_ was her brother until later!! UGH!” 

Sans grinned and shrugged, clearly trying not to laugh. Frisk beamed anyway. 

“Dude, that’s okay, I still thought you were being super sweet,” she assured him. “And that was like weeks ago!”

“Yes, but still,” Papyrus huffed, folding his arms. “You are my sister, I should have just known that right away. Oh my god, I’m so glad the feelings stayed, that would have just been the absolute worst possible thing if they hadn’t.”

“So does remembering feel better?” she asked.

“It does! But it doesn’t, too? It’s weird,” Papyrus admitted. “Because I do feel a little bad that I didn’t remember a whole. Dang. Year. BUT! On the upside. Now I am a much more complete Papyrus, immediately greater than I was even a few hours ago! Pretty cool, right?! But!! Also! Look at this nonsense! Simultaneously a less complete Papyrus!”

He took off his glove and raised his right hand. It had a hole clean through it, just like Sans’s. Frisk reached out for him right away and he gave it to her. She held it gently.

“Are you okay?” Frisk asked.

“Yes, it’s fine, it’s just weird!” he said. “It… It looks strangely familiar.”

“Dude, it’s because I have the same one,” Sans said with a grin; he lifted his left. “I dunno, I’m pretty okay with the _hole_ thing.”

“SANS, HOLY CRAP!” Papyrus exclaimed.

Sans grinned even wider and Papyrus realized what he had done. He looked aghast.

“Oooh nooo, I can’t believe I just—”

“No, bro, it was a good one,” Sans said.

“Yeah,” Frisk said, sticking her thumbs up. “_Hole _in one.”

Sans laughed, hard, and Papyrus put his hands on his face and began to laugh at himself.

“Oh my god that was perfect,” Sans snickered.

“A-Anyway!” Papyrus said, catching his breath. “This was ridiculous. Next time time travel shenanigans happen, we all go back together, I don’t care if it’s not possible.”

“Alright, alright,” Sans said, holding back a laugh.

Papyrus wilted as a long, tired sigh left him. His eyes glowed like gold embers and he rattled. “Oh, little sister, you scared me,” he mumbled, and his fingertips lit up as he put his hand to her cheek. “And look at this! How did this happen, by the way?”

“Oh, that’s a scar, bro, don’t think it’ll patch up,” she said.

“WHAT?! So quickly? How?!” he squeaked.

“Guess that’s just what happens when a human take bits of monster soul, right?” she said. “It’s a new thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a bunch more on me somewhere that I haven’t noticed, even. Don’t worry, okay?”

“SIGH, okay.” Papyrus lifted her up into his arms and snuggled her gently. “Anything to have you back. I love you so much, you know.”

“I love you, too,” she said, hugging on tight. “Sorry to cause all that trouble.”

“She says as she finishes savin’ the world,” Sans said with a laugh. “C’mon, we should check in on our little ex-flower, huh?”

“Ooh!” Papyrus squeaked. “OOH! And mom! Oh! Oh, Frisk, d-does mom, um? Does she happen to maybe remember us because that would really just be fantastic because I really miss her and—”

“She got her memories back, too.” She grinned and jerked her thumb over her shoulder. 

Papyrus’s eyes lit up and he tested the heavy door cautiously. It started to open and he immediately beamed. He heaved the door agape, picked up Sans, and raced inside.

Frisk quickly sent a group message on the UnderNet to Asgore, Undyne, Alphys, and Mettaton to let them know everyone was okay on their end and was just bracing for her phone to explode with messages when they emerged back into the warm light of the house.

“HELLO?!” Papyrus called loudly, putting the others down. “Anyone here?!”

“Mom! Got my skelebros!” Frisk shouted.

“Heh. Skelebros,” Sans said.

They heard heavy paw steps and Toriel quickly peeked in from the living room. Her face lit up. Before she could say a word, Papyrus raced to meet her and she grabbed him into her arms tightly. 

“Papyrus, sweetheart, good to see you,” she said softly. “It feels like it’s been much, much too long. I’m so sorry I couldn’t remember you, my child.”

Papyrus clung to her tightly. “O-Oh! Th-That’s alright! It was all very roundabout and confusing, but I’m so happy to see you, mom!”

Sans tried hard not to laugh as Toriel pulled back with a stunned expression. Frisk began to beam and had to hold in a loud cooing noise.

“Bro,” Sans said.

“What?” he asked.

“Did… Did you just call me _mom_?” Toriel asked.

Papyrus’s face flushed. “I… I mean, your maj—” He was cut off as Toriel began to beam and she squished him tightly, smooching the top of his head affectionately. “O-Oh! I… did a good thing? I…” He began to laugh and couldn’t stop himself. 

Sans grinned wide. Frisk clapped.

“Whole thing? Worth it,” he said.

“Pfffft!” Frisk scoffed.

Toriel chuckled, but then bent down and grabbed Sans, too. “Don’t think you’re getting out of a hug, too, honey,” she said gently.

“Hey, uh, any excuse not to support my own weight,” he said, but he smiled and put his arms around her too and relaxed quite comfortably. “Good to have you back, Tori.”

She smiled gently. “I’m not sure what you did, exactly,” she said quietly, “but, thank you, Sans. And thank you, for saving Frisk.”

He shrugged, but she gently kissed his head nonetheless. His face flushed blue and she straightened up. She wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and smiled. 

“What a relief,” she said quietly. “I’m so looking forward to this.”

“So, might I ask, where is Asriel?” Papyrus said.

“Over here! J-Just over here!” Asriel rushed into the room, slipping a little on the floor. “Sorry, I was just… Never mind. Howdy!”

Papyrus beamed, starry-eyed, and jumped over to him, inspecting him curiously. “Oh. My. GOD. You are so CUTE!!!” he exclaimed. “Look at you! BROTHER! Did you look at him?!”

“Yup,” Sans said.

Papyrus scooped Asriel into his arms and snuggled him close. “I can’t believe it! You really are mom’s kid! Just. Look. At. You. Amazing! Asriel, you look great!” he said. “How do you feel? NO WAIT!!! What do you feel?”

Asriel smiled. “I feel… tired. And happy. And a little nervous. But in a good way? And… free. Like I can finally just stretch out a bit.” His smile grew despite his cheeks flushing a bit. “I feel… love?”

“Love! Oooh! That’s a really good one,” he said. “So you have, let’s seeee, your mom, and Frisk annnnnnd—”

“You,” he said.

“Well, of course you would— WAIT.” His eyes went wide for a moment. 

Frisk tried to hold in a laugh and nudged Sans in the ribs with her elbow as Papyrus gawked, got watery-eyed, and held the boy up under his arms to look him in the face.

“R-Really? Me?” he said.

“Yeah, dude, totally love you,” Asriel said. “Thanks for everything. You were real good to me when I didn’t deserve it, y’know?”

Papyrus almost choked and he squeezed the kid into a tight hug and nuzzled his head. “I love you, too!” he squeaked.

“Oh my. I didn’t realize you all knew each other,” Toriel said. She smiled, but she shot Sans a questioning look. 

He folded his arms; seemed amused. “Story’s his to tell,” he said, levelling a finger at Asriel. “Hey, kid, when you’re, uh, free for a sec? You wanna show me your soul?”

“Oh! Yeah, sure!” Asriel gently squished his snout against Papyrus’s cheek, and then pointed at the ground. “You mind?”

Papyrus shook his head and gently placed him back down on the floor, taking the opportunity to wipe his eyes on the back of his hand.

“It’s actually pretty red right now.” He set it aglow to show it. “So… not expecting to look quite _normal _any time soon. But this is good. Horns are a bit big, but it’s good.”

“Shush, sweetie, they’re perfect,” Toriel assured him, chuckling. 

“Oh, right, kiddo, uh…” Sans nudged Frisk with his elbow. “Show me?”

“Right!” She lit up her soul, too. “It… Well, it feels about the same, actually.”

“Ooh, wow, which bit is me?” Papyrus wondered, squatting down to look up close. “Do you think I could pick it out?”

“I dunno!” Frisk said. “But I bet it’s the coolest one!"

“Wowie! Well, you'd be right about that!” 

“So, uh, kiddo, even with that, you’re still the anchor, though, right?” Sans asked.

“Um… Oh! You know, I actually have no idea, gimme one second.” She ran out the front door, but left it open because she was back inside in a second. “Save is good,” she said. “Now everyone hang on. Don’t move. Three, two, one.”

The air shifted and she vanished. Toriel blinked with surprise and rubbed her eyes.

“What on earth—?” 

Frisk raced back in. She stuck her thumbs up. Sans sighed and slumped over her shoulders, like he could just melt with relief. She laughed and Papyrus thumped him reassuringly on the back. She snickered, held out her phone, grinned, and snapped a selfie. She posted it to the UnderNet. She felt Sans going limp. 

“Bro, you napping now, seriously?” she asked.

“No. No, I’m awake,” he said groggily. “Okay. Uh. Right. Phone.”

She passed him her phone over her shoulder, and he drew back to lean on the wall and started texting.

“Excuse me,” Toriel said, “but what was that?”

“A selfie?” Frisk said.

“Not… Not that, the… Oh! That was the time travel, wasn’t it?” she said.

“Oooh, right, you’ve never felt it before!” Papyrus said. “Not to worry, mom, with the exception of Sans and Asriel, it was new to all of us.”

“Right, tell ‘em I’m sorry about that,” Frisk told Sans.

He stuck his thumb up. Asriel snuck up to spy on what he was typing and started to snicker.

Toriel bent down and put a hand on Frisk’s shoulder. “You… You really are something else, aren’t you?” she said gently. “To have such a responsibility at your age, I can’t even imagine.”

“She’s good,” Sans said.

“Yes! Frisk’s done a really good job managing it, honestly,” Papyrus said. “I’m very proud of her!”

“But she’s so young!” Toriel said.

“Deals with it much better than I did,” Sans said

“You…?” Toriel said, eyes wide.

“Me too!” Asriel said with a laugh.

“You—?!”

“Aw, c’mon, Sans, it wasn’t that bad,” Frisk said.

“You kidding? I exploited the hell out of it,” he said, grinning.

“Yeah, I know, dude, but not for bad stuff,” she said.

“Oh, let me guess. Naps?” Papyrus said, and he rolled his eyes when Frisk nodded. “Saaannnss! You get the powers of time and space and you just use them to be even more lazy than usual!?”

Sans snickered and shrugged. “Of course, bro, what’d you expect?”

“I’d expect exactly that, that’s the problem!!!”

“No, no, it’s good,” Asriel said. “It’s actually really responsible in a weird way.”

Toriel sighed and touched her snout gently to the girl’s forehead. “I feel like I have missed quite a bit.”

“We’ll tell you everything,” Frisk said. “Promise. Just… soon. If that’s alright. There’s way too much backstory to just jump into it all at once.”

She nodded. Sans gave Frisk her phone back and put his hand on her shoulder almost protectively.

“Tori, look, it’s… Heh. It’s a big deal. It is,” he said. “But Frisk is… Well. Let’s just say we couldn’t have asked for someone better to be in charge of it. Trust me.”

“Aw, bro, thanks!” Frisk said, her cheeks flushing.

Toriel tilted her head. She looked between the faces of the others and let out a tired laugh. She ran a paw through the fur on her brow. “You really do need to explain all this to me,” she said. “But I trust you. All of you. Now! I suppose we’re meant to meet the others soon? Shall we have some cocoa before we go? Papyrus, I can make you some tea, if you’d prefer.”

“Cocoa is fine, thank you very much!” he said.” Let me help you!” He walked to the kitchen with her with a bounce in his step. 

Asriel took a deep breath. “This is… This is really nice. I still almost can’t believe it.”

“You and me both, kid,” Sans said. “I need a nap.”

“We gotta see the others first,” Frisk said brightly. “Oh! Right!!” She checked her phone.

Undyne’s last text simply said “_OMW”_. Alphys was babbling. She was texting so fast it was full of typos, or maybe just short forms Frisk couldn’t even begin to guess at. She smiled.

“_meet you at our place in Snowdin? <3_” she asked.

“_Frisk??? *o* ok c u in a bit!!! <3 <3 <3”_

She pocketed her phone. “Undyne’s coming. We’ll meet Alphys at home, I think.”

“Cool. I’m excited to meet them again. For real.” Asriel looked a bit embarrassed. “Um. Hey. Sans?”

“Hm?” the skeleton said.

“Is, uh…? Is this okay? With you? All of this?” he asked.

Sans tilted his head. “Uh, what d’you mean, pal?”

“W-Well, um... I’m… I mean, would you…? Would you r-really be okay with us all staying together?” Asriel asked. “A-After everything I did…”

“Oh. What’d you do?” Sans asked.

Asriel stared back at him blankly. “C’mon, Sans, you know, all that horrible stuff I—”

“Gee, Az, I can’t seem to recall,” Sans said with a wink. 

Asriel gawked. He stared in silence for a few seconds. Then, he grabbed Sans like his life depended on it. Frisk cooed and Sans snickered and hugged the fluffy little boy.

“You r-really are a good big brother, huh?” he muttered.

“Heh. Welp. I try, I guess,” Sans said. “Told you you’d be okay.”

Asriel laughed, his voice tired and his grip getting a little weak. He pulled back, wiped his eyes, and smiled. “I see why Frisk trusts you so much now,” he said. “Thanks for everything.”

Sans nodded and patted him on the head. He nodded at the stairs. “Wanna meet Undyne? She was, uh, lookin’ for you nerds in the snow somewhere, last I checked.”

He nodded. Frisk grinned and then scampered to the kitchen. She was back in just a few seconds, and then pointed down the stairs.

“Going?” she asked. 

“Meet you out there,” Sans said; he vanished.

“Oh my god, he’s so lazy,” Asriel said with a laugh.

Frisk snickered. “You’ll get used to it,” she said. “C’mon!”

Frisk held tight to his furry paw and together they hurried outside, where Sans waited in that same spot against the door, looking an awful lot like he was asleep. From up the path, however, they saw snow scattering into the air, and it quickly became clear that it was because of Udyne sprinting towards them. Frisk stuck her arm up and waved. Before she knew it, she was swept up off her feet and Undyne kissed her on the forehead before snuggling her in so close she almost lost her breath.

“Th-That was fast!” she squeaked.

“Oh thank god,” she said. “Scared me, kiddo.”

“I’m sorry! You okay? You didn’t lose part of your hand, too, did you?” Frisk asked worriedly.

Undyne shook her head and gave the kid a bit of room. “My ear,” she said, lifting her ear-fins slightly.

Frisk saw a tear in the right one, as if she had been in a fight with something with particularly sharp claws. She winced sympathetically and cupped her hand over it gently. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“No! No, don’t be,” Undyne said, and she grinned her big pointed teeth brightly. “Kid, I’d have given up my eye for you if I had to!”

Frisk choked up almost instantly and wrapped her arms around Undyne’s shoulders. “I-I love you,” she said quietly.

“Hah!” She put her brow to the kid’s gently and smiled. “Dude, I love you, too. Duh.”

When she put her down, her eye cast almost instantly to Asriel and she began to grin again. “Whoa, kid!! Check you out!” she said. “Hey! So this is how you’re supposed to look?”

“W-Well. Pretty close,” he said.

Undyne knelt down to look him over and he stared back at her hesitantly.

“Um… U-Undyne, um… Can I hug you? W-Would that be okay?” he asked.

She seemed surprised for a moment, but she nodded . He quickly latched onto her shoulders and though her eye went wide, she gave him a squish and then patted the back of his head gently. Frisk tried not to laugh and just snorted instead.

“Hah! Guess you’re not half-bad!” Undyne said. She turned to Sans. “Dude, are you just totally out, or what?”

“Hm? Oh. No. No, I’m good.” He opened his eyes and straightened up a bit. “Hi.”

She scoffed and laughed, and then got to her feet, holding Asriel under his arms. He squeaked, and she moved him around a little to check him over again. 

“Huh. You are a cute little weirdo, aren’t you?” she said. “So how’s it feel? You know. To be… this? Feels good, right?”

“You have no idea.” He looked like he could melt. “Just… Just breathing is… great.”

“I bet!” Undyne put him down and ruffled the fur on his head. “Alright!! How long until Alph gets here? We gotta talk. About a lot.”

“So, you remember, too?” Frisk asked hopefully.

“Sure do, squirt,” she said. “Sheesh. Forgot a lot. Way more than I thought. But. I’m glad we all stayed as close of friends as we were. Got bit closer, actually. Huge relief, honestly.”

“Phew,” Frisk said.

“Takes a little bit for the boat to make it to Snowdin,” Sans said. He nodded towards the door. “C’mon.”

In the house, at the stairs, Papyrus greeted Undyne with a tight hug. “Everything worked out!” he exclaimed.

“You bet it did,” she said. “Where’s your mom? You saw her, right?”

Papyrus nodded enthusiastically.

“Hey, Tori, you around?!” Undyne hollered.

“Oh!! Undyne?” she said from the kitchen. “Hang on one moment!”

She came out after a few seconds, carrying a lot of mugs. Papyrus rushed to her and carefully took them and began to pass them out. Undyne grinned.

“Good to see you,” she said.

“And you as well,” Toriel said, smiling. She tilted her head and her eyes skimmed the fish monster curiously. Her smile widened. “Thank you for helping take care of Frisk while I could not. I still can’t believe I lost so much time.”

“Hey, you and me both,” Undyne said, raising her drink and then taking a swig. “Kinda nuts.”

“So this… This memory thing, it affected everyone, then?” she said. “Will everyone’s memories have returned?”

“I think it’d be anyone whose memories I could bring back anyway,” Frisk said.

“You guys, Alphys, and Asgore,” Sans said, listing it off on his fingers. “Rest of the monsters, it’ll be like it’s all new.”

“How do you know?” Papyrus asked curiously.

“Well, I mean, I’m the one who set it up,” he said. “Sorry I missed a few, kiddo, it was kinda short notice.”

“That’s okay, having anyone even remember me at all really helped,” she said. “You did a good job.”

He shrugged, but Papyrus nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s true!” he said. “Because before it really worked on me, I felt this nagging in the back of my skull whenever I looked at Frisk. And then when it came back— or at least all the feelings and the other timelines— I was so, so relieved! To forget my own sister, UGH! Even the thought of it is awful.” 

“You guys are lucky you had him, then, huh?” Asriel said.

“Oh my god, so lucky!” Frisk said brightly “Hey, Sans? How the heck do you do that, anyway?”

Sans shrugged. “Saved what I could.”

“But how?” she pressed.

“I just said,” he said, grinning.

“Wait. What? But you all you said was you… Oh my god, seriously?!” Frisk’s eyes went wide. “You saved?! On me?! You can still save?! What?!”

“Just a bit.” He winked. “Figured I had to try something.”

“Holy crap,” Asriel said. “Could I do that?!”

“No idea, kid. Maybe,” Sans said with a shrug.

“That’s amazing!! How’d you figure it out?!” Frisk demanded, grabbing his hands.

“You’re basically a walkin’ link to the timeline, kiddo,” he said. “Connected into you the right way and it kinda stuck.”

“I am a bit lost,” Toriel admitted.

“It’s okay, mom, it’s a bit strange. I’m only recently in the loop myself,” Papyrus said, patting her shoulder reassuringly. “But this is a bit above even my head, if I’m honest.”

“Okay, whatever, forget the mechanics of it,” Undyne said quickly. “Sans, why the hell didn’t you just tell Frisk what was gonna happen if you knew?”

“I dunno, I’m an idiot?” He grinned sideways. “Didn’t know for sure it was going down until the day of. It was impossible to get around. I mean, it’s not like I knew what was gonna happen on loop four, anyway.”

“But why didn’t all the memories come back until now, smart guy?” she demanded. “Sure would’ve been nice to not try to stab my dang kid like fifty times!!”

“Wait, what?” Toriel asked.

“Again, I’m an idiot.” Sans smiled and shrugged. “See, I actually really misjudged how strong Frisk is.”

“What? You did?” Frisk asked.

“Yup. See, how it was supposed to go was the amount of energy I thought it should take to go backwards that far was supposed to just trigger the thing right away,” he said. “But I only had myself as a reference point, especially since once we hit the air up there, you stopped goin’ backwards. And for me, it took a ton, and I scaled it for what I thought would work for a human. Turns out for Frisk, though, it’s basically effortless. Since she’s the anchor and all that, it’s kinda like breathin’ for her. That much energy only got released in a burst when her soul was tryin’ to shove itself back together like an hour ago, so…” He shrugged.

“Oh. Well. Dang. Guess I can’t be too mad at you then,” Undyne said, unable to hold the furrow in her brow as she rubbed her fingers through her hair. “I never wouldda even thought of that if I were in your, uh, slippers.”

“I’m not sure if I would have, either,” Toriel said; her eyes were all but sparkling. “Sweetheart, that was very clever of you. I’m so glad you were able to do anything with such a strange situation.”

Sans shrugged, but he looked at Frisk with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, kiddo,” he said. “If I’d gotten it right, wouldda saved you a lot of heartache.”

“Don’t. Don’t even!” she said. “You’re not allowed to beat yourself up over that.”

“Probably will.”

“Stooooop,” she whined, grabbing him into a hug. “You tried so hard and it all worked out fine, it’s okay; I love you, you dumb dork.”

Sans smiled fondly and gently rubbed her head. “Guess I’m real lucky, huh?” he said quietly.

Toriel tried her best not to coo, but Papyrus began to cackle and grabbed the two into his arms and right off the ground effortlessly. 

“Sans!! Brother. Let me tell you. You actually did a good job this time,” he said. “Trust me, I’m as surprised as you are! But. I’m proud of you.”

Sans shrugged, but the tint of blue on his cheekbones gave him away.

\- - -

Alphys texted when she was about halfway to Snowdin, on foot. Monsters were flowing out of Hotland and Waterfall up the river on the small boats, making them few and far between. Everyone seemed to know— seemed to feel it in the air— that the barrier was gone. They wanted to see it for themselves. 

She also had a few friends with her. She didn’t mind walking them home. They probably wouldn’t have all fit on a boat anyway.

As the others finished up their cocoa and began to slowly get ready to head to the skeleton house, Undyne decided to go on ahead. She took off towards town at a run. Monsters were filling the streets with excited meetings and plans to travel east. As she passed the Inn, she heard a familiar voice calling her name and she dug her heels into the snow to stop.

“Undyne!” There it was again; she picked out Kid as he ran up to her with wide eyes. “It’s done, right? The barrier, it’s—?”

“Yup, squirt, it’s gone,” she said.

Kid’s eyes seemed to be filled with stars. He giggled and bounced, and she couldn’t help a smile. She patted his head and he grinned brightly.

“I know she said she was gonna, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up, and—!” He stopped himself abruptly and looked up at Undyne with worried eyes. “Sh-She’s okay, isn’t she? Frisk? She… d-didn’t use her own soul, did she?”

“Oh. Jeez, kid, no. Don’t worry, she’s fine,” Undyne said. “She’s just grabbin’ her mom.”

“Phew,” the little lizard sighed. His tail started to wag. “Thanks so much! Oh man! I gotta go tell my parents! My dad didn’t want to believe it! They’re gonna be so excited! See you later!!” Kid ran off, slipping in his excitement. 

Undyne smiled and shook her head.

She took off again, rushing out of the snow and through the dark caves of Waterfall, her mind on one thing only. She yanked a log off the docks and surfed across the black lake, and then kept running until a large mass of white and small speck of yellow caught her attention in the distance. She finally slowed down. Soft weeping echoed across the stones, mingling with the falling water in the caves.

Off in the cavern near her own home, Undyne found Alphys hanging back from a small group of monsters with Mrs. Snowdrake and Big Dog at her side. She recognized some citizens of Waterfall clustered around the monster they’d called Lemons, hugging them tight. That big-toothed creature seemed pretty content, from what she could see. 

Alphys was smiling. She wiped her eyes under her glasses and then began to slowly back off, gesturing for Mrs. Snowdrake and Big Dog to be quiet. Undyne held back as they edged away, but as soon as they reached the small gap in the path, they locked eyes. Alphys instantly went red. Undyne grinned wide and sprinted for her. The little break of glowing water was no obstacle, and within seconds she had Alphys up in her arms. She couldn’t hold back from kissing the little lizard. She squeaked as a reply and cupped her face.

“O-Oh my g-g-god,” Alphys stammered. “Un-Undyne, I—”

“You remember?” she demanded.

Alphys nodded and Undyne barked out a loud laugh and twirled her in the air. Alphys yelped and giggled, clinging to her shoulders tightly.

“O-Oh m-my god,” she said again, and she puffed out a deep breath. “I f-feel like I’ve b-been in a fog! I c-can’t believe I f-forgot so much!”

“I know, tell me about it!!” Undyne said. “Pfffft. Wow. Hey. Thanks for givin’ me the chance when our memories were all messed up, huh?”

“W-WHAT?! I should b-be saying that t-to you!!” she stammered. “I… I d-didn’t even r-really give you a r-reason to like me, you j-just… did.”

“Didn’t give me a reason?!” Undyne guffawed and touched her forehead to hers. “I liked you way before the kid showed up to give you that letter, you know? Oh. Hah, dang, guess I didn’t even give it to you this time, huh?”

“Oh. Ohh, that’s… th-that’s a shame,” Alphys said. “I, um… I k-kept it. Those other times.”

“Pffft, well, if it means that much, I’ll write it again,” Undyne said. 

“I l-liked you, too,” she squeaked.

Undyne snickered and kissed her snout gently. “I know, babe.” She let her back down onto the ground and stretched her arms high above her head. “Whew! That… That feels a lot better. Damn.” She sounded satisfied, like after a good, long nap.

Alphys looked up at her in awe. “Undyne, um, wh-what happened to your ear?”

Undyne grinned and shrugged, holding in a laugh as Big Dog finally seemed to notice her and rested his big, hole face on her shoulder.

“Oh, that? No big deal. Not sure about Tori or Asgore, but looks like most of us lost a little bit givin’ pieces to Frisk. Hey.” She tilted her head. “You missin’ a bit, too?”

“Oh, uhhh… Y-Yeeeeah,” Alphys said. 

She held up her right hand. To Undyne’s surprise, half of her pinkie was completely gone.

“Whoa, jeez, that hurt?” she asked.

“I-It’s s-super weird,” she said, and she shook her head. “N-No. It’s fine. It’s n-not sore at all. If F-Frisk and… a-and Asriel are both okay, then i-it was m-more than worth it.”

“That’s what I think, too,” Undyne said.

“They, um, are alright, aren’t they?” she wondered.

“Yeah. They’re good,” she said. “They’re gonna be hyped to see you. So. Takin’ these nerds home and then—?”

“Well, I, um… I w-was hoping…” She smiled sheepishly and rubbed her arm. “D-Do you think we c-could get some, uh, t-tea at your place first? Y-You know, c-calm my nerves? This is… Well…” 

She turned to look over her shoulder and Undyne followed her gaze. The monsters and Lemons were just disappearing into the darkness. 

“It’s… It g-gets a little easier. B-But a little harder t-too. It’s, um, tough to explain,” Alphys said.

“Hey. You don’t gotta explain yourself to me,” Undyne said as she rubbed Big Dog between their ears. “Let’s get some tea in ya.”

Alphys looked like she could melt. “Thanks,” she sighed.


	84. I Think I Saw A Star!

Asriel had been right, the hot chocolate was pretty old. Frisk didn’t mind, though. She was tired and anything hot and sweet was very welcome. She snuggled sleepily into Papyrus’s lap as she sipped from her mug and he, as energetic as ever, explained what they’d been up to for the past couple weeks to their mother in a very animated fashion.

Toriel looked fascinated, her eyes wide, her ears pressed forward, clutching to Asriel tightly for support, and pointedly keeping herself quiet to not interrupt a single thought. Frisk had stopped trying to keep up with her brother’s mile-a-minute speech a little while ago and Sans had dozed off leaning on him over ten minutes prior. They’d all gathered before the fireplace— lit and cozy warm— and sat on the soft rug so a certain skeleton could lie down if he had to.

“—Annnnnnd then Frisk and Asriel had to go into a weird space void and fly around a bit and Asriel broke the barrier with all the monster souls at once and then I think you saw the rest of it,” Papyrus concluded. He took a deep, satisfied breath. “Whoo! That’s a lot, isn’t it? Did I miss anything?”

He had, in fact. He’d strategically left Asriel’s plant-form out of the story, much to the boy’s relief. Asriel stretched and readjusted himself.

“Just the bits I’ll be tellin’,” he said. “Thanks, dude.”

“No problem at all!” he said.

“And what would that be?” Toriel asked, looking down at her son with a fond smile.

“It’s better to wait for dad for that,” he said. “Because I’m gonna cry like a baby.”

“Oh, honey!” Toriel said worriedly.

“No, no, it’s good,” he assured her. 

“Bet it feels like a big relief, huh?” Frisk asked.

“God, you have no idea,” he said. “Hey, this is all still real, right? Like, we’re all just sitting here and… Man.” He stared at his paws for a few seconds. “I’m gonna be honest, I really didn’t think this would work.”

“Aw! Little brother! Can I call you “little brother”?” Papyrus’s face absolutely lit up when Asriel nodded sheepishly. “I wish you hadn’t worried so much! We had it totally under control! Of course it would work, we had the best monsters and the best Frisk on the job!”

“Yeah but you wouldn’t believe how super paranoid I was!” he said. “I mean, sheesh, I’m kinda shocked I even humoured it.”

“Little one…” Toriel frowned worriedly and gently kissed his head. “You were really not in a good headspace were you?”

“Nope, it was pretty bad,” he said, but he laughed. “Thanks for everything, guys. And, Frisk? Thanks for knocking sense back into me.”

“Hey, that’s my job,” she said, raising he mug and smiling sleepily. “Time travel and knocking sense into brothers. Sounds like they don’t go together but turns out they do. Weird, right?”

Toriel chuckled and rubbed her brow. She slumped around Asriel and blew out a long sigh. “I still worry I’ll wake up, if I’m honest,” she said. “I can’t describe how I feel to have us all together like this.”

“It’s pretty fantastic, isn’t it?” Papyrus said. “Nyeh heh! It’s so new and weird! Very exciting.”

“It is.” She smiled tiredly and turned her gaze on Frisk. “My child, why on earth didn’t you tell me the extent of this? You poor thing, with all this time travel and… and everything.”

“Ah! Well, I dunno,” Frisk said bashfully. “I… I tried to explain, but I didn’t want you to worry. And… And I didn’t really plan on time travelling much once we got to the surface. There, um, weren’t spots to save the timeline out there, anyway.”

“Might have to rethink that strat,” Sans said groggily. 

“I’m still not sure how much I should be using it at all,” she admitted.

“Minimal,” Sans said. “But… you can bend it now without goin’ back, so… you can probably mess around with that a bunch.”

“You think?” She perked up and smiled. “That’s good. I can help people with that.”

“And… what is that, exactly?” Toriel asked.

“That’s the weird time thing that turned that fallen monster back, mom,” Asriel explained.

“It’s a very interesting and strong type of healing!” Papyrus said brightly. “Frisk’s really good at it! Though it does tire her out a little, most of the time.”

“And I’m totally gonna have to check on that lady, too,” Frisk said.

“Never done, huh?” Sans joked.

“Done for today!” Frisk assured him.

“Good. You need it. Hell, I need it,” he said.

“Everyone needs it,” Asriel agreed.

“I don’t, I’m fine,” Papyrus said. “Hey, what do you think, should we head back to the house yet? Do you think the others are there yet? I’m excited to see Alphys! Do you think she lost a bit of her, too?”

“Eh. Probably,” Sans said.

“Aaaah, sorry,” Frisk said shrilly.

“Don’t you dare,” he joked.

“Lost a…?” Toriel tilted her head. “Oh! Is that a common occurrence?”

“Only when you give a human a piece of your soul,” Sans said with a wink.

“Ooooh, was that what that was?” Toriel chuckled. “I chalked that up to that blast of light, honestly.”

“You didn’t get hurt, did you?” Frisk asked worriedly.

“Oh, no, not at all, hun,” she said. She pulled gently at the neck of her robe and showed a small section of her collarbone where there was a faint, furless scar. “See? Too bad it wasn’t higher, we could have matched!” 

Frisk smiled bashfully. 

“You’re lucky, you got the cool action guy scar,” Asriel said to her.

“Good thing I didn’t put my whole hand on your face again,” Sans joked.

“I still can’t believe you did that,” Papyrus said.

“I dunno, I kinda needed a hand,” Frisk said.

Toriel barked out a loud laugh and Sans’s face lit up despite the dismayed cawing sound Papyrus made. He grabbed Frisk’s head and mussed up her hair before squishing her close into a hug.

“Terrible,” he chided, but he was smiling wide anyway.

Frisk snickered and then got up off his legs to stretch hers. Asriel copied her and their mother leaned back against her bookshelf. She watched them fondly.

“Poor thing, you look exhausted,” Toriel said quietly. “Frisk, would you like me to carry you?”

“Maybe it’d be best if Sans just takes her,” Papyrus suggested. “It’d be much quicker! How about it, brother? You might even be able to sneak in a nap! Very efficient, what do you think?”

Toriel looked confused; was about to speak when Sans shrugged and wandered over to the kid.

“Not arguin’ that point,” he said. He paused and looked at Asriel curiously.

“What?” the boy asked.

“Actually.” Sans tilted his head slightly. “Maybe… Gimme your hand.” 

“Uh, okay?” Asriel grabbed him with a curious tilt in his brow. 

“Cool.” Sans put his other hand on Frisk’s shoulder. “See you guys back home, probably.”

There was a slight shift— Frisk only felt it a tiny bit and, suddenly, they were inside the house. Asriel gawked and looked around quickly. 

“What the heck?!” he demanded.

“Hey, cool, it worked,” Sans said. He plopped onto the sofa and kicked up his feet.

“Oh wow!! Is…? Is that because his soul is red, now?” Frisk asked, wide-eyed. 

“Just thought, if it has basically the same structure as yours, shouldn’t really be an issue,” Sans said.

Asriel gawked. He stammered a few syllables and then gave up and spun around to look at the living room. His eyes were wide. He snuck in beside Frisk and rubbed his face with his paws.

“This is real, right? It’s all real? I’m not just having a dream, right?” he asked. “I’m not losing my mind?”

“Right!” Frisk assured him.

He flopped onto the couch and stretched out, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes.

“Not so bad, huh?” she said gently.

“Dig it,” he said. “We got a mirror somewhere?”

“Bedroom closet,” Frisk said.

Asriel rolled off the couch and headed upstairs. 

Frisk swapped into his spot and tiredly nestled against her brother. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. These familiar old cushions against her back felt amazing. She turned to look at Sans. He was staring off into space, smiling, but there were tears dribbling down his face. Her brow furrowed and she grabbed his shoulder gently.

“Hey. You okay, bro?” she asked.

“Hm? Oh. Heh. Yeah.” He wiped his eye sockets on his sleeve and turned, putting his back to the arm of the couch. “You, uh…? You mind if I…?” He scooped her up by her soul and plunked her in his lap. 

She didn’t mind in the least, and made it clear with a hug. He chuckled quietly and held her close, puffing out a sigh. 

“Jeez, your soul kinda hurts, huh?” she said quietly. “Is that the bit that you—?”

“Heh. No. No.” He ran his fingertips through her hair. “I just… Heh. Stupid.”

“What?” she pressed.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said.

“How you feel matters, dude,” she insisted. “It’s okay.”

He snickered and patted her head. “Ah, kiddo, you’re real good,” he said. “Don’t worry. Just comin’ down from the shock of everything. Thanks for lettin’ me squish ya, huh?”

“Anytime!” she said with a grin. She sat up tall enough to kiss his cheek and then slumped against him, snuggling up cozy and close. 

The hum of his soul sped up a little. She was sure hers did, too.

Her whole body ached. She felt like she was nothing but bruises. She could’ve slept for a month. In this moment, her brother’s hug was the most reassuring thing in the world. His soul was singing to her, like a lullaby. It seemed like it was actually sinking in. She grabbed hold of his left hand and cradled it close, feeling over that hole in his palm. It was so strange to think that pieces of her friends had stuck themselves into her soul to save her. It was so brave of them. 

“I wish I couldda seen it,” she said.

“It was pretty nuts,” he said. He carefully slipped his hand from her grasp. 

She was disappointed only for a second, until he began to gently scratch her head. That was her favourite. She snickered and hid a yawn behind her hands. She felt so lucky to have him.

“Nothing else we’re missing, huh?” she said quietly. “We got this. For real this time.”

“Yeah,” he said. “We got this.”

“I’m sorry it took so long,” she said.

“No. Don’t be,” he said. “God. I could sleep for a year.”

“Me too,” she said with a laugh. “Maybe just until everyone else gets here, though.”

“Eh. I can do that,” he said.

\- - -

Asriel had found himself caught in front of a closed door. He felt like his limbs had gone numb and his soul was twisting into knots. He’d been up there for a long time, though. He should probably just look. He wished Frisk were there. He could go get her, he supposed, but how pathetic would that be? He took a deep breath and flung open the door.

His first look at himself chilled him to the core. Taller than before; a little more than he expected. He hadn’t noticed that the green and yellow striped shirt he was wearing was just a little too small for him. He wondered why the universe had thought it useful to give him his old clothes back. 

His face was mostly as he’d expected, but his eyes being filled in black threw him off. He leaned forward and held his eyelids open to stare at himself. He noticed the stripes on his cheeks. He kind of liked those. He touched on his snout and bared his teeth. His fangs were longer, too, but that wasn’t so bad. In fact, he was surprised by how much of himself that he recognized. He had to wipe his eyes.

Biting his lip, he snuck into the closet and found Frisk’s chest of clothes. Most of her shirts were a little too big for her, anyway, so he plucked up the one with _bone tired_ on it to wear. He was sure she wouldn’t mind. His horns got in they way, but when he got his shirt off, he noticed more stripes edging over his back and towards his collarbone. He turned around curiously, his tail twitching, and peered over his shoulder. He had a strange pattern on his back in black stripes. They looked a little like wings.

“Oh, great, I came back as an edgelord,” he said. He snickered to himself and rubbed his face. “Oh my god.” He pulled on the t-shirt quickly. It was a much better fit.

By the time Asriel clunked back down the stairs, looking a little shellshocked, Sans and Frisk were snuggled up, half asleep. He sat down beside them and stared at the wall.

“You okay?” Frisk asked as she sat up.

“Hm? Oh. Y-Yeah. Yeah,” he said. He rubbed his hands over his cheeks and squished his own face. “Oh my god.”

“What?” the kid insisted.

“I just… I mean. I dunno. I just look so… so… normal? Almost? You know?” he said.

“I think you look really cute!” Frisk said.

“Pfffft.” He looked down and smiled bashfully. “I… I… Oh my god. I’m trying so hard not to cry right now, you don’t even know.”

Sans plunked his hand onto the kid’s head between his ears and his fingers glowed blue. Asriel looked at him with wide eyes and he let out a sigh that deflated him. Frisk grinned and hugged him around his shoulders. He sighed and grabbed onto her arm, clenching firmly with his fingers.

“Thank you guys,” he said quietly. “Can I say that enough?”

“Chill,” Sans said. “Just breathe.”

“I can actually do that now,” Asriel laughed, though his voice sounded a little choked and he hid his face against Frisk. “Aaah, jeez.”

“You’re good,” the kid said gently. “We’re all really happy you’re here, you know.”

“Probably be nice to have a kid your age around all the time now, huh?” Sans said.

“Hah, I’m older, though,” Asriel joked.

“I’m still the smallest.” Frisk sighed, but she didn’t look like she minded at all. “Well. Three big brothers is okay with me.”

“I… I’ve never been a big brother,” he admitted.

“Never been a little one, either, huh?” Sans said. “S’alright. You’ll get used to it.”

“And I’ll take really good care of you!” Frisk assured him.

The boy let out a huff. He wrapped Frisk in a tight hug. “You, too,” he said. “We’re, um… I dunno what we are. But… I think you were right. Wh-When you said I can help you with this world thing? That I’m… I dunno. But I’m gonna stick with you.”

“Good!” she said brightly. 

They heard boots up the steps and Frisk knew to brace for Papyrus kicking the door in with a big grin on his face. 

“I won!” he said, putting a hand to his chest. “Naturally.” He turned and waved out the door. “Mom, come on! Oh, you’re walking though! You won’t outpace me if you race like that!”

“I’m sorry, honey,” she said with a laugh. “I guess I’m a bit tired out.” She accepted his hand and he pulled her inside. 

“Hey, mom,” Asriel said, finally lifting his head up.

She couldn’t help a smile and her eyes welled up. She coughed quietly, laughed, and used a finger to brush the tears away. The little boy got up and reached out for a hug and she eagerly swooped him up and held him close. Frisk clasped her hands together and grinned brightly. Sans ruffled her hair and she was warmed to the core. Papyrus snickered and bounced over to join them.

“So you didn’t have any problems, then?” he asked.

“Nope,” Sans said.

“Hey, Saaaans. Sans.” Asriel turned to look at him curiously. “So. Like. Why did our hums do that thing?”

“What thing, sweetie?” Toriel asked.

“Ooh! Can we show her?” he asked Frisk.

“I think we probably can,” she said. “Might take me a minute, though.”

“That’s okay!” Asriel scampered over to her when their mother put him down. He grabbed the kid’s hand, and his smile turned sympathetic. “Aw, Frisk, you’re all achey, huh?” He hugged her close. “Never mind, we can show her anytime.”

“That’s right!” Papyrus said brightly. “Since we’ll all be together forever now, anyway!”

Asriel’s expression shifted quickly. His lip quivered and his eyes went wide, and all of a sudden he was shivering like he’d been pulled from a frozen lake. He latched onto Frisk and hid his face, heaving in a long, deep breath. She understood instantly.

“S’alright,” she said quietly. “Cry it out, no big deal.”

“Oh no, did I say the wrong thing?!” Papyrus yelped.

“No, no no,” Frisk said. She shot him a smile. “You said exactly the right thing.”

It took Asriel a few seconds to regain himself. He breathed deep and rubbed his eyes with his palms, groaning and laughing. “Uuuugh, I feel like garbage,” he said. He grinned. “It’s k-kinda great.”

“Aw, honey,” Toriel cooed gently. 

“Oh! I know what’ll cheer you up!” Papyrus said brightly. “Hang on! Nyeh heh heh!”

As he dashed away up to the bedroom, there was a hard knock on the door and it opened a crack.

“You guys here yet?” Undyne asked.

“Undyne!” Frisk ran to her and grabbed her into a hug as soon as she stepped inside.

“Whoa, kid, I just saw ya,” she joked, hefting her up into a hug. “You guys okay? Sheesh, it smells like saltwater in here.”

“I c-can’t stop crying!” Asriel whined.

“Well, that’s not new,” Undyne said. “So, uh, Alph’s just takin’ care of something in town. And then she’ll be here, and hopefully after she stops cryin’, we’ll go see Asgore, yeah?” She shot the tired kid in her arms a grin. “Aw, jeez, dude, you gonna pass out again?”

“Nnnooo, no.” Frisk snickered and snuggled against her. “I’m okay.”

“GOOD!” She smooched her on the head and then put her down beside the snoozing skeleton on the couch. “No more of that crap, alright?”

“I’m gonna try real hard,” she said.

“Nyeh heh!!” Papyrus vaulted over the banister as he leapt from the bedroom, waving a green and brown something like a flag. “Asriel! Here you go! Remember?!” He grabbed the boy and put the hoodie in his hands with a big grin. “Try it! I bet it’s nice and warm!”

Asriel stared at him blankly for a few seconds, but then pulled the hoodie on over his head. His horns got a little caught and he flailed his arm. Toriel cooed and knelt down to gently help his head through. 

“Oh, that’s so cute,” she said.

“Undyne gave it to me.” Asriel pulled at the hem and straightened it out. It was just a little big. He shot her a grin. “Hey, thanks, it’s good!”

“Hey, we got lucky!” She beamed and ruffled his fur. Then, she tilted her head curiously and scooped him up under his arms. “Huh.”

“What?” he asked.

“What, no f…? I mean. You’re not sassin’ me,” she said.

“N-No, um… I dunno. I guess it was kinda rude,” he said quietly.

“Aw, c’mon fuzzball, thought we had a thing going!” she said with a grin.

Asriel’s eyes went wide. He smiled sheepishly and his expression quickly became determined. “Hey, what d’you know, guess you’re pretty nice, huh, fishface?”

Undyne guffawed and she hugged the boy close. “Dang, though.” She held Asriel up where he dangled like a tired puppy and tilted her head sideways to look back at Toriel. “He really looks like you, huh? I mean, except the eyes.”

“Those are new,” Asriel said. “I mean. Not the having eyes bit. I mean. They used to be more normal. And green. That was a thing.”

“Eh, that’s okay,” she said. 

Undyne finally let him down again and he sighed and rubbed his face. He turned to look at Sans, where he and Frisk seemed to be dozing off somewhat. 

“Oh, right. Jeez, Sans, I’m really sorry,” he said. “You asked me to get you something, but I went into your room and I couldn’t find it.” He patted himself down and then frowned. “Aaaand I think I lost the key.”

Sans smirked and reached out to pat the kid on the head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh? What was it though?” Papyrus asked.

“No, seriously. Don’t worry,” Sans said. “It was a red herring.”

“Red herring?! How was that supposed to help? And don’t you dare tell me you’ve been keeping a fish in your room all this time!” he said shrilly.

Asriel looked confused, and Frisk did, too, but the short skeleton just laughed and shook his head. Undyne, however, had a look of understanding dawn on her face.

“Ooooooh, that’s why you weren’t there…” she said. She lightly bonked Sans on the head with her fist. “You’re a real schemer, ain’t ya?”

“Is that a surprise?” Sans grinned.

“Guess not,” she said.

“Wait, so… So you didn’t actually need that thing?!” Asriel looked baffled. “Then why did you send me to get it?!” 

Sans levelled his finger at Toriel. She looked puzzled and titled her head. 

“I’m sorry, did I do something?” she asked, putting a hand to her chest.

The boy looked between the skeleton and his mother quickly. He groaned and put his hands over his eyes. “You’re the worst,” he said with a laugh.

“You’re welcome,” Sans said, grinning.

“I must admit, I’m a little puzzled,” Toriel said.

“Yeah, me too, I wasn’t there for that,” Frisk said. “Or. I was. I was just totally dead or something?”

“Yeah, stop doin’ that,” Undyne joked.

“I’m sorry!” Frisk said. She tented her fingers. “Sheesh, guys, really, I’m sorry for all that. I just…” She put a hand to her soul and smiled tiredly. “It was the only way.” She looked back at Sans as if for support. She could hear that little mantra in her head, even if she knew he didn’t want it for her.

His expression was static, but ruffled her hair gently. She perked up, and was then pulled into Papyrus’s arms as he plunked in beside her. 

“You’re very brave but you’re not allowed to go away like that again, alright?” he said.

“I’m gonna do my best!” she assured him. “And besides, Az was worth it.”

“Well, of course he was!” Papyrus’s blue magic stole the little boy and he grabbed him, too. “Always!”

Toriel still wore an expression of mild confusion. She bit her lip and looked around at the monsters crowded around her little son. She took a deep breath. Her soul buzzed warmly. She still felt like she was in a dream. She put a hand to her snout, her eyes swimming. She quickly wiped them, only to jolt when there was another knock at the front door.

“Ah! That must be the Doctor!” Papyrus jumped up and ran to open it. “Alphys?”

“H-Hi! Um. Is it…? I mean…?” She poked her head in slightly and the skeleton waved her in. “Um! H… Hi, everyone, I’m… uh…” The second Alphys stepped inside, she froze. She gawked; started to shake as tunnel vision set in on the one face unfamiliar to her in the house. She gaped, shivered, unable to say a word.

Just as concerned eyes began to turn on her, Undyne caught sight and knew exactly what was going through the little lizard’s head. Gently, she put a hand on Asriel’s back. It jarred him upright and, gulping, he dashed for Alphys, stalling just inches from her.

Alphys’s entire face seemed to pull downwards for a moment before big, glistening tears began to pour down her cheeks and she choked loudly. She reached out with trembling hands and the boy grabbed her into a tight hug. She bent around him and started to sob, clutching his shoulders desperately. She could hardly even hear when he thanked her.

She pulled back, shoulders heaving, gasping for air, and cupped his face, grinning through the tears. “It’s you!! I-It’s y-y-you! I-It’s y-y-y-you!!” she babbled. “Oh m-my god!! Oh my god!!!”

“Thanks,” he said again.

She choked shrilly and snuggled him, laughing and crying. Asriel snickered softly and nuzzled into her.

“J-J-Just let me…” She held him back gently again, brushing her fingers through the fur on his head. “L-Let me l-look at you. Oh. Oh g-god.”

“Not bad, right?” he joked.

She shook her head, hiccoughing. She was a mess. She kissed his brow gently.

Undyne guffawed and bent to embrace them both, planting a big smooch on Alphys’s head. The lizard looked up with a grin, sniffled, and seemed to realize— and rather abruptly, too— where she was. Her scales went red and she quickly scanned the faces in the room. Asriel laughed and squeezed her, and he nodded at Frisk, who was doing her best not to cry in sympathy.

“Oh, g-god, Frisk!” She rushed over and grabbed her, looking her up and down and cupping her cheek, running her fingers over the scar. “Ooh, Frisk. Wh-What happened to you?”

“S’not too bad though, right?” she asked sheepishly. 

“N-No! No, no,” Alphys said quickly; she smiled. “I-It makes y-you look… It m-makes you l-look cool!”

“Yeeeeeah, just like me, right?!” Undyne said with a grin.

Frisk’s face brightened up right away. She grabbed Alphys and smooched her cheek. The lizard let out a long, loud sigh, and her knees gave and she slumped slowly to the floor.

Undyne grinned and sat down with her, wrapping her in her arms.

“I-Is…? Is everything alright?” Toriel asked gently. 

“Oh. G-God, your M-Majesty!!” Alphys stammered. “I-I’m sorry, I—”

“Sweetheart, don’t apologize!” Toriel said quickly. “I… I suppose all of you must be a lot more familiar with my boy than I expected.” She turned her eyes on Asriel, and he instantly looked bashful.

“I promise, I’ll tell you the whole thing when we meet up with dad,” he assured her. “B-But… I mean. For Alphys, well… she was the start. Without her, I wouldn’t even be here at all.”

Toriel’s eyes went wide. She looked at Alphys, stunned. Though the lizard looked like she would just melt into the floor, Toriel bent down and seized her in her arms and huffed. Alphys began to sob again, choking and coughing.

“I t-told you!! I t-t-told y-you I’d u-ugly-cry! Oh my g-g-god. Oh god.” She tried to catch her breath and then said, in a sing-song voice, “Just p-put me in the traaaaash.”

“Oh, little one, nonsense,” Toriel said gently. “Take your time.”

Frisk slipped off, bringing Papyrus with her, to start the kettle boiling as Alphys struggled to catch her breath. Toriel gently released her as she began to regain herself, and her girlfriend sat down on the floor with her, gently rubbing her back.

“Uugh, I knew th-this would h-happen.” Alphys laughed at herself and took off her glasses. “Ugh, look at th-this, I’m just… Uuuuggh.”

“Alphys,” Toriel chided gently. She smiled at her fondly. “It’s good to see you.”

“Ah… Ah! Oh my g-god. This…! I h-haven’t seen you in weeks and technically ever, a-actually, and this is h-how you see me the f-first time?!” she yelped. “Oh my g-god.”

“It’s not so big a deal,” Asriel assured her.

“And YOU!” She grabbed his hand and beamed at him. “I… I n-never could’ve imagined… I… I-I—”

“Didn’t screw up,” he said. “So relax!”

“You’re s-so cute!!” she exclaimed.

He grinned, only to have his mother put her arm around him and smooch him between the horns.

“He really is, isn’t he?” she said. “Now. Alphys. Can you…? Can you tell me? How you brought him back? And why? And… And everything?”

Worry struck the little lizard. She caught Undyne’s cautious expression and then bit her lip. Asriel sighed.

“Mom, c’mon, we’re all gonna just cry forever,” he said.

“I understand it’s upsetting, but I would really love to hear from Alphys,” she said gently.

“You won’t like it,” he said.

“Honey, that’s okay. Whatever happened, you’re here, now,” she said.

“It’s… It’s c-complicated,” Alphys said softly. She looked at Asriel worriedly.

His shoulders slumped, but he nodded. Alphys braced herself; Undyne held her hand.

“W-Well… It… It all really st-started when Asgore was l-looking to me to build a vessel for the h-human souls…”

\- - -

Frisk and Papyrus were mostly oblivious to the conversation going on outside the kitchen. The kettle was roiling slowly but loudly and they’d shoved some spaghetti into a dish and then into the oven, sort of like a very lazy lasagna. Papyrus had come to the abrupt realization that he loved lasagna, even though he hadn’t even really remembered what it was just a little while ago. 

“Frisk? Um.” Papyrus leaned his back against the fridge and looked down at his sister. “You’re okay, right? Really really okay?”

“I feel like a big rock fell on me but yeah, I’m okay!” she said with a grin. “Don’t worry too much about me.”

“Right. Yes. But. Um.” He tapped his fingers together. “Frisk. I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Why? What happened?” she asked.

“It’s just… SIGH. This makes my soul hurt! I’m sorry I forgot you. Really,” he said.

“Oh! Don’t be, you couldn’t help it,” she assured him.

“Sans could help it,” he grumbled, folding his arms. “Why can’t I be like that?”

“I think you are now,” Frisk assured him. “Besides, it’s not like I’ll ever be resetting. Again. Ever.”

“Ah! Right. Okay. Yes, that’s true,” he said. “I guess I just feel… I don’t know. It’s like I abandoned you, somehow. I wasn’t supposed to do that.”

“Paps. You get down here and you gimme a hug right now,” Frisk said sternly.

He snickered and knelt so she could get her arms around his shoulders. Their souls smooshed into orange light and he sighed with relief. Somehow, it felt like there was a little extra click of solidarity in the energy.

“It never happened,” she said gently.

“You’re very strange, sometimes, Frisk,” he said warmly. 

He straightened up to gather mugs to lay them out on the counter, though he dropped one with a loud clattering sound when Toriel cried out loudly, his posture going rigid with alarm. He and Frisk quickly darted back out into the living room only to see their mother, sitting on the floor with the others, with a disbelieving, opened-mouthed expression; tears streaming down her face.

Asriel sighed, wilting, and his lip curled up in an apologetic, reluctant smile. “I told you it was bad,” he said.

“I… I don’t believe it. I won’t. I can’t, I…” Toriel put her hands to her mouth. “The whole time, that little thing was…? Frisk, you knew?!” Her gaze was blazing.

Frisk froze up, eyes wide. Her heart started to pound. Papyrus put his hand on her shoulder gently. 

“I… I j-just wanted to help,” she said softly.

Toriel looked taken aback. Her ears drooped and she hurriedly got to her feet and knelt to cup the kid’s cheek. “Oh, sweetie, don’t… I’m not mad!” she said quickly. “I’m not mad. I just… can’t believe it.”

“I’m s-sorry,” Alphys said quietly. “If I had been more c-careful…”

“Don’t start,” Sans said. “Kiddo. You either.”

“Okay, okay,” Frisk said bashfully.

“To be honest,” Asriel said, “it’s… it’s all actually a lot worse than it sounds.”

“How could it possibly be worse?” Toriel whipped around, her brow furrowed. “You’ve told me a horror story, sweetheart.”

“How much did you say?” Frisk asked, leaning around her to look at Asriel with worry.

“Told her how I came back.” He started counting on his fingers. “And… how I came back. And what I came back as.”

“Oh. Jeez. Um.” Frisk looked at her mother sheepishly. “Y-Yeah, um… Yeah. It’s a long story.”

Toriel put her hands on her head, her eyes going wide and round. Frisk didn’t like to see her upset like this. She was usually so calm and composed. Papyrus grabbed Toriel into a hug and glowed bright for her. 

“Things turned out okay though, I promise!” he said. “Mom, no one wanted you to hurt or be worried about this when we didn’t know what was happening, that’s the only reason we didn’t tell you every little thing from the start! Because, trust me, if we could have, we would have taken you right out of the Ruins to come live with us right away!”

“It was my fault,” Asriel said. “I was a brat. And a jerk. I would have left if you showed up. It… It hurt a lot, to see you when I was like that, but I… I was pretty pathetic, too. I couldn’t keep away much, even though I knew on some level that… that this would happen.”

“You are way too hard on yourself, kid,” Undyne said with a frown.

“You don’t know the half of it,” he said with a tired smile. 

Toriel sighed again. She held Papyrus and gently kissed the top of his head. Her eyes levelled on Frisk and she bit her lip. She seemed at a loss for words. She picked up the kid and held her close, touching her snout into her hair. 

“You fought so hard for us,” she whispered. “I’m… I’m so grateful. Whatever happened, I know you were doing what you thought was best.”

“I… I really tried hard,” Frisk said.

“I didn’t want her to tell. I’ll…” Asriel sighed. “Like I said, I’ll tell you and dad the whole thing together. I have a bit more I’d like to tell you first, if that’s okay, though.”

“Well, yes, you must, if I don’t even know the half of it, right?” She smiled and winked. “Shall we?”

\- - -

Once the talk of Asriel’s history had passed and the hot tea began to take effect, the mood shifted; brightened, just a little. The energy was getting a little overwhelming for Frisk, though. As Asriel continued his story, she took refuge with her oldest brother, half-dozing in his arms even as Toriel occasionally gasped with shock and the sounds of partying in town began to flow down the road towards their house. No matter what, Sans was solid and calm and cozy. 

She had almost fallen asleep to the sound of his hum until she heard a little something different. Curious, she pressed her ear up against his soul spot and synched up close to him. In the lower register, interwoven with what she’d memorized as if it had always played that way, she could hear a faint, relaxed version of the song she’d heard his soul sing in times she wasn’t supposed to have seen. 

She looked up at him curiously. She could tell by the look on his face and the blue tinting his bones that he’d noticed, too. Her brows knitted worriedly and, not wanting to interrupt the others, she tapped him on the chest to get his attention and tilted her head as she pointed to his soul spot. He shrugged. She pouted and he grinned wider and ruffled her hair. 

“I thought… I thought you said it was loss, though,” she said at a whisper.

He shrugged again and pointed to the hole in his hand. She snickered, but she shook her head. He looked thoughtful for a few seconds. She followed his gaze as he looked over at Papyrus, who sat snugly by Toriel’s side, holding her paw and petting it consolingly every once in a while as Asriel and Alphys talked. She looked back at Sans, confused, and he raised his brows. 

Then, it occurred to her, that Papyrus’s song had changed just a little, and pretty recently, too. The kid’s eyes went wide. Maybe it wasn’t trauma, then. That was part of it—would have been why Sans’s hum had changed so completely in those other timelines— but maybe it was something else. A big spike of determination, maybe? 

She tugged on Sans’s sleeve, her eyes lighting up. She jabbed her thumb into her chest and then formed a heart with her hands. He grinned, a flicker of blue in his eye, and stuck his thumb up. She beamed and nodded, and then pointed at him and then to the scar on her cheek. He looked almost embarrassed for a second but she clenched her fists and flexed her arms like Undyne often did. Sans burst out laughing before he could help himself. 

“What are you two doing over there?” Papyrus asked suspiciously.

“No, no, sorry. Uh. Continue,” Sans said as he tried to regain himself. 

“Actually, I think we’re about done,” Asriel said. 

“Wh-What? Really?” Alphys asked. “B-But… Oh. Y-You’re saving that for your dad, t-too?”

“Yup.” He got up and stretched. “Welp. Think we should go? Rip that bandaid off.”

“I don’t get that idiom, but I think, if you’re ready to go, we should definitely go!” Papyrus said. 

“Yes… Yes, you’re right,” Toriel said.

“W-We can, um… We can w-walk with you guys, if you want?” Alphys offered. “I m-mean… We d-don’t want to intrude or anything…”

“Moral support.” Undyne stuck her thumb up. “If you need it.”

“Ah… Thank you.” Toriel smiled fondly. “That’s very kind. I’d be happy for it.”

“Paps, the oven,” Frisk warned.

“Oh! Right! I’ll deal with that, everyone just go about your normal business,” Papyrus said, leaping to his feet.

“Wait, was there food? I could go for food,” Undyne said. “Actually, I’m totally starving.”

“Ah, Undyne, b-but we should…” Alphys froze up and her scales flushed red. “A-Actually…”

“Nyeh heh heh, well, we’ll be very quick,” Papyrus said.

Asriel followed the others into the kitchen and Frisk hung back just enough to give her mother a hug. Toriel leaned up on the wall, a content, exhausted smile on her face. Sans slid over, looking up at the woman with a sympathetic smile.

“Hard to deal, huh?” he said.

“Oh, unbelievably, but… God. I’m happy,” she said.

Sans chuckled. “Excited to get the town back?” he asked.

“Hm? Oh! Yes. Yes, that… will be nice,” she said. “I’m excited to see it.” She shook her head and laughed. “I’m dreading the naming, though.”

“Yeah, New New Home wouldn’t really be the greatest, huh?” Sans said.

“Oh my god, he doesn’t!” she gasped.

Sans smiled sympathetically. “No. He doesn’t. Starhome,” he said. “…Sorry.”

Toriel froze up for a moment. There was a little melancholy in her expression, now, though she smiled at the short skeleton and folded her arms comfortably.

“Don’t be,” she said gently. “It’s alright. I have you boys and Frisk, and a little of our new friends. And a handful of days. And now, with Asriel here, that’s all I need.”

“Guess your soul was too big for me,” he said quietly.

“Don’t worry at all, sweetheart,” she assured him. “Honestly. I… Hah! I literally don’t know what I’m missing.”

He smiled and stuck his thumb up. She snickered, and then leaned her head back against the wall and cut her eyes at him.

“Was I really that obvious?” she asked.

“Nah,” he said. 

She sighed with relief and patted his back gently. She was about to say more, but clammed up quickly when Frisk came barrelling out of the kitchen, trading her blue hoodie for the heavier black one.

“What’s the rush, hun?” Toriel asked.

“Ah! I have a friend in town I gotta see,” Frisk said quickly as she put on her shoes. “I’ll, uh… I’ll meet you guys at Asgore’s?”

“Oh. Yes, of course,” the woman said.

Frisk grinned and was out in a flash. Sans rubbed his face tiredly. 

“I’ll get her there,” he said.

“Oh! Right, you can do that… thing,” she said, and she lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Could you always do that?”

“Yep,” he said. “Kinda limited on who I can drag along, though.”

“Right, right, that does sound familiar,” she said. “Be careful.”

“Don’t worry,” he said. “Normies are gonna be thankin’ her all up and down the street.”

\- - -

As Frisk headed downtown, monsters were smiling at her. She didn’t pay much mind to it at first until a lady that looked like a rhino stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and a big grin on her snout. 

“Hello, Frisk!” she said. “Great work!”

“Oh! Um! Thanks,” she said.

The woman patted her gently and headed away. Before she could even regain herself, a small group of monsters headed towards Waterfall greeted her with a wave. 

“Frisk, right?” said the smiling, horned red monster. “Who wouldda guessed you were a human, right? Good job on everything!” She squished her tightly and then pranced off with a giggle. 

Her other friends waved and stuck their thumbs up in solidarity.

The kid was left frozen for a second. They’d never remembered that strongly before. It made her heart skip a beat. She couldn’t help smiling to herself.

Way down the road, there was a bit of commotion near the big, festive tree, around something big and white and a huge pile of dogs. There was a lot of hugging and excited chatter. She could have sworn she caught a snow pun or two on the wind. She grinned. 

She was headed for Kid’s, but she saw Grillby outside his place just a bit farther down the road and she ran to him with a smile and a wave. She was a little surprised to be greeted with a hug from him when she got close. It was toasty warm; felt like she was standing near a fireplace. 

“Just like you said,” he said quietly. “Good work.”

“Thanks,” she said. “Everyone did it!”

He pulled back and patted her head. She grinned. She pointed her thumb over her shoulder and he nodded.

Frisk doubled back towards the little group of houses and, as she turned the corner up the block, almost ran straight smack into Kid. Behind him was his whole family: mother, sister, and father. He gawked upon seeing her and then immediately fell into her hug when she offered. 

“Dude, I can’t believe you—!” He squeaked when he was glommed onto by his sister, who was beaming.

“Hey! You broke the barrier, right?!” she said, grinning bright.

“Daisy, stoooop!” Kid whined.

“I’m just saying, like, I dunno how I know that, but that’s amazing! Who wouldda thought?!” she squealed. “My nerd brother’s friend! What a weird coincidence.”

“A little space, please?” Kid said with a laugh.

“Alright, alright, sorry.” Daisy hopped back and began to whisper with her parents.

Frisk snickered. 

“I was really worried about you,” he said. “Well, I mean, until Undyne told me you were okay. You are okay, right?”

“Don’t I look okay?” she said with a grin. 

“Well, you got a scar on your face,” he said. “But. Yeah. Actually, it’s kinda cool. Did breaking the barrier do that?”

“Something like that,” she said. 

Kid grinned proudly and he turned around to look at his parents. Frisk leaned around to follow his eyes. She saw his mom smiling fondly, with her hand on his dad’s back. She nudged him forward gently. That big, battered mug cracked a smile. Kid darted back and grinned up at him. 

“She’s good, right?” he said.

“Mhm,” his dad said. 

“Good job, sweetie,” Kid’s mother said, leaning towards Frisk. “I hadn’t even guessed!”

“Funny how this all turned out, huh, with you bein’ one of them? You’ll protect the kids from the others, right?” the big monster said.

“For sure,” Frisk said.

“Daaad,” Daisy teased. “It’s gonna be fine! C’mon, we should hurry up!” She nudged her parents onward with a grin, past Frisk and Kid. “Catch up, will ya, Kid?”

“In a second!” He called after her. He looked at Frisk with a big smile and gently bumped his forehead on hers. “I’m so glad everything went okay, dude.”

“Tell me about it!” she said with a laugh. “I’m totally glad your dad doesn’t hate me, too.”

“How could he? Human or not, like, you just saved every monster ever,” Kid said. “Hey. We’re just gonna go get some food and then we’re gonna go up there. Since all the boats are busy right now. Wanna come?”

Before she could answer, she was barrelled into from behind and she felt Asriel slumping over her shoulders. 

“Jeez! Sorry, still getting used to these legs,” he said. “Hi!”

“Oh! Hello!” Kid said, tilting his head curiously. There was some recognition in his eyes. “Who’re you?”

“Ah!” Frisk grinned. “Kid, this is my brother, Asriel.”

“Your brother? You have another brother?” Kid asked, his eyes lighting up brightly. “Wow! Nice to meet you! But… That name, it’s…”

“Yeah, old Prince,” he said. “That’s me. I’ll tell you about it sometime. Good to meet you again, Kid.”

“Wait, what?!” Kid yelped. “But, wait, th-that doesn’t—!”

“I’ll explain it all later,” Frisk assured him. “Go have a good time with your family, okay?”

“Okay. Okay. Um. Okay!” He grinned and nodded excitedly. Though he stumbled, he ran to catch up with the others, his tail wagging and a bounce in his step. “See you later, guys!”

Asriel took a deep breath and put a hand to his chest. “Whew! Hey, that was cool,” he said. “I’m kinda still super fast, did you see that?”

“Aren’t you going with mom and the others?” she asked.

“Nah. Comin’ our way.” Sans was suddenly leaning up on the house, arms folded, and he shot her a grin. “Get what you came for?”

“Y-Yeah! Definitely,” she said. 

“Good.” He offered his hand. “Bet we beat em. It’ll give us some time to nap.”

Frisk grabbed him and he put his hand on Asriel, too. In a blink they were standing right outside of Asgore’s house. 

“Alright.” Sans stretched his arms up above his head and leaned back again tiredly and slumped to the ground. “Camp out?”

Frisk gladly sat beside him and Asriel looked around with wide eyes. He plopped down with them.

“That’s really frickin’ cool,” he said.

After a while, Toriel and Papyrus arrived on their own, and the skeleton bounded over to them and scooped up Sans under his arms to shake him lightly.

“This is no time for sleeping, brother!” he announced. “Mom’s going to need backup!”

“Backup?” Toriel repeated. “Oh. No. Honey. I’m… going in there myself.”

“What?! No backup?” Papyrus yelped, dropping his dazed brother back onto his feet.

“Trust me,” she said.

“But I…!” Papyrus sighed. “Okay.”

“In that case,” Sans said, “I’ll be back.” He vanished. 

Papyrus pouted. “So. What. We just wait here?”

“Yes. Please,” Toriel said gently.

Frisk gave her a hug. She sighed and patted her head, and then shot them all a warm, exhausted smile.

“Asriel, I’ll come back for you in a moment,” she assured him.

“Yeah. Right. O-Of course. And then…” He trembled and laughed. “Rip the bandaid, please.”

Papyrus lifted the little boy up into his arms. Frisk waved them to her and Papyrus sat beside her and scooped her up, too. 

“More than enough Papyrus to go around!” he assured them.

Toriel chuckled and steadied herself. She knocked on the door and then let herself inside.

“Asgore?” she asked, wandering into the living room.

All was as it always had been, but devoid of colour save for those golden flowers in carefully tended pots. She heard the scuffling of frantic paws and, at once, Asgore was before her, snug in a cozy, colourful sweater, eyes wide, a phone in his hand. 

“T-Tori,” he croaked.

Toriel froze. Her soul thunked. She was caught between wanting to slap him and wanting to grab him. He pulled her into his arms before she could say a word.

“I th-thought you were dead.” He drew back quickly, his expression a mixture of confusion and shame. “Sorry. Sorry. I’m…” He ran his hand through his golden hair. “I remembered that you weren’t, I… I remember that little girl, Frisk. I remember her coming here and days repeating and—”

“Yes. That’s normal,” Toriel said.

“Undyne called me. She explained it,” he said, tossing the phone aside. “It’s unbelievable. Do…? Do you know Undyne? Do you remember? I… I was told there was a year after the barrier fell but, honestly, I can’t recall much of it.”

“Our souls were too big,” she said quietly.

“Pardon?” he said. 

“Never mind. Just breathe,” she instructed. “Honestly, Dreemur, you’re a mess.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I just… I’m sorry.”

“I know,” she said.

“…Is it even possible for you forgive me?” he asked quietly. “I… don’t deserve it…”

“You’re right. You don’t,” she said. “But. There are some things I… I do understand.”

“That’s all I could even hope to ask for,” he assured her quickly, raising his paws and smiling sadly. He tilted his head. “But… What is it? What’s on your mind?”

Toriel grimaced. “We need to talk,” she said.

“Is, um? Is this about the memories? Because I—” He went quiet when she shook her head. 

She folded her arms and paced back and forth across the room. “I’m just… really not sure how to say this,” she admitted.

“Would you like some tea?” he said.

“No. No. Hah. That won’t help this time, I think,” she said.

“What situation cannot be helped with a good cup of tea?” he said with a smile.

She rubbed her brow and then put a hand on his shoulder. “You will want to be sitting down for this.”

“Tori, uh…” He did as she asked, pulling out a chair at the table, his eyes wide and confused. “What’s all this about?”

Toriel put a hand to her mouth. She carefully sat down across from him, and tented her fingers. Her ears pulled back just a little. Her brow furrowed. “It’s… It’s about Asriel.”

“A-Asriel?” Asgore said shrilly, and he smiled a little and rubbed his snout “We haven’t talked about him in, god, how long’s it been? Feels like it’s been eons.”

“Yes, well. Um.” Toriel sighed. “I really don’t know how to say this.”

“Tori, what is it?” Asgore asked gently. “Anything you want to say, I’m more than happy to listen.”

He put his huge hand over hers. She gripped her claws into the wood of the table and held his hand tight with her other one. She lifted her eyes to meet his and took a long, deep breath.

\- - -

Waiting outside was anxious for everyone, but no one more than Asriel. He clung tight to Frisk, and Papyrus snuggled them gently. Asriel was just trying to keep breathing right. Papyrus’s magic was ebbing gently through his fur, and that reassured him a little.

“Ugh, I just want to go in,” he said, his voice trembling. “Do you think I can go soon?”

“I’m sure you can,” Papyrus said gently. “Just be patient. I’m sure this is hard for mom to put into words. I mean, you were dead! Obviously.”

“Yeah, you don’t gotta remind me,” Asriel said with a laugh, and he hugged onto Frisk tighter. “Tell me it’s gonna go well?”

“Of course it is,” Frisk assured him. “He’s your dad.”

“Wish you guys could come in with me,” he said, “but I should do this on my own, huh?”

“Just imagine we are with you, Asriel!” Papyrus said. “We will, in fact, be right out here. Hoping for the very best for you and the King. So please try not to worry too much.”

“Y-You’re right. Thanks, bro,” he said.

They heard a dull, wooden thud from inside the house. Before they could even comment, Toriel had opened the front door. She caught sight of them against the wall and smiled; it was forced through tears that were making her violet eyes glossy. She reached out her hand.

“Come on, honey,” she said. “Your father’s waiting.”

Asriel nodded in a hurry and got up, pulling Frisk with him. He took a deep breath and grabbed her shoulders. “I’m gonna tell them. Everything,” he said.

“Good. You can do it,” she said. “It’s gonna be okay.”

He nodded and booped his snout gently against her nose. Then, he quickly squeezed Papyrus into a hug before latching onto Toriel’s hand. She smiled and took him back inside, and closed the door behind them.

Frisk sat back down with Papyrus and held his hand tight. Before either of them could say a thing, a horrific bellow like nothing they’d ever heard before swelled from inside the home. Papyrus grabbed Frisk close and they shared a startled look. The skeleton looked worried. 

“Should we do anything?” he asked at a whisper.

Frisk snuck just a little closer to the wall. Deep sobs shuddered just past the windowpane. The kid shook her head.

“They have a lot to talk about,” she said.

\- - -

It was coming up on one and a half hours before the house stirred at all. Just a little motion behind the windows. Papyrus and Frisk had left and returned twice, once to grab some food and a blanket, and a second time to grab Sans, whom they had found dozing off in the lab where they’d also found Mettaton, who’d grabbed them and cried for five minutes before bursting into song and saying something about shining stars before rushing off. Catty and Bratty followed behind him, but not before squishing Frisk and smooching all over her head and throwing a bomb of pink glitter into the air in celebration.

Sans was currently fast asleep as they waited out in the front garden. Frisk was tempted to join him— she was exhausted— but she was too concerned about Asriel to let herself drift off this time.

Finally, the front door opened. Frisk sat up, alert. Asriel was out. He looked like he’d been crying a lot. He looked around quickly and then beelined for her, falling into her arms and hugging her tight, and at the same time, reaching for Papyrus. He wrapped them both in a hug and glowed gently. The little monster let out a relieved sigh.

“How’d it go?” Frisk asked gently.

“Oh. God. The worst,” Asriel said with a laugh. “No. Um. It was good? I think. I mean. Rough, though. Jeez.”

“Can I help at all?” Frisk asked gently.

He shook his head, but he relaxed against her and let out a long sigh. He seemed to deflate. 

“Don’t worry, Asriel,” Papyrus said gently. “You did the right thing.”

“Secrets are tough,” Sans agreed groggily.

The door opened slowly again, and this time, Toriel stood there. Her fur was dampened with tears, and she had a solemn look on her face. She seemed surprised to see them.

“Were you all sitting there the whole time?” she asked.

“Not the whole time,” Papyrus said. “Most of the time? We weren’t listening in, though.”

“Oh…” She laughed tiredly and rubbed her head. “You could have come in, it’s just—”

“Nope. You needed privacy,” Sans said.

Toriel sighed. She knelt down and extended a hand. “Frisk, honey, can you come with me? We need to talk to you,” she said.

Frisk felt a hit of nerves, but she nodded. She let Papyrus take over holding Asriel and stood up, but the boy didn’t want to let go of her hand.

“Don’t worry,” she said.

He nodded and reluctantly pulled back, but seemed quite content in Papyrus’s hug.

Asgore’s dining room was a disaster area. The sheer number of empty tissue boxes was shocking, and the scent of tea permeated the whole house. Asgore was sitting in a chair near the fireplace, looking as if he had recently soaked his fur. He was bundled in cozy sweater, holding a teacup in a trembling hand. 

When he caught sight of Frisk, his ears perked just a little and his tired face broke out into a smile. “F-Frisk!” he said brightly. “Look at you, cutie-patootie! I’m so glad you’re safe.”

She was taken aback, but she found herself grinning. “Asgore!” She scampered to him and he scooped her into his arms. “No more fighting, right?”

“Never again, little one,” he assured her.

“You remember, right?” she asked, and she turned back to look at Toriel. “He remembers, right?”

“Yes, hun,” she said. “Everything is… Well. As much as it can be, everything is back to normal.”

“I am truly sorry,” Asgore said sheepishly.

Frisk _pshawed_ and shook her head. “No sorries,” she said. “Nope! S’okay. Everything’s okay! Are you okay?”

“Me?” Asgore smiled. “I… I may possibly be in shock. But this is one of the best days of my life.”

Frisk sighed with relief and squeezed him, unable to get her arms around his massive shoulders but clinging tight nonetheless. He chuckled and snuggled her gently. He looked at Toriel bashfully, and, after a moment, let her take her and sit her carefully on another chair.

“Frisk. Sweetheart,” Toriel said as she took a seat opposite, “Asriel, well… he told us everything.”

“Everything everything?” Frisk asked.

“All that he knew,” she said. “But, if you could… Would you mind telling us about Chara?”

Frisk felt a pain in her heart. She nodded. “What d’you wanna know?”

Both of the monsters before her suddenly looked saddened. Asgore took a deep breath and shot a questioning glance at Toriel. She nodded.

“Is… Is it true that she… became…? Is this even the right word? Evil?” Asgore asked quietly.

“Oh. God. Um…” Frisk rubbed her head and tried to gather her thoughts. “Well. You, um…? You guys know all about the time travel, and the different…?”

They both nodded. Frisk puffed out a sigh. That was a relief, at least.

“Um. Okay. Well… Chara was… I mean, yeah, kinda? In some timelines. I didn’t see those for real. Um, Sans and I, we have the same dreams, and they’re his memories, mostly? So. I’ve seen the other time kids, like me? From different timelines. Where Chara told them to be bad, and they listened, and she started to steal their bodies? It’s hard to explain. I guess she’d be evil there. She basically got everyone killed and tried to end the whole world. It was pretty messed up.”

“So it’s all true, then,” Toriel said softly. “Our little girl…”

“Um! Sh-She wasn’t always like that!” Frisk said quickly. “She, um… I mean, okay, she was mostly that. But… B-But when she was with me, um, she was kinda weird but she eventually decided to go rest on her own? And… And she did really care about you guys.”

“So she was in your mind?” Asgore asked. “Could she…? Did she say anything? Did she… explain? Anything at all?”

“W-Well, um, she was kinda quiet, mostly. Gave me little tips about stuff. Bits of extra stuff about people; what she thought. She sometimes said stuff like, you know, _you could kick that guy off the cliff and no one would notice. _I didn’t really get it, especially not at first, before I knew how much Sans knew and we talked about it,” Frisk said. “But, um, at the end, she told me she was surprised I didn’t wanna hurt people because she did and she thought we were a lot alike. And she said there was no point in sticking around here if we weren’t gonna do time loops, and she thanked me for trying to help Az back then. She said _take care of mom and dad for us_. S-So. She must’ve cared about you guys a ton!”

Toriel and Asgore shared a surprised look. Asgore’s eyes began to water and he huffed, laughed, and wiped his face.

“She really said that?” he asked. “She… called me _dad_? Not _dad guy_ or _Asgore_ or—”

“No, no, she definitely said _mom and dad_,” Frisk said.

“Oh…” Toriel chuckled and had to wipe her eyes as well. “Frisk. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Frisk said, “but are you guys okay?”

Toriel shrugged, but she nodded anyway. Asgore was smiling.

“Tori, you hear that?” he said softly.

“Frisk, Chara was… Well. Not from a happy home before she came to us,” Toriel said, taking a hint from the confused expression on the kid’s face. “She had no mother. But we suspect she had a father, once, long before falling underground. She wouldn’t talk about it, and we didn’t pry. But it was harder for her to call Asgore her father than it was for her to call me her mother.”

“Ohh…” Frisk nodded. “Well. I think she thought of both of you as her parents. That’s what I got, anyway. Like I said, you two and Az were all she ever cared about. Even… Even the ending of the world thing— in a really messed up way, it was kinda part of because of what happened to your family that she wanted that. Sorry. Not easy to hear, right?”

“No.” Toriel laughed tiredly and reached out to gently stroke Frisk’s head. “You’re so good. You know that?”

Frisk blushed sheepishly. She held her mother’s huge hand in both of hers. “I… I’m just so glad I didn’t let you guys down again,” she said.

“You never let us down,” Toriel assured her. “My child, you’ve been working so hard! Ever since you got here. I just… God, I can’t believe I didn’t realize.”

“It’s not like I told you, how could you know?” Frisk said.

“I always knew you were clever, but to have this much on your shoulders…” Toriel shook her head. “I… I’m very proud of you, Frisk.”

“I know it might not mean much coming from me,” Asgore said quietly, “but I am proud of you, too. You were so brave, little one.”

“Th-Thanks,” Frisk said. “I, um… I’m just really glad it all finally worked.”

Toriel nodded solemnly. “According to Asriel, this… this nightmare has been going on for years,” she said quietly. “Was it like that for you as well?”

“Um… J-Just the one year,” she said.

“That must’ve been so difficult,” Toriel said.

“It was at first,” Frisk said. “It… It was hard when I had a bunch of people I loved who couldn’t remember me, but… but I mean, everyone was still the same person. And, um, Sans could remember me, so that made everything a lot easier.”

“Ah. Right, right, Asriel mentioned,” Toriel said.

“You poor child,” Asgore said softly. “What an awful thing to have to go through. I’m glad, at least, your brother was there to help you.”

“Me too,” Frisk said with a tired laugh.

“I just… I suppose I didn’t have any idea it was possible,” he continued. “Time travel powers! That’s just amazing. I guess that gives you a sense of security, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, but I gotta be careful,” she said. “But, um, I can cheat a little now where I couldn’t before, so that’s nice.”

“I don’t think your powers becoming naturally stronger counts as cheating, hun,” Toriel said. “They were always yours.”

“I… I guess you’re right,” she admitted. “I mean… Sans’s are just kinda built into him, so I guess that makes sense…”

“Um, little one, could I ask you maybe a strange question, speaking of Sans,” Asgore said.

Frisk felt a little pang in her heart. She was pretty sure she knew where this was going. She nodded.

“Now, this may not be anything,” Asgore said, “but I seem to recall, a little while ago, seeing a large, boney monster cross through the barrier, while it was up. Undyne told me it was Sans helping Doctor Alphys with an experiment. Was… Was that real? Or…?”

“Oh, that, uh…” Frisk took a deep breath and folded her arms. “Yeah. Yeah, that was real.”

Asgore looked startled despite being the one who brought it up. Toriel frowned faintly and looked between them. She seemed to understand. Her eyes went wide.

“Oh my god,” she said. “I-I saw that, I—”

“Oooh, jeez, of course,” Frisk said. “You remember too. Sorry, mom, we didn’t mean to freak you out.”

“We?” Asgore repeated.

Frisk smiled sheepishly. “It’s kinda complicated. I gotta explain a few things first. In the, um, early bits of the plan to get Asriel a soul, we did some stuff to try to make sure it would work,” she said, and when there was no sign the grown-ups might interrupt, she continued. “See, um, Sans can teleport and stuff. He just needs to know how to get to the place for real and he can just go there. A-And we knew, um, that when the barrier broke, Az would have his normal body but be in the flower patch in the Ruins. But at that point, I didn’t think Asriel would trust us, ever. The second time I tried to save him, it got to the point where he was so sure it wasn’t gonna work that he told me he was gonna hide and not to come looking for him. So, I thought he’d do that again, and it’d be good if we could kinda friendly-ambush him as soon as possible after the barrier got broken, so we could get the new soul in him.”

“Wait one second, he didn’t want your help?” Asgore asked worriedly.

“Asgore, hush, let her finish,” Toriel said gently.

“Um. Not before this time. He was super sure it was useless. Um! B-But anyway. We didn’t want to go through the Ruins mom’s way, because we, um… W-We didn’t want you to know about the plan at all, mom.” Frisk grimaced. “If it didn’t work, I just didn’t want to hurt you, you know? Knowing Asriel was still around but that we c-couldn’t… Um, so, we thought… the only other way in was around the other way, through the hole I fell down. So we figured, since Sans could teleport, he could take a human soul and go through the barrier and then around. Sorry, Asgore, we were totally gonna steal one from you.”

“But… I don’t recall anything being stolen,” he said.

“N-No, we didn’t end up doing that. Um. See, I kinda knew from, um… From Chara’s memories, how the whole thing went with Asriel. And I’ve seen… Well, I know what happens if a human soul doesn’t wanna be pushed around by a monster anymore. So, I didn’t actually trust any of those human souls with my brother.” She shrugged. “So… I gave him mine.”

Asgore nearly fell out of his chair. “WHAT?!” he yelped.

Toriel didn’t look the least bit surprised. Her face fell and she looked at the floor. “S-So that’s… who that was. That was Sans.”

“Half-right,” Frisk said. “That was Sans and me, too.”

Her mother’s eyes instantly darted up to meet hers. She couldn’t conceal her shock. She pulled her seat closer and grabbed Frisk by the shoulders. “Y-You’re saying you were in there? You were awake? You knew what was happening?!” she demanded.

“Well. Yeah. Of course,” she said.

“How could he have—?”

“I kinda forced him,” Frisk said. “I didn’t feel like there was another way. Kinda funny that it turned out that we didn’t need to rush as much as we thought, but I’m really glad we went.”

“I’m not sure I follow, little one,” Asgore said, trying to regain his composure. “Taking even one human soul is supposed to give a monster god-like power. What on earth did he do with it?”

“Well, um, mostly we flew around and stuff,” Frisk said, unable to stop a smile at the thought of it. “It was really cool.”

“But… But you were alright? You were both alright?” Toriel pressed. “I’m not sure I understand, were you in his head?”

“Oh, it wasn’t so much _him_, but _us_, actually. We were kinda the same person? Sorta working like a team, I guess. I was the one that talked to you after you chucked fire at us.”

Toriel sat back, stunned into silence. Asgore stared at her, paw to his mouth.

“Y-You both were…? Wh-What was it like?” he asked.

“Asgore,” Toriel snapped.

“No, it’s okay,” Frisk assured her. “It was super nice.”

“Nice?” her mother repeated in disbelief. “How could it be nice? You would have had to die, wouldn’t you?”

“Technically?” the kid smiled sheepishly. “See, thing is, Sans and me, we’re a lot alike. We have all these weird time problems and because of that our souls kinda match up. And I really, really love him, so when we kinda fused, it was just… really comfortable. And it was nice to really be able to understand each other. I know maybe it’s weird, but, um, for me, to be able to really feel how much he cared about me— after all the junk we went through— it really helped me. And, um, mom, don’t worry so much about the whole, uh, dying stuff, okay? I know I never said before, but I’ve died like a hundred times, so it’s really not something I’m—” She squeaked as Toriel whisked her out of her chair and held her tight in her arms.

“You are not allowed to die anymore,” she said gently; she touched her snout against the kid’s head. “Never again. I forbid it.”

“W-Well, I’ll try! But you won’t ground me if I do, though, right?” Frisk asked.

Toriel snickered almost incredulously, then began to giggle loudly. Asgore stared, but the sound made him huff out a quiet, tired laugh.

“Oh, hun,” Asgore said, shaking his head. “Well, I must say, your priorities are interesting!”

“I won’t ground you,” Toriel said through a laugh.

The kid smiled bashfully, her cheeks flushing. She grabbed her into a hug and sighed, smiling into her mother’s fur. Her eyes were hot with tears, but she was happy nonetheless. “I missed you a lot, mom,” she said quietly.

For now, the questions seemed to have stalled. The shock was just on the edges of faltering. Asgore prepared another kettle of tea and, once she managed for force herself to let go of her mother, Frisk headed back outside to invite the others in. She was surprised that they were gone, save for Sans.

He was half asleep, but he raised a hand to greet her. She grinned and hugged onto him right away. He snickered quietly and patted the back of her head. They rested for just a moment. She could have fallen asleep.

“Tough interrogation?” he asked.

“Naw, s’okay,” she said. “I spilled all the beans though.”

“Oh yeah? So I guess they must’ve remembered the, uh, weird dragon stuff, huh?” he said.

“Yeeeeah,” she said. “I told them all about it.”

“Cool. Glad that’s out of the way,” he said. “Hope they weren’t too freaked out.”

“They were,” she said, “but I explained how it was super nice and I think they kinda understood. Well. I mean, as much as they could.”

“Well, it is pretty out-there,” he said.

“That’s okay! Doesn’t matter, I thought it was great,” she said. “Wanna come in? And where’d those other guys go?”

“Back to the lab, I think,” he said. “Get some drinks or somethin’. Az was kinda out of it. Don’t really blame him.”

“Mhm.” She hopped up to her feet and offered her hands. “C’mon, they got tea.”

“Alright, alright.” 

He let her pull him up, but he didn’t move. He stared at her for a moment. She tilted her head.

“What?” she asked.

“Scar doesn’t look so bad, actually,” he said.

“Does it make me look tough?” she asked, flexing her arms.

Sans laughed and ruffled her hair; she grinned wide. “You’re too cute to look tough, kiddo,” he said.

“I can live with that,” she said.

\- - -

When the others got back and Asgore’s house was filled, the whole atmosphere changed. The air prickled with excitement and they gathered up snacks and drinks and headed for that old gate that had been blocked by the barrier. Other monsters surely had been outside by now, but through old tunnels in New Home that had opened over time, not this way straight to the plateau nearest the peak. That’d be later. There would be parties, but for now, the small group was going out there to enjoy the quiet— until Undyne broke it with a loud whoop and a punching of the air.

The sun was just below the horizon, staining the dark edge of the world with golden orange and leaving purplish hues and dark, deep blues in its wake. Stars dotted the darkest parts, and soon began to punctuate more and more of the sky as the sun dropped lower. The moon shone clear through that blue layer, bright and silvery. The breeze was gentle and cool, while the air rested warmly on them.

The sense of excitement was palpable. Asriel was the only one who hadn’t seen this yet. He clutched tight to Frisk’s arm and dragged her all around the darkening precipice to look from all angles as they were tailed by Papyrus, determined to keep them from stumbling. 

Just a little down the rocky mountain path, they were startled by a yellow glow.

“Hey, is that…?” Asriel turned to look at Frisk and finally released the death-grip he had on her arm. 

She edged forward a bit, grasping the rock, and rounded the corner to find a rip in time nestled in a small alcove in the wall. She grinned.

“Sure is!” she said. “Wow, weird, this was never here before.” Extending her hand into it, Frisk was happy to find it felt just like normal. She steadied the world and shot her brothers a smile over her shoulder. “And we’re stuck here now.”

“Wowie, that’s fantastic, little sister,” Papyrus said brightly. He put his hands on his hips and looked up at the sky. His dark eyes seemed to sparkle. “Not a bad night to get stuck to! Nyeh heh!” 

He perked up to the sound of his name and turned to look over his shoulder. He stuck his arm up and waved, and then promptly scooped both kids up and whisked them away back up onto the plateau. Undyne waved at them from the edge of the cliff, where she say with her legs dangling off, and she pulled Alphys in under her arm. Asgore plunked down with them with a yawn and stretch, and Toriel greeted them with a warm smile. She took Asriel’s hand and nodded towards the edge. 

“Come on, my child. You haven’t seen the stars yet, have you?” she asked. “It will be fully dark soon. You, too!” She beckoned to Frisk and Papyrus. “I can already tell. It’s a beautiful night.”

As she took Asriel to the edge, Papyrus drew in a deep breath of the fresh air and shot Frisk a grin.

“Is it like you’d hoped?” he asked.

She watched Asriel come to the edge and plop down, only to be immediately embraced by Asgore. She felt a little numb, almost. Like she couldn’t quite believe it. It had been a long day. She smiled up at her brother.

“It’s way better,” she said.

“Nyeh heh heh! Well! Then it’s all worth it, right?” He winked. “Though I could definitely do with less of you exploding and falling over and getting stabbed.”

“It wasn’t so bad,” she said with a laugh.

“I’m sorry we can’t go home, exactly,” he said. “But… Our new house, it’ll be even better!”

“For sure!” she agreed. “And I really like our house now, too, you know.”

He smiled fondly and ruffled her hair. 

He guided her towards the cliff and they found Sans there, too, lazing, but his eye shimmering faintly with blue. Papyrus snickered and sat, kicking his feet over the edge and patting his brother on the top of his skull. Frisk slipped in between Toriel and her brother, hiding a yawn behind her hand. She leaned forward a little to look at Asriel. She felt Sans’s blue grip on her soul and she looked back at him with an amused expression. He smiled and shrugged and, more secure, Frisk looked back at the little goat boy. His mouth was agape and the stars shone back in the black of his eyes.

“How many are there?” he asked softly.

“More than anyone could count,” Toriel said gently.

“And they’re… Huh. What are they?” he asked.

“They’re like the sun, but super super super far away,” Frisk said.

“Do you think they’re magic?” he wondered.

“Um…! You know, I have no idea.”

“I b-bet there’s some magic out there,” Alphys said. “We c-can’t be the only ones. Right? Yeah, I’m sure!”

Asriel snickered. He sighed blissfully and leaned into Toriel. She bent to kiss his brow and put her arm around his shoulders.

“Oh. Asriel,” she said. “I… I have something for you.” She reached into her sleeve and retrieved a small bar, wrapped in red paper and silver foil. She offered it to him. “Do you remember this?”

“Of course,” he said quietly. “But… This is Chara’s.”

“What is it?” Papyrus asked curiously.

“Oh, it’s just, like, an old human chocolate bar that she really liked,” Asriel said.

“I just thought… I… I understand that everything that happened was… Well. Awful,” his mother said. “But… Maybe it’s foolish, but I thought you might like something of hers. To have with you when we were finally free.”

“I think that’s lovely,” Asgore said quietly.

The boy stared at the candy for a long, quiet while. He chuckled tiredly and took it, turning it over in his hands to look it over. “Hah. I can’t believe you kept this so long.”

Toriel smiled and shrugged slightly. He undid the wrapper a bit and it was immediately clear that the chocolate was almost bleached white-grey and began to crumbled upon hitting the air.

“Oh. Well that’s morbid,” Asriel said. He smiled. “Actually, she’d find that sort of funny. I’m gonna let it blow away.” He looked at his mother and father for approval. 

Asgore smiled gently. “Son, it’s yours,” he said.

Asriel nodded. He took a breath and let some of the bar flake off in the wind. He broke off a row of squares and rubbed his fingers across it, crumbling it to powder and letting it fall.

“To starting over,” he said.

Toriel smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. “To picking up,” she said quietly.

Asriel grinned and let more of the chocolate take to the wind. “To having arms!” he said with a laugh.

He broke it in half and leaned over Toriel; offered it to Frisk. Her eyes went wide. 

“Really? Me?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “It’d mean a lot to me.”

She nodded. She carefully unwrapped it and it crumbled almost instantly. She let it go in the wind and folded the foil into a shiny square.

“Do you have a hope to go with it, little one?” Asgore asked.

“Oh, a ton of them,” she said with a laugh. “Here’s to us all staying together! And I hope that everyone is happy. Annnnd that we can all just spend like, a week just napping after all this.”

“Love it,” Sans said.

Asriel grinned and he copied her. He blew some of the residual dust from his fur.

“I’m just excited to be… here. To be anywhere,” he said. “I hope… Heh, maybe one day I won’t be so messed up from all of this. You guys, too.”

“Pretty sure it’s irreversible at this point, kid,” Sans said with grin.

“Yeah,” Frisk agreed, “but Sans and me, we got your back, right, bro?”

“Mhm. Up top,” he said— Frisk gave him a high five and grinned when Asriel did, too. “We’ll deal. It’s what we do. It’s what these other nerds are here for, right?”

“Of course,” Papyrus agreed.

“Gotcha,” Undyne said, “but watch who you’re callin’ a nerd, you nerd.”

“Sorry. Guard Captain Meganerd,” he corrected.

“Pffft. Much better,” Undyne said.

Asriel snickered. His mother gently kissed his head and then she looked them over curiously.

“What do you mean by that, though?” she asked gently.

“I’m sure I’ll explain it someday,” Sans assured her. “Or. Nah. Frisk, you do it.”

“That is a horrible idea,” she said.

“I’ll do it!” Papyrus said. “I’ll do it right now! These three have all had terrible time travel adventures, first Sans when the CORE blew up, then Asriel when he came back to life as a determination no-soul flower creature, and then Frisk who is made of so much determination that she is basically a time god and now she controls all time travel and she used it to save the world annnnnd why are you all looking at me like that?”

Frisk put her face in her hands and laughed. Toriel and Asgore both shot Sans concerned looks, and he shrugged and leaned back against Papyrus. 

“M-Maybe I should explain next t-time?” Alphys suggested. “I can d-do it mathematically, would that h-help?”

“They will all fall the hell to sleep, dude,” Undyne said. “Hah! Who cares? Right now? We got stars and junk. I dig it.”

“You’re right, of course,” Asgore said with a smile. “All that seriousness can wait until later. Shall we set up a camp fire? We can have our first meal on the surface? What do you think?”

“I’m a hundred percent on board with that!” Undyne jumped to her feet, heaving Alphys with her, then grabbed the King by the shoulder as he got up. “I thought you’d say that. So…”

“Oh, Undyne, you’re so good,” he laughed, pulling her into a crushing hug. “Thank you.”

“Hey, no problem,” she croaked.

It was Alphys’s turn for a hug next, and Papyrus was up on his feet quickly, rushing over to start setting up from stuff that had been packed in the little lizard’s phone. Toriel stared off after them with a fond smile on her face. She turned to Frisk and grabbed one of her hands in both of her massive paws.

“I hope you remember today,” she said. “I hope this stays with you forever. Because, this is very important. It’s… more important than any of us realize, I think.” She kissed Frisk softly on the head and got up, too.

“S’all good, though, right?” Frisk asked.

“Yes, sweetie,” Toriel assured her. “Everything is excellent. Now… Oh! Would you look at them, don’t even know how to…!” She turned on her heel, rushing off to the other monsters, who couldn’t seem to get their picnic blanket straight. “Oh, you silly beasts, let me do that!” 

Asriel laughed and rubbed his face. “She’s gonna be all mom-ing over us for a long time, right?”

“Yep,” Frisk said. “That’s how it was last time, too.”

“I bet. But me, I’m like, a weird zombie kid.” He rested his chin on his fist and cut his eyes at her and Sans. “You guys are seriously crazy, you know that?”

“That’s okay!” Frisk said

“I’m alright with bein’ a bit of a bonehead, _tibi-anest_,” Sans said with a wink.

“Pfffft.” Asriel grinned. “I’m, uh… I’m glad. That I have you two. I mean…” He looked over his shoulder and smiled fondly at the monsters scrambling around on the precipice. “They’re all amazing. But… There’s no one else like us. Just like you said. And… And Frisk?”

“Yeah?” she said.

He scooted closer to her and touched his paw on her soul spot. It was still glowing blue through her shirt. He snickered.

“What, worried she’d fall?” he said.

“I swoon sometimes,” she said. “Swoon. Swoon? Is that the word?”

“Yup. S’true, she does,” Sans said.

“Heh! I was just gonna say—” 

“Asriel!” Asgore waved at the boy from across the plateau with a big grin on his face. “Come here, son, I found a bug I think you’ll just love!”

“A bug?” Frisk repeated.

Asriel snickered and shrugged. He looked embarrassed for a moment and then leaned forward to gently smooch Frisk on the cheek.

“Love you, sis,” he said.

“Love you, too!” she said brightly.

He grinned and then got up, scampering over to the others.

Frisk watched him go and then yawned. She leaned back to get more of an eyeful of the stars. Everything felt so big, so open. She felt Sans’s boney fingers on her head and she happily scooted closer to him. She could feel his soul was finally settling. 

She snuggled up to him and he grinned and put his arms around her. She was exhausted; her little form was trembling. But, she was smiling. Her tired eyes glittered in starlight.

“Hey, kiddo?” he said.

“Hm?” she said quietly.

“Proud of you,” he said.

She smiled up at him. “Proud of you, too,” she said.

“Me?” he asked.

She nodded. He chuckled.

“Welp. Alright,” he said. “You’re a weird kid, Frisk.”

She seemed happy. She closed her eyes and settled in. He shuffled a bit and rested his chin on her head. Gently, he tapped her and she looked up, following the tip of his finger. 

The stars were beautiful on such a clear night. Distant streaks of light cut the dark in thin, luminous lines before sparkling out. Even though they’d replicated them in dreams, nothing could compare to the enormity of the expanse before them. The world felt so massive, and yet so small, all at once. It was soothing. 

“Done,” she said softly.

She heard her brother laugh quietly. He sounded half-asleep. That was okay. She was, too.

“Done,” he agreed.

THE END

W̛̬͖͕̭͍̰̥͍͐̈́̑̀̏͋͡ ȧ̈̏ ̷̡̞̬̘̤͎̜̭͛͊̅͜ ȉ̶̧̧̨̫̪̙̪̞̅̑͒̑̉̎͞ t ͗̋͋̄͂͋̚̚̕ ̸̡͖̮̣̖̫͘ .̅ ̇̐̌̕͞ ̴͕̖̝̠͜ . ̟̮͔̼̖̽̅͑̈̕ … 

I ͒ ̧̢̘̺͎̣̥̙̦̮̊͑̓͘͘͡ ṡ̌̅́ ̨̗̭̽ ̨͚̤̲ n̄̓ ̙͓̇͞ ͙̰̗̲͜ ' ͗͐̓͂̈̉͡͡ ̵̰̫̪͇̦̜͛ t̆̓ ͐̇ ̷͚͕̬̗͇̔̋͌͘ the ̵̢͙̰̠͇̙̮̳̺̹̄̑̂̅̑͑͊̆̂͘ re.̏̄̋ ̨͓͕̦̘̫̜͋̆͗̾̈́̄̕͟ . ̍̋̚ ̷̡̞̖͇̩̹͔͘̕͘͘ .̇ ̶̨̠̣̞̽̉͊̎̉̀͢͡͠

s ͆̒̅̃̈́ ̷̨̡̡̰̭̤̱̜͛͛͋ o ͐͆̏͞ ̴̡̧̢̼̖̣̫͛͋͂͘͟͟ m̶̻̬̪͎̝͍̩͆͐͋̍́͐͐͠ th ̿̽̾̾̋ ̡͚̗̖̘̘͔ͅ i ͌̂͞ ̥̙̬̰̳̰̩͛̾͋̾̋̍̉ͅ n̅ ͐̈́͞ ̧͚̳̺̣͛̌ ǵ̇ ̎͞ ͕͉̮͚̦͛̒̓̋ w ̺͔͚͛̃̾̎̌͞ͅͅ e̵̫̰̼̘̗̿͆̓̒̌͢ ’ ̵̨̛̠̮͓̻͔͕̠͛͊͋̂̒̑̂͟ͅ r̓ ̓͡ ̴̼̬̻̩̋̈́̅͘͜͟ e f ͓̲̣̬̰͖͈̐̿̎̿̆ͅ ̸͚ ǒ̦̳̯̼͎̙̬͆͆͒̈́̐̈́͡ͅ r ͞ ̶̧͍̝̘̥͛̀̌͛̆ g ̛͔̬̻̜̈́̃̉̕̕ ̡͚̙̠̺͢ ȩ̡̡̰͕̟̠̮̄̌̄̈́̕͡ tt ͊ ̡͙̩̞͔̏̒̎́͋͗͘̕͞ i̴̞̗̗̞͉͑̓̂͊͂͆ṅ̶̛̫̦̼̮̪̎ ǵ ͐̓ ̴̼̻̦̬͕͙̈̈̊͘͘͜ ? 

I̢̠͍͖͎̠͎͓͋̈́̽̿̑͐͗̌͠͡ ç̶̢̠̦͙̤̹̥͕͆̑̊͊̌̄̕͜oul̝̗̯̹̳͋̊̿̎̑̓͝d̷̫̰̲͔̓̋̽̉̐̕͜ ḣ̡̳̩͉̤͍̣̮͚̒͗͟͠͡a̛̭̣̠̰͎̭̻̾͆̓͂̍͡͝v̘͎̥̻̞̮̠̖̏̾͐̍̔̿̓͒̏̕ͅe̵̠̣̱͎̩̜̥̝͊̓̇̒̆͡ s̳̬̯͍̲̪̹͈̄̏͗͢͠w̸̗̺̭͖̒̀̈̃̍̄̍͐͜͟o̸̢̞̘̮͍̪̥̿͗̅͂̈͂͐̂̕͡ͅr̨̢͔̼̼̖͔̍̅̋̂̈͊̎̚͝n̡̫̞̼̬̩̖̯͙͒̋̌̉̑̃͠.̯͍͚̗̤͇̾̿͐̊̃̏͋̈́.̢̫̟̱̼̝̠̟͕͋̑̊̀̃̒.̡͕̰͎̭̒̋͌̇͘͜

ť ̍́͞ ̶̻̼̠͇̰̦̣̻̬̉͘͘͠ he ̵̢͙̰̠͇̙̮̳̺̹̄̑̂̅̑͑͊̆̂͘ re ̾̃̌͌̈̐͐̍͡ ̶̨͙̩̣̳͜ͅ w̄̓̃ ̶̧̣̼̲̳͈̟͔̠͛̐̃̂̈́͌͠ͅ as̉ ̈́̕͡ ̷͙͈̯̣̲͢ o n̟̫̹̬̲̖̗̗̭̆͑̏̂̔̐̊̽͢͞e̦͖̞͇͎̮̗͓͐̄̒̀̔̚̕ m ͊͂͑ ̵̧͉͖̪͍̟̉̆̍͘͢͜͟ ö̃ ͈͔͓̘̏̑͘̕͠͡ͅ re ť ̦̟͂̒̕ ̢͙̼̭̰̭͢ ḥ͍̥̜̯͗̈́͌͗̋̃̆͟͡ ing?

❄☟✌☠😐 ✡⚐🕆 ☞⚐☼ 👍⚐💣✋☠☝ ❄⚐ ✞✋💧✋❄

**Continue? —> Patchwork Soul - ENDGAME**

**[New Medium]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate every second you spent with my words. <3  
I'm a member of a SFW-only Undertale fanfic Discord server where there's a bunch of people much cooler than me who also have stories, so feel free to swing by if you wanna talk about my story or just wanna talk to a bunch of people about Undertale stuff or find more stuff to read.
> 
> https://discord.gg/DhSgGH7


	85. SEQUEL PREVIEW - THE SUN IS SHINING

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first few pages of Chapter 1 of "PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM", the sequel to this story. Please check it out if you would like a continuation!

* * *

It had never really been a realistic prospect for the underground to clear overnight. Monsters took a look at the surface. There were celebrations, jubilation, and then a realization that this might take a bit more planning than first thought. That was overwhelmingly okay with the two kids mostly responsible for the overhaul of existence, though. Settling down at home in a certain snowed in town in the meanwhile was the best possible outcome for the exhausted, fractured-souled pair and their family.

King Asgore was confident in his people and their sun-filled future, though, and the town layout designing began. Put up to a vote, the name Starhome—in honour of the beautiful view from the mountaintop— was chosen, resoundingly beating Newest Home and Mt. Mountain, just as it had a rewound year ago.

They made contact with the humans. At first, it was just via radio: a brief, friendly announcement that the mountain had been opened up. Then, Asgore talked to one of their leaders on the phone. Then, through a video chat. Finally, a week later, they organized a meeting in the mountain, at Asgore's home.

It was a lot like the first time. This round, however, he had an uncanny feeling that he knew how it should go. Frisk did, too, and this time she brought Papyrus with her as well. Though Asgore had been uncertain, Frisk was sure he would really point things in the right direction much more quickly than the first version.

As she expected, the human leader and the people he brought with him seemed only mildly startled by Asgore. They had seen images of him in their picture books forever, after all. A lady even brought one for him to sign, a short children's story called _The King Under the Mountain_ that portrayed him in a surprisingly benevolent light. He read it with her, chuckled, and offered them all tea.

The humans, in fact, had come bearing an apology. The war had been so long ago, and things had changed so much over the centuries that the outside world wasn't even sure if the monsters were still alive or how to contact them. Magic had drained from the world up top. There were no longer any red-souled wizards. There was even a significant amount of the population that thought that the monsters may never have been real at all. The humans (for the most part) were happy, actually, to get to see them again.

The envoys had been surprised, though, to see the human child joining the King after introductions had been made and tea and cakes had been served, and downright alarmed by the tall skeleton that walked in holding her hand. But, as Frisk thought, her brother's enthusiasm and energy infected the humans like a cold. He offered them pasta, assuring them that magic food was delicious, and shared a couple of his graph-paper puzzles, essentially derailing the meeting and turning it into a game. The human leader couldn't keep up his stoic front as his advisors, in turn, couldn't help but try to solve the theoretical switch puzzles, "no flying or snow pants allowed". Papyrus wooed them in minutes.

Frisk, of course, received some questions as well, about living with monsters; how she had been treated. She explained that she was an orphan and had fallen, an "accident", and how she'd been adopted and cared for. That monsters would never hurt a human without cause. That soul-stealing was essentially a myth. Asgore got a little sweaty-looking and excused himself as she fibbed on his behalf. But, she explained, very honestly, that even the monsters with the biggest claws and the sharpest fangs really just wanted to be friends. That skeletons and ghosts weren't scary; didn't mean any harm. Papyrus was living proof of that. She did have to explain, though, that he wasn't made of a dead human— the thought of which absolutely horrified him— and that skeleton monsters were just born like that.

Everyone at the meeting went home happy. Things wouldn't be over in a day, but it certainly sped things along a great deal. What had taken almost six months before was almost over in two and a half.

\- - -

In the meanwhile, Asriel and Toriel moved into the skeleton household almost immediately after the barrier fell. Sans didn't care where he slept, so gave up his room to Toriel. Though the place suddenly seemed a little crowded, it all felt very right.

Though building her school again was near the top of Toriel's mind, the family's attention had to remain squarely focussed on Asriel and Frisk for the time being. Their souls were unlike any in recorded history. Testing every day in Alphys's lab saw them trying hard to recombine themselves. Determination knitted into every facet of the Prince's new soul, so strong that, for a while, Frisk had to act as a conduit for it. It would burn any monster in direct contact with it. Alphys had a few new, orange scars on her fingers as proof.

Physical changes came along with progress. Asriel got worse before he got better, his form becoming more beastly as the determination seeped through his new soul to bind it properly. Two months from its creation, he was a hulking, knuckle-walking, sabre-toothed beast with huge, curling horns, and white irises on black sclera, who had to sleep exclusively on the living room floor. That is, until one day, about a week later, there was a shift. The soul finished remaking itself, snapped into place, and Asriel woke up just a smidgeon taller than Frisk. Pale, mist green eyes; adorable as ever, with the only physical changes remaining being the stripes on his face and back, and that his horns had begun to show a bit longer than his age would suggest. It was a relief if only for the sake of standing-room.

Frisk's transition was simultaneous, but less dramatic in the sense that she certainly did not grow to almost eight feet tall. She did, however, grow horns for a little over a week. Nubs at first, they sprouted a few inches, developing a faint, lyre-shaped curve, and then receded into nothing just as she was starting to come to terms with having them. She also turned blue for three and a half days, which— after the initial shock— gave Sans ample material for jokes. Mostly, though, her soul was readjusting. Already more attuned to monster magic than a regular human soul, it seemed to be coping just fine with only a few hiccoughs along the way.

That wasn't the only thing that changed for Frisk, though. Despite all the good they had done, the glowing handprints of magic and memories had faded from her face ever since the day the barrier had broken. With them went the borrowed powers of her brothers. Papyrus was probably more disappointed than she was, though. The invisible lines between her fingers hadn't lit up since then, either, and though the circular scar was still on her back, it hadn't glowed again.

The hairline cracks in Asriel's soul and Frisk's sparkling constellation points were rarely visible anymore, and showed less and less the more time passed. Only a great effort revealed them— a shining white, sometimes prickled with a faint spectrum of colours. But, their souls were solid now, even though Asriel's glowed red with determination: a fractured, mirror image of Frisk's.

No one was entirely sure what had happened, but the chunks missing from those who had given soul fragments to Frisk had started to come back on their own. Alphys began keeping track when she realized the missing piece of her finger started, very slowly, to reappear. It seemed to be exposure to Frisk's magic, but gaps missing from Sans, Papyrus, and Toriel, were nothing more than a memory within the first month. They weren't regrown pieces, though: the energy acted as if it had never been gone in the first place.

Alphys theorized that it might be that Frisk's magic was unconsciously turning the souls backwards in time. Sans was the only one who didn't seem the least bit surprised. The others took a little longer, from what Alphys guessed was less natural exposure. Sans actually seemed a little disappointed that the hole in his hand closed up, but Alphys was pretty relieved to have the rest of her pinkie back.

\- - -

Three months in: though some monsters had already begun to set up outside— including Mettaton, who had raced to plunk down what would eventually become his television studio and Alphys's new laboratory— it was going to be about a month or two more before Frisk or any of her friends would build their homes on the surface. The last time, there had been a bit of scramble and, as a result, the initial "surface CORE", or SCORE, construction was plagued with issues and setbacks. This time, Alphys was taking no chances, going over the original CORE by the inch to make sure she had every little detail she would need before she moved to turn it down to almost zero, a necessary step before connecting the SCORE to it on the mountaintop in order to power what would become the city-state of Starhome.

This afternoon, though, she was out hiking the mountainside, camping with Undyne for a much needed break. Mettaton would be hosting a big surface party soon, humans included, and she was expected to help out. After days of spending almost every waking hour staring at schematics and computer screens, being dragged away from the artificial glow was really what she needed. She still posted update photos of just about everything every ten minutes or so, though. Campfire cooking, exploring the forests; jumping off a small waterfall over Undyne's head to play in the river under a free and open sky. Frisk had been keeping track throughout the day.

She was on the surface this afternoon, too. The roadmap of Starhome was laid out on the ground, a little different than how it had been, and a few houses had already been erected though, as scattered as they were, made the whole place look very quaint and rural. It wouldn't always, though. Eventually, the main bulk of the city would come to look a lot like New Home had, with merloned walls and the occasional domed roof. If things went like last time, it was the outskirts that would eventually end up looking more quaint and cozy, like Snowdin but with a lot more space.

The sun was shining, warm and inviting even as it began to fall towards the horizon, though the ground was damp from rain hours past. Now that she had proper shoes, Frisk quite enjoyed the squishing sound as she walked on the grass. She double-checked a photo on her phone— one of a house that looked like it was a boulder carved into a rectangular cottage, with some crystals jutting out here and there and a waterfall pouring down its side and into a pond in the front yard.

Frisk put a hand to her eyes and squinted into the distance. She could have sworn she saw a shimmery, pink sheen blink back at her. She turned to Sans and held up her phone, then pointed at a small, stoney lump in the distance. He took it and stared at the screen.

"Whatcha think?" she asked.

"Think you found it," he said.

She grinned and grabbed his hand.

Down the hill, they arrived at exactly the house from the photo, except for more crystals had sprouted from its left side, glimmering bright in the sunshine. Before they even crossed the yard, the door flew open and they were greeted by a beaming, rocky ram monster.

"You found it!" Flint said. "Have any trouble?"

"Nah," Sans said.

"Frisk!" A tiny little rockram shot out of the house around her father's legs and glommed onto the kid, squeezing her tightly. "You came! Come on, you gotta see my room, okay? It's brand new!" She hopped back, the blue stones on her cheeks glowing faintly, and she grabbed her hand to drag her inside.

"Okay, okay!" Frisk laughed.

As she was whisked away, Flint beckoned Sans towards the door. He had a big grin on his face.

"Good t'see you again," he said.

"Yeah, same," the skeleton replied. "How is she?"

"Like night and day. Could hardly believe it," he said. "Come on, come in."

The inside of the house was furnished like a cozy cottage, decorated with shells, chunks of crystal, and vinyl records. The little fish boy was setting the table and his mother laid out a casserole dish filled with something purple.

"I'm so glad you two could make it!" she said, grinning upon seeing him. She crossed the room quickly and wrapped him in a hug. "How have you been? Are you planning on moving up soon?"

"Eh, maybe in the next month or three. We got a spot; we're okay with bein' in the back end of things. Looks like you got this place all put together pretty quick," Sans said.

"It was a lot of work, aye, but worth it," Flint said. "You hear they're openin' up the way back into Home? Heard it was supposed to be for the scientists or somethin'."

"For all the eggheads," Sans said. "Yeah. Should be helpful for the SCORE, too, or whatever."

"I was a wee kid when I saw it last," he said. "Interested in takin' a look myself!"

"Hey, Sans? Saaaans?" Adaro darted over and grabbed onto his sleeve. "Okay, like, you know more about this place, right? The sky can't suck you up, right?"

"What, like a vacuum?" Sans tilted his head. "Nah."

"So when the world goes upside down, we'll be okay, though, right?" he insisted. "We won't fall off?"

"And what, go spinnin' off into space?" He grinned. "Nah. Gravity stuff. Same thing that makes you fall back down when you jump."

Adaro grinned brightly and punched the air with both fists. "That's awesome!"

Lari and Frisk returned shortly and, with a few more table settings, everyone sat down. Naiad gladly served them all the purple something—that ended up tasting like some very good potatoes— and some crispy fish alongside sweet, leafy vegetables. Flint was hyuking it up about all the novel things they'd seen above ground. The clouds rushing past, the birds twittering in the bright-leaved trees, the casual breeze; the little bugs in the grass.

The whole family was so exuberant and excited. Frisk couldn't help but catch a little of that enthusiasm as she listened to them. Naiad really did look so much better here. There was an iridescent shimmer to her scales that had been absent beneath the ground. Adaro, too, had a little glimmer of blue and green in the purple of his scales in the right light.

She was happy to see them— happy for them, too, but she couldn't keep her mind all the way there. This wasn't the last meeting she had to go to today, though the final one wasn't going to be as nice as this, she could bet.

"Frisk, sweetie, is something the matter?" Naiad's voice cut through her thoughts. She smiled gently. "Is it the veggies? It's alright if you don't like them."

"Oh, no no, they're great." Frisk realized, with hot embarrassment on her face, that she'd been nudging her food around with her chopsticks for a while. "S-Sorry."

Sans gave her a knowing look. She took a quick bite and Lari leaned over to gently grab her sleeve.

"What's your favourite surface thing, Frisk?" she asked.

"Um… Stars, I guess. And wind," she said.

"But you were up here before, right? Have you seen more? Like, from far away?" Adaro asked.

"I guess… Oh! The ocean's good. You guys should go there," she said.

"Ah, yes! I've always heard such wonderful things about it," Naiad said. "But, Frisk? Are you feeling okay?"

"Ah, it's just… I, umm…" She wasn't sure how to explain.

"Some treaty finalization thing with the humans tonight," Sans said. "She's worried because they've, uh, taken a bit of an interest in her."

"Oh? Eh… Why?" Flint asked with a blank look on his face.

"They think she's one of them." He shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Nothin' they can do either way."

Frisk knew he'd been reading their laws ever since the first day they'd ever brought her up in their meetings with Asgore and Toriel. It wouldn't matter, she'd assured herself. Asgore'd declared her a citizen as soon as it was relevant to do so, and it wasn't like she even had a record of existing anywhere else. It'd be fine. Still, it put a knot in her stomach. It also didn't help that she'd been dreaming about a human coming in and dusting some people precious to her through some horrible misunderstanding. Not even her subconscious would let her thoughts go elsewhere.

"So what's that about, anyway?" Flint asked, a burrow in his heavy brow. "They lookin' for your folks?"

"It doesn't matter." Frisk almost had an edge to her voice— she couldn't help it. "Even if they do, I don't care and I don't want to see them."

Naiad smiled sympathetically. Sans didn't seem concerned. He took a swig of his drink.

"They won't find a thing." He sounded utterly confident.

The kid smiled slightly. That always made her feel better, even if she wasn't sure she believed it.

"Ah, don't worry." Flint waved his hand and smiled wide. "You're such a good kid! I'm sure everythin'll work out just fine for ya! Besides, don'tcha got all those superpowers? You'll be fine."

"Yeah!" Adaro agreed, grinning his bright, pointy teeth. "You're super tough! Doesn't matter what they do, you're a monster like us now! Even if you're not!"

They all seemed so earnest about it. Smiling at her like they believed in her with all their souls.

"Y-Yeah. Yeah. I guess you're right," Frisk said.

* * *

... continued in Chapter 1 of "PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate every second you spent with my words. <3  
I'm a member of a SFW-only Undertale fanfic Discord server where there's a bunch of people much cooler than me who also have stories, so feel free to swing by if you wanna talk about my story or just wanna talk to a bunch of people about Undertale stuff or find more stuff to read.  
https://discord.gg/DhSgGH7


End file.
